Dangerous To Love

by Toni Anderson, Barbara Freethy, Dee Davis, Leslie A. Kelly, Cynthia Eden, J. Kenner, Meli Raine, Gwen Hernandez, Pamela Clare, Rachel Grant

  Her climax hit. The pleasure rolled over her like an avalanche, consuming, taking and all she could do was ride out that rushing onslaught of release. The most intense release she’d ever felt. So hot. So good.

  And he was right there with her. Gwen felt Chance tense against her. Then he was holding her even tighter as his hips pistoned. “So…fucking…good.”

  He kissed her again and she tasted his pleasure, just as she knew that he would taste hers. And in the aftermath, he just held her. Wrapped his arms around her and held her so securely against his chest. She could feel his heartbeat slowing against her. At first, his heartbeat had been fast like a racehorse, but its beat was steady now. So reassuring.

  She pressed another kiss right over his heart. “I knew it would be like this,” Gwen whispered. And she had. She’d looked at him the first day, and she’d needed him. Their chemistry had been electric. She’d wanted him as she’d wanted no other.

  Her head tipped back as she stared up at him. His sharp cheekbones were flushed and his eyes glittered.

  “I meant for our first time to be in a big-ass bed. I figured I’d do the whole routine. Champagne. Flowers,” he nearly growled the word. “But with you, I just can’t hold myself back any longer. I see you, and I want.”

  Her lips trembled into a smile. “I do the same thing.”

  He kissed her. Softly. Gently. But then he eased back and a furrow appeared between his brows. “A desk. Shit, did we really just make love for the first time on a desk?” Carefully, he pulled out of her.

  She immediately missed him.

  Make love. Her heart warmed a little more. “We did,” she confirmed, her smile spreading. “And we can make love for a second and third time here, too. Or we can go find that big-ass bed and the champagne and—”

  The phone on his desk rang, the shrill cry surprising her and making Gwen jump a bit. She laughed at herself even as Chance glared at the phone.

  “It could be your partners,” she said as the phone rang again and he didn’t answer it. “Maybe they know more about Ethan.”

  He nodded.

  Before he could reach for the phone, her fingers flew out and she hit the speaker button. Because if that was Lex or Dev, then she sure wanted to hear their status update on Ethan, too.

  Chance’s right arm curled around her, and he called out, “This is Valentine, I—”

  “I know who the hell you are.” The voice of Gwen’s father blasted over the line.

  For an instant, ice actually seemed to pour over her. She was with her lover, naked—and her father’s voice filled the room. Her mouth dropped open in horror.

  Chance tried to reach around her, probably aiming to turn off the speaker.

  But her father wasn’t done talking.

  “I’m paying you damn well to keep a twenty-four, seven watch on Gwen,” her father snapped. “I expect more updates for my time! Hell, look, I hired you for the job because I knew Gwen wouldn’t dodge you the way she does the others. The girl has been hung up on you for too long. We both know she’d let you stay close without giving it a second thought.”

  The ice that had poured over Gwen got worse. So much worse. She stared at Chance in growing horror.

  Ethan had been right. I’m a job for Chance.

  “But I deserve updates!” Her father barked. “What happened with Ethan? Did the police arrest that bastard? Did—”

  “They arrested him,” Gwen said. Her voice came out just as icy as she felt.

  Chance’s eyes squeezed shut, and he stopped trying to reach for the speaker button.

  Gathering her strength, she shoved Chance away from her. Her legs immediately snapped together.

  “G-Gwen?” Her father stuttered. He never stuttered. Not William Hawthorne. He made others stutter. He made others fear.

  “Chance did his job,” she said, her voice sounding as wooden as she felt. “He found me, he stayed close to me, and he stopped the bad guy.”

  Silence.

  Chance’s eyes opened. When he stared down at her, his expression looked absolutely tormented.

  Good. She felt pretty tormented right then, too. It seemed only fair they should both suffer.

  Gwen jumped off the desk. Her knees trembled and she grabbed on to the edge for support. What had felt sexy and wild moments before now felt…wrong. Dirty.

  Chance didn’t come to find me because he just couldn’t stand to be without me for even a moment longer. He came after me because my dad hired him. My dad told him to stay close to me.

