“What?” someone said (I was too freaked to distinguish voices).

“What is it?” someone else asked.

I swayed a bit, all of a sudden light-headed and someone else yelled, “Grab her! She’s going down!”

I was pressed into my office chair, my mind started clearing and I heard Roxie say, “Get her some water.”

Tod picked up a manila folder from my desk and started fanning me with it. “Deep breaths, girlie. Deep breaths. Do you think she should put her head between her knees?” he asked Jet.

May swiped the card from my fingers. She looked at it and a slow smile spread on her face.

“These ain’t from her uncle. Praise be to Jesus.”

“Let me see that,” Daisy snatched the card out May’s hand. “It just says ‘V’,” she told everyone, her eyes big and happy. She looked around the gang. “How hot is that? That boy’s got class.”

They were all looking at me grinning like fools.

“I told him,” I whispered and then stopped talking.

“What’s that, Sugar?” Daisy asked.

I cleared my throat and looked up at them. “I told him about Nick giving me pink roses on my sixteenth birthday and how they were my favorites. It was a few months after my Auntie Reba died and how Nick and I had the first good night since she…” I stopped again and looked around them. “I told him,” I repeated.

“Righteous,” Ally said softly.

I felt something hit me then, something terrifying, a delayed reaction. I grabbed my purse, pulled out my phone and shot out of the chair.

“Jules –” Indy said my name, her grin had gone uncertain.

“I need his number,” I announced.

“What?” Roxie asked.

“Give me his cell number!” I shouted. “Who’s got his number?”

Everyone started pulling out their phones.

“I have his number,” Indy told me.

“I don’t have his number,” Daisy said, but she was still digging through her purse as if she could help.

“I wish I had his number,” Tod put in.

“Here it is,” Indy said and recited the number.

I punched it in then walked out of the room, down the hall and saw the blue room’s blind was closed. I went to the yellow room, it was free so I walked in, shut the blinds, closed the door and put my back to it. Then I hit the green button.

It rang, once.

“Yeah?”

“Vance?”

“You called me, Princess, who else would it be?” he asked, his amused voice was silk.

“We have to stop seeing each other,” I told him.

Silence.

I waited. Then I waited some more.

My emotional Rottweiler had torn free of his chains and he was barking, snarling, drooling, jumping around and ready to attack.

When he still didn’t say anything, I called, “Vance?”

“Why?” he asked.

“What?”

“Why?” he repeated, this time there was impatience in his tone.

“This isn’t going to work,” I said, as if that was an explanation.

“Why?” he obviously realized it wasn’t an explanation.

Because I like you a lot. Because you’re beautiful and strong and make me feel things I can’t allow myself to feel. Because you listen to me in the moonlight like every word I say forms a drop of nectar. Because you’ve lived a shit life and come out the other side to be someone amazing. Because now you live a dangerous life with a scar on your back to prove it and I can’t afford to lose anyone else that means something to me, I thought.

“I can’t explain it,” I said.

“Try.” His voice was beyond impatience now, it was short and clipped.

“Okay then, I’m not going to explain it because I don’t have to. It just isn’t going to work.”

More silence and I could actually feel the anger coming through the phone.

Then he said, “You’re mine tonight.”

My belly fluttered. “Vance.”

“Tomorrow it’s over. Tonight you’re mine.”

“That isn’t smart.”

“I don’t give a f**k.”

“I really don’t think –”

“I’ll be at your house at five to eight. We’re on the Harley tonight. Pack a bag.”

“Really, I think, after the party –”

“You’re in my bed tonight. I want your scent on my sheets.”

Oh my God.

“Vance,” I said again, this time it sounded like a plea.

“Five to eight,” he repeated.

Then he disconnected.

I stood there, back to the door and kept the dead phone to my ear.

Then I slid down the door, ass to the floor, knees pointed to the ceiling, hands on my knees and I stared into space, forcing my mind blank, telling myself I could do this and tomorrow it would be over and my life would be back to normal.

Myself didn’t really believe I could do this and it didn’t much like the idea of normal.

Chapter Fifteen

You Got a New Partner Now

I was on my back on the mat on the floor in the “down room” at the Nightingale Investigations office.

It was a big room with a couch, TV, treadmill, weights and an exercise bike and the guys used it for down time or when they were hanging around on call (only the bad boys at Nightingale Investigations would call a room with workout equipment the “down room”).

And of course the mat on the floor where Luke was kicking my ass.

“You’re not focused,” Luke said, standing over me, staring down at me, hands on his hips.

He was right, I wasn’t focused. My mind was everywhere but there. Heavy would be disappointed.

Luke was good. He knew far more moves than Heavy, was stronger, faster and constantly surprising me. Still, even as a novice I knew more than I was showing.

“Get your head in the game,” Luke continued, bending and offering me his hand to help me up for about the twenty-fourth time.

I nodded mutely, locked my fingers around his wrist, put my other hand to his forearm and then I gave a solid jerk, hoping to take him by surprise and take him down just once for the sake of my pride.

His feet were planted. He stood strong only his arm and shoulder moving with my jerk which was disappointing. The corner of his lip went up on one side, he yanked me up and I found my feet. I immediately shifted my weight to one leg, threw my other calf around the backs of his and tagged him behind the knees. They buckled but he released my hand, his other arm went around my waist and he twisted.