by Brenda Novak
She rubbed her face. Judging by the black on her fingertips, she’d smeared her mascara. “That doesn’t surprise me.” What did surprise her was that Roderick knew it. He’d been in town for one day and had already visited Leonard’s place? He worked fast….
“I guess you aren’t as popular as you were in high school,” he said, dropping onto his cot.
“I’m not running for class president.” She tried to laugh it off, but he wasn’t finished.
“Too bad Daddy’s money won’t be able to fix this.”
He thought he knew her and her situation. But he had no clue. He was judging her based on facts and impressions that were fourteen years old.
“Your opinion of me is pretty smug, isn’t it?” she asked.
“You’re saying I’m wrong?”
“I’m saying if you believe you’re the only one who’s ever suffered, you need to take a look around.”
“Meaning I should take a look at you? The pretty little rich girl who’s always had everything?”
“Rich girl? Obviously, you haven’t bothered to keep up. My father’s dead, Rod. He lost his business the year after you left, became an alcoholic and moved to Phoenix. He was basically homeless—until he was struck by a car while crossing the freeway. My mother couldn’t tolerate the loss of status that went along with the bankruptcy, so she’d already divorced him—which is part of the reason he never recovered—and immediately remarried some guy she met online. Her new guy had money, still does. Gary O’Conner bought the feed store and moved to town the same winter. He put a roof over my head and food on the table, but…”
She stopped talking. She’d never told anyone this. Except her mother. And Starkey.
“But…” he prompted.
Somehow it was more important to humble Rod than it was to guard her secret. “He felt I owed him a few liberties for his generosity.”
“What kind of liberties?”
He sounded much less confident. She’d succeeded in surprising him. And although part of her balked at stating what she’d kept to herself for so long—what felt dirty and shameful and better off forgotten—another part was dying to pour it all out and put him in his place.
“Let’s just say I had to make sure I was never alone with him. I was so scared he’d come into my room late at night that I couldn’t sleep. When I started losing weight, ten pounds and then twenty, my mother said I was becoming anorexic in my attempt to compete with the other girls at school.” She laughed, still incredulous that her mother could live in such denial. “I’d tried to tell her what was happening, but she wouldn’t believe me. She’d salvaged her image and found another meal ticket. She wasn’t about to let go of Gary and end up with nothing.”
His expression was inscrutable. “So what’d you do?”
She curled her fingernails into her palms, hoping the physical pain would diminish the crushing sensation in her chest. “What you did. I moved out.”
He propped his head on his arms, but he was far from relaxed. “That’s when you moved in with Starkey?”
“That’s when. But, as it turned out, his place wasn’t such a safe haven.”
“He’s a member of the Hells Angels. Was then, too. You didn’t know that?”
“I knew it. His reputation and his contacts were what protected me from Gary.”
“And once you no longer needed his protection?”
“I didn’t use him, if that’s what you’re implying. At the time I thought I was in love with him, enough to give up a regular law-abiding life. But once I learned the kind of sacrifices that would require, I realized it was impossible for me and struck out on my own. So forgive me if I’m not willing to offer you the pity you think you deserve,” she said and walked out.
Pity? That was the last thing Rod wanted. But he could see how Sophia might’ve misinterpreted his words and actions. He’d been pretty hard on her since he’d come back. Maybe too hard.
Muttering a curse, he sat up. He was usually better at remaining objective, at looking beyond preconceived notions in order to evaluate a situation. But he’d been too prejudiced against Sophia to do that. His body language, maybe even his tone of voice, had conveyed that he didn’t like or respect her. So how could he have expected her to react any more positively than she had?
Given their history, he probably would’ve rejected his help, too.
Remembering her embarrassment as she tried to get him into his boxers, he felt the sudden urge to laugh. She’d busted into his room with her cop tools, feeling she finally had the advantage—and got a little more than she’d bargained for.
Burying his face in his hands, he stopped laughing and sighed. Why had he wasted his time behaving in such a counterproductive manner?
Because he’d been attempting to assuage his pride, which was what he’d accused her of doing, although the damage to her pride had been a lot more recent.
They were stupid to fight each other. That only aided and abetted whoever was behind the murders—and Sophia’s political enemies—which could be one and the same. He didn’t want to side with Leonard, a man who’d used the threat of deportation to force a woman to have sex with him, did he? And if that wasn’t enough, Sophia’s picture on the back of his bedroom door proved conclusively that Leonard was a prick.
He stood. “Hey! Sophia!”
Had she left? Since he hadn’t seen another officer, he figured she was working all night, but maybe she’d gone out.
She hadn’t. Not yet, anyway. She appeared a few seconds later, holding a cup of coffee. “What do you need?”
“Why are you still here?”
“I traded Grant for graveyard this week, just in case there are any more shootings. Why are you still here?”
When he gave her a dirty look, she smiled sweetly. “Oh, I forgot. You interfered with my investigation. Then you refused to turn over the evidence. And now you’re under arrest.”
