She pushed the chair under the table, staring into his eyes throughout her entire deliberate objection to his ordering her to sit. A premeditated mutiny to any plan he’d hatched. When the wooden legs stopped their noise across the floor, she marched through the back door.
The ADA ping-ponged his eyes, watching them closely, but kept his mouth shut. If he hadn’t been there, Erren might have followed Darby and stopped her from leaving. This way was more professional, if less intense.
Tomorrow. Next week. Next year. It didn’t matter.
If Darby’s brother were guilty…he’d be the one to guarantee Michael paid the price for his betrayal.
Erren’s lone walk returning from Thrumburt’s car was silent but for the crickets singing on either side of a beautiful starlit night. A sliver of a moon bounced off the lake. He kicked a rock with the toe of his tennis shoe, skittering several pebbles through the Johnsongrass lining the dirt road. The smell of rain was still in the air, due to the heavy foliage.
A lakeside walk might be the perfect end to an evening if he’d been sharing it with someone other than a Dallas assistant district attorney. Someone like a certain by-the-book cop he couldn’t get out of his mind.
Darby would be waiting for him. Probably still on the back porch where she’d planted herself. She didn’t have her shoes on her feet, so she couldn’t go far. Unless she’d found them after he’d left with Thrumburt.
Why was this woman so different and affecting him in ways he couldn’t predict? Attractive, yes. Physically, she was exactly what he wanted, but there was more. He hadn’t allowed himself to like anyone while undercover. No steady women. She’d broken all the barriers he’d had in place for seven years.
Self-reflection had never been one of his strong suits. His job required few thoughts about why he did something. There was a right and a wrong. The black and white hadn’t mingled to gray in his adult world, thanks mainly to Walter.
He stopped and faced the lake, taking a deep breath. Calm. Peaceful. Full of memories. He knew how long it had been since he’d let himself connect. Really connect. He’d been twelve. He hadn’t been distracted by the past… or a hope for the future.
The next few days were going to be crazy.
“Aw, hell. She’s a paper pusher!” he halfway shouted into the night as he headed back. “A glorified stenographer.”
Hell, he didn’t have a choice now. He’d jumped in with both feet at her house, based on the sparks flying between them, not on the facts.
“I admit it. I want her. I like her.”
“I will not get her killed.”
He’d made few promises in his life, but the last to the Sergeant Major was one he intended to keep. She was quick on her feet, good with puzzles and had already proved to be an asset. If it were the last thing he accomplished, Darby would be safe.
He walked to the rear of the cabin. Darby probably expected him to apologize for ordering her around. He liked that about her. He wouldn’t say he was sorry, though. Not when he was right and she had zero experience.
“It’s me,” he said as he pushed open the rusty gate.
His partner and responsibility sat on the porch swing. The familiar smell of citronella circled the porch in the cool lake air.
“If they reported the truck at the school, then Sean and the Sergeant Major may already be in custody,” she said.
Straight to it, no “howdy do” or “what did you talk about?” She needed to stop being distracted by the uncontrollable. So did he. All he could focus on was the fullness of her lips tossing him to a place where he wanted to kiss instead of lecture.
“I told your dad to watch his back.” He handed her the prepaid cell Thrumburt had purchased. “Give ’em a call. Before you do though, I…um…”
She quirked her brow at him, tempting him to kiss her and give into his wants. She dropped the cell next to her on the cushion, drawing attention to her long, creamy legs. He was one thought away from where he’d stored the “supplies.”
He chose to sit facing away from the swing, almost falling through the worn-out lawn chair. The old thing should have been tossed years ago, but Pike had left it in its place. Waiting. He’d never met Walter here. The possessions in the cabin and yard were exactly as Erren had left them. It was getting harder to avoid the distraction of thinking about his family.
Not to mention the distraction of Darby.
“What were you going to say?”
“I…ah…I can’t remember.” He laughed, a nice normal, noncalculated chuckle for once because he couldn’t remember the direction his thoughts were headed before looking at her lips.
Seconds ticked by, with the silence broken only by the old swing creaking.
“So this is your dad’s shirt?”
“Was. He and my mother were killed when I was twelve. We must have missed it when we packed up. I haven’t seen it since the summer he died.”
“Sorry. I didn’t know. The baseball?”
“My dad had it signed by the entire Rangers team just after I was born.”
“And the six-inch carp?” She pushed the swing, her bare feet beckoning him to look at her legs.
“My first catch here at the lake. I might have been four.”
At one point in his life this had been an ordinary second home at the lake, small yet cozy. Now sadly barren, only showing the things he couldn’t bear to put in storage.
“So this really is your cabin.”
“It is.” Her bare thighs screamed at him to reach across the small porch and run his fingertips over her toned muscles. He grabbed the metal arms and held tight.
“Who are you, Erren Rhodes?”
“Just a typical guy.”
“I doubt that.” She didn’t bother hiding the sarcasm but he didn’t let it provoke him. The rhythm of the swing increased its tempo. She was antsy again.
“I’m also the guy who wants to make certain you can keep yourself alive.” He turned to her, as serious a mask in place as he knew how to generate. “Which means you follow my orders, Darby. No questioning. No second-guessing me.”
“So this is taking it outside for real this time? And you win?” She laughed at her own joke.
Shoot, so much for his seriousness. The appealing laughter in her eyes got to him. He liked her laugh. Liked the way it came from deep in her chest. Not a nasal, whiny squeak that made you want to cringe. Her laugh was almost…encouraging him to join her on that swing.
“If you’re going to be my partner—my real partner—we should go over a couple of things. Like, when I say ‘get down’ you actually hit the ground instead of flying after the guy shooting at us.” He rolled his shoulders, stretching his back. “No buts, Darby. I’ve been doing this a long time.”
“Yes, sir. I can take orders.” She mock saluted in his direction.
“This isn’t a game.” His voice had risen and he got it back under control. “I’m responsible for you and—”
