Blame It on Texas (18 page)

Tyler’s gaze shot to the door where Austin stood.

“Bad timing, huh?”

Zoe opened her mouth as if to answer, but then closed it.

“Okay. I… I’m gonna go now.” Austin took a step back. His gaze shifted to Zoe. “We’ll worry about introductions later.”

“I’m going to kill him.” Tyler started to get up. “Slowly.”

“Don’t!” Zoe grabbed his arm. She released it extra fast, and he knew she’d felt it, too—that warm zing from their touch.

He looked into her eyes and tried to read her, but all he could see was embarrassment. His brain went from anger at Austin to the need to go back in for another kiss. But with the door open and Austin lurking close by, logic prevailed this time.

Brushing a strand of hair from her bright red cheek, he said, “Fine. I’ll forgo killing him and just hurt him a little.” He smiled, but she didn’t smile back.

He looked at the door and back at her. “I do need to talk with him before he runs off.”

She nodded.

He stood, still tasting her mouth on the tip of his tongue and still feeling the effect of their kiss in his tight jeans.

Almost out the door, he looked back. She sat, gnawing on her bottom lip, eyes closed as if repenting from some terrible sin. He got a bad feeling that she wasn’t nearly as thrilled about the new development in their relationship as he was.

Not that he was going to let that completely ruin his mood. Whatever reservations she had about pursuing their attraction, he’d deal with them. He took off to find Austin.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

D
AMN
! D
AMN
! D
AMN
!

Zoe tried to breathe slowly. What the hell had she done? He might have started it, but she’d climbed aboard the fast-moving ride, called shotgun seat, and went along with the thrill like an adrenaline junky. Lord help her, but she should have more willpower than that.

She was still trying to figure out this little issue called her whole freaking life: who she was, who she wasn’t, and who was trying to kill her. What the hell was she thinking? Jumping aboard another potential disaster in the making. As nice as Tyler was—to look at, to kiss—she’d be an idiot to let this happen.

And she wouldn’t.

She wouldn’t let it happen.

Not again.

She closed her eyes tighter and could hear her mama say,
“Zoe Girl, everything that glitters isn’t gold. Just because you want something doesn’t mean you need it. Just because someone says they have your best interests at heart, doesn’t mean they won’t break your heart in the end.”

The words of wisdom echoed in her mind. She couldn’t help but wonder if her mama had included herself and her dad in the people who could possibly break Zoe’s heart. Because they had definitely broken her heart. And now, more than ever, she took her mama’s warning seriously.

Not that it stopped her from occasionally trying to conjure up a reason her parents could have justified what they’d done. But it came back to the fact that they’d lied to her. Lied to her in spite of the fact that she’d had suspicions, questions, and nightmares. Lied to her even knowing how crazy it made her feel not to understand these things.

The fact that she sat here not two minutes after she’d been kissed silly, feeling angry at her parents instead of thinking about that kiss, drove home her point.

She needed to stay focused on getting her life back together—not doing something that could bring more pain on top of what she already had. She’d be heading back to Alabama very soon; she’d like to go without leaving bits and pieces of her broken self behind.

“Goddamn, mother…!”

Tyler heard Austin belt out a string of curses. He hurried his steps. When Austin cursed in a tone that wasn’t underlined with humor, he had a reason. And his reason was usually bad.

Tyler cut the corner into the office and saw the reason. Cowering in one corner of the office sat Lucky. Cowering in the opposite corner was Austin.

Austin looked up. “Get the broom and get that thing out of here. Damn stray must have snuck in when I walked in and I didn’t see him.”

“He’s not a stray,” Tyler said. “He’s Zoe’s cat.”

Austin gaped at him with a look of sheer horror. “But… it’s been mutilated.”

“It was in an accident.”

“Ran over?” Austin made a face of disgust.

“Blown up.”

“I believe it.” He hesitated. “It hissed at me.”

“Probably after you yelled at him.”

Austin shook his head. “I don’t like cats.”

“I don’t think he likes you, either.”

Austin frowned. “But I’m better looking and have all my limbs and body parts.”

“The better looking part of that statement is debatable.” Tyler watched Austin cautiously move out of the corner.

