Careless (13 page)

Mike knew his friend was right, but his
heart had never been on the line before. That added a whole new dimension of
fear. “I just wanna take it slow, see how this whole things plays out.”

“Yeah, and in the meantime, she’s out with
that Bryan dude tonight. You think his plan is to take it slow?”

J.T. was obviously trying to light a fire
under him, and Mike hated to admit it, but it was working. “Don’t start with me
about that guy. Hey, have you met him yet?”

“No, but Nikki has. She’s says he’s really
got his shit together.”

Mike knew all about Bryan’s philanthropic
endeavors, he’d seen the background check his father ran on him. He even saw
his picture online. The guy looked like a model for one of those yachting
magazines. He and Tori couldn’t be more different. Mike only hoped that in this
case, opposites repelled.

“Hey, Nik told me about this dude who’s
been tailin’ Tori, too. What’s the deal with that?”

Given the fact they were in the middle of a
noisy, crowded bar, Mike wasn’t too concerned about anyone eavesdropping on
their conversation, but he didn’t want to take any chances. “We need to keep
that under wraps, man.”

J.T. raised his hands. “No worries, I hear
ya.”

“Thanks. Listen, I know my brother’s
probably anxious to get home to his wife and baby girl, so I’m gonna head on
back there and have a drink with him before he gets antsy and decides to call
it a night.”

“You got it. You need anything, you let me
know. And as always, drinks are on the house.”

Mike slapped his friend on the back.
“Thanks, buddy. You’re the best.”

“Do me a favor. Tell my wife that, will
ya?”

Mike laughed. “She already knows it.”

Jay stood up and pulled Mike into a half
hug when he reached the table. “What’s up? Seems like I haven’t seen you in
ages.”

“Been busy with work.”

The waitress took their drink orders, and
Jay eased back against the bench seat. “There’s somethin’ different about you.
What the hell’s goin’ on, and don’t tell me nothin’ ’cause I know damn well there
is.”

His brother already knew about his night
with Tori, so there was no sense trying to hide the truth from him. “Dad
convinced me to take a bit of time off. There’s a case he wanted me to work
on.”

“Really? What kind of case?”

Mike leaned forward. He knew if he couldn’t
trust his brother, there wasn’t a person alive he could count on to have his
back. “Somebody’s been stalkin’ Tori.”

Jay muttered a curse. “Why the hell didn’t
she tell us?” Jay and his wife, Victoria, were close friends with Tori, but
Mike knew Avery wanted her to keep it quiet so it wouldn’t interfere with their
upcoming tour.

“I think she was kinda sworn to secrecy.
Don’t take it personally.”

Jay smiled at the waitress who set two
bottles of beer between them. “Still, it makes me feel better knowin’ you’re
keepin’ an eye on her.”

“I was hired to investigate this case, not babysit
her.” Mike brought the bottle to his lips. “But somehow I managed to end up
lookin’ out for her, whether I like it or not.”

“That must be kinda weird, given your
history, huh?”

He tipped the bottle to his lips before he
responded. He wished he could have ten more beers to make him forget that Tori
was probably dancing in another man’s arms right now, but he still had to drive
back to her place… eventually. If he walked in on the two of them… he couldn’t
trust himself not to tear the guy apart.  

“I’m stayin’ at her place. How’s that for
irony?”

“No way!” Jay threw his head back and
laughed. “I’m surprised you two haven’t killed each other yet.”

Mike’s mind drifted back to last night. It
was the nicest evening he’d spent with a woman… ever. “Actually, it’s been
kinda nice gettin’ to know her. I know I don’t have to tell you this, but she’s
amazing.” He cleared his throat, trying to avoid his brother’s intense gaze. “I
like her, a lot.”

“Define
like
.” 

“Do I have to?”

“Damn,” Jay whispered. “Seriously? After
the way you told her to hit the road that night, I thought you pretty much blew
any chance of ever
seein’
her again.”