  She’d asked Chance if her father had hired him. Point blank. He’d kept the truth from her. Gwen bent and snatched up her clothes. She dressed as quickly as she could.

  “What’s happening?” Her father demanded. “Chance, what the hell—”

  “Your timing is shit, Will,” Chance said flatly. “I’ll call you later.”

  “Wait, no—”

  She saw Chance disconnect the call. She hobbled into her shoes and then unlocked the door as fast as she could.

  “Gwen, stop!”

  She looked back at him. Chance was grabbing for his jeans. She doubted the guy was going to run after her naked. So she took that moment to make her escape. She didn’t stop, didn’t pause for longer than a second. She fled.

  Because she would be damned if Chance Valentine saw her cry.

  Chapter Seven

  Faith Chestang put her hands on her hips. Her gaze slid over Lex, then Dev, and Lex knew the detective was sizing them both up.

  “Tell Chance that he’s going to owe me even more after this.” She gave a firm nod. “Him…and William Hawthorne. Because I know Chance is still on the guy’s payroll.”

  She turned on her heel and headed down the narrow hallway at the police station. Lex hurried to keep up with Faith. “You’re wrong about Chance. He’s got his own operation now—we do.” Okay, so that emphasis wasn’t exactly subtle, but it wasn’t a one-man show. They were partners, and partners watched out for each other. “So I don’t know what you think you’ve heard—”

  “William Hawthorne told me himself that he’d hired Chance.” She paused near the end of the hallway, right beside a shut door. “You’re saying Will lied to me?” Anger tightened her face. A whole lot of anger.

  Dev cleared his throat. He’d rushed to follow her down the hallway, too. “Why don’t we just move to the part where you show us what you found on Ethan’s computer…and I’ll let Chance know about that increased debt he owes you.”

  Her eyes sharpened, but she nodded. Then she opened the door.

  Lex wasn’t particularly surprised to see the computer room that waited. There was a lot of technical equipment in there, but only one other person. A lone tech was inside, hunched over a laptop, typing fast and furiously.

  “Hey, Zack, I need you to pull up that video again,” Faith said as she sauntered toward him.

  The tech, a young guy who looked as if he might be in his early twenties, glanced up. He had a baseball cap on his head and one ear bud slid toward his left ear. He gave a quick nod and tapped again on the machine in front of him.

  Dev made his way to Zack’s side.

  “This guy was watching the pretty lady, a lot,” Zack said, his voice slightly nasal. “There are hours of footage here. I mean, seriously, he was watching her for weeks. Maybe even months.”

  The sonofabitch. Lex knew that Chance would be pissed when he learned that news.

  “Pity he’s got a high priced lawyer,” Faith muttered as she shook her head in disgust. “Because I heard Sophie Sarantos is already working to get the guy out on bail. A man like him doesn’t need to be on the streets.”

  “No, he doesn’t…” Zack agreed. He took off his cap. Flipped it around. And leaned over the laptop again. “But he’s not the only threat your vic is facing.” He pointed to the screen. “Check it out. Right there.”

  Lex leaned in close to the screen. Dev was already peering hard at it, too. Lex studied the scene on that monitor, then muttered
, “Some asshole in a black ski mask is in her room.” And that guy’s build…his shape…He looks like the guy I saw at her place the other night. The bastard who’d slipped away in that van. Lex checked the time stamp on the video. “Hell, that is the guy who gave me the slip the other day! Is it Ethan? Was he putting in more cameras? Was he—”

  “That’s not one of Ethan’s cameras,” Zack said.

  Dev was still studying the screen.

  Zack pointed to the upper left side of the video. “See where the guy is placing the camera? Right there above her bed? The videos that Ethan has—they don’t match up to that angle. His cameras were on her doors. Going toward her windows. Hell, almost like he was making sure he had the chance to watch everyone who came in to see her.” Zack tapped the screen. “That camera up there is different. It’s placed so the man watching her gets an up-close view of your victim. An intimate view. And that feed did not transfer to Ethan Barclay’s bar.”

