Seduction's Dance (McKingley Series) (7 page)

“Wouldn’t say no to a tall cup of it, that’s for sure.”

“I’ll pull in at the gas station.”

“Wonderful.”

True to his word, he pulled into the next one they came to. After parking, they got out and walked in. She nodded to the woman behind the counter and made a beeline for the coffee machine. As she filled the twenty-ounce cup with hot java, she peered around the store.

Nick was by the cooler doors grabbing himself a water. She shook her head.
Water? Really?
She figured if she were cut open she would bleed coffee, she drank so much of it. Only water on a shift would not fly.

Adding the sugar and flavored creamer—hazelnut this time—she stirred it until she was pleased all was perfectly mixed. Once she’d popped the top on, she took a sip and purred in pleasure as it raced down her throat, firing all the cylinders, which had been sputtering.

She walked to the counter, adding a candy bar to her purchase as well. As the clerk was ringing her up, the door opened again and in walked two men, baggy clothing and hats tugged down over their faces.

“Morning, gentlemen,” she said, wanting them to know there was a cop in the store.

They seemed shocked to see her.
Odd, it’s not like the car isn’t right out front.
Holding the gaze of the one who’d looked up at her comment, she waited for him to acknowledge her. Finally it came, a brief nod of his head. Then they hurried off down the aisle where most of the candy was located.

She caught Nick’s eye and he made his way up as well, stopping to say hello to the men then continuing. “Do you know them?” she asked the clerk.

“Yes. They’re regulars in here.”

“Any trouble?”

“Nawh. They just don’t like cops much.”

Addressing Nick this time she asked, “Did you smell alcohol on them?”

He shook his head. “No, ma’am.”

She pocketed her change and waited for Nick to pay, all the while keeping an eye on the two men who were coming back up to the register.

“Have a good day,” she said as they walked out.

Shannon paused outside the door and sipped her coffee. The men never looked at her, stayed focused on the woman taking their money. She slipped into the passenger seat and stilled Nick as he went to back out.

“Just wait a second.”

“Why do we not trust them?”

“It’s been my experience that when most people see a cop car sitting this close to the door they expect one to be around. Yet they were very surprised when they saw me. I just want to see where they go when they leave.”

“And we follow them?”

“No. But if they get into a vehicle I want to run the plates, just to see who it is.”

“This is a gut feeling?”

She drank some more. “You got it. You need to learn to trust your gut. It will point you in the right direction more often than not. So if something looks right but feels wrong, make sure you follow up until you’re satisfied. And that works the other way too, just because someone looks like they did it but you’re not sure and are having doubts, go with your instincts and dig further. Don’t let the easy out stop you from spending a little extra time and walking a few more miles to get to the truth.”

“I got it,” he said.

She watched him drink his water. Nick Terray was your all-American kid. Tall and fit. Blond hair and blue eyes. Still, she looked at him and saw his innocence, though she was sure the naiveté would be gone in a few years.

The men walked out and she observed them. They had drinks and junk food in their hands. Again, the men didn’t even seem to look or acknowledge the car there. They headed off down the street and she sighed.

“Let’s get going.”

“It’s almost time for shift change. Do we go back now?”

“No. I know many officers want to rush back and get their paperwork done so they can leave immediately, but let me ask you a question. If everyone is back at the station, who is out here?”

Nick nodded and didn’t ask about it again. They continued to drive until she directed him to head back. The night’s paperwork took a while to fill out as she ensured Nick did his correctly. She showered and changed there before heading out to her borrowed car.

Mario was lingering near and she bit back her sound of distaste. Uncaring how rude she came off, she barely slowed and unlocked the vehicle.

“Hey, Conner,” he said, sidling up to her.

“I’m working on very little sleep, Mario. Be careful I don’t just tase your ass and leave you lying here convulsing.”

“I like my women with fire.”

Tossing her bag in the back, she faced him. His smarmy grin set her on edge and she bit back her snarl of escalating anger. “Congratulations. I hardly see what that line has to do with me. Since I am not, nor will I ever be, in that category.”

