Authors: Jennifer Conner
Chapter 7
Luci hummed a tune from her current favorite Brit Pop band as she ran cool water over the pasta. Shaking it to drain, she doused on olive oil, ensuring the pasta wouldn’t stick together.
Cranking the water off, her heart stopped. Dev was outside? From the raised and angry tone in his voice, he was mad as hell.
Moving to the living room Luci peeled back the sheer curtain, and looked out the small front door window. Her brother was sprawled on the ground and Devan was pointing a gun at him.
Gasping, Luci threw open the door, tumbling up the stairs. “Jon! What are you doing?” she cried.
“What am
I
doing?” Jon rolled over and sat with his back against the steel stairwell railing, exposing grass stains on his knees. His eyes flipped to hers but quickly returned to watch Devan lower his gun. “Since when do you have a guard dog?”
“Since your sister was robbed last night by knife point,” Devan said in a tone hard as steel. He bent and handed Jon his wallet. Dev offered his hand, but Jon shook it off and quickly stood on his own.
“You were robbed? Where? The espresso bar?” Jon turned to her. “Why didn’t you call me?
Dammit
, Luci!” Anger swam through his eyes. “I would have come home early.”
“It was a long night. I didn’t get back here until after eleven. I went to the ER and had a few stitches put in my head.”
“You had to go to the hospital?” He stepped toward her. She pulled her hair to the side and tipped her head for him to inspect the damage to her scalp. Shaking his head he stepped back. “You always have to do everything on your own, don’t you?”
“It’s not that. You know I don’t have a cell phone. When I got back here, it was late. This morning I went to the police station with Detective Burke to make a follow-up report. I knew you were on your way home later this afternoon. So, there was no point in worrying you over nothing,” Luci said, trying to make him understand. Wiping her still damp hands on the front of her dress she straightened the floral material.
“I told you working in that place wasn’t safe.” Jon’s blue eyes were dark with concern.
“You still haven’t told me what you were doing,” Dev interjected.
Luci threw her hands up toward her brother. “We’ve been over this a thousand times. It’s the only place I can find that works around my school schedule. It’s not because of the atmosphere, or the pay!”
“What were you doing sneaking around, trying to look in your sister’s apartment?” Devan asked suspiciously, as he stuck his gun in a holster at his side.
“She lives in a damn basement. I wasn’t sneaking, I was looking in the window to see if she was home.”
“Knocking on the door works for most people,” Devan commented. His dark brows pulled lower in a scowl. Taking a step back he leaned his weight on the stair railing, crossed his arms over his chest, and looked out over the yard.
“Why is this guy here?” Jon asked, attempting an alpha-male stance.
Luci squared her shoulders, and sighed. “Listen, I appreciate you coming tonight. And we’ll get together like I promised for brunch tomorrow at the Griddle House, but now, go home.”
Jon looked hurt. “Why, you got a hot date?”
“I’m a big girl, Jon. I make my own decisions regarding whom I see. I want to thank Detective Burke for taking me to the hospital last night and then bringing me home. It’s just a thank-you dinner.”
Jon scuffed his foot in the gravel. “You can’t tell me you were robbed, and not expect me to worry.”
Luci leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek, brushing a mop of blond hair off his forehead. “I love you too. It’s okay to worry. As you know, Detective Burke carries a gun. I’m in safe hands tonight. I’ll see you in the morning.”
Jon hugged her tightly. “You be careful sis.” He shot Devan a cold look before disappearing around the edge of the house.
Luci laughed and blew out a puff of air to ruffle her bangs. “Is it too much to ask for one evening of peace and quiet?”
“I’ve been asking for that for years.” Devan smiled and cocked his head. “No one seems to be listening. I didn’t mean to scare your brother. I thought… well, I saw him looking in your window and thought he was a pervert.”
“My brother’s many things, but I don’t think he’s a pervert. He always peeks in my kitchen window to see if I’m home and then bangs on the window. I love the guy, but sometimes he acts his age. He’s only twenty-one and takes steps before he thinks. He also thinks he needs to protect me.”
“I see that.”
They watched Jon plod back to his Honda and race into the night on a squeal of rubber.
She leaned on the bricks at the corner of the house. “Maybe we could start this evening over. Go back to your car, and come back. You know, without the taking-my-brother-out-and-pointing-a-gun-at-him part.”
