Careless (7 page)

She could almost feel her blood boiling.
How dare he talk to her like she was some subservient hired to make his life
easier. “Listen, I don’t know who the hell you think you are, but I’m not gonna
kowtow to you or anyone else.
Understand
?”

“Really?” Mike leaned back in his chair and
folded his arms. “Then we’re gonna have a problem. Here’s the situation as I
see it... Somebody’s out to get you, and I have the training and resources at my
disposal to figure out who that is. Not to mention the weapons to protect you
should he decide to make a move. I’d say that puts me in a position to call the
shots, wouldn’t you?”

Tori hated that he acted so damn
self-righteous, but she couldn’t deny he was right. She didn’t want to admit
she needed him, but there was no doubt her life could be in danger if they
didn’t figure out who was behind the threats and why he was targeting her. She
crossed her arms and glared at him, barely suppressing the urge to reach across
the table and smack him upside the head. “What do you want from me?”

He smirked as his eyes passed over her
body. “Now that’s a loaded question if ever I’ve heard one.”

She cursed her traitorous body. Why did she
always have to react like a cat in heat whenever she was in the same room with
him? “Just keep your mind on the case and your eyes on that notebook, Coop.”

He smiled. “I’ve missed that.”

“What?”

“Your irritating nicknames for me, your
smart mouth...” He leaned forward. “I’ve missed you, if you wanna know the
truth. If you were tryin’ to piss me off with the silent treatment, it
worked.” 

“I wasn’t tryin’ to piss you off. I didn’t
care one way or the other.”

Mike laughed. “Darlin’, what’d I tell you
about lyin’ to a cop?”

While in the restaurant, it had taken
everything in Mike not to thrust his hands into her hair and kiss her like she
hadn’t been kissed in two long years. He only hoped he could resist the
temptation now they were finally alone.

Pulling into the driveway of her single-story
cedar and natural-stone home, he tried to deny he was impressed. Instead of
being palatial, as he’d expected, it was understated. It seemed to be an extension
of the trees surrounding it, as though the builder attempted to preserve as
much of the natural beauty as possible while invading the space to erect this
gem.

“You build this house?”

She smiled the first genuine smile he’d
seen all evening. “I did.” She glanced out at the man-made lake tucked in
behind the house. “I love it here.”

“I can see why.” His only issue with the
place was how secluded it was. She was probably sitting in the middle of a hundred
acres, which would make her an easy target for a stalker. “You bring any men
here in the past couple of years?”

“No, I just finished the place last year.”
She unbuckled her seatbelt. “And since then I’ve been too busy for anything
serious.”

He couldn’t help but ask. “And before that?
When was your last serious relationship?”

“It’s been a while.” She pulled her keys
out of her purse. “Do you wanna wait here while I get those letters for you?”

“Is that your not-so-subtle way of telling
me you’d rather I not come in?”

“Suit yourself.” She reached for the door
handle. “You’re welcome to come in... if you like.”

He didn’t know if he should. Being alone
with her might prompt him to say things better left unsaid and do things he had
no business doing with her again. Still, he reached for his door handle and
followed her through the side entrance.

“This place is great,” he said, admiring
the natural plank hardwood floors, slate tile, high ceilings, and floor-to-ceiling
windows. It was natural, earthy, and beautiful. Just like her.

“Thanks.” She jumped back, pressing her
back into his chest.

“What’s wrong?” he whispered, reaching for
the gun strapped to his waist.

“I didn’t leave that door open,” she said,
pointing to a French door leading from the kitchen to a stone patio beyond.
“And the alarm... It wasn’t on when we came in, was it?”

Mike tried to remember if he’d seen her
deactivate the alarm, but he’d been so enthralled with the sight of her very
fine backside in the tight denim dress, he hadn’t even noticed. He wrapped his
arm around her waist and brushed her ear with his mouth. “Listen to me, don’t
say a word,” he whispered. “I need to check things out... in case he’s still
here.”

Her eyes were wide and frantic when she
nodded her assent.

“It’s gonna be okay, baby,” he whispered,
sensing she needed his reassurance. “I’m not gonna let anything happen to you.”

She turned into his arms and pressed her
face into his chest. “I can’t believe he was here,” she whispered, “in my
home.”

Mike wrapped one arm around her as he drew
his weapon with the other hand. He knew he shouldn’t be standing here coddling
her. He had a job to do, but he couldn’t seem to tear himself away.
“Sweetheart, I need to make sure the house is secure.” He brushed the top of
her head with his lips. He’d never seen her look so scared or vulnerable. Her
reaction made his protective instincts kick into overdrive. “Are you gonna be
okay while I check things out?”

She looked up at him, her eyes shining with
un-shed tears. “You’re not gonna leave me, are you?”

“No, I’m not gonna leave you. I just need
you to stay put, so I can make sure it’s clear, okay?”

“Please, let me come with you.” She pressed
her fist against her lips as she stepped out of his arms. “I don’t wanna stay
here by myself.”

“Okay, but I need you to stay behind me,
and keep lookin’ over your shoulder, okay?”

“I will.”

His directive went against his instinct to
keep her out of harm’s way, but he could understand how unnerving it must be
for her to find out an intruder had invaded her personal sanctuary.

His training kicked in and he managed to
push her presence to the back of his mind as he moved through the house,
checking doors, windows, closets, under beds, and in hidden crevices. Once he
was satisfied they were alone, he lowered his weapon and pulled her into his
arms.

Tori started sobbing into his chest. “Oh
God, what if I’d been here? Mike, what if he comes back?”

“He won’t. And if he does, I’ll make him
sorry he did.”

She tipped her head back to look him in the
eye. “What do you mean?”

