Coop? Sarah brushed past him, looking up and down the empty hallway before tilting those pretty green eyes all the way up to his following gaze. I thought theyd send a uniformed officer.
Thats when the frown between the eyes registered, along with the antsy way she rubbed her palms and tapped her fingers together.
Coops smile flatlined. Why do you need a uniformed officer? That same wariness that had itched beneath the surface of his skin on the way up returned in full force. He wrapped one big hand around both of hers, stilling her twisting fingers. Sarah?
She startled with a gasp, as if his touch had interrupted some deep thought process. But instead of pulling away, she turned her hands inside his grasp and held on. Im glad youre here. I could use a friendly face right about now.
Damn. Despite the warmth of a shower, her skin was generating nothing but chill.
Cmon. With a gentle tug, he pulled her back into the apartment, slid the heavy door shut and locked it behind him. He nudged her toward the center of the open living space, then quickly moved past her to check the windows for signs of trouble. Maybe thered been a break-in. But every window was solid, locked tight. The bedroom area, untouched. The kitchen area was equally clean. The bathroom was a mess of dirty clothes and damp towels, as though shed stripped and showered and changed more than once.
Ah, hell. A very bad feeling throbbed in the tight clench of his jaw. His nostrils flared as he forced himself to breathe deeply, to check his emotions and silence the bombardment of questions that begged to be asked.
He turned back to Sarah, looking small and vulnerable where she stood in the middle of the room. She stared at a spot on the wooden floor, hugging herself, shivering.
Sarah? Coop slowly approached her, demanding that those big green eyes meet his. Why do you need a cop?
She didnt disappoint. Smoothing a damp strand of hair off her face, she lifted her gaze. To answer my 9-1-1 call.
All right. Back up and start this conversation from the beginning. Any pretense of standing in as big brother vanished with the tears that glistened in the fringe of her lashes. Something had happened. Something very bad. The wary detective in him was already on guard, already alert. But the man in him needed to touch her, needed to make whatever had gone wrong right. He reached out to brush aside the stubborn lock of hair that still stuck to her cheek. What 9-1-1 call?
I The instant his finger touched her, a huge sigh rattled through her from tip to toe. Instead of talking, she turned and walked into him, wrapping her arms around his waist. Hold me.
She aligned herself against him, cheek to chest, breast to stomach, thigh to thigh.
A burst of heat radiated through him in every place they touched. Something tight and controlled inside him began to melt.
Coop hesitated a moment before giving in to the heat and the need and winding his arms tightly around her. He rested his chin on the top of her head and wrapped his body around her, surrounding her in his strength and warmth. Seth was gonna kill him for this. But Sarah snuggled closer, and he couldnt push her away. He heard the sniffles, felt the clutch of her fingers at the back of his waist. Moments later, the warmth of her tears dampened the front of his T-shirt and singed his skin. He was gonna kill someone if this innocent woman had been hurt. Sarah, you never answered
Just hold me. Her lips moved against his sensitized skin, and his body leaped with the need to respond in some elemental way.
He rubbed circles up and down her spine, pressed a kiss to the crown of her head and rested his nose in the fragrant silk of her freshly washed hair.
Ive gotcha.
The cop in him would have to wait.
Chapter Two
What do you mean, weve got nothing on Theodore Wolfe? I thought Wolfe International was history. Seth Cartwrights question fueled an outburst of debates around the KCPD headquarters briefing room.
Their money-laundering setup here in K.C., yes. And weve put a serious dent in their drug profits by shutting down their Kansas City base. But weve still got some loose ends to tie up, replied Captain John Kincaid in his typically cool, calm and collected tone. The grumbles subsided. He gripped the desktop podium and leaned forward to make sure every detective and uniformed officer in the room understood how serious he was. Understand this. I
intend to nail the big boss and give KCPD the credit for his arrest before they kick me upstairs to the deputy commissioners office.
Leaning back in his chair at the front table, Cooper Bellamy crossed his long legs at the ankle and sipped his coffee as another round of should-haves and what-ifs and lets-do-its ensued. His own partner, Seth, turned to the long table behind them and questioned Kincaids second-eldest son, Sawyer, another young detective, to see if he had any insight into his fathers plans for the case.
Coop seemed to take it all in with half an ear. His disinterest was deceptive, though. He was as frustrated as his partner to hear how progress had stalled on their investigation into Wolfe Internationals illegal activities.