Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 72715 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 364(@200wpm)___ 291(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72715 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 364(@200wpm)___ 291(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
Giving in to Jake’s seductive powers, succumbing to a man who valued danger and risk, couldn’t result in anything more than a short-term affair. Brianne didn’t indulge in meaningless relationships. She’d learned long ago that they failed to relieve the loneliness. And given the strength of the attraction between herself and Jake, by indulging she would only set herself up for a broken heart.
* * *
Brianne Nelson. Pretty name for a pretty lady, Louis thought. A name he’d had no trouble learning from the waitresses at the upscale bar Detective Lowell liked to frequent. Louis Ramirez wasn’t surprised a man like Lowell had developed an interest in the woman. Any red-blooded man would look twice. He had. And now she was bent over, tying her shoes, giving him a view of her slim waist and rounded ass. What a waste, her interest in the detective.
The damn cop thought he was so smart. Louis couldn’t stifle the snicker that escaped. He’d not only beaten the rap, he’d beaten Lowell. Lowell hadn’t been clever enough to recognize a setup. He’d gotten shot and hadn’t been strong enough to pull himself up and do the Miranda rights himself. And he hadn’t been able to keep Louis in jail. Louis loved the cop’s obvious frustration over the fact that no one could say Louis was anything but a clean citizen now. But talking to Louis’s girlfriend was taking things too far. Making things too personal.
Personal could go both ways, he thought, and watched as Brianne Nelson headed into Lowell’s building and checked in at the security desk out front. Fancy address for a cop to be hanging out. He took a drag on his cigarette, then stomped it into the ground. Lowell was a damn fool if he trusted money to keep him safe. Because if and when the time came, no doorman or security system would keep Louis out.
Chapter Four
Jake spent the afternoon on the streets talking to old informants and even older friends. No one had any information on Ramirez, but Jake hadn’t expected them to. All he wanted was for the slime to know he was on the prowl, asking questions. That he hadn’t forgotten Ramirez had taken down a cop, was responsible for Jake’s injury. That they would meet up again.
When Jake got home, the apartment was quiet except for Norton. Though Jake wanted nothing more than to hit the shower and relax, he grabbed the leash and took the dog on a long walk—on the hot sidewalk. The pedigreed pooch dragged his heels, trying to run home or bolt into any open door he could find where the sun wasn’t baking the concrete. No mutt with a brain would want to roast in this heat, and Norton obviously agreed. Jake had to admit, the dog was smart, something the sharpei had proven when he’d rolled over and begged for a belly rub from Brianne. Figuring they had in common both their attraction to her and the fact that they both were male, he decided to give the dog a break.
Once Jake got Norton to his favorite patch of grass, he gave the order his sister had explained would take care of things fast. “Do business,” Jake muttered, hoping nobody saw him talking to the mutt.
Unbelievably, as usual, Norton finally did his thing. Jake rewarded him with a fast trip home and a huge bowl of cold water. Then he took a cool shower for himself, and by the time he heard the sounds of Brianne’s return, he’d washed away the grime of the day. He was ready to spar with Brianne, to keep her at a respectable enough distance to avoid therapy—among other physical entanglements he couldn’t afford.
Jake told himself that his moral code wouldn’t let him take advantage of their living situation. He reminded himself that putting Ramirez away had to come first. And he knew for certain that being both a cop and a gentleman who kept his hands off Brianne would require all his mental and physical energy.
He stepped back and greeted her in the large marble entryway. “Welcome home.”
With a curt nod, she walked toward him with brisk, no-nonsense steps. Obviously she had the same concept of distance in mind. He forcibly stopped his smile from turning into a full-fledged grin. Her curt stride, accompanied by her baggy green pants and top exuded a professional demeanor, one she no doubt intended to use to put him off.
He understood. He’d tossed and turned last night, knowing she was asleep in another room in the same apartment, remembering the kiss and knowing he would have liked to take it further—to make love to her and satisfy the yearning she inspired.
She stopped in front of him and let out a huge sigh. “Boy, am I beat.”
Before Jake could respond, Norton bolted into the room and ran across the floor, coming to a sliding halt in front of her. If she hadn’t been in his way, he’d have hit the elevator doors behind her with a resounding thud.