“Don’t you understand?” He caught her shoulders, drew her so
close she had to tip her head back to look at him. “I’m responsible for you,
Sabrina. I’m trying to keep you safe!”
“But—”
He bent his head and kissed her, cutting off her words. He
tipped her chin up with his fingers. “I’m crazy about you, baby. Someone wants
to kill you and I can’t—
won’t
—let that happen.”
Her gaze found his, held. “You’re...you’re crazy about me?”
He smiled. “What did you think?” He kissed her again, a long,
slow, unhurried kiss that had her molded against him and made him hard. “You
think I work free for all my clients?”
Her lips edged up but tears brimmed in her eyes. “Alex...” Her
arms slipped around his neck and it felt so good just to hold her.
It was crazy, insane to feel this way when his life was still
so unsettled, so undetermined. Hell, he didn’t even know if he planned to stay
in Houston.
His arms tightened around her. Surely the day would come when
this hard knot in his chest that formed when he looked at her would loosen, when
the passion between them would fade and they would go their separate ways.
They’d be friends, of course. That’s all he’d ever meant for them to be.
He tangled his hands in her hair, pulled her back to him and
kissed her, the thought of their parting making his stomach burn. He refused to
worry about it now. For now, she was his and the important thing was keeping her
safe.
He pressed moist kisses along her throat, heard a soft purr
that sounded a lot like Herc and reminded him of a sexy little kitten.
“Ben says the sheets are clean.” He nuzzled the side of her
neck.
Sabrina gave him a teasing smile. “I bet a guy as hot as Ben
has a great big comfortable bed.”
Alex nipped an earlobe, not sure he liked the sound of that. “A
guy as hot as Ben?”
“Well, he’s not as hot as you, of course, but still...”
He grinned. “Why don’t we find out just how comfortable it
is?”
She looked up at him with those big blue eyes that wreaked
havoc on his senses. “I have to go to Presidio, Alex. But I won’t go without
you.”
He sighed. He should have known he couldn’t win. “Stubborn,
hardheaded little wench.” She yelped as he swept her off her feet and up against
his chest. He couldn’t help admiring her. But then he always had. “All right,
I’ll take you. But we do it my way, okay?” She started kissing his neck as he
carried her into the bedroom, his erection throbbing with urgency.
“Whatever you say.” They both recognized the complete and utter
lie.
“Fine, but you owe me.” He tossed back the covers and settled
her in the middle of the bed.
Sabrina eyed him warily. “What do you want in return?”
Alex just smiled. There were some places he was still the boss.
The bedroom was one of them. “Why don’t I show you?”
Reaching down, he started peeling off her clothes.
Twenty-Seven
W
hen a man like Alex Justice made love to a
woman, said woman just hung on and enjoyed the ride.
Inwardly, Rina grinned at the unexpected pun. Alex was all man
and he was in charge and she loved every minute of it. More today because of
what Alex had said. He didn’t just like her. She wasn’t just a friend with
benefits. He was
crazy
about her. That’s what he’d
said.
And God knew she was crazy about him. Crazy in love with him, a
fact she had tried very hard to deny but was finally forced to admit. But that
was a whole different subject, one she wasn’t willing to think about right
now.
It didn’t take long before both of them were naked, the ceiling
fan slowly revolving above them, moving the cool air over their bare skin.
Late-afternoon sun poured through the curtained windows, lighting the darkened
room just enough to give it a golden glow.
Her nipples were hard and tight from the feel of Alex’s mouth
moving over them, suckling and tasting, making her shift restlessly beneath
him.
He returned to ravishing her mouth. Alex loved to kiss and he
was amazingly good at it. He could almost make her come just by moving his
tongue in a certain erotic pattern over hers.
She shivered, trembled, tangled her fingers in his dark gold
hair and kissed him back as thoroughly and hotly as he was kissing her. Damp
kisses rained over her body. He kissed the flat spot beneath her navel, the
insides of her thighs, stroked her just to the point of climax.
She whimpered when he stopped, had to force herself not to beg
him to continue.
“Time to pay,” he said, returning to her breasts, then nipping
the side of her neck. He lifted her, turned her onto her stomach and pulled her
knees up beneath her.
“I don’t think we’ve made love quite this way.” He trailed
kisses along her shoulders, left a hot, moist trail down her spine, massaged the
muscles over her ribs, her hips. “I think you’ll like it.”
She was going to like anything that brought relief from the
heat burning through her body. She was hot and wet and ready. Moving behind her,
Alex set his hands at her waist and entered her slowly, buried himself deep,
then started to move. It felt naughty and erotic, and the thick, hard length of
him seemed to short-circuit her brain, leaving her senses in control and her
body completely at his mercy.
Her heart rate quickened. Her breath came in short little
pants. She was slick and hot, her skin on fire. She arched her back to take him
deeper, heard him hiss in a breath as he fought for control.
Faster, deeper, harder. The world spun away, sucked her into
climax. Fierce, saturating pleasure washed through her and she tightened around
him like a fist.
Alex groaned as he followed her to release.
