Careless (18 page)

“I’m afraid not. Luc’s put someone on it
full-time; hopefully that’ll help.”

“Yeah, Mike Cooper, right? I never worked
with him, but we’ve met him a few times. Seems like a decent guy.”

Tori knew Joe had retired from law
enforcement ten years ago, and he’d been working security ever since. “He is.”

“So, what’s the plan for today? You gonna
be stuck in rehearsals all day?”

“More or less. If you wanna slip out for a
while, there will be plenty of people there to keep an eye on me. No worries.”

“I was just thinkin’ maybe we could grab
some lunch, if you have time for a break.”

It wasn’t uncommon for them to grab a bite
to eat together when she had some down time. “Yeah maybe, let’s see how the day
goes, okay?”

He smiled. “You got it.”

Mike beat Tori to the studio. He hated
waking up in his cold, empty bed wondering whether she’d been missing him as
much as he missed her.

“Hey, buddy,” Ty McCall said, extending his
hand. “I heard Luc recruited you. How’s it goin’?”

“Not bad.” He’d been trained not to talk
about ongoing investigations, and even though the city wasn’t picking up the
bill this time and he considered Ty a friend, some habits died hard. “It’s
still too early to tell.” Mike looked around. “Is Tori here yet? I need to see
her before y’all get started.”

He needed to kiss her… hold her. Leaving
her standing in his mother’s foyer last night without taking the kiss he’d so
desperately wanted left him irritable and frustrated. He was getting tired of
Tori letting some guy who was clearly out of touch with reality dictate when
and if he could touch her.

“No, but she should be here soon. Luc said
he sent Joe to pick her up.” Ty glanced at his watch. “Huh, that was an hour
ago. She should be here by now.”

He’d stared down the barrel of a gun, had a
bullet graze his shoulder, been involved in a high-speed chase a time or two,
but nothing got his heart pounding faster than learning the woman he loved
wasn’t where she was supposed to be. Especially when he knew there was someone
out to get her. Just as he was about to launch into full-on cop mode, she
sauntered through the door looking like she didn’t have a care in the world.
Damn her.

She stopped in mid-step when she saw him.
“Hey, I wasn’t expectin’ to see you until tonight, Lieutenant.”

Her paid goon was standing behind her
looking at Mike like he was the gum he’d just scraped off his shoe.

“Do you mind?” Mike said. “I need to have a
word with the lady… in private.”

Joe folded his arms across his chest and
planted his feet firmly in place. “No can do, man. The boss gave me strict
orders not to leave her side all day.”

Mike took a step closer. His patience was
wearing thin. Another sleepless night coupled with his concern about Tori was
driving him over the edge. “Those orders came from me, so when I tell you I
want time with her,
I expect you to back the hell off.”

“Is that so?” Joe took a step forward,
effectively sandwiching Tori between them. “Well, I don’t take orders from you
,
Lieutenant.”

“I’m gonna wipe the smug smirk right off
your face, you—”

Tori pressed her hands into Mike’s chest,
trying to force him to take a step back. “Stop! What’s gotten into you this
mornin’?”

“What’s gotten into me?” he asked, glaring
down at her. “Where the hell have you been for the past hour?”

“Joe and I stopped for a coffee. Trey
texted me and said he was runnin’ a bit late and we were plannin’ to start with
our duet this mornin’.” She reached up to stroke his face. “I’m sorry if I
worried you.”

“I need to talk to you, now.” He reached
for her hand and practically dragged her into the nearest empty office. He
slammed the door and backed her against it before thrusting his hands into her
hair. “Don’t ever do that to me again. You made me crazy wonderin’ where the
hell you were.”

She smiled as she tipped her head back to
look at him. “Awww, that’s sweet. You were worried about me.”

“Worried? Damn it, Tori, there’s some guy
breakin’ into your house, writin’ you twisted letters, takin’ pictures of you
havin’ sex…” He forced himself to take a much-needed breath. “How am I supposed
to react when I don’t know where the hell you are?”

