The cops quickly surveyed him. “Do we have the right place?”
“Yeah, come on in.” Joe stepped back and held the door wide for them. He seemed as comfortable in his boxers now as he had been naked earlier. And somehow, despite his state of undress, his bruises and sleep-rumpled hair, he looked more imposing, more in charge, than the two policemen.
“I'm Officer Clark, and this is Officer Denter. There was a break-in?”
“That's right.” Joe sent Luna a searing look. “I almost had the bastard, too, but someone doesn't know when to stay the hell out of my way.”
Luna lifted her chin, insulted and further embarrassed with the way the cops examined her. “You're in no shape to play macho-man.”
One of the officers agreed. “She's right. You look like an elephant stomped on you.”
“But not just now,” the other officer said. “Those are older bruises?”
“Yeah, and I'm betting they're from the same asshole who visited tonight.” Very briefly, Joe filled them in.
Officer Denter crossed his arms over his chest. “So despite being bludgeoned nearly to deathâ”
“It looks worse than it is.”
“âyou still managed to fight this guy off tonight and send him running?”
Shrugging, Joe admitted, “I've been in the business. I know what I'm doing.” With little embellishment, he told the officers the variety of jobs he'd held.
To Luna's disgust, they each looked impressed and very respectful.
“So someone doesn't like you?”
“Lots of people dislike him.” Luna made a face. “At the moment, me included.”
Denter nodded at the bedding on the couch. “So I see.” Joe groaned, drawing Denter's notice back to him. “You okay?”
Limping to the couch, Joe carefully lowered himself to the soft cushionsâright where Luna had been sleeping. “With any luck, I'll live.”
The other cop approached him. “Do either of you need an ambulance?” He spoke to them both, but he was looking at Joe's colorful ribs.
“I'm fine,” Joe insisted. “He must have come in through the kitchen window. He didn't get a chance to take anything, and he left without saying a word.”
“So you think it was an attempted burglary?”
Joe shook his head. “No, I think he was here for an entirely different reason.”
“To finish you off?”
“Most likely.”
Luna shivered at the cavalier way Joe said that. “He wore a ski mask and black leather gloves, so you won't be turning up any prints. But I figured you'd want to know about it anyway.”
The cops shared a look. “You were right to call us, but . . .”
“Yeah, I know. Unless someone saw something, you've got nothing much to go on.”
“We'll check on witnesses,” Denter told him, then went in the direction of the kitchen. Officer Clark followed.
Luna used the moment to move to Joe's side. She dropped down next to him, which caused the couch to dip and Joe to groan. Shaking her head, she put her bed pillow over his lap to afford him a little modesty, whether he wanted it or not. “Look at you. A few minutes ago you were wrestling on the floor like a world champ, and now you can barely draw a breath.”
“A minute ago I was on an adrenaline high.” He tipped his head to the back of the couch and closed his eyes tiredly. “And I was worried he might hurt you. Pain became a secondary concern.”
He'd been worried about her? And why the heck did that matter? He'd still been an impossible, pushyâ“Really?”
With a grunt of humor, Joe said, “Don't sound so surprised, babe. Of course I don't want you hurt. And in the thick of things, the body just takes over.” Without changing positions, he looked at her through slanted eyes. His voice lowered to a rumble. “Anger, lust. They work about the same. You get a rush of endorphins, and it acts as a natural painkiller.”
“But now you're paying for it.”
He winced and touched his ribs. “Yeah.”
The cops reentered. “Looks like he did come in the window. With the way that dumpster is situated, it wouldn't have been too difficult to scale the wall and use the windowsill to hoist himself up.”
“That's what I figured,” Joe told them.
“So if you knew you had trouble, why was the kitchen window unlocked?”
“Are you sure it was?” Luna asked.
“Doesn't look like it was forced. I think he cut the screen and came right on in.”
Joe shrugged. “I keep them locked. Hell, it's ninety-five outside and I have air-conditioning, so I never open the windows. But one of the ladies might have opened it earlier.”
“Ladies?” The officers looked at Luna.
Infusing her voice with disgust, she waved her hand at Joe. “He has hoards of women.”
Officer Clark pulled out a notepad. His mouth went crooked as he pinched off a smile and tried to appear serious. “Ah . . . Would that include you, miss?”
“No.” Luna shook her head hard for emphasis, but Joe said at almost the same time, “Yeah.”
Crossing her arms beneath her breasts, Luna glared at him.
“No.”
Joe winked. “Give me a few more days.”
The men shared a conspiratorial glance and laughed. Officer Clark cleared his throat. “Was it a woman who clobbered you? Because I can tell you, I wouldn't be surprised.”
“That's exactly what I said.” Luna nodded in satisfaction.
Joe rolled his eyes. “Absurd. The women I know don't want me dead. You can trust me on this. Besides, he sat on me, so I know he was male, not female.” He slanted both officers a look. “Believe me, I can tell the difference.”
Officer Denter laughed. “Never underestimate a woman. They're clever in setting things up and using men to follow through.” Before Luna could find a suitable way to show her affront on behalf of all womankind, Denter started out of the room. “I'm going to check out the rest of your apartment.”
“Fine. Not that much to check, though. There's just the bedroom and bathroom.”
“He never made it out of the kitchen?”
“Nope. I was dozing, heard a noise and came to investigate. He'd just gotten to the kitchen door when I found him.”