He studied her for a few seconds. “You did this because I embarrassed you.”
“I did it because you gave me no other choice.”
Leaning a shoulder against the bars, he tried to look as innocent as possible. “Do you really want to keep fighting me instead of your enemies?”
“I thought you were one of my enemies.” She took a sip of coffee. “I don’t have many friends whose life mission is to get me fired.”
“You’d just shocked me with a Taser when I said that.”
Her eyebrows went up. “You’re telling me you didn’t mean it?”
Noting her skepticism, he scratched his arm. “Not entirely.”
“How does that improve our situation?”
“I’m wondering why we can’t be professional allies. You need some help. I’m here to provide it.”
“But I’m not interested in having you involved. I thought I made that clear. The FBI is forming a task force. I think we can handle it.”
He tried to conceal his annoyance. “Why turn any help away? You’re being stubborn and illogical.”
She took another sip of coffee. “Sticks and stones.”
“Give me one good reason we can’t work together.”
“Just one?”
“That’s all I ask.”
A slight smile curved her lips. “Well…it could get uncomfortable.”
“How?
“I’ve seen you naked, remember?”
Was she flirting with him? If this had come from any other woman, he would’ve taken that for granted. But not Sophia.
What was she up to now? He had no idea, but he was intrigued enough to find out. “We could always even the score.”
“Meaning…”
Damn, she had pretty eyes. He didn’t trust the sultry note in her voice, but he felt a flicker of excitement all the same. “You could take off your clothes—give me the same opportunity.”
She made a show of considering it. “And this would benefit me how?”
“I wouldn’t want you to be the only one who’s embarrassed when we
run into each other.”
“So you’d be doing me a favor.”
He pretended to think about it and eventually nodded. “Basically.”
“Thoughtful of you.” Her mouth quirked, drawing his attention to lips that looked even softer than they had in high school.
“Contrary to what you probably believe, I’m a nice guy,” he said.
She ran her thumb over the handle of her coffee cup. “Nice enough to talk me out of my clothes.”
“Nice enough to make you glad you lost them.” He was teasing, but she definitely had his attention. “Want me to prove it?”
“Why not? We could do it right there.” She pointed at the cot in his cell. “Fulfill all my captor-captive fantasies.”
He let his gaze sweep over her. “You want to get your handcuffs?”
“We’re alone. Who’d know?”
“I’d certainly never tell.” He produced the crooked smile that seemed to work so well with women.
“Of course you wouldn’t. At least, not until morning, when you’d use my, shall we say, poor judgment to get me fired.” She straightened triumphantly, as if she’d called his bluff.
Bringing a hand to his chest, he scowled. “You have so little faith in me. We’re old friends, remember?”
She laughed. “Hardly! You scared the hell out of me back then.”
“I scare you now, too.”
“No, you don’t.”
But she was nervous; he could sense it. “If you prefer, I’ll be the one in handcuffs.”
“You’re such a gentleman. But if you think I’ll make it that easy for you to get revenge, you’re crazy.”
When he’d jumped into this conversation, he’d merely been curious. And playful. But he wasn’t feeling so playful anymore. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, he was starting to feel aroused. Apparently, things in Bordertown hadn’t changed as much as he wished. He still thought Sophia was beautiful. And, more than ever, he wanted her to want him. Maybe he believed that would make up for the brutal rejection he’d suffered at her hands fourteen years ago.
“You’re assuming I’d hurt you if you gave me the chance.”
“You would. And you’d enjoy doing it.”
And yet she was the one who’d changed the tone of their conversation, their relationship, from what it had been moments before. “You’re tempted.”
Her chest rose as she took a deep breath. It was as if he could see the weight she usually carried settling back on her shoulders. “Not really.”
That was a lie. She was as intrigued by the idea as he was or she wouldn’t have continued flirting with him.
“There’s no reason for us to be at each other’s throats,” he said. “There are bigger battles to fight.”
“That’s true.”
“So…”
She set her coffee cup on a table that stood in the corner. “I’ll make you a deal.”
“I’m listening.”
“I’ll let you go, if…”
“If…” he repeated.
“You leave town tomorrow. For good.”
Gripping the bars above his head, he leaned close. “That’s not exactly the kind of deal I was hoping for.”
She stepped up to him, her breasts just inches from his chest. “What if I agree to the handcuffs?”
As their eyes met, a powerful surge of sexual current arced between them, almost as strong as the shock Rod had felt from her Taser. It nearly knocked the wind out of him and, if the look on Sophia’s face was any indication, it affected her the same way. “At this point, just imagining your body against mine would probably be enough motivation to get me to do anything you want.”
Her tongue darted out to wet her lips. “So you’ll leave town afterward?”
Was this real? An hour ago, she’d shot him, twice, with her Taser, and he’d wanted to wring her neck for it. Now he had something far less violent in mind. “You’re serious….”
Catching her bottom lip between her teeth, she worried it as if she was having difficulty deciding.
