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  Once inside, an older officer named Andrews was assigned to her case. He sat her down and started working on the report.

  “I’ll be right back,” I told her. I dug my hands in my pocket and started to walk off. Shit!

  I felt the necklace with the hidden camera in my pocket. She wasn’t wearing it when they took her. I would have felt a ton better if she had been. “Oh, here. You forget this, and just in case anything else happens, I want you to wear this anytime you aren’t with me okay?”

  “Good idea,” she said kind of enthusiastically. She still seemed off. I was so ready to take her home and make her better. Happier. I left her with the officer to talk to the chief.

  “Take care, King.” Police Chief Andrews gave me a shoulder smack after we talked. I briefed him on what we were doing. Andi being undercover, the reason why she was taken.

  “Andi!”

  I heard a male voice yelling in the main offices. I rushed out the door only to stop and pull back into the chief’s office.

  Gavin was rushing through the sea of desks toward Andi.

  She stood up and faced him. Confusion laced her voice. “Gavin?”

  Once he got to her, his arms enveloped her against him. My blood boiled at the sight. Her body tensed against him. His face showed no expression that he noticed.

  “Jesus, Andi. I came as soon as I heard where you were. Christ, you must be a wreck.” He ran his fingers through his hair. True concern was etched in his features. I saw a little guilt in there too. This happened to her because of him.

  “You’re a strong man, King,” the chief said behind me.

  I didn’t say anything and just kept watching Gavin and Andi. I knew I was strong. It was taking everything I had not to steal her away from this.

  “Are you all done?” Gavin asked her. She looked at Andrews and he nodded.

  “If there is anything else we need, I’ll give you a call,” he told her.

  “Let me take you out of here. I’ll make sure you’re taken care of.”

  My already boiling blood turned to lava. That was my job. Not his. FUCK!

  She wrapped her arms around him, turning her face directly toward mine. She gave me a questioning look, wondering if she should go or not. As much as it killed me, I mouthed for her to go. This could be a big break for us. There would be no way for Gavin to deny who he was now. Maybe this could all be over tonight. She nodded, but still kept eye contact with me. With a sad smile she turned toward Gavin and agreed to go with him. I watched as he tucked my Andi into his side and they walked out of the building.

  My hands clenched; the rage barely contained inside me was just begging to be released.

  “Hard journey you have ahead of you, for both of you. But what I see in your eyes and hers when you look at each other—it’ll all be worth it,” the chief said behind me.

  I turned around and saw him looking at me with a sad smile. I was going to get that a lot in the future; I knew I would.

  “I’ll keep you briefed,” I told him, and walked out.

  I pulled out my phone and called Rex. “Turn the necklace on. She’s with Skeller.”

  CHAPTER 25

  Andi

  “Thanks for taking me home,” I told Gavin.

  He had been pretty quiet on the ride to my house. I didn’t know what was going to happen when we got to my house. I was a mess, and I just wanted to curl up next to Ryder. But I still had a mission. I tried to focus on that.

  “Anything, Andi. I’m just glad you’re okay,” he told me. His voice didn’t have the same sweetness it’d had with me before. It wasn’t hard, just not sweet.

  We pulled up to my house in a comfortable silence. He got out of the car and opened the door for me. His hand held me steady as I stepped out of the car; he intertwined our fingers together. I didn’t like it, but I held his hand.

  I opened the door and expected my boys to surround me. They didn’t. They must still be at Ryder’s house. I let out a breath, happy that they were being taken care of.

  “No dogs?” he asked.

  I just shook my head at him. “My friend is watching them for me. I called her when Ryder rescued me, and I asked her to watch my boys.”

  I walked to my fridge and got myself something to drink, then broke into one of the containers of cookies I’d made the day before.

  “Want some?” I asked him politely. He gave me a little smile and took a cookie. I went to my couch and collapsed down.

  “Andi.”

  Gavin called my name softly. I watched him as he leaned down in front of me on the couch.

