Page 64 of Armed ’N’ Ready

When he cupped her face, his touch was gentle, but a muscle ticking in his cheek evidenced the tension brewing inside him. “The past is just that, but I need to do everything in my power to get illegal guns off the street. Everything. Can you understand that?”

As she nodded, a deep, biting cold settled in her heart at the fierce conviction in his eyes. She admired it and feared it.

Rising from the mattress, he peeled off the used condom, then zipped up his jeans and went to the door. Early morning light glinted on his rippling back and shoulder muscles. The screen door closed quietly behind him, and she was left with a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach.

No matter what he’d just said, his priorities were indeed still dictated by the past, and they were focused not only on his guilt but his burning need to succeed at his job.

She squeezed her eyes shut as overwhelming sadness and futility settled in her heart. For him, getting this gun dealer really was personal. As things stood, she doubted there was room in his life for anything—or, anyone—else.

A phone rang, and she stared at the door. It hadn’t been her phone. It was Nick’s.

The ringing stopped, and the rich timbre of his voice floated to her. She couldn’t quite make out the words but heard the angry tone of his voice.

A moment later, the kitchen light came on, and he pushed open the door. His face was tight.

“What is it?” She bolted upright, grabbing his T-shirt and pulling it over her head. The look on his face told her something had happened. “Is it Joe?” She held her breath. Was he about to tell her the gangs had caught up to him and he was dead?

“It was.” Gone was the tender look he’d given her while they’d been making love, along with every vestige of sadness and despair she’d seen only moments ago. In its place was the impenetrable man she’d first met, the one she didn’t know—the cold, hard, steely-eyed cop. “He’s turning himself in.”

Chapter Fifteen

Nick squeezed the Explorer into a tight spot against the curb in front of the building that housed the U.S. Attorney’s Office. He glanced at his watch. It was almost ten a.m.

After his pre-dawn calls to Cox and Eric, AUSA Bennett had insisted on an emergency meeting. The entire investigative team would be there, and they wouldn’t leave until they cranked out a plan to get Myer into police custody. Alive.

He and Andi had swung by his place for a change of clothes and to put Saxon up in his kennel. He’d showered, shaved, then grabbed a fresh pair of dark slacks and a navy-blue polo shirt with the state police emblem embroidered on the front.

“You ready?” he said to Andi.

“Not really.” She pushed open the passenger side door and stepped out of the SUV.

She hadn’t wanted to be there, preferring to remain at home to make sure Stray was comfortable, but he’d insisted. There was no way he’d leave her alone again. Short of handcuffing her to him, the only way he managed to get her out of the house was to arrange for Tess to check up on the dog while they were out. But he knew Stray wasn’t the only reason she didn’t want to be here.

Since Myer’s call earlier that morning, she’d begun distancing herself from him. Only once had he caught her eye in the last few hours, and at that moment, he’d understood. They’d made love, then he’d bolted like the chickenshit that he was.

He slammed his own door shut, and when he met her on the sidewalk, she quickly avoided his gaze. It was on the tip of his tongue to tell her how he really felt about her, but he couldn’t. Hell, even he didn’t exactly know. Or if part of him did, his brain still refused to acknowledge it. The sooner they could both get this investigation behind them, the better.

They walked in silence across the cobblestone courtyard to the main doors of the enormous U-shaped building, then through security and to the elevator. When the doors opened on the third floor, he touched the small of her back, intending to direct her to the reception area, but she flinched, and he dropped his hand.

I’m fucking this up. Royally.

“Andi, wait.” He stopped her outside the reception door. Her eyes were filled with uncertainty, and she clasped her arms around her waist as if she were trying to shore up the steadily growing wall between them. Christ, he couldn’t blame her for a second. For the last five years, he’d been doing the same goddamn thing between him and anyone who tried to get close. “After Myer turns himself in and the dust settles, we will talk.”

Her brows furrowed. “About what?” she asked in a flat tone.

“About—”

The reception door opened.

“There you are,” Cox said. “We’ve been waiting for you.”

Nick groaned aloud. Fuck.

When they walked in, a dozen male eyes cast appreciative looks at Andi, particularly the FBI special agent in charge. SAC Dan Wolinski made no attempt to hide his reaction, sweeping his gaze down, then up her body.

The conservative beige linen slacks she wore couldn’t hide the slim curves of her waist or the shapeliness of her legs. Her black sleeveless blouse was loose-fitting but somehow emphasized the gentle mounds of her breasts. With very little makeup and only tiny gold hoops at her ears, she was both beautiful and sexy in a casual, graceful way few women could achieve.

He understood the attraction other men had toward her, but as her lover, he wanted to wipe that sleazy look off the SAC’s face by slamming him headfirst into the nearest wall.