“I did. That’s the problem.”

“Ah, makes sense. Tori isn’t like the rest
of your little playmates. She won’t put up with any of your shit.”

“Shut up!” Mike already knew Tori was
unlike any woman he’d ever met. He definitely didn’t need his brother to remind
him. “Look, I know she’s special. Problem is, she won’t give me a chance to
prove it.”

“I don’t get it. Why are you here whinin’
to me when you could be at her place, tryin’ to convince her?”

Mike wrapped his hand around his bottle and
clenched the cold glass before he brought it to his lips. “She’s out on a date.
Don’t that just beat all?”

Jay smirked. “I gotta tell ya, I love
seein’ you all bent outta shape like this over a woman. It was a hell of a long
time comin’.”

“Enough about me. How’s my gorgeous
sister-in-law and niece?”

“Perfect.”

Mike pretended to gag, but he was glad his
twin seemed so content with his life.

“Listen to me,” Jay said, leaning forward.
“When you find what I have with Vic, you don’t ever wanna let it go.”

“I hear ya.”

“Do you? Really?”

It was difficult for Mike to even think
about getting in as deep as his brother was. Marriage and kids seemed a long
way off, but leaving Tori’s comfortable home seemed inconceivable to him, too. He
already loved it there, though he’d love it even more if he were sharing her
bedroom instead of sleeping in the room down the hall.

“Yeah, I hear what you’re sayin’.”

“I knew there was something special between
you and Tori that night. Why the hell do you think I encouraged you to go after
her and apologize for bein’ such a jerk?”

It wasn’t difficult to imagine how
different his life could have been if he’d taken his brother’s advice that
night. But at the time, he was scared senseless of what he was feeling for
Tori. He was jealous, possessive, and insecure. It all came down on him at once
when they finally came together. He reacted the only way he knew how to at the
time—he pushed her away.

“I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my life,
Lord knows…” He sighed. “But that one pretty much topped the list.”

“You’re wrong; this one tops the list.”

“What’re you talkin’ about?”

Jay scraped his hands over his face, looking
frustrated. “You’re gettin’ your second chance with her, yet here you are
bitchin’ to me about the fact she’s out on a date with some other guy.”

Mike drained his bottle. “She asked me to
give her a little space tonight. I guess she wanted to bring her date back to
the house.”

“Man, you are one dumb S.O.B. If that was
my woman, I’d be camped out on her doorstep to make sure she didn’t do
somethin’ we’d both regret.”

“I have my pride, Jay.”

He laughed. “Yeah, you have your pride, but
he’s got your girl. I’d much rather be in his place than yours.”

Mike stood up and rolled a couple of bills
off the top. J.T. never charged them for drinks, but that didn’t mean they
couldn’t tip the wait staff well. “Thanks for givin’ me a kick in the ass. I
needed it.”

Jay grinned as he laced his hands behind
his head. “What’re brothers for?”

Tori tucked her legs up under her as she
pulled the faux-fur wrap around her shoulders. There was no reason she should
be cold. It was the middle of July. But with Mike gone, the house seemed cold
and eerily quiet. Even with the TV on, she still heard every creak.

The sound of a car engine and a soft tap on
the door prompted her to mute the sound and listen. When she didn’t hear
anything, she ran to the door to look through the peephole. Mike. Thank God.
She threw the door open and glared at him. “You scared me half to death.”

He smiled. “Glad to hear it. That means I
must be gettin’ through to you.”

Tori tugged on the front of his black T-shirt.
“Get in here. You’re lettin’ the bugs in.” She reached for her oversized
designer handbag on the console table in the hall. “Here, take this.” She
handed him her spare key.

“Thanks.” He pocketed the key and looked
around the open foyer. “We alone?”

“Yeah, I was kinda tired, so I took a cab
home from the benefit.”

“I’m not gonna lie, I’m glad to hear that.”
He reached out to pull her into his arms. “I was thinkin’ about you all night,
sweetheart.” He closed his eyes as he lowered his head. “It was makin’ me
crazy, thinkin’ about you bein’ here with him.”