“I think I'll look all the same. It's routine.” While Officer Denter walked off, Joe filed his report with Officer Clark. He told him about Bruno Caldwell, the man he suspected was behind his present ills. He shared his history with Caldwell and gave a generalized description, including height and portly weight, which matched the dimensions of their nighttime visitor. Luna realized that Joe couldn't be more specific because he hadn't seen the guy in a while. He said he didn't know of any distinguishing marks, other than a nasty temper and a very homely mug. He also relayed details of the attack days before, which was still quite visible on his body.
Getting more worried by the second, Luna stood by and listened. Bruno Caldwell sounded like a very bad character, and the fact that he'd hurt Joe once and probably wanted to do so again made her chest tight with anxiety. Maybe Joe was right; taking him with her would be as beneficial to him as it was to her.
Officer Clark closed his notebook. “Stocky, dark and mean describes half the guys we're after, but we'll keep an eye out for him.”
“And ugly. Seriously ugly.”
“Got it.” Clark chewed his upper lip in thought, then said, “I don't think we should rule out other possibilities, though.”
“Like women?” Luna wanted to know.
Being a diplomat, Clark shrugged. “Let's just say I'd be very careful if I was you, and no more open windows.”
“You don't have to worry about that,” Luna assured him. “I'm not letting any more women in until Joe is back up to speed.”
“Screw that,” Joe said, and pushed himself to his feet with a grunt of discomfort. “We won't be here, so it's a moot point.”
“Leaving town?” Denter raised a brow as he walked back in. “Other than an illegal knife on the nightstand, the rest of the place is clear.”
“The knife is mine,” Joe told him.
“You carry it on you?”
“Always.”
“You any good with it?”
“Very.”
“It
is
illegal, you know.”
“Yeah, I know.”
Denter looked at Clark, and they both shrugged. Luna assumed that meant they wouldn't call him on the knife. Then Denter said, “If you get caught with it, it'll be taken away from you.”
Joe nodded. “We were going to take off in a few days, but I'd rather get Luna someplace safe right away, so we'll be heading out before dawn.”
Luna's mouth fell open. “But, Joe, you can barely walk . . .”
He gave her a stony don't-argue-with-me look. “I can make it to my truck just fine. You can drive. And I can get Zane's ass up here to help us pack up.” He offered his hand to each officer. “We appreciate your help. If anything turns up, you can reach me on my cell phone.” Joe recited the number while Clark wrote it down.
“Sounds smart to me,” Denter said with a cagey glance at Luna, “if you really think the two incidents are related.”
Clark nodded. “I don't encourage overreacting, but if you'd planned a trip anyway . . .” And he, too, nodded at Luna. “It might as well be now, just to make sure everyone stays safe.”
“This is ridiculous.” Luna chased after the men as they all headed for the door in what she viewed as a condescending male fashion. Her sheet trailed behind her, wrapping around her feet and nearly tripping her up. “I can certainly take care of myself. Besides, no one is after
me
. It's Joe they want to hurt, and he's not up to traveling. He's not up to anything.”
Clark rubbed his upper lip to cover a grin. “Oh, I don't know that I'd say that.”
“He's up.” Denter didn't bother hiding his humor. “From what I saw, he'll survive.” He thwacked Joe on the shoulder. “But do take it easy and we'll let you know if we turn up anything.”
Once they were alone again, Luna fumed. “Damn you, Joe, this is not a game.”
He caught her by the back of the neck and stole another kiss. That, too, infuriated her. She'd just drawn breath to curse him when he said, “I'm not taking chances with you, Luna.” His big thumb rubbed her nape, warm and gentle. “I wouldn't be able to handle it if you ever got hurt.”
She went speechless as he limped past her to the kitchen phone. He sounded so inflexible, she threw up her hands in defeat.
He had the phone to his ear, waiting for an answer, when Luna pointed out the time. “You realize that it's two
A.M.
, right?”
Joe just shrugged, started to say something to her, then grinned. “Hey, Zane. What's up, cousin? It is? No shit, I didn't realize.” He winked at Luna as he gave that audacious lie. “So . . . You were in bed? Yeah? Well, get your sorry ass up because I need a favor.”
Luna could tell Joe thoroughly enjoyed himself. She turned on her heel and walked out of the kitchen. Her thoughts churned with a mingling of worry and anticipation and anxiety. She wanted to be with the kids. They needed her now not later. And she wanted Joe safely away from whoever intended him harm. But she couldn't bear the thought of causing him more pain, and at the same time, she found herself wanting to take care of him.
Stupid, stupid, stupid. Just because Joe wasn't the invincible macho jerk she'd always considered him to be didn't mean he'd suddenly become tame, ready for commitment and fidelity.
Just because he was worried about her didn't mean he wanted her to return the favor. From what she'd always known of Joe, the minute a woman got the notion to coddle him, he dumped her.
She'd have to keep that in mindâbefore she started to fall in love with the big guy. She would not be like Louise, bitter when she realized he wanted only sex. And she wouldn't be like Amelia, willing to accept half measure. The very idea was disturbing enough that she had to busy herself to block it from her mind.
By the time Joe found her some fifteen minutes later, Luna was dressed in black jeans and a silky purple tank top. Her earrings were fashioned from peacock feathers and silver hoops. She was at the bathroom sink brushing her teeth.
With a familiarity that had somehow formed in the last two hours, Joe slid his hand under her hair and curled his fingers warmly around her nape. “Zane will be here in a couple of hours. He's heading out now.”
Around her toothbrush and a mouthful of paste, Luna gave him the nastiest look she could manage. Joe still wasn't standing up straight, and dark circles made his blue eyes more mesmerizing than ever. He was physically beat, exhausted, and he needed time to recoup, not a long difficult drive. But he was a bulldozer once he'd made up his mind, and she just didn't know what might be best. She felt cornered and hated it.