  “I’m not trying to make a pass at you. But I would feel better if you came and stayed at my place. Those people who took you found you so easily. I want you to be safe, and tonight I think you would be safest with me. You can sleep in my guest room.” He took my hand and held it. He was trying to comfort me.

  I was nervous about going to his house, but maybe being there would get him to open up to me a little more. Maybe he would tell me about himself, about the real him. I figured this would be a good step toward the end goal.

  “Okay, um, let me just get some things.”

  I got up and got to work on an overnight bag. I was getting my bathroom necessities when someone knocked on my window. I yelped out in fear, and Gavin came running into my room.

  “Are you okay?” He held me close, checking for injuries.

  “I’m okay. I saw a wolf spider, and I’m just a little jumpy,” I lied, hoping that the person knocking on my window was Ryder. I needed to see him. “I’ll be out in a bit. I just need a minute.”

  Gavin just nodded, kissed my head, and left. I waited a few seconds to make sure he wasn’t coming back in before I ran to the window. Ryder’s face appeared behind the glass, and as cheesy as it was, my heart totally skipped a beat. I unlocked the window and pushed it up. The windows in my house were sort of low to the ground so we were both on our knees.

  “You okay?” he asked me. His eyes scanned over me.

  I nodded. I was okay. I wasn’t great, but I was okay.

  His hand went up, gripping the back of my neck and bringing my lips to his. The kiss was hot and full tongue, and I was three seconds away from climbing out the window to him. Thank God Vince had knocked out the screen for this window when a squirrel came by a month ago. I would have hated to not have Ryder’s lips on mine.

  “I wish you were in here with me,” I whispered against him.

  He growled and kissed me harder. Then, sadly, he pulled back. It was probably for the best though.

  “Here, I brought this from my place. I’ll be watching via video, but if you need anything, message me. Okay?”

  He handed me my phone.

  I smiled, thinking it was nice that he had risked bringing it to me. I felt like a teenager sneaking time with my boyfriend while my parents were in the other room.

  “Thank you. I should probably go,” I confessed. I could only keep Gavin waiting for so long before he came back in to check on me.

  “You’ve been through shit today. I’m sorry you have to do this.” Ryder’s face was hard and full of anger. I didn’t want that from him. It was bad enough that I was going to be at another man’s house tonight.

  “You’ll be with me,” I told him.

  He would be, watching me in my dreams. Hell, I could probably sneak him in if I tried. I laughed at the thought. His eyebrows raised in question; I just shook my head. He touched my nose with his finger. It was a sweet move, and then he was gone.

  I closed my window as quietly as I could, grabbed my bag, and went out to the living room. Gavin was looking at the pictures on my bookshelf. Most of them were of my dogs, then my family. I missed them. Ever since I met Ryder my life had been in a whirlwind of sex and chaos. I wanted to talk to my brother most of all, but I couldn’t get in touch with him when he was overseas. I had to wait for him to call me. Mom and her husband were probably off on some cruise somewhere; they went on one monthly it seemed. Dad was
busy with the millionaires’ club of Tampa.

  “Like my boys?” I asked pointing to the picture of my goofy dogs. Their tongues were hanging out and taking up the most space in the picture. I giggled looking at it.

  “They look awesome. I can’t wait for you to meet my Pomeranians, Luigi and Kida.”

  I laughed thinking about him with little dogs. He was a big guy. I could maybe see him with a Doberman or a pit bull, but not with little purse dogs. He must have read what I was thinking on my face. He smiled and defended himself.

  “They are very vicious dogs. Keep laughing, you’ll see,” he continued as I kept giggling.

  “All set?” he asked me, taking my bag off my hands.

  “Yeah, thanks for watching over me.” I leaned up and kissed him on the cheek.

  There was no zing when I touched him. No tingles down my body. It never would have worked out between him and me even if I never had met Ryder. Ryder was it; he was the mac to my cheese.

  “Let’s get going.” Gavin’s voice was husky. There was no way I was going to sleep with the man, but I knew if I wanted to accomplish this I had to act like he was what I wanted. I would have to touch him.