  “What?” Dev demanded. His head jerked to the left and he focused on Zack. “That’s not possible. I traced the feeds. They led right back to him! I traced them!” Now Dev was sounding all insulted.

  “You didn’t trace that one,” Zack said. “Because that feed didn’t go back to the same place.”

  Oh, hell. If that feed didn’t lead back to Ethan…then who the hell did it lead back to?

  “I’m not wrong,” Zack sniffed. Now he sounded insulted. “I went to damn MIT. I know computers. I know tech. That feed didn’t go back to Ethan’s bar—the others did, but that one…hell, maybe he sent it to his home. Maybe we’ll find evidence there, but there was nothing related to it on any of the computers that we confiscated at Wicked.”

  Shit. Shit.

  Lex looked up and found Faith’s gaze on him. “Did you ask Ethan about that feed?” he asked her.

  She shrugged. “He’s not exactly talking. Not with his lawyer here. They’re working on getting the guy back on the streets and any kind of confession from him, well, that’s not going to help things, now is it?”

  Shit. This case had just gotten one hell of a lot more tangled. Because if Ethan Barclay wasn’t the only threat against Gwen…if that jerk hadn’t been the only one watching her.

  She’s still in danger.

  * * *

  Chance rushed out of his office building. Big damn surprise…it was snowing again. “Gwen!” The street was decorated for the coming holiday and the twinkling lights lit the scene. He ran right past those lights, sliding a bit on the snow, as he tried to search for Gwen.

  He saw her up on the corner. She was standing with her shoulders hunched. Oh, Christ, please, don’t let her be crying. Gwen’s tears tore him apart. “Gwen!” Chance yelled, cupping his hands around his mouth to try and make his call carry to her.

  She jerked and looked back. He saw her swipe her hand over her cheek. Wiping away tears? When she saw him, Gwen lurched forward. She rushed toward the street.

  He was already running after her. “Gwen, stop! Let me explain!” He had to explain this epic fuck-up before Gwen left him.

  He heard the growl of an engine. Saw the flash of lights turn on up ahead and then a van was racing down the road.

  Gwen was in the middle of the intersection. The sign on the street corner was flashing for her to walk, but she wasn’t walking—she was running.

  And the van was rushing straight for her.

  “Gwen!” Now fear was in his bellow because he was too far away from her. “Gwen, get out of the road! Run, run!”

  The van barreled toward her. Chance ran as fast as he could. He needed to get to Gwen. He needed to—

  The van roared through the intersection and he saw Gwen fly toward the bank of snow on the sidewalk. She fell into that snow.

  The van raced away.

  “Gwen!”

  Fear stole his breath. He slipped, fell, then hauled ass to her. His whole body was shaking. Did the van hit her? Did the van—

  She groaned. She was still in the snow.

  He reached down to her, and Gwen rolled toward him. Snow fell off her arms and her legs.

  “What was that guy’s problem?” Gwen mumbled as she brushed the snow off her face. “Didn’t he see me? I was right there!”

  Chance hauled Gwen to her feet. His shaking hands ran over every inch of her body, searching for an injury.

  Gwen can’t be hurt. She can’t be. I need her. Gwen can’t be hurt!

  “Stop it!” Gwen swatted at his fingers. “I jumped out of the way. The snow cushioned my fall. I’m fine.” She shoved at his chest. “Just let me go.”

  He held her even tighter. Chance buried his face in the curve of her neck. “Just let me hold you. Give me a minute.” A minute to get his fear and fury under control. A minute to realize that he hadn’t lost Gwen. She was right there, with him. Safe. Alive.

  Her fingers fluttered over his shoulders. “Chance?”

  “I couldn’t get to you fast enough.” His hold was probably crushing her. He should ease up. He just—couldn’t. Maybe he needed another minute. Maybe twenty more minutes. “The van was coming right at you. I couldn’t get to you fast enough.”

  She pushed against his shoulders. Finally, Chance managed to ease back, just a few inches. Her expression was worried. “I’m okay,” Gwen said softly. “It was just an accident, I’m—”

  His phone rang, vibrating in his pocket.

  Gwen’s jaw tightened. “That had so better not be my father again.”

