by Lori Foster
He glanced out the dim window again. It was a miserable, dank July day, breezy, with fat purple clouds hanging low in the sky.
She should be coming along any minute now.
He’d first noticed her at his old neighborhood. He’d been there to rent out the upstairs apartment of the building he still owned, the same building he’d once lived in as a child. There were a lot of...unpleasant memories for him there, along with a few special ones. He kept the building as a reminder to himself that his life had changed, he had changed, but he was still a product of his upbringing.
Evidently, she rented from the building next door, because she had come down the walkway to the street and headed toward the post office, letters in her hand. It worried Mick, because no one traipsed around unprotected in that area. To call it rough would be a gross understatement.
But there she’d been, strolling along without a care. He hadn’t hesitated to follow her, making certain she remained safe, enjoying the back view of her as she strutted along, her stride long and sure and almost cocky.
The sun was blistering hot that day, shining down on her blue-black, shoulder-length hair, hair so silky it appeared fluid when she moved. Soft, light blue eyes looked beyond everything and everyone, including Mick, as if a great distraction held her. He’d been nearly spellbound by her tall, willowy body with its incredibly long, slim legs and broad, fragile shoulders. Strangely enough, even when she came back out of the post office and went past him, again oblivious to her surroundings, he hadn’t noticed her breasts. All his attention had been on her face, with its strong jaw, straight nose, pale eyes.
Mick wondered for an instant what Josh would think of his oversight.
Because he wanted to meet her, wanted to get to know her and have sex with her until he passed out from sheer exhaustion, he wasn’t about to discuss her with Josh or Zack. So he merely shrugged. “It’s a combination of things, and it’s different with every woman.”
Before either Josh or Zack could respond to that obscure reply, Mick saw her. Blindly, he laid his sandwich aside and twisted in the booth to better see out the window. Regardless of the drizzling rain, the gray sky, he’d expected her. A little rain wouldn’t chase her inside. No, not this lady. She jogged every day around the same time, the same place. Or at least she had for two weeks now. It felt like fate, seeing her first in an area where he owned property, and then here again, where he routinely visited.
Zack, being a reasonable sort, hadn’t complained much when Mick had made him move so he’d have the window seat. Josh, though, was unreasonable, always. Outrageous bordering on obnoxious. He’d demanded, all with laughter and taunting grins, for Mick to admit who he was watching for. Mick had refused, but now it didn’t matter.
The second he shifted his attention, going on alert, Josh noticed.
“Aha! There you go, Zack. I think we’ll get to see this mystery lady any second now.”
Mick told him, rather succinctly, what he could do with his speculations. But that didn’t deter Josh; if anything, it made him more curious.
Both Josh and Zack twisted around, and they, too, watched through the window. The streets were crowded during the lunch hour. Open umbrellas jumped with the breeze as people milled up and down the sidewalk.
And there she was, weaving in and out of human traffic as she jogged, her head uncovered, her clothes better suited to a bright spring day than drizzling rain. Funny thing was, she went right past them, inky-black ponytail bouncing, rainwater dripping off her nose and darkening her sweatshirt, and still Josh and Zack looked, searching the crowds.
They hadn’t realized she was the one.
Mick’s body knew that she was. Just seeing her now, bedraggled and wet and distracted, he wanted her. His muscles felt tight, his blood hot, his flesh prickly. Damn, if just watching her jog did this to him, how would it feel to kiss her, touch her, to slide deep inside her and hear her moan out a climax?
He felt the stirrings of an erection and muttered a curse. Insanity, he decided, but it couldn’t be helped.
To hide his reaction, he grinned and leaned into the corner of the booth. Now that she’d gone by, he could face Zack and Josh and still keep an eye on her for about half a mile on the long, straight street. He glanced, and saw there