They collapsed together on the bed, skin moist, bodies pressed
together. Still joined, Alex rolled them onto their sides, pressed a soft kiss
to the back of her neck.
“I meant what I said,” he whispered. “I’m crazy about you.”
She smiled. “I’m crazy about you, too.” She didn’t say more.
She didn’t want to ruin things between them and she knew telling him she loved
him would do exactly that. For now, she was with Alex and it was enough.
* * *
They made love twice more that night, then slept the
sleep of the dead till seven in the morning when Alex’s disposable cell phone
rang.
He rubbed his face, rolled to the side of the bed and picked it
up. “Justice.”
“Alex, I need to talk to you.”
He recognized his sister’s voice. “Becca...what is it?”
“Something’s happened, Alex. I’m not sure it’s any big deal,
but there was a man at Ginny’s school...out near the playground. It’s probably
nothing but Ginny said he was a friend of yours. He wanted her to tell you
hello.”
Alex went cold all over. He forced a note of calm into his
voice. “Where’s Ginny now?”
“She’s here. I wanted to talk to you before I sent her off to
school. She’s furious I wouldn’t let her go, but I just...something just didn’t
feel right.”
“Don’t let her leave. I’m on my way.” He was up and reaching
for his jeans, the same worn pair he’d borrowed from Ben yesterday, pulled on
the same faded black T-shirt.
“Alex?”
“You need to get dressed. I’ve got to see my sister and I’m not
leaving you here.”
She came up off the bed, shoving back her glossy red curls.
“What is it?”
“Just hurry. I’ll tell you on the way.”
They were dressed and out of the house in minutes, driving too
fast toward his sister’s house.
“All right, tell me,” Sabrina said as the car raced along.
He went over the conversation he’d had with Rebecca about the
man near the playground.
“You’re worried. You’re thinking it could be Bagley.”
“I need to talk to Ginny, get more information, hopefully a
description. But it’s possible it’s him, and that scares the living hell out of
me.”
Sabrina didn’t say more, just leaned back in her seat until the
car pulled up in front of a two-story, turn-of-the-century house in Houston
Heights. A fresh coat of white paint gleamed in the morning sun. A turret sprang
up from one corner, cornflower-blue shutters bracketed the windows, and a
covered porch wrapped all the way around the house.
The former owner had added bathrooms and done some preliminary
remodeling. Joe was helping Rebecca remodel the kitchen.
Both of them were waiting when he walked into the entry,
guiding Sabrina in front of him.
“I know you’re busy,” Becca said apologetically, walking toward
him. “This is probably silly.”
“It isn’t silly,” Joe said firmly.
“Where’s Ginny?” Alex asked. “I need to talk to her.”
Rebecca glanced upward, as if she could see through the
ceiling. “She’s upstairs pouting. They were assigning school projects today and
she didn’t want to be left out.”
“I’ll be right back.” He started for the stairs, heard Sabrina
behind him talking to his sister.
“Alex is really worried. You did the right thing.”
He didn’t hear Becca’s reply. He headed down the hall to
Ginny’s room and knocked on the door that had a red finger painting pinned to
the front.
“Ginny? It’s your uncle Alex. Can we talk a minute?”
He heard her small feet on the carpet as she walked over and
opened the door. “Hi,” she said dejectedly.
“What? No hug for your favorite uncle?”
She brightened a little. Put her arms around his neck when he
leaned down to her height, squeezed.
Alex scooped her up in his arms. “That’s better.” He carried
her over to her pretty little pink-ruffled princess bed and they both sat
down.
“I hear you had a visitor at school yesterday.”
She nodded. “He was nice. He said he was your friend. He said
to say hello, but I wish I didn’t tell my mom about him.”
Alex caught her hand. “You should always tell your mother
things like that. It’s really important.”
She looked up at him. “It is?”
“That’s right. That’s the way you stay safe. Next time, you
should also tell your teachers.”
She stared down at her lap. “Okay.”
He caught her chin, gently regaining her attention. “Where did
you see this man, Ginny?”
“Out on the playground. I was on the jungle gym but it’s hard
to swing on the bars in a skirt so I went over and sat on the bench. The man
said my name. When I turned, I saw him on the other side of the fence.”
“He called you Ginny?”
She nodded. “Uh-huh.”
“Can you tell me what this man looked like?”
She pursed her lips, squinted, trying to recall. “Well, he
wasn’t fat. He had brown hair and nice eyes. Oh, and a nice smile.”
“What color eyes, do you remember?”
She bit her lip. “Blue, I think, but I’m not sure.”
A knot formed in his stomach. Edward Bagley had light brown
hair and blue eyes. “Anything else?”
She started shaking her head, then brightened. “Oh, he had a
funny little mark on his neck. It looked like a heart.”
The knot twisted tighter. He felt a rush of anger so strong it
made him dizzy.
Ginny looked up at him from beneath her pale lashes. “Are you
mad at me, Uncle Alex?”
He scooped her up again, kissed the top of her head. “No,
sweetheart. Everything’s okay. But you’re gonna have to miss a few days of
school.”
