hands to dial her precinct.
She shot him a smile of thanks and
relayed the basic information to the dispatcher: her house had been
broken into and no one should be there. That would give the
responding officers a green light if anyone were still within the
dwelling. Repeating her address and the location of the coffee
shop, she snapped the phone shut and whirled on her heel, finding
her flats and trouser socks placed on the bed.
Nate was toeing into his sneakers.
“Status?”
He was one-hundred-percent warrior;
she’d never seen him battle-ready before, and his ferocity made her
mouth go bone dry with unspeakable desire, despite the
circumstances. She shook off the gut-clenching lust and finished
dressing. As she slid her Beretta into its holster, she forced her
mind to focus on business rather than Nate’s delectable presence by
her side.
“ My house is trashed,” she
replied, fighting to keep the rage out of her voice.
“ CC,” Nate said
matter-of-factly with an ungodly light in his eyes. “We’ll get him,
Charly.”
“ Damn straight we will. That
house was the first real thing I’ve ever bought. I’ll take each
dollar out of his hide long before he ever sees the inside of a
jail cell.” She said the last word as they walked out the front
door, and then they were inside her sedan, pealing out of the
driveway.
The drive to the coffee shop was
almost too short for her to get a handle on her volatile emotions.
Nate, God bless him, understood her need for absolute
concentration. He could have joked with her about last night,
lightened the mood, but the warrior within him was loaded for bear.
She was glad Nate hadn’t said anything about last night, because
just the memory of it made her blood pressure spike and her head
whirl. She needed to tamp down her temper right now, and reminders
of last night’s passion would only push it into dangerous
zones.
She pulled into an empty parking space
and was out the door before the car had even rocked to a stop. Emma
rounded the hood of the sedan and threw herself into Charly’s
arms.
“ You’re alright,” Emma
sobbed, sounding as if her heart was breaking. For the first time
this morning, Charly felt a very real tendril of fear. Emma was
never this dramatic. Whatever she’d seen must have been really,
really bad.
“ Come on, Sweetie,” she
said, leading her friend through the doors to a bistro table. Nate
followed closely behind, his posture upright, ready for action.
While Charly doubted CC would accost them in such an obvious place,
she was glad for the extra set of eyes.
Right on cue her cell rang. “Davis,”
she said, glad her voice was cool and calm.
“ Officer Williams,
Detective. Your residence is secure, but I think you need to see
it. CSU is on their way.”
“ It’s bad enough for CSU?”
Dread settled into the pit of her stomach.
“ Uh, ma’am? I’ve never seen
anything like this,” the officer answered honestly, and she could
almost see his Adam’s apple bobbing nervously as he spoke. “Captain
needs to see this, too. He’s on his way.”
“ Thank you, Williams. We’ll
be there in five.” She pocketed the phone and braced Emma’s
shoulders in her hands. “Emma, we need to go back. Detectives are
there, and they’ll need to ask you questions.” Her friends
shuddered in her grip. Jesus. How bad could it really be? “You’ll
be safe. I promise.” She caught Emma’s gaze with her own and held
it until the woman nodded slowly.
“ Nate?” Charly asked, not
even bothering to voice the question, knowing he would
understand.
“ I’ve got your six,” he
replied, sliding in behind them as they walked back into the watery
morning sunlight. “Though I’d feel much better if I was
armed.”
Charly laughed, a short bark of sound.
“I’d lend you mine, but...”
“ Never mind,” he replied,
and she could almost feel his eyes sweeping the scene, assessing
threat levels.
She buckled Emma into the front seat,
then slid
She shot him a smile of thanks and
relayed the basic information to the dispatcher: her house had been
broken into and no one should be there. That would give the
responding officers a green light if anyone were still within the
dwelling. Repeating her address and the location of the coffee
shop, she snapped the phone shut and whirled on her heel, finding
her flats and trouser socks placed on the bed.
Nate was toeing into his sneakers.
“Status?”
He was one-hundred-percent warrior;
she’d never seen him battle-ready before, and his ferocity made her
mouth go bone dry with unspeakable desire, despite the
circumstances. She shook off the gut-clenching lust and finished
dressing. As she slid her Beretta into its holster, she forced her
mind to focus on business rather than Nate’s delectable presence by
her side.
“ My house is trashed,” she
replied, fighting to keep the rage out of her voice.
“ CC,” Nate said
matter-of-factly with an ungodly light in his eyes. “We’ll get him,
Charly.”
“ Damn straight we will. That
house was the first real thing I’ve ever bought. I’ll take each
dollar out of his hide long before he ever sees the inside of a
jail cell.” She said the last word as they walked out the front
door, and then they were inside her sedan, pealing out of the
driveway.
The drive to the coffee shop was
almost too short for her to get a handle on her volatile emotions.
Nate, God bless him, understood her need for absolute
concentration. He could have joked with her about last night,
lightened the mood, but the warrior within him was loaded for bear.
She was glad Nate hadn’t said anything about last night, because
just the memory of it made her blood pressure spike and her head
whirl. She needed to tamp down her temper right now, and reminders
of last night’s passion would only push it into dangerous
zones.
She pulled into an empty parking space
and was out the door before the car had even rocked to a stop. Emma
rounded the hood of the sedan and threw herself into Charly’s
arms.
“ You’re alright,” Emma
sobbed, sounding as if her heart was breaking. For the first time
this morning, Charly felt a very real tendril of fear. Emma was
never this dramatic. Whatever she’d seen must have been really,
really bad.
“ Come on, Sweetie,” she
said, leading her friend through the doors to a bistro table. Nate
followed closely behind, his posture upright, ready for action.
While Charly doubted CC would accost them in such an obvious place,
she was glad for the extra set of eyes.
Right on cue her cell rang. “Davis,”
she said, glad her voice was cool and calm.
“ Officer Williams,
Detective. Your residence is secure, but I think you need to see
it. CSU is on their way.”
“ It’s bad enough for CSU?”
Dread settled into the pit of her stomach.
“ Uh, ma’am? I’ve never seen
anything like this,” the officer answered honestly, and she could
almost see his Adam’s apple bobbing nervously as he spoke. “Captain
needs to see this, too. He’s on his way.”
“ Thank you, Williams. We’ll
be there in five.” She pocketed the phone and braced Emma’s
shoulders in her hands. “Emma, we need to go back. Detectives are
there, and they’ll need to ask you questions.” Her friends
shuddered in her grip. Jesus. How bad could it really be? “You’ll
be safe. I promise.” She caught Emma’s gaze with her own and held
it until the woman nodded slowly.
“ Nate?” Charly asked, not
even bothering to voice the question, knowing he would
understand.
“ I’ve got your six,” he
replied, sliding in behind them as they walked back into the watery
morning sunlight. “Though I’d feel much better if I was
armed.”
Charly laughed, a short bark of sound.
“I’d lend you mine, but...”
“ Never mind,” he replied,
and she could almost feel his eyes sweeping the scene, assessing
threat levels.
She buckled Emma into the front seat,
then slid
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