  We pulled up to his house in no time. I oo’d and ahh’d, looking at his house like I had never been there before. He opened a door to the spare bedroom and set my stuff on the bed.

  “I’m gonna go make us something to eat for dinner while you make yourself at home.” He pulled me in for a hug and a quick kiss to the forehead and then walked out.

  I sat on the big bed. It had wooden columns around it. Very regal. Everything in his house was designer, probably imported from some country where it was handmade by only the finest craftsman. I lay down and closed my eyes. I envisioned myself wrapped in Ryder’s arms in his bed. The sound of my phone ringing stopped me from taking my daydream further.

  “Hello.”

  “Hey, chica, how’s it hanging?”

  I couldn’t help but smile at the sound of Nikki’s voice on the line. I hadn’t heard from her since her wedding. She and Zach took a long honeymoon in Europe. I missed her and our reading group. We had decided to put the get together on hold until she got back, so she could tell us about her trip.

  “It’s been hanging. How are you? How was your trip?” I spoke enthusiastically; I so needed to hear her voice today.

  “It was fabulous! We got to see the Rose Theater, and then we toured castles in Ireland. Oh, it was so cool.”

  I was so happy for her. “That’s great! When are you coming home? I could so use one of your raspberry margarita nights,” I confessed. When we all got together we just drank, gabbed, and acted like fools.

  “Not sure. We decided to extend our trip, but, girl, you sound exhausted. As soon as we get back, I’ll hunt you down for a drink.”

  “Sounds like a plan.”

  “Alright, well, I just wanted to check in with you. We are about to board a train to hop over to Spain. I’ll talk to you later, okay?”

  “Of course, tire Mr. Tombs out, you hear?” I giggled thinking of the look on her face. She probably would have given me a light slap for my words. We said goodbye and hung up.

  I took a breath and followed my nose out to the kitchen.

  CHAPTER 26

  Ryder

  Thankfully my night away from Andi while she was staying at Gavin’s house was uneventful. Rex and I listened to them talk about nothing in particular, especially nothing about what had happened with her. His mother dropped by and brought his little ankle-biter dogs over. Andi didn’t play with them that much. They weren’t very nice. Not long after dinner, Andi took a shower, which she took off the necklace for, sadly. Then she passed out, but not before leaving me with some very dirty promises about what she was going to do the next time we were alone.

  I had been working overtime, watching her, keeping an eye on Skeller senior, and preparing for Monday’s operation. We were going to bust the drug boat. My blood was pumping; I needed to burn off the low-lying anger that built when Andi was in danger. I hadn’t been able to be with her since our little window scene. Since that day, Gavin had been around a lot. Probably playing guard dog himself. He had a lot of enemies. He was shielding her right now, but soon he would have to talk to her and tell her who he was. He probably hoped she would be by his side the whole time.

  But tonight she was mine.

  I was just putting the finishing touches on dinner when the door to my apartment opened. The sound of dogs running across my floor let me know Andi and the boys arrived. I had a surprise, and I couldn’t wait to show her what I’d gotten. I’d missed Andi a lot.

  I took one look at her, and my breath stilled. She was wearing a skin-tight black dress. Her red hair was piled high again, her long neck just begging to be sucked. That dress though. It hugged her petite curves like a second skin. It stopped about four inches from her knees.

  “Fuck.” My curse came out like a prayer to God. She was trying to kill me or to get fucked as soon as she walked in.

  “You like?” She did a twirl, spinning on those long, stellar legs. She was wearing those same “fuck me” heels that she wore the night we met. I would be worshipping those legs with those heels on later.

  I walked over, petted the boys first, and then went to her. She didn’t even put up a fight when I slid my hands down her waist and cupped her ass, pulling her toward me.

  “I’m gonna wear those sexy legs around my neck like a damn chain while I fuck you tonight. I want those heels digging into me as I pound my dick inside that sweet heat of yours. You hear me, sweetness?”

  Her body convulsed at my words. She liked it when I spoke to her like this. Her eyes closed briefly, hopefully imagining what I’d said.