“Look, it’s not that I don’t feel for the cat, but can you please get him out of here?” Austin waved his hand toward the helpless feline.

If Tyler wasn’t still pissed at the man for breaking up his kiss—the first one of many Tyler hoped—he’d have laughed. “Really? Romeo has a kryptonite? You’re an ailurophobe?”

“I’m a what?” Austin’s gaze shot back to Lucky as the cat shifted.

“You have a phobia of cats?”

“There’s a name for that? How the hell do you know that shit?”

“I read. You should try it sometime,” Tyler said.

“I read.”

Tyler smirked. “I don’t mean condom boxes.”

Lucky meowed. Austin flinched. Tyler finally laughed.

“I’m not scared,” Austin said. “I just don’t like them.”

Right.
Tyler picked Lucky up. “When were you bitten?”

“I didn’t say I was,” Austin said.

Tyler just looked at him.

“Fine, I was six. But I’m not scared. I’m just cautious.”

The cat reared his head up and rubbed his face against Tyler’s chest. “Well, I don’t think Lucky is an attack cat.”

Setting the feline down carefully in the hall, he shut the office door and faced Austin. “What happened at Zoe’s and why the hell didn’t you answer your damn phone when I called?”

Austin dropped into his desk chair.

Austin’s smile widened. “I wasn’t aware that you even knew how to put the moves on. But it looked like you were doing pretty good. If you need any tips, I’m your man.”

Tyler respected Austin, but sometimes the guy didn’t know when to shut the hell up. “Drop it.”

Austin’s shit-eating grin vanished. “It took an hour for the cops to show up. I was leaving when they got there.”

“What did you tell them?”

“That I was combing the neighborhood, working on one of our cases, when I heard shots and called them.”

“Did they buy it?” Tyler asked.

“Hell, no. Cops are all suspicious bastards. They assume everyone’s lying.”

“You
were
lying.” Tyler ignored the fact that they used to be the suspicious bastards. And in some ways still were. PIs or cops, it was their job to be suspicious.

“They didn’t know I was lying.”

Tyler shook his head. “So what happened?”

“They wanted to take me down to the station and ask some questions.”

“And?” Tyler asked.

“I told them to go screw themselves. That I’d called it in, I didn’t do the shooting. Unfortunately, someone found a spot of blood on her floor. And it got more serious.”

“Shit,” Tyler said. “I should have cleaned that up.”

“Yeah, well, thankfully they chatted with the neighbors who said they’d seen Zoe drive off. When I left they were trying to reach the landlord. If the landlord has her cell number, she can expect a call from Glencoe’s not so finest. Remember that grumpy Thompson?”

“Hell.” Tyler frowned. He needed to get to Zoe. Not to restart what they’d had going, either. They needed to talk about the best way to deal with the police when they found her.

He opened the door and was almost out when Austin spoke up.

“Hell, what?” asked Austin.

Tyler turned around. “If she talks to the cops, the whole Bradford thing will get leaked.”

“Have her tell them she wasn’t there when the shooting took place. I didn’t give them a specific time when it happened. Say it’s a drive-by shooting. In that neighborhood it makes sense. They don’t have to know about the Bradfords until we’re ready for them to know.”

“I don’t see her lying very well.”

“Then tell her not to answer her phone. If you want, I can show her how that’s done.” He smiled.

Tyler ignored Austin’s attempt at humor, his mind calculating the pros and cons of Zoe not taking the call. He couldn’t find a downside. Of course, the cops would end up learning where she worked, and people at the diner knew of Zoe’s connection to him, and that would lead
them here. But maybe they wouldn’t go that far? And if they did, it would still buy them time.

“Yeah, that’s what I’ll do,” he said to Austin.

“It’s too late,” the soft voice said behind him.

Tyler swung around. Zoe stood in the doorway, her phone in her hands. Her lips were still wet, maybe even from their kiss. Damn she was pretty. However, she didn’t look any happier now than when he’d left her.

“Too late for what?” He hoped like hell that she didn’t mean them. They barely knew each other. How could it be too late?

“A Sergeant Thompson from the Glencoe police just called. He wants me to come to the station immediately.”