Her face puckered up. He could see she was on the verge of
crying. “I don’t want to miss school!”
Hearing a sound in the open doorway, Alex looked up to see Joe
standing in the hall.
“Tell you what, buttercup,” Joe said, walking into the bedroom.
“You stay home a couple of days and you can work downstairs with me. Your mom
already said it was okay.”
“She did?”
“That’s right. I’ll show you how to use a screwdriver.”
Alex almost grinned. Rebecca was going to have a fit. He handed
Ginny to Joe, who settled her against his hip.
“I gotta go, sweetheart.” He leaned over and kissed her cheek.
“Do what Joe and your mama tell you, okay?” While Ginny talked to Joe about how
to use a screwdriver, Alex slipped quietly out of the room.
He found the women sitting in the kitchen, drinking cups of
coffee.
His sister rose from her chair. “Was it...was it him?”
Alex’s jaw hardened. “It was him. No mistake.”
“Oh, God.”
“I’ve got to talk to the police, fill them in. You’ll have to
keep Ginny home until they catch the bastard.”
Joe came walking in, Ginny’s small hand gripped in his big one.
She grinned and ran off to play in the family room. From his scowl, Joe had
heard the conversation.
“You don’t have to worry,” he said to Rebecca. “I’m staying
here till this is over. You’ve got the best alarm system money can buy and
you’ve got me. Bagley gives us any trouble, he’s going to be one sorry son of a
bitch.”
Alex felt a sweep of relief. Joe was tough as nails and loyal
to a fault. He was afraid his sister would argue, but she just looked gravely up
at Joe and nodded. “Thanks.”
Interesting,
Alex thought. “I’ll be
right back.” Pulling out his phone, he headed into the study to make the
necessary calls.
* * *
“What did the police say?” Sabrina asked as Alex drove
away from the house, the muscles across his shoulders still vibrating with
tension.
“They’ve put out a BOLO on Bagley as a person of interest in an
attempted child abduction. It won’t hold up, since all he did was talk to Ginny
through the fence, but it’ll put him back where the cops can keep him pinned
down.”
“That’s good.”
“Yeah, if they can find him. They’re also putting extra cars in
the area. They’ll be watching for him round the clock.”
Rina studied Alex’s profile. His jaw looked as hard as steel.
His hands gripped the wheel as if he wanted to tear it off the steering column.
“This isn’t your fault, you know.”
He rubbed his unshaven jaw where a night’s growth of dark gold
beard made him look a little like a Viking. “It’s Bagley’s fault. But I’m the
reason the bastard went after Ginny.”
“If you feel like you should stay with your sister, I’m sure I
can stay with Sage and Jake.”
“Joe’s there and I trust him. And I can do everyone more good
if I’m on the job. That means finding Bagley.” He cast her a sideways glance.
“Which doesn’t mean I’m abandoning you. Ben’s got men trying to run down Garcia
and Zamora. Once they’re in custody, we may be able to find a link between them
and one of your cousins.”
“What about Bagley?”
His eyes remained on the road. “We’re headed down to my office.
I’m going to put Sol in action, see if there’s something new we can come up with
that might tell us where Bagley’s hiding. I thought we’d go by Ben’s, pick up
that Desert Mining portfolio you wanted to study. That’ll give you something to
do.”
“And keep me out of your hair.”
He grinned, his dimples showing for the first time in days.
“Yeah.”
“You’re in luck. I brought it with me.” She dug into the big
silver bag she’d bought when she’d gone shopping with Sage and Jake, drew out
the folder Arturo had given her. “I figured you might need a way to keep me
entertained—aside from erotic sex.”
Alex’s gaze turned a scorching shade of blue. “Lady, you never
cease to amaze.”
She flashed him a grin. “Neither do you, flyboy.”
* * *
Alex walked into the Atlas Security office to see Ben on
the phone, Trace in his office leaning back in his chair with his cowboy boots
propped on the desk. In the office next to his, Sol was hard at work behind his
computer.
Alex left Sabrina in the waiting area, studying her mining
portfolio, and went in to talk to Trace.
“Welcome back,” Alex said to his friend.
“Good to be back. I hear all hell broke loose while we were
gone.”
“Yeah, you could say that. How was the trip?”
Trace’s mouth curved up in a lazy smile. “We holed up out at
the ranch for a few days. Real nice out there even when it’s hot.”
“Which means you didn’t go outside much, just stayed in bed
under the air-conditioning.”
“We rode in the mornings.”
Alex grinned. “I’ll just bet you did.”
Trace laughed.
Newlyweds.
You’d think after the
months they’d been married, Trace would have settled back into his regular work
routine, but the man was in love.
“Ben’s brought me pretty much up to speed on Rina,” Trace said.
“Told me about the shooting. You should have called. I’d have come back
sooner.”
“I know you would have. Ben and Jake were there and Sage has
been great.”
“I guess you talked to Catano’s girlfriend.”
“Felicity Marquez, that’s right. She gave up the guys Catano
was with at the minimart—Jose Garcia and Ricardo Zamora.”
Trace pondered the names. “Doesn’t ring any bells.”