  “But first…” I kissed her quickly and then let go to grab her hand and lead her toward the kitchen.

  A gasp came from her when she saw the chair. I turned around to see her eyes glimmering.

  “I can’t believe you did… I mean… Ryder.”

  She tackled me with her arms. I smiled and held on to her. She let go and went to run her fingers over the feeding chair I’d gotten for Vince. Now she could come over whenever she wanted with Vince and Turnip, and she wouldn’t have to carry her feeding chair back and forth. It was a big gesture. I wanted her here; I was moving her into every facet of my life.

  She was still speechless when I went to the big bin of dog food I’d bought and got the boys all set up. Both dogs’ ears perked right up and ran toward the sound of food being poured in their bowls. Vince climbed right up into his chair, and Turnip wiggled his one-legged backside in excitement. I wrapped my arms around Andi’s sweet body as we watched the boys go to town on some chow. Once they were done I let Vince out, and they wandered off toward the chew toys I’d put in front of the couch.

  “Now, dinner for you.” I picked her up and set her on the barstool facing the counter. I made her a plate of my momma’s special shepherd’s pie.

  “Oh, I haven’t had shepherd’s pie in forever!” she squealed in excitement. So fucking cute.

  “It’s my momma’s recipe. Well, it’s been passed down through the generations. But my momma adds something different.” I sat beside her and started chowing down myself.

  “What’s this special ingredient?” she asked calmly. I watched her take a bite. Her lips closed around that lucky spoon, and she mulled over the flavors. If she was trying to figure it out, she wouldn’t .

  “It’s a family secret. You’re an outsider. Outsiders knowing the secret is forbidden.” I smiled at her.

  Her lips pursed, and then she burst out laughing. “Oh well, I wouldn’t wanna be swimming with the fishies all for finding out a secret ingredient.”

  Her laugh was contagious; I couldn’t stop laughing at how I had sounded. Sometime after that, our laughter calmed down, and we finished eating and settled on the couch together, channel surfing.

  “Moulin Rouge! I love that movie!” She pointed to the previous channel. “Go
back! I’ve been wanting to watch that movie for so long.”

  I went back, trying to recognize the movie.

  “Is this some chick shit?” I groaned.

  “Yes, it is, you whiner. Get over it.”

  She reached over and stole the remote from me, hiding it between her and the cushion on the couch. I debated going for it, but I just wrapped my arms around her, bringing her flush against me.

  “Thank you,” she whispered. I kissed her forehead, and we watched the movie.

  I was engrossed in what was going on in the movie. A guy who was a writer fell in love with a prostitute. They were hopelessly in love, but in order to save everyone from being thrown out onto the streets, she had to sleep with the Duke. And jealousy would drive the writer mad. So they created a secret song so that no matter how bad things got, whenever they heard it, they remembered their love. This shit was intense.

  “Oh fuck,” I whispered as the heroine gasped for air. I looked down to see Andi’s eyes filling with tears. “Seriously? She fucking dies? After everything?”

  I was pissed. Not that Andi was a prostitute, but she had to be with another man to save others. I tried hard, but I got jealous as shit. And, well, I wasn’t ready to admit my true feelings, but she was it for me. My Satine. And then in the movie everything was bad, and then amazing, and then she fucking dies! Fuck, I knew I sounded like a chick, but they deserved a happy ending; we deserved a happy ending.

  “So beautiful,” Andi sniffed next to me. I turned and scooped her up and rushed to the bedroom.

  “What the—” She didn’t even get to finish her sentence before my lips clashed to hers.

  CHAPTER 27

  Andi

  Ryder’s lips attacked me with an undeniable passion. His strong hands ripped my dress down and off my body. I pouted at him; I liked that dress.

  “Now no one will see that dress on your fuck-tastic body.”

  I just shook my head and went to take off his shirt. I pulled it up and kissed his chest, moving over to his nipple, licking it and biting. A growl vibrated from his chest. His body collapsed over mine; my legs wrapped around his. His jeans were pressing against my panty-covered sex. The mix of fabric rubbed me just the right way, making me moan.