Tori slipped her arms around his waist.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t even know you’d be here.” She frowned. “Hey, why are you
here?”

“Because I couldn’t start my day without
doin’ this.” His mouth came down on hers fast and hard. He intended to remind
her of what she’d missed out on when she denied him last night. It went on and
on and yet, he still wasn’t ready for it to end. “God, I needed that.”

“I know,” she whispered, running her hands
up his back, under his T-shirt. “Me too. I couldn’t stop thinkin’ about you
last night.”

“Me neither.” He kissed her softly,
tenderly, as he drew her closer. “But you need your sleep. You’ve got a brutal
few months comin’ up, and I don’t want you to get run down.” He brushed his
thumb across her lower lip and smiled when her eyes drifted closed and her body
swayed even closer to his. “If you refuse to take care of yourself, I’m gonna
have to do it for you.”

Her eyes opened slowly as she tipped her
head to one side. “I think I might like havin’ you look after me.”

He knew Tori too well to think she’d made
that comment in jest. She’d told him countless times over the years that she
didn’t need a man to take care of her; she could take care of herself. He bit
his tongue to prevent those words from slipping past his lips again. He’d
managed to make it through his entire life without professing his love to a
woman, yet now, he couldn’t seem to help himself.

“I told your mom about us. I hope you don’t
mind?”

Mind? Was she serious? He’d gladly tell
anyone who’d listen that she was
his
. “Why would I mind?”

“I know you don’t like to get her hopes up
when it comes to you and relationships.”

“There’s never been reason to get her hopes
up before.” He kissed her before smiling. “There is now.”

Before she could respond, someone pounded
on the door at her back. “Tori, Trey’s here. He says he’s ready to get started
when you are.”

Joe.
That guy was really starting to get on Mike’s nerves.

“Thanks, Joe. Tell him I’ll be out in just
a minute.” She wrapped her arms around Mike’s neck and pulled him down for one
more kiss. “I have to get out there. I’ll see you tonight?”

For the first time in his life, he’d be
counting the hours until a date. “Can’t come soon enough. You want me to pick
you up?”

“No, I think it would be best if I just
went with your mom and Derek.”

“Fine, but if you expect me to keep my
hands off you tonight, I won’t.”

She grinned. “It’s my hands you should be
worried about, Lieutenant.”  

Tori was still riding a high as she watched
Mike slip out the door. She had no reason to be this happy. There was a madman
out to get her, she couldn’t stay in her own home, she was facing the prospect
of months on a crowded, noisy tour bus or stowed away in one hotel room after
another, yet knowing Mike would be by her side to help her get through it
reassured her.

She’d never felt like this before. Happy,
giddy,
in love.
There was no other explanation for the way she was
feeling. This had to be love.

Trey came up behind her, wrapping his arm
around her neck as he drew her into his side. “What’s this I hear about some
loser givin’ you a hard time, sugar?”

Trey was like any one of her brothers: big,
tough, mean, and overprotective. It was a miracle she’d dated at all in high
school.

She patted his chest as she smiled up at
him. “Relax, Mike’s on it.”

“Yeah, Luc and Josh told me. I’m glad to
hear it. He’s a good man, and a hell of a good cop.” Trey smiled. “But I don’t
have to tell you that, now do I?”

Talking to Trey about her love life was
like talking to one of her brothers about it. Awkward. “Don’t you start givin’
me a hard time about him.”

“I wouldn’t think of it. I knew it was only
a matter of time before you guys got your act together.”

She slipped her arm around Trey’s waist as
they walked toward the stage. “What makes you say that?”

“Honey, anyone can see you guys have been
fightin’ this thing between you for four long years. Y’all had to give into it
sooner or later.”

“How did you know—?”

Trey threw his head back and laughed.
“Everyone who’s ever been in the same room with you two knows.”

“Seriously?”