Devan nodded and turned, heading back to his car. The click of his cane on the stone walkway echoed in the warm night air. Luci watched him favor his right leg, putting all his weight to rest there. His hips were completely out of alignment. She’d take him to a friend who was a chiropractor tomorrow if he’d let her.
Her attempt to look at Devan only through professional eyes was wavering. Even with his sideways gait, behind the grey wool trousers, he had one great ass.
Struggling with the heavy weight of the car’s door he bent, dipped inside, straightened, and then slammed the door.
Luci’s gaze trailed over him as he came toward her. Tonight he was wearing a dress shirt and looked very sexy.
“I’ve never seen you in anything other than a t-shirt and jeans,” she commented, looking him over.
“I change at my locker before leaving the station. I have to wear business attire every day at work. It’s required for detectives. I thought I’d clean-up tonight.”
Luci wasn’t complaining. The pale blue of the shirt reflected the dark tan of his skin, letting a few dark chest hairs peek through at the neck.
Why was she having giddy anticipation over a date with a man she’d just met? But, she hadn’t just met Devan; she’d known him for months.
During the minutes they spent together every night she’d learned he was a sweet guy… underneath all that cocky bravado he wanted her to believe.
At the stand, they talked politics, world events, and history. There was no grass growing under this man. He liked to keep up on what was going on around him in the city and in the world. So did she, and she always appreciated having his ear and open mind to listen to her opinions.
“I brought flowers, a bottle of wine, and organic juice. I know this isn’t a date, so I don’t know why the flowers. You said you don’t drink… so here’s the juice,” he said, stiffly handing over the grocery bag to her waiting arms.
Devan was adorable when he dropped that hard-around-the- edges side.
He brought me organic juice?
How cute is that
?
“The flowers are beautiful. Did you buy them at the Farmer’s Market?” Luci asked, running a hand over the day lilies beginning to open. The white and lavender streaked spears tickled her palm. Sniffing the bouquet, she liked the fact it smelled fresh and not dripping with heavy fragrance.
“No, just the grocery store. Nothing fancy.”
Looking up, she smiled. “Thanks. Why don’t we go inside? The pasta’s probably cold by now. I’ll have to reheat it.”
The click of his cane on stone echoed in the night air as he followed her down the stairs. “I live on peanut butter crackers half the time,” he commented. “Anything that’s homemade will be a real treat. My stomach and my mom will thank you.”
Before all hell broke loose with Jon and Devan, she’d lit taper candles on the dining room table. When they entered the living room, Luci reached to turn the lights back on, but decided to keep the lighting low. The candlelight went with the ‘
Italian dinner mood’
she’d wanted to set for the evening in her small apartment.
“Why don’t you open it?” Luci motioned toward the grocery bag with her head.
“Do you want the juice, or the wine?”
“Let’s save the juice. Last night, when I said I didn’t drink, I meant I didn’t drink
whiskey
. Wine’s great.”
“Whiskey’s made with natural ingredients,” Devan added, taking the corkscrew from her grasp that she’d fished from the bottom drawer.
She nodded. “You’re right. Why draw a line in the sand? It’s like when they ask you at the doctor’s office ‘
do you consume alcohol
?’ I always want to ask, a fifth a day, or once a month? There’s no right answer.”
“Like when women ask, ‘
does this dress make me look fat
?’” Devan grinned wiggling his hips in a feminine gesture. His genuine smile warmed his dark eyes to a lighter shade of brown. He hooked his thumbs in the back pockets of his pants.
Luci leaned toward him, raised her lashes and batting them dramatically. “I’ll tell you a little secret. That’s when the man says, ‘
you’re beautiful, honey, in anything you wear
’ and then kisses the woman’s socks off. She’ll forget about the question she just asked or why she was baiting him into the possible argument in the first place.”
Devan moved in closer. His gaze raked slowly down her body and came to rest on her bare feet. “You’re not wearing socks. In fact you’re not even wearing shoes, so there’s nothing to kiss off. But, you do look beautiful. You always look beautiful.”
For a long moment he studied what she knew was a look of surprise on her face, before dipping his head and capturing her mouth with his.