“You really think I’m gonna leave you here
alone, knowing there’s someone out to get you?” He cursed softly. “I can’t
believe Luc hasn’t had a bodyguard trailin’ you. He knows damn well this—”

She pressed her fingertips against his
lips. “Don’t blame Luc. He wanted to ramp up security, but I refused. I didn’t
think it would go any further than the letters. I never thought he’d come
here.” She looked around the open kitchen. “God, how am I ever gonna feel safe
here again?”

“You will, I’ll make sure of it.”

“I can’t ask you to stay here. That’s
crazy.”

“No, crazy would be lettin’ you stay here
by yourself.” He took a step back as he looked into her eyes. “We can stay
here, or you can come back to my place. Personally, I’d rather we stay here.”

“Why?”

“If he comes back, he’s not gonna be
expectin’ me. Believe me, catchin’ him off guard is our best strategy.”

Her eyes landed on his revolver. “I don’t
want anyone to get hurt.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t want
you
to get
hurt. That’s all that matters to me right now.” He was willing to protect her
at all costs, and if meant someone else had to get hurt in the process, he
could live with that.

“If you hadn’t been here...”

“Sssh.” He pulled her into his arms. More
than anything, he wanted to kiss her, hold her, take her to bed, and make her
forget her life was in danger. “It’s gonna be okay, sweetheart.”

“I didn’t want you on this case,” she whispered.
“I practically begged Luc to find someone else, but if he hadn’t pushed the
issue, you wouldn’t be here right now.” She looked up at him. “And I’m so glad
you are.”

His gut clenched when he heard the tremble
in her voice. She was still terrified, rightly so. “Okay, we need to do a walk
through the house, figure out if anything’s missing or out of place. Maybe he
left a clue behind. Guys like this often do. They’re usually inexperienced.”

“What kind of clue?” She slipped her hand
into his when he turned into the great room.

“It depends on what kind of message he’s
tryin’ to send you. Stalkers’ motives can vary from revenge to jealousy to...”
He didn’t even want to think about all of the possibilities. He’d worked half a
dozen stalking cases in his career, and Tori was right, they usually weren’t
considered high priority until the suspect took their depravity to the next
level.

“Go on.”

“He may think of you as his. Because
you...” God, he couldn’t even get the words out. “
Made love,
he may
think he has some kind of claim on you.”

“We didn’t make love. We had sex.”

“How do you know that? You don’t even know
who we’re dealin’ with.”

She held his hand tighter. “Trust me; I
know we didn’t make love.”

Mike knew her assurance shouldn’t please
him. He was letting his personal feelings influence his professional
objectivity, something he never did, but the thought of her loving someone
else, sharing her body with someone else made him crazy.

“Tell me if you see anything that doesn’t
look right, okay? I wanna call this in, get a team out here to dust for prints
and collect evidence, but I just need to know what we’re dealin’ with before we
do.”

She pointed to a small roll top desk in the
corner of the great room. “What’s that?”

There was a sheet of paper propped up
against her open laptop.

“He could have hacked your computer.
Anything on there we need to worry about?”

She bit her bottom lip. “It’s password
protected.” She shrugged. “But I don’t know if that’d be enough to keep him
out.”

“Depends who we’re dealin’ with. I’ll have
someone check it out.” Mike was able to read the letter without touching it.

My Beautiful Tori,

I’m so sorry I missed you. I was hoping we
could spend some quality time together, just the two of us. It would be just
like old times, when we used to make love until the sun came up. I miss those
days. I miss you. I never should have let you go. It was the biggest mistake I
ever made. But don’t worry; it’s a mistake I intend to rectify. We will be
together again soon, my love. I promise. Until then, I’ll be thinking about you
every minute…

Tori slipped into Mike’s arms, burying her
head against his chest. “God, why is he doing this to me?”

Mike had some idea what motivated this guy.
His own thoughts of Tori had bordered on obsessive a time or two. She was a
hard woman to forget. If not for his stubborn pride, he would’ve been beating
her door down trying to get her back into bed too.

Obviously this guy wasn’t firing on all
cylinders, and Mike hated him for what he was doing to Tori, but he couldn’t
help but feel an ounce of pity for the guy. He knew what it felt like to have
Tori in his bed and then to turn on his TV and see her in the arms of another
man. It was the kind of thing that could drive a sane man crazy.

“Let me call the station. We need to get
someone out here.” He punched the button on his phone and relayed the
information to the dispatcher before disconnecting the call. “Let’s go wait in
my truck. I don’t wanna risk compromising the scene, in case they’re able to
lift prints or DNA.”

Tori was quiet as she followed him outside.
Once they were in the cab of his truck, she buried her face in her hands. “What
the hell am I gonna do? I don’t feel safe anywhere anymore, not even my own
home. God, I can’t go on like this, Mike. It’s makin’ me crazy.”

He pulled her into his arms as he told
himself he was doing what he would for any victim, reassuring her, trying to
make her feel secure, but he’d never held another victim in his arms while she
cried on his shoulder. “It’s gonna be okay. Trust me, I’m not gonna rest until
I see this guy behind bars.”

She tipped her head back to look at him. “I
know. I believe you.”

Her faith in him made him feel like he
could face any challenge. He was confident in his ability as a cop, but Tori
made him feel invincible. “Sweetheart…” He stroked her face as he struggled to
look away. He tried to resist the lure of her moist, full lips, but the memory
of her intoxicating flavor trapped him and refused to let go until he gave in
to temptation. 

“Kiss me,” she whispered, closing her eyes.
“Please.”

There was no way he could have resisted her
plea, especially when he needed her as much, maybe more, than she needed him.
The second he probed her mouth with his tongue, he was lost. Nothing else
mattered. Not where they were, the trials they were facing, or the lovers who’d
come before or since. She was his again.