  Chance kept one arm around Gwen while he pulled out his phone. His gaze swept the area. The van was long gone.

  That van had been familiar. I saw it before, back at—

  “We’ve got a problem,” Lex said when Chance put the phone to his ear. “A big damn one. You need to get down to the police station with Gwen because it sure looks like Ethan may not be the only threat facing your lady.”

  “Yeah, yeah, I got that part already.” Because that van—that dark van—it had been the same one he’d seen the other night at Gwen’s place. He knew that make and model. The guy had just tried to run her down. He tried to kill Gwen. “We’re on the way.” He put the phone back into his pocket.

  “Chance?” Gwen stared up at him.

  Oh, hell, but he hated to do this… “Baby, that wasn’t some distracted driver.” He went back into the road. Pointed to the marks that were so easy to see in the falling snow. “The driver was waiting for his moment to attack. When he saw you, when you made a good target, he came right at you. He accelerated and he swerved to try and hit you. Not to avoid you.” The marks on the road told a clear story.

  Gwen’s arms wrapped around her stomach. “That guy wanted to kill me?”

  Kill her…or, at the very least, hurt her. Badly.

  “Why? What have I done? Is Ethan doing this? Did he hire whoever was driving that van?” Now she looked down the empty road. She shivered. “I want this over.”

  So did he. “We need to get to the police station.” There was a camera positioned right above the intersection. Faith would get them access to that camera. They’d find that bastard.

  And I will stop you. Because you aren’t going to take Gwen from me.

  * * *

  At the police station, Gwen stared through the one-way mirror into the interrogation room. Ethan was seated at the table, and he seemed to be staring right back at her.

  “He can’t see you,” the detective told her. Faith. The detective’s name was Faith Chestang. She’d been waiting when Gwen arrived at the station. Faith had worked for Gwen’s father years before, and Gwen had been glad to see a familiar face at the PD. “He knows someone is out here, of course,” Faith added, “but the guy has no idea it’s you.”

  One of Ethan’s wrists was handcuffed to the table.

  “Why is he doing this?” The why was driving Gwen crazy. “We broke up. People do that all the time. They break up, and then they move the hell on.” They didn’t put cameras inside the homes of their exes. They didn’t—jeez, what had h
e done? Hire someone to mow her down in that van?

  “You know his ex-fiancée died in a car crash.” Faith’s voice had turned musing.

  Gwen didn’t look away from Ethan. It was hard to think that she’d once had sex with a man who now wanted her dead.

  “I did some digging on that incident,” Faith said. “And I’m not so sure it was an accident.”

  Her words pulled Gwen’s gaze off Ethan. “What?”

  “She was driving a brand new car. Her brakes shouldn’t have gone out, not without some help. If we still had the car, I’d get my techs to go over it…because I’d lay odds we might find some new evidence in that case.”

  Gwen rubbed her aching temple.

  “Men like this…obsessive stalkers…they don’t just suddenly develop the condition overnight. Ethan Barclay has done this before, in other relationships. I’d bet my badge on it.”

  And she understood why the detective had brought up Ethan’s ex-fiancée. “You think he killed before.”

  “Some men have a hard time taking ‘no’ for an answer.” Faith stepped closer and stared through the glass. A badge was clipped to her right hip and a gun holster was on her left. “His lawyer won’t let him talk to me. Not to any cop. She’s pulling every string she’s got so the guy can get out of here as fast as possible.” Faith glanced over at Gwen. “I’m going to be very honest with you. It doesn’t matter how much power Will has in this town, the judge can’t keep Ethan locked up forever. He will get out on bail. And when he does, you need to be prepared.” There was a dark warning in Faith’s eyes. “He’s locked on you, and I don’t see him just turning away now.”

  He’s going to come after me again. And to think, she’d tried to push off her father’s protection. “My dad was right all along.”

  “Yeah, well, when you tell him that, Will is going to be even harder to live with.”

  Faith kept speaking so easily about Gwen’s father. Suspicion nagged at Gwen. She’d wondered about the two of them before…

  Once again, Faith looked through the one-way mirror. “Chance is going over those videos with Lex and Dev. If he was in here with us now, Chance would never let you do what I’m about to suggest.”