Running a hand though her hair he cupped the back of her head, angling it to deepen the kiss. He tasted spicy and hot. His tongue entwined to meet hers, a deliberate move she was sure he’d created to steal the breath from her lungs.
There was no doubt he knew his way around a woman, and that was a little intimidating. Luci could count the sexual experiences she’d had with men on the ten digits of her fingers.
Breaking the kiss, Devan pulled back enough to make eye contact. A slight smile played at the corners of his fine lips. “Maybe it’s something about this kitchen. When I’m here I always want to kiss you, and I seem to be making a habit out of it.”
Luci’s voice cracked as she tried to speak. “We could make a habit of it in other places… like the bedroom?”
He cocked a brow, making her heart flutter. “Let’s wait until after dinner.” His eyes darkened with the sensual glitter of promise.
“So you’re telling me if we have sex, it’ll be based on my cooking abilities? Because that’s a lot of pressure to put on a girl. I never said I was Rachel Ray. It’s only spaghetti!”
Devan gave a sexy chuckle, as he brushed his fingers through Luci’s hair. Taking nips at her neck, he kissed a trail back to her mouth before sealing his lips to hers again. Luci let out a whimper and her knees weakened from his supercharged kiss.
Blood pulsed through her veins as the need to feel him shot to her core making her wet with desire. Arching on her bare toes, she pressed against him, wanting to climb inside his big warm body. The press of his cock was evident against the loose fitting fabric of his dress pants.
The flick of his tongue and the feel of his mouth on hers were more than perfect. They fit so perfectly, how could that be?
His breathing was ragged as he stepped back. “This wasn’t even a date. Sorry, I over-stepped my bounds again.”
Luci tipped a smile. “I never said it
wasn’t
a date. I just said bring bread…” she grinned and peered inside the grocery bag, “which I see you forgot.”
“Shit.” Devan slapped his forehead, chastising himself. The tips of his ears turned light pink from embarrassment.
“You should have let me write you a sticky note. Writing little notes is the only way I can keep myself organized. But I’ll forgive you this once… since you brought flowers and wine. You can bring bread
next
time.”
Luci hoped this wouldn’t turn out to be just one evening. She was really starting to like Devan. And there was still so much she wanted to know about her mystery man.
Twisting the opener into the cork, he pulled it free from the bottle and poured two glasses of red wine. Handing her a glass he said, “I spoke to the bank’s fraud department investigators. There was a thousand dollars of activity on your account today. They’ll notify me if there’s any additional activity.”
Her eyes widened. “I called the bank and put a stop on the account. They never said that it had been used.”
“Whoever had your card seemed to know what they’re doing. It was mainly small sales. Ten dollars here, fifty dollars there.”
“How could they use my card when they didn’t have my account’s pin number?”
Devan took a sip of wine and tipped the glass in her direction to make his point. “That’s where there’s a flaw in the system. If the person running the identity scam puts it through as credit they usually won’t be asked to supply the pin.”
Luci concentrated on tossing the pasta. “I don’t have a thousand dollars.” She shook her head.
“As long as you report the card stolen, most banks take the loss.” Devan smoothed the front of his shirt with his hand and leaned back crossing his arms.
“It was a man who stole my purse. How could he pass as a ‘
Luci
’.” She divided the sauce on to the pasta and grated fresh parmesan on the top of the steaming dish.
Taking his cane he took one plate and moved to the dining table. “Employers don’t take the time to train their people to request to see ID, and they should do it with every transaction. Half the time they haven’t even looked at the name on the card. How many times have you been asked for ID when you buy something?”
“Not enough.” Luci followed him with her plate and the salad bowl. “You’re right about that.”
He waited for her to sit then slid into the chair across from her. “Today, there were online purchases with your card. It will give me something else to track.” He took her hand and squeezed it. “I’ll do everything I can to catch him. I started comparing the crimes for the same M.O. It looks like it could be tied in with the others, though it’s early to tell. In the other robberies the man always wore a mask, and the crimes were from the drive-thru windows.”
“Last night,” she hated thinking about it again. “He wasn’t wearing a mask.”
“Which leads me to believe it was either a different man, or he’s become blatant and more daring.”
“Which makes him dangerous.”
“Yes… dangerous.” His brown eyes grew concerned. “I need to find him.”
“I’m not worried.” Luci leaned forward on her forearms. “You’ll catch him.”