She dropped her head against his chest. He
was making it so hard for her to remember why she had to keep shutting him
down. Instead of responding, she reached for his hand. “Come on, you can watch
Golden
Girls
reruns with me.”

He groaned. “Do I have to?”

“Yes.” Tori reached for the blanket and
wrapped it around her shoulders before leading him back into the great room.
She snuggled up in a corner of the deep leather sectional and patted the spot
beside her. “Come join me.” She’d been on edge all day and she just wanted to
relax in his strong arms and forget about her troubles for a while.

Before he could claim the spot beside her,
the phone at her elbow rang. He glanced at the caller I.D. before looking at
his watch. “Unknown caller at one in the mornin’? This could be him.”

Her heart had just resumed a normal rate
when it started racing again. “What should I do?”

“I’ve got it covered. Just try and keep him
on the phone as long as you can so we can trace the call, okay?”

Tori nodded before taking a deep breath and
picking up the cordless to connect the call. “Hello?” She listened to the first
several seconds of the song ‘I’ll Be Watching You’ before the line went dead.
She shuddered as she let the phone fall from her hand. “Jesus,” she whispered.
“He’s not gonna give up, is he?”

Mike grabbed the phone and hung it up
before he sat down and pulled her back against his chest. He positioned the
blanket over their bodies. “Tell me what he said.”

She closed her eyes and leaned her head
against his shoulder. “Nothing. He just played that song ‘I’ll Be Watching You.’
Remember that one?”

“Sure, by the Police.”

She turned around at the same time they
realized he was probably trying to send both of them a message. “You think he
knows you’re staying here with me?”

“My guess would be yes.”

“What are we gonna do? How are we gonna
stop him?”

“Don’t worry about that, just leave it to
me.” He tucked her head under his chin as he rubbed her shoulders. “This guy
may think he’s smarter than me, but trust me, he’s not. Eventually, he’s gonna
slip up, and when he does, I’ll be all over him.”

“Will you be able to trace that call?”

“Probably not, but I didn’t expect him to
make it that easy for me. He’s gonna make me work for it, no doubt about it.”

“I’m so glad you’re here.” Tori wrapped her
arms around his back. For the first time in a long time, she felt like she
needed someone, and she was so grateful she had him to shoulder some of this
burden. “I’m sorry about tonight.” She’d been feeling guilty all evening,
knowing if the situation had been reversed, it would have driven her to
distraction thinking about him with another woman. Whether she wanted to admit
it or not, her feelings for this man were getting stronger every day, and it
went beyond physical attraction. He made her feel safe and protected, but more
importantly, he made her feel cherished and… loved.

“You don’t owe me an apology. This is your
house. If you wanna invite some guy back here, you have every right.”

She’d never been one to run away from the
truth, and she knew it was time to own up to her feelings about him. “I didn’t
want to bring him back here because… I knew you’d be here.”

He pulled her into his lap so she was
straddling him, looking down into his eyes. “Tell me more.”

It wasn’t easy for her to let her guard
down, especially when he’d already broken her heart, but she knew she’d regret
it if she took the easy way out this time. “I was thinking about you all
night.”

Mike framed her face with his hands. “Me
too. Hell, I couldn’t stop thinkin’ about you.” His hands slipped inside the
neckline of her short silk robe, but she knew he was waiting for her consent
before he took it any further.

“I know we said we were gonna work at bein’
friends…” She tugged her bottom lip between her teeth. “I have a lot of
friends, but…” She’d never been the shy, reserved type, but she’d never had to
be the aggressor in a relationship before either. “I haven’t had a lover in
quite a while.”

“Is that what you want… for me to be your
lover?” He grabbed her chin between his thumb and forefinger when she tried to
look away. “I need you to tell me how you’re feelin’, baby. Not knowin’ is
killin’ me.”