Bad to the Bone by Debra Dixon Page B

what they’re looking for?’ ”
    She didn’t respond, but that was answer enough for a man like Sully. He took bits and pieces that most people would ignore and wove them into theories that were impossibly viable.
    Iris got the photograph and turned toward them. “Can we go now? I don’t want to stay here anymore.”
    “I’ll take her down,” Jessica volunteered. There was certainly nothing to keep her in the office nowthat the agents had come and gone. All she could do was hope.
    Even so, she didn’t move, waiting for Sully’s agreement rather than walking out. It cost her nothing to pretend Sully was in control. And as long as he believed he was, he’d keep his suspicions to himself instead of sharing them with the Houston police. One smart man was quite enough to deal with. She didn’t want to have to juggle an entire department.
    “All right,” he finally agreed. “But wait in the lobby. We’ll caravan. I want to make sure you get back to Jericho.”
    “Make sure we get back?” Jessica echoed, unable to keep the trace of sarcasm out of her voice. “Where else would we go?”
    “Twenty-two Knoll Road, Utopia, Texas, for starters.”
    Her hands stilled in the act of reaching for Iris’s shoulders as she passed.
He already knew where she lived?
A half beat later she dropped her hands, sending Iris out the door to talk to Carol and wait by the elevator.
    When they were alone, she said, “I thought you said you were off Phil’s case.”
    “Yeah. But I’m not off yours.” It was both a warning and a promise. The warning scared the hell out of her, and the promise took her breath away with the possibilities.
    “How do you know my address? I never told you. You weren’t there for my statement.”
    “Didn’t need to be. I checked out the rental car this morning. Sloppy of you to leave the identifying paperwork on the dash last night. Anyone with a badge can get a copy of your driver’s license information from the rental agency.”
    “Gee, Sully, looks like you went to a lot of trouble to find out where I live. Why didn’t you just search my purse or ask me for my phone number?”
    “That wouldn’t be nearly as much fun, would it?”
    “I don’t know. Searching for the gun certainly seemed to amuse you. I’m surprised you didn’t check my panties for my birth certificate while you were at it. But then, you weren’t thinking very clearly at the time.”
    It was the wrong thing to say, and she knew it as soon as the words were out of her mouth. Taunting Sully was tantamount to prodding a sleeping lion. Her heart thudded sickeningly. She reminded herself that the door was still open. Nothing could happen. Nothing.
    So why did it feel as if something was happening? Why was she
hoping
something would happen? His eyes burned into hers, relentless and angry.
    Sully gritted his teeth as she flung that little barb at him. Ooh, the lady was good, reminding him that his self-control had gone right out the window this morning. She knew how to push buttons, but she was sadly mistaken if she thought all he could do was unfasten them. He could push ’em too.
    “Don’t you worry.” Sully let his gaze travel downward until it rested where the juncture of her thighs was hidden beneath her skirt. “I’ve been givin’ your panties a lot of thought.”
    As he intended, his plain talk shut her up. Her eyes flared with a mixture of what he thought was panic, anger, and maybe the tiniest twinge of arousal.
    “Tread carefully, Jessie. The only reason I haven’t turned you and that peashooter over to Houston PD is that girl trusts you and needs you right now. So I’m content to watch your little drama play out. But if youpiss me off, I can change my mind in a New York instant.”
    “What?” she mocked, anger gaining the upper hand in her expression and voice. “And give up the only chance you have to stay on this case? Peddle that line of bull to someone who’s going to buy it. I saw your expression