offer and he groaned. He didn’t want his feelings for her to soften. Not while he was still justifiably angry.
“Thanks for the offer, but no thanks.”
He didn’t need her help getting him back on a job he didn’t want. It was just the Ramirez case he’d needed closure on.
“Suit yourself.” Brianne moved closer.
His sister had a huge penthouse with Lord knows how many rooms, but the kitchen was too small to hold Jake and Brianne. Not without a lot of sexual awareness flowing between them, anyway. She took another step toward him. He held his ground but he wasn’t happy. Her strawberry scent hit him like a punch in the gut.
So did her pleading words. “Don’t be angry with me, Jake. I didn’t get hurt and I knew what I was doing. I had a plan, I had pepper spray-”
“Which would have done you a lot of good when facing a drug-dealing cop killer!” His stomach turned over, and he gripped the nearest chair with both hands.
Her eyes blazed bright, alive with the knowledge of a job well done and a sense of accomplishment. Jake ought to know. He recognized what she was feeling, having experienced the rush often himself. If he’d thought he had a chance of making her see reason, she’d killed that hope.
“Do me a favor?” he asked.
Her eyebrows lifted in question.
“Keep quiet. Because every time you speak, you make things worse, not better.”
A muscle ticked in her jaw. “You’re one to talk. You’re the one who’s willing to make yourself a walking target for Ramirez. Now you’re angry I did the same?”
“You’re damn right I’m angry. If I’d gone after Ramirez, I’d have been doing my job. You were an inexperienced civilian ducking out on a bodyguard hired to protect you.” He forcibly stopped himself from pointing his finger at her or reacting in any other physical way.
But he realized he was yelling and took a step back. His behind hit the counter, and he found himself trapped between the cabinets and her lush body. A body he wanted even now, despite-or was it because of-the heated argument.
Apparently unaware she was crossing a boundary, she pointed her finger at him. “You’re on leave.”
That she didn’t hesitate to remind him or incite his anger further told him much about her current state of mind. She wasn’t falling back into trembling or fear. She wasn’t having an anxiety attack. She was enjoying herself-both catching Ramirez and arguing with Jake.
Jake had to admit that a part of him was enjoying it, too. And he was turned on by her strength as well as her beauty. However, he was still angry and needed her to understand the seriousness of her situation. Now that they’d closed down Ramirez’s shop, the dealer would feel cornered. He wouldn’t know which of his flunkies was rolling over on him, or who he could trust.
Ramirez would have no qualms about lashing out, especially at the cops, and at Jake-which meant Brianne had to be careful. The lieutenant had doubled the protection on Frank’s family, and he’d agreed to have Rina checked out in Italy to be certain. That left Brianne. She had to accept backup. She couldn’t run off on her own again, and Jake intended to make that clear.
But the ringing of the telephone prevented him from speaking. He reached for it. “Lowell.”
“It’s Vickers.”
Brianne glanced at Jake and mouthed,
He raised one silencing finger in the air. “I’m listening,” he said.
“The chef turned on Ramirez. We got his statement and the address of his new lab. Then just as we’re ready to go on down there, Ramirez calls us. Says he’ll turn himself in.”
Jake was suspicious. “What’s the catch?”
“You’re it, buddy. He wants you in residence. Says he won’t risk walking toward us while you put a bullet in his back.”
Only a coward would shoot someone in the back, Jake thought. And only a coward would worry about someone doing it to him. “I’m there,” he told Vickers, and hung up.
Jake turned to Brianne. “I have to go to the station.”
She nodded. “Ramirez?” she asked.
“Yes.” For a split second, he saw a hint of the old fear in her eyes before she quickly masked it. But her determination to fight her fear and her proven willingness to take chances led him to the conclusion that he couldn’t trust her on her own. Not without a promise in return.
“What’s going on exactly?” she asked.
“Give me a minute.”
“Okay.” She nodded, wary but willing.
Brianne lowered herself into the kitchen chair, while he disappeared out the doorway. She figured he had some things to get from his room, and that was fine. She started to bite her nails, something she’d never done before, while she sought to figure out a way to get him to either tell her what was going on or take her along with him.
He returned, looking sexy and all male in his faded denim jeans and a black T. She jumped up from her seat and grabbed his arm.
“Relax, okay? I’ll be back in a little while.”
His words did little to calm her nerves, but she sat back down. “Where are you going?”
He narrowed his gaze. “If I tell you, will you promise to sit tight while I’m gone?”
She let out a huge sigh of frustration, knowing she could do no such thing. “How can I promise when I don’t know what you’re going to tell me?”
“Brianne, please make this easy on me. I’ll tell you the truth and you’ll promise to stay here where it’s safe.” He pinned her with those gorgeous eyes-eyes that were pleading.
She wanted to agree and knew that she couldn’t. If he was so desperate to extract this promise, she felt certain he was going to put himself in danger. There was no way she could sit around and wait while he did. “Tell me where you’re going and let me judge for myself whether or not I can make that promise.”
He rubbed his neck. “Ramirez is going to turn himself in. I’m going downtown to meet him.”
She was surprised that Ramirez would give up so easily and shocked that Jake had entrusted her with his destination. And then his words sunk in. “You’re going to the station? I thought you were on leave and forbidden from going anywhere near the wrap-up of this case.”
He rolled his eyes. “Dammit, did you have to be so smart? I don’t have time for this. Ramirez wants me there when he turns himself in.” He leaned over her, obviously taking advantage of his size and making use of police intimidation tactics. “Now promise me you’ll stay put till I get back.”
“No.” She wouldn’t let herself be bullied any more than she’d let him walk into danger alone.
“I don’t know when you developed this stubborn streak…”
“I’ve always had it. When I love someone, I stick by them. Just ask Marc.”
His eyes opened wide but he didn’t say anything, and Brianne refused to take back the words she’d tossed out. They weren’t careless or spoken in haste. She meant them and saying them aloud confirmed her feelings.
“Take me with you.” Her pulse pounded out a rapid beat.
“No. Last chance, Brianne. Promise me you won’t leave, and I promise I’ll be back soon.”
They were at a stalemate. “I want to but I can’t.” She grabbed on to the chair and started to rise. “Please understand.”
“I hope you do,” he muttered under his breath, and reached behind him. “Because I can’t risk something happening to you, like what happened to Frank.”
His dead partner, Brianne thought. And the next thing she knew Jake had snapped a pair of handcuffs around her wrist and shackled her other hand to the chair. Her gaze darted in disbelief between the cuffs and his pained face. “You wouldn’t.” But he just had.
“You left me no choice. You’ve already proven you’ll go off half-cocked if left alone. If you’d promised, I’d have taken your word.” He held his hand out in front of her in complete supplication.
He picked his keys up off the table and flicked on the small television in the kitchen, then handed her the remote control. He walked out, only to return a second later with a magazine that he placed in front of her on the table. “I’m sorry, but you gave me no choice.”