“Sophia?” His grip tightened on the bars. “What, exactly, are you offering me?”
Stepping out of reach, she pressed her fingers to her forehead. “Nothing. I…I don’t know what I was thinking.”
“It’s not that hard to guess. You want to escape the pressure you’ve been under and forget all the terrible things that’ve happened—the controversy around your appointment, Leonard Taylor’s anger, the murders. But you don’t want it to come with any repercussions. That’s why you want me to leave afterward.”
“Maybe. But an escape like that always comes with repercussions.”
“You don’t trust me.”
“I don’t trust anyone.”
Thinking of what she’d told him about her stepfather, he pictured the frightened girl she must’ve become. No wonder she’d reacted the way she had when he’d appeared at the crime scene. He’d plunged into an already tense situation as if he had every right to force her hand and, not unreasonably, she’d lashed out.
“How long has it been since you had a good night’s sleep?” he asked.
She rubbed her eyes again. “I’m fine. It’s just…late, and I’m getting punchy.”
“Let me out of here so I can take you home.”
“You don’t have a car.”
“We can use your car.”
He didn’t know if she would’ve gone for it or not. There was no question that she wanted to check out of regular life for a while, ignore her responsibilities. She’d admitted as much. And since he was only in Bordertown temporarily, he thought he was the perfect candidate to become her partner in escape.
But she never got the chance to answer. At that moment, someone called out to her from the front.
“Sophia? Hello? Hey, where are you?”
The door separating the jail from the station swung open and Stuart Dunlap stuck his head through the gap.
11
Sophia felt her face flush hot. She hadn’t done anything wrong, not yet, but she’d wanted to. She’d considered allowing Rod to deliver on his promises, imagined it. And that was bad enough.
Stuart glanced between them. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing. I was just having a few words with my inmate.” She retrieved her coffee cup and stepped toward the door. “What are you doing here?”
He didn’t answer. Neither did he move. He was too busy glaring at Rod.
“Stuart?” she said.
He pulled his gaze away. But only briefly. “I ran into Half-pint Harris at the pool hall a few minutes ago. He told me he was driving by the motel earlier and saw you load a man into your backseat. I came by to make sure you were okay.”
She saw no need to thank him; he wasn’t really concerned about her welfare. He’d stopped by to see if that “man” was his hated half brother. But he couldn’t gloat over Rod’s incarceration as he’d probably planned, because he sensed that something was going on between them, and Stuart was nothing if not possessive, even though he didn’t have any right to be.
“Don’t worry about me,” she said. “I can take care of myself.”
He jerked his head toward Rod. “What’d he do to land himself in the cage?”
“That’s none of your damn business.” Rod stalked to the back of his cell and once again stretched out on his cot.
Sophia wished she hadn’t gone to the trouble of arresting Rod. She’d been well within her rights. But doing it had required energy she didn’t really possess. They’d both let what had happened in the past tempt them into creating a problem that didn’t need to exist in the present.
“I caught him jaywalking,” she said.
Stuart didn’t seem amused by her flip remark. “Half-pint said he wasn’t wearing a shirt.”
“That’s a crime around here?” Rod said.
“It is if you’re messing with my girl,” Stuart snapped.
Rod sat up. “Your girl?”
“I’m not his girl,
” Sophia said. “We’re not having this conversation. Come on, Stuart. Let’s get you out of here.”
She tried to grab his arm, but he jerked free and approached the bars. “What are you doing in town, Rod? No one cares about you. You know that, don’t you? You’re not wanted here today any more than when you were born.”
Rod sounded bored when he replied but Sophia knew his reaction hid a deep reservoir of feeling. “You can take that up with your father, Stu. He’s the one who asked me to come.”
“And you rushed back to town, hoping he’d finally accept you.”
“Stuart, stop,” Sophia said.
“He invited me to stay at the ranch. Did you know that?” Rod covered a yawn. “Maybe I’ll have to take him up on that offer, brother.”
“Over my dead body!”
Rocking forward, Rod came to a sitting position. “I’d be more than happy to accommodate you.”
“Are you threatening my life?” Stuart glanced at Sophia. “Did you hear that?”
Releasing a sigh filled with disgust, she pushed him toward the door. “It’s time for you to leave.”
He pulled out of her grasp. “The old man seems to think you might’ve turned into something.”
Rod shrugged. “Considering the disappointment you’ve become, I don’t blame him for hoping I’d make a better showing.”
“You filthy spic!”
“That’s enough!” Sophia attempted to step around Stuart, but he shoved her out of the way, knocking her cup to the floor, where it shattered.
Rod was on his feet and at the bars in a second. “I suggest you get out of here before you really piss me off.”
“Or what?” Stuart taunted. “What’s the big Navy SEAL going to do from in there?”
Removing the key to Rod’s cell from her pocket, Sophia dangled it in front of Stuart’s nose. “If you don’t leave, I’ll unlock the cage and we’ll find out.”