“You ready?” Tyler asked Zoe, who hadn’t said a word during the fifteen-minute ride to the police station. He’d tried to prepare her for what lay head. He’d also given her their alternatives. Stay put, and risk the cops looking for her. Go and tell them the whole truth, and risk him not getting information out of the Bradfords. Or go and offer limited information—leave the Bradfords completely out of it, and don’t even mention the threatening phone calls. He recommended option three.

She went with it, too, but that didn’t mean she was happy about it. He wasn’t happy seeing her unhappy. She hadn’t smiled once since their kiss, and until this moment, he’d had to work to keep from smiling. He hoped to alter Zoe’s mood as soon as he got this behind them.

“I hate doing this.” Her blue eyes rounded with concern.

“I know.”
So do I
. The giddiness he’d felt since he’d kissed Zoe had lingered until he pulled up at the police station. For eight years he’d come here, given his all to the
force, even believed the force was his family. Only to have that family turn its back on him. And when Lisa jumped ship like everyone on the force, it was like the damn piece of straw that did the camel in. It made him realize that caring for people, really caring, could do him in, too.

They got out of the car. He met Zoe at the front of the car and tried to put his complete focus on her and not the knots in his gut.

Logically, it shouldn’t bother him. It was history. It should even bring a bit of pride to walk back and show his face to the nonbelievers.

He hadn’t come back here since they brought him in and stripped him of his gun, his badge, and his belief in justice.

Since he’d been released, he’d bought himself several guns, didn’t want the damn badge, but his belief in the justice system had forever been changed. Oh, he still believed in justice, he just now knew you couldn’t count on it… or the people who swore by it.

Opening the door, he guided her to the front desk, which was manned by a woman in her mid-fifties who had her nose buried in a book. He recognized the title of the latest
New York Times
bestseller. And he recognized the woman behind the novel, too.

His chest tightened. “This is Zoe Adams, and we’re here to see Officer Thompson.”

The woman looked up, and her eyes widened with recognition.

Lois MacDonald had a passion for the written word, which meant they’d always had something to talk about. He wouldn’t call what they had friendship, but it was close.

“Tyler? I… wondered if I’d ever see you again.” She blushed as if embarrassed.

“I’m like a bad penny. Just keep showing up,” he said. “Is Thompson in?”

He knew Larry Thompson, too. Unlike Mrs. MacDonald, he hadn’t cared for the guy then, and something told Tyler he was going to like the guy even less now. But to get Zoe out of here without any trouble, he’d behave. “I’ll give him a call.” She paused and then started to speak again.

And damn it, he knew before she opened her mouth what she planned on saying.

“I’m sorry. For what happened. It shouldn’t have happened.”

Emotion tightened his gut. When he was first released, he couldn’t wait to hear someone say it. Now, he hated it. What do you say to people who you actually considered one of your tribe, people who you would have defended to the end, but people who turned their back on you before you even got a chance to tell your side of the story?

He couldn’t say it was all right, because it wasn’t. He couldn’t say he forgave them, because he hadn’t forgiven anyone. He could tell them to go fuck themselves, and part of him wanted to, but he didn’t want them to know he still cared what they thought. And he didn’t care. Well, not as much as he used to.

“It really shouldn’t have happened,” she repeated.

“No, it shouldn’t have.” He touched Zoe’s elbow to motion her forward.

They got several feet when Zoe leaned in. “I’m sorry. I read the story but it didn’t click that this was the same station.” She stopped and caught his arm. “Let’s go. You shouldn’t have to be here.”

“It’s fine. Let’s just—”

“No, it’s not.” She looked at him, as if she could read every emotion running through him. And if she could, so could everyone else. He didn’t like that.

“I’ve known you only a couple of days, and I already know you couldn’t have done what they accused you of doing. How could they…?”

He’d asked himself that question. And answered it, but it didn’t make it right. Still he told her, “There was a lot of evidence.”

“But they knew you,” she insisted.

He met her gaze, and there was something in her eyes that touched his soul. He wasn’t even sure what it was, but it lifted the heaviness in his chest. Suddenly, he didn’t care about Lois MacDonald or all the other jerks here.