His gaze hardened and he scowled, transforming his face from handsome to menacing. “Choosing me is not a bad way to go.”

“Keep pushing me and we’ll see just how bad your going will be. I don’t know how to make this any plainer for you. I am not interested. Period. End of story. Finite. Fin.”

“You haven’t even given us a chance.”

Like that would ever happen.
Perhaps after an ice age coated hell it would be on her list of ‘very unlikely but still possible’ items.

“I don’t need to. I don’t like you in that way and never will. So leave me alone.”

“You don’t want to refuse me, Shannon,” he said. His tone was low and ugly.

“Are you threatening me?” All senses went on alert and she straightened, no longer just annoyed, but also seriously angry.

He shook his head. “Just stating a point.”

“She has a boyfriend.” Another voice entered the discussion. “And I would suggest you step away from her before I do it for you.”

Shannon jerked her gaze to the direction that familiar voice came from. She saw Dimitri standing there, arms crossed and fire blazing in his eyes. He had a tic in his jaw and she took a moment to just ogle him.

Damn, he was fine. Today Dimitri had donned a nice suit. One from the cut she knew had been made specifically for him—it accented his wide shoulders and narrow waist. Then he included her in his glare and she frowned. Why was he frowning at her? This wasn’t her fault. She crossed her own arms and arched a brow in return.

“Dimitri, what are you doing here?”

“I came to see you and overheard this…person threatening you.”

Mario blanched a bit. There was no mistaking that Dimitri and Leo were related and it didn’t take a genius to figure out that Mario had just made the familial connection.

“I wasn’t threatening her, man.”

“It doesn’t concern you, Dimitri,” she said, part of her anger swinging to encompass him. She couldn’t believe he’d assumed she needed him to come to her rescue.

“Doesn’t concern the boyfriend when he comes across a man telling her that she needs to give them a chance?” Sarcasm dripped from his tone.

Mario slipped away and left her facing an angry Dimitri. “What is with you?” she snapped.

“He threatened you. You need to tell Leo. T—”

She lifted her hand to stop him. “Stay out of this, Dimitri. Mario is a pain in the ass, but I don’t need you or Leo fighting my battles for me.”

He walked up to stand in front of her. “Tell me something, Shannon.”

She fought a yawn. “What?” Lord, she wanted to just make it home and curl up in her bed, cover her head and sleep for the day.

“Why didn’t you tell him you had a boyfriend?”

She didn’t miss a beat. “Because it wasn’t any of his damn business.”

“Maybe it would have stopped him from insisting.”

“Mario needs to leave me alone regardless of if I am dating or not.”

“But you’re not dating just anyone. You’re dating me.”

She snorted at his arrogance. “So what, the Wright name should strike fear into his heart?”

“That fucker better stay away from you.” His sentence was so low and gravelled she had a hard time understanding him.

“Your non-answer told me all I needed to know. I’m not stupid, Dimitri. I can handle Mario. And if you would think about it, sometimes the mention of a boyfriend is enough to send someone over the edge, so you may have just placed me in even more danger with your chest-pounding, Tarzan attitude.” She shook her head. “Don’t do that again. Ever.”

She climbed in her loaner and drove away, cursing the meddling attitude of men who wanted to put all women into a category of being too weak or stupid to take care of themselves. She wasn’t stupid and in all honesty, she’d not even thought of using Dimitri as an excuse they couldn’t date. Her way had always been doing it on her own. Trusting herself. Besides, if she and Dimitri went their separate ways and Mario had thought that was the only reason, he would be back. With a vengeance.

That was something she didn’t want. Ever. She blew out an exasperated breath and figured it would be something to deal with later. After she’d gotten some much needed sleep, she showered and dressed for another overnight shift. Dragging when she got home, she crawled back into bed. Later when she finally woke, she rolled from her bed and padded in bare feet out to her kitchen. She paused when she found the man seated at her kitchen table.

“We need to talk,” he said.

* * * *

Dimitri had seethed as he watched Shannon leave the parking lot. He’d never been so close to ripping a man’s head from his body before. Not until he’d heard him threaten Shannon. His woman.