“I’m tellin’ ya, some of the looks you two
fire back and forth could burn the buildin’ down.”

Heat flooded Tori’s cheeks. She thought
Ashley was attuned to what was going on between them because she was his
mother. She had no idea that everyone in their inner circle knew she had a
thing for the gorgeous lieutenant. “I can’t believe you didn’t say anything
about this before.”

“I was afraid you’d bite my head off.
You’ve always been so defensive where he’s concerned.”

Not always. Just for the past two years.
“Well, I don’t want y’all to assume that we’re a couple. We’re not. We’re just
gettin’ to know each other, tryin’ to figure out whether this is somethin’ we
may want to pursue.”

Trey sat on the edge of the stage and
looked her in the eye. “Why’re you still runnin’ scared?”

“What’re you talkin’ about? You know me,
I’m no coward.”

“I wouldn’t have pegged you for one, but now
I have to wonder.”

Trey’s opinion was important to her, not
just as a mentor, but as a close friend. She crossed her arms. “What’s that
supposed to mean?”

He rubbed his hands up and down her arms,
obviously trying to soften the blow of his harsh words. “Listen to me, I know
it’s not easy to put yourself out there. It can be scary as hell, but if you
don’t take a risk, you’re never gonna reap the reward. You know that, same goes
for music. You put yourself out there knowin’ people might hate you or they
might love you.” He smiled. “It’s the same with Mike. He might love you, or he
might break your heart, but if you’re not willin’ to put yourself out there,
you’ll never know.”

Tori was reluctant to take advice from a
man who was married to his soul mate. What did he know about heartbreak? “Are
you spewin’ this stuff just to hear the sound of your own sweet voice or have
you been there?”

Trey threw his head back and laughed.
“Trust me, I’ve been where you are, sweetheart. You’re probably too young to
remember this, but Sierra and I went through a pretty messy divorce quite a few
years back.”

“Really?” They’d known each other four
years, and no one, including Trey, had ever told her the couple divorced. “What
happened?” His eyes darkened with sadness, something she rarely saw in him. She
touched his arm. “I’m sorry I asked. You don’t have to talk about it if you
don’t want to.”

“It’s okay, I don’t mind talkin’ about it.
It reminds me how lucky we are.” He drew a deep breath. “Sierra and I met back
in college.” He grinned. “I still thought I was gonna be a big-shot football
player back then, but obviously it wasn’t in the cards. Music was, and Sierra
helped me figure that out. She stood by my side through it all and I repaid her
by leavin’ her alone during the toughest time of our lives. I still hate myself
when I think about it.”

“But you guys are one of the happiest
couples I know.”

“We are now, but we went through hell to
get where we are.” He tugged on the end of Tori’s hair and grinned. “Some of us
need a good kick in the ass from someone who loves us before we realize everything
we’ve ever wanted is right there for the takin’, but we need to have the
courage to reach out and grab it.”

“Is that how you and Sierra found your way
back to each other?”

“Yeah, my sister could see bein’ apart was
makin’ us both miserable and she decided to step in and do somethin’ about it.”
Trey looked serious when he said, “I owe her my life. I was drinkin’ myself
into an early grave, just tryin’ to deal with the mess I’d made of my life.
Don’t make the same mistake I did, sugar. Don’t let the right man get away just
’cause you’re afraid you might get hurt.”

Tori moved to his side and hoisted herself
up on the stage to sit beside him. She swung her legs, feeling as carefree as
she did when she was a little girl and her daddy used to push her on the old
tire swung. Her future was finally starting to come into focus and she liked
what she saw. A lot. “How can you be so sure he’s the right man for me?”

“I’ve seen you with quite a few men over
the years, but there’s always been somethin’ special between you and Mike.”
Trey put his arm around her. “The look I saw in your eyes just now, when you
were watchin’ him leave…” He laughed. “You thought no one was lookin’, but I
was, and I saw somethin’ I’d never seen before.”