“Not even to protect you?”
“Maybe,” she said. “I’ve always been the one to protect him. Especially after our dad died.”
“No wonder you two are so close.”
“He’s been there for me. I don’t know what I would do without him.”
“I’ll be glad when this case is over,” Bruce said.
They lay in silence for a while, his body heating hers, his fingertips brushing gently against her skin.
“What will happen after that?” she asked. “Will you go undercover again?”
“Not on this case,” he said.
“Why?”
“This is my home turf. Too risky.”
“What about on another case?”
“Depends.”
“On?”
“The case. What’s going on in my life.”
Cassidy’s skin prickled with a chill.
“When I took the last one, it was because I needed a challenge. And space.”
“It must have been such a hard job though,” she said. “I mean, you had to put your life on hold for almost three years.” The warmth from his body seemed to radiate into her, welcoming her. She wrapped her arm across his abdomen, her hand resting against the curve of his side. His arm followed, and she felt it again, that soft caress on her wrist.
“I was ready. I needed to break away.”
“Because of your divorce?”
“Yeah.”
“It probably sounds like an escape, and I’m sure part of it was.”
“For what it’s worth, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that,” she said. An ache tightened behind her breastbone when she thought of all the ways she’d tried to hide from the pain of losing Pete. If not for Jay and the hard work they had done, would her episode with Xanax and beer have ended differently? Would she be here in Bruce’s arms?
“The job was kind of fun, though,” he said.
“Fun?”
“Sure. I got to be someone else for a while. And I got to surf some incredible waves.”
“But it was also dangerous. How can you enjoy yourself when you’re constantly looking over your shoulder?”
“Remember that I wasn’t alone. I had a team. They watched my back.”
“I guess I can see the surfing part being fun.” She wondered if her arm was draped over his scar.
“I’m glad tonight’s over,” he said, his arm pulling her tighter against him. “I was going crazy, worrying about you guys in there.”
“I was pretty freaked out,” she said. “I hope Bo didn’t notice.”
“Sounds like he was pretty focused on Quinn.”
“Until he said that thing about leaving with him.”
“I just about busted down the door when I heard that,” Bruce said, his voice tight.
“You didn’t trust me to handle it?” she said, pushing off his chest to look at him.
Bruce’s jaw flexed. “I didn’t trust him. I kept having these images of him cornering you somewhere.” He clenched his eyes shut for an instant, and when he opened them, she saw the fierce determination there. “I won’t let you get hurt again.”
The silence between them lengthened.
“It’s crazy late,” Bruce finally said. “Do you want me to go?”
Cassidy tried to imagine what it would feel like to wake up in his arms, but a rush of fear filled her so fast she had to stifle a gasp. “Maybe,” she said, hoping it wouldn’t offend him.
“You got it,” he said easily, giving her arm one last stroke with his thumb before rising, taking her with him.
Cassidy rolled to her feet and stretched. As she turned back, she caught Bruce looking away. Had he been watching her?
She led him inside and closed the patio door behind him.
“You don’t lock it up?” he asked.
“We’re two stories up,” she said, giving him a look. “The risk of bandits scaling the side of the building is rather low, I’d say.”
Bruce frowned, then reached over and locked it. “It never hurts to be extra cautious.”
“Don’t tell me. You sleep with a gun under your pillow, don’t you?” she asked, watching him slip into his shoes.
His eyes danced. “Nah. The Uzi doesn’t fit.”
Cassidy laughed.
He shook his head. “No gun under my pillow. But it’s always nearby.”
They walked to the door, imagining sleeping in a room where there was a weapon at the ready. For what, though? Did Bruce live with the idea that someone was coming for him?
“I’ll call you tomorrow,” he said, and pulled her into his arms.
Resting her head against his shoulder, she soaked in the steady feel of him, his warmth. A part of her wanted him to stay, but a more aggressive voice was telling her to push him out the door.
Finally, he released her. “Goodnight, Cassidy.”
The butterfly flutters erupted inside her gut again, making her feel nauseous. “Goodnight,” she said, her breath shaky.
He seemed about to say something else, but smiled instead. And then he stepped into the dark hallway.
Quinn didn’t come home until almost 5:00 a.m. She knew because she was awake after drifting off sometime after midnight.
By 6:00, she couldn’t stay in bed any longer and rose, tugging on a set of running clothes. She pulled back her hair into a ponytail and laced up her shoes, then exited the apartment quietly. At this hour, the pale streets carried a hushed quality she loved. She decided to run south along the PCH, even though it would be loud and busy because of the ocean view.
Settling into her pace, she watched the handful of early bird surfers bob over the waves, which were small, and thought about Bo’s invitation. Would she have to surf Deadman’s Point with him on Saturday? At least surfing is safer than being in a bar with him, she thought. And I won’t have to wear a wire. She remembered Bruce’s I’ll be glad when this case is over.
When would that be?
More fragments of her conversation with Bruce the night before returned. Did the act of joining him on the chair mean that something had changed between them?
When she said goodbye at the door and froze…had he been debating whether to kiss her?
A tingle of violent energy jolted her empty stomach. Was she ready for something like that? She cared deeply for him as a friend, and she sensed he felt the same way