Yes, he’d damn well said it. She was his. He liked it that way and had no intentions of that changing. Part of him had wondered why she didn’t just tell that jackass she was dating. Then he’d confronted her on it and hell, he’d admit it, her words had given him a bit of a chill. Had he made things worse?

Officially, he’d been off work, but since he’d been there, he’d decided to go see his brother. He’d spun on his heel and headed inside the police department. After making his way to his brother’s office, he’d knocked on the door.

“Come on in.”

He’d pushed it open and stuck his head in. “Got a minute?”

Leo had looked at him and smiled causing the corners of his eyes to crinkle. “Sure thing.”

He’d closed the door behind him and had made his way to one of the chairs across from his brother’s desk.

“How are you?” Leo had asked.

“Been better.”

“What’s up?”

“I just overheard one of your cops threatening Shannon.”

Leo’s eyes had narrowed dangerously. “Mario?”

“Yes.”

“Where’s Shannon? Is she okay?”

“She’s fine. Pissed, but fine.”

“What happened?”

Dimitri had recounted what he’d been privy to, including the dressing down she’d given him.

Leo had been cursing as he finished. “I warned him.” He’d smacked the top of his desk. “I told her to come to me if he refused to behave.”

He’d felt better that his brother was as pissed about this as he was, however, he’d hated that it had been going on for a while now and hadn’t been stopped.

“Did she leave?”

“Yes. Right before I came here to talk to you about it. What are you going to do about him? Because I’m telling you right now, he doesn’t leave her alone, I’ll handle it.”

“Christ, Dimitri, do you think I want Conner to be bothered by that man? What good are you going to do to anyone being locked up? None. Then you also have to deal with Mom and Dad if you do that. And brother or not, if you do what I see written on your face to that man, I’ll have no choice but to lock you up.”

“She’s been bothered and you’ve not done anything about it,” he’d growled. “And can you sit there and tell me you wouldn’t do the exact same thing if the guy who went after Deyon came back?”

Leo’s expression had told him.

“Didn’t think so.”

“Deyon isn’t the topic here. Not to mention, Conner is one hell of a cop.”

“Topic or not, you’d do whatever necessary to protect your woman. Any of us would. So don’t lecture me on what I shouldn’t do. If she’s in danger and you won’t protect her, I’ll do it.”

“I’m not saying I won’t do anything. Let me talk to her.”

Dimitri had stood. “You do that.”

The brothers had stared at one another before he’d given a crisp nod of his head then had walked out without another word. He’d still been seething when he’d made it to his car.

He’d woken this morning—following his chat with Leo—to find his car had been returned to him and the keys were inside his house. Only one would have done that. James. Part of him wanted her to still have his car and need to go back to his place.

Unfortunately, he’d had a full day ahead of him and thinking about Shannon and what he wanted to do to her wouldn’t get it done any quicker. Tugging on his suit coat, he’d walked across the street and up the sidewalk to his first appointment.

The day had been long and frustrating but he’d gotten the information he needed in order to determine whether the case he was working was actually arson or not. He glanced at his wrist just as the alarm on his watch went off. Time to eat. He’d been intending on asking Shannon to join him as he went to his parents’ house for dinner, but he figured she’d still be out cold.

He’d driven to his childhood home and smiled at the sight. He loved this house. Always had. After parking next to familiar vehicles, he’d climbed out and jogged up the steps. The smell of pork chops had filled the air and he’d smiled as his stomach had growled.

“Hey.” Katiya welcomed him with a kiss and hug.

“Hey yourself.”

He’d continued with the greetings as he hugged his siblings and parents. Everyone had been there and only he and Lis were without their significant others.

“Where’s that lovely Shannon?” his mother had asked as they set the table.

“Probably getting ready to head into work. She worked an extra shift last night and is on again tonight.”

“Girl needs to eat, doesn’t she?”

“Yes, ma’am, but she also needs to be to work on time.”

His had mother rolled her eyes and moved by him with piping-hot biscuits. He’d filled the water glasses as the others had pitched in and helped as well. After grace, they’d passed plates around and soon everyone was eating.