brother, the responsible one, you know? He got killed in a robbery at the store. He shouldn’t have been there. He was covering for me because I bailed and took off with friends for the night.”
“That’s a pretty shitty thing to have to deal with.” Nick said, turning over and pulling her down into his arms. She didn’t even try to resist. Instead, she just buried her face against the warm bulk of Nick’s chest and let him offer what comfort he could.
It felt better than she could have imagined.
****
His brothers were a pain in his ass, but Nick couldn’t imagine what it would be like to lose one of them forever. That kind of loss never really healed, and he’d caught the guilt in Lia’s voice when she’d said he was covering for her. Guilt and loss would explain the walls she’d built around herself, not to mention why she’d chosen such a challenging profession. He was willing to bet that it was no accident that she was a robbery detective, chasing down criminals like the ones who had killed her brother.
“You know, I think you’re the first person who didn’t say “I’m sorry” when I told them about Alex.”
“Is that good thing?”
“It is. But I think you already knew that. You always seem to know the right thing to say to me.”
He burst out laughing. “That’s not true. If it were, I wouldn’t have blown the moment I let it slip that you were making out with your boss’ brother.”
“You didn’t know either.”
“It wouldn’t have stopped me if I had known. I went out on that balcony looking for you.”
She jerked her head up to stare at him. “You didn’t.”
“I sure as hell did. You were the hottest woman there, and once I figured out that lame duck you were with wasn’t actually your boyfriend, I was on a mission.”
“He’s not a lame duck! Danny’s seeing your sister-in-law’s sister, so you better quit thinking of him that way. I’ve got a feeling he’s going to end up being part of your family.”
“Fuck, no. The last thing the Wilde family needs is more cops filling the ranks.”
She arched a brow at him, and he knew he was in trouble. The walls he’d worked so hard to tear down were being rebuilt as he watched.
“I see.”
Fuck. Shit. Goddamn. Double fuck. Way to go, asshole.
“That came out wrong. See? I told you I don’t always know the right thing to say.”
“Uh huh. What I’m seeing is that you really don’t think much of my profession.” She started to pull away from him and he locked his arms around her, aware that he had to make her understand before she got up or she’d be out the door and gone.
“That’s not it. I have nothing but respect for what you do. You have to understand, I grew up in a blue household. Dad, Dave, Ben, Tag, all of them wore the badge, two of them still do. Dave’s ten years older than me. He was in uniform before I was out of high school. Then Dad retired and instead of relaxing, he opened a fucking cop bar. I have been surrounded by law enforcement my whole life, and as you may have noticed, I am not cut from the same cloth. Blue is not my color.”
“Then why the hell am I here?” Lia demanded, fighting harder to pull away from him.
“Because I don’t care what you do for a living. That’s part of who you are, but it’s not all there is. I want to know all of you. And before you get too hot under the collar, let me point out that it’s pretty clear you don’t think much of my chosen profession either.”
She huffed out a breath and stopped trying to get up. “I…uh. Well, damn. You’ve got a point there.”
‘Uh huh. You need to stop looking for reasons to run away from me. I meant what I said, I’m just going to come after you anyway. You may not think you deserve to be happy, but I do.”
“I wasn’t going to run away,” she said, her voice softer now.
“Good. Because I still need to feed you, and then I want to sketch you.” An idea popped into his head. “Or, if you like, I
“That’s a pretty shitty thing to have to deal with.” Nick said, turning over and pulling her down into his arms. She didn’t even try to resist. Instead, she just buried her face against the warm bulk of Nick’s chest and let him offer what comfort he could.
It felt better than she could have imagined.
****
His brothers were a pain in his ass, but Nick couldn’t imagine what it would be like to lose one of them forever. That kind of loss never really healed, and he’d caught the guilt in Lia’s voice when she’d said he was covering for her. Guilt and loss would explain the walls she’d built around herself, not to mention why she’d chosen such a challenging profession. He was willing to bet that it was no accident that she was a robbery detective, chasing down criminals like the ones who had killed her brother.
“You know, I think you’re the first person who didn’t say “I’m sorry” when I told them about Alex.”
“Is that good thing?”
“It is. But I think you already knew that. You always seem to know the right thing to say to me.”
He burst out laughing. “That’s not true. If it were, I wouldn’t have blown the moment I let it slip that you were making out with your boss’ brother.”
“You didn’t know either.”
“It wouldn’t have stopped me if I had known. I went out on that balcony looking for you.”
She jerked her head up to stare at him. “You didn’t.”
“I sure as hell did. You were the hottest woman there, and once I figured out that lame duck you were with wasn’t actually your boyfriend, I was on a mission.”
“He’s not a lame duck! Danny’s seeing your sister-in-law’s sister, so you better quit thinking of him that way. I’ve got a feeling he’s going to end up being part of your family.”
“Fuck, no. The last thing the Wilde family needs is more cops filling the ranks.”
She arched a brow at him, and he knew he was in trouble. The walls he’d worked so hard to tear down were being rebuilt as he watched.
“I see.”
Fuck. Shit. Goddamn. Double fuck. Way to go, asshole.
“That came out wrong. See? I told you I don’t always know the right thing to say.”
“Uh huh. What I’m seeing is that you really don’t think much of my profession.” She started to pull away from him and he locked his arms around her, aware that he had to make her understand before she got up or she’d be out the door and gone.
“That’s not it. I have nothing but respect for what you do. You have to understand, I grew up in a blue household. Dad, Dave, Ben, Tag, all of them wore the badge, two of them still do. Dave’s ten years older than me. He was in uniform before I was out of high school. Then Dad retired and instead of relaxing, he opened a fucking cop bar. I have been surrounded by law enforcement my whole life, and as you may have noticed, I am not cut from the same cloth. Blue is not my color.”
“Then why the hell am I here?” Lia demanded, fighting harder to pull away from him.
“Because I don’t care what you do for a living. That’s part of who you are, but it’s not all there is. I want to know all of you. And before you get too hot under the collar, let me point out that it’s pretty clear you don’t think much of my chosen profession either.”
She huffed out a breath and stopped trying to get up. “I…uh. Well, damn. You’ve got a point there.”
‘Uh huh. You need to stop looking for reasons to run away from me. I meant what I said, I’m just going to come after you anyway. You may not think you deserve to be happy, but I do.”
“I wasn’t going to run away,” she said, her voice softer now.
“Good. Because I still need to feed you, and then I want to sketch you.” An idea popped into his head. “Or, if you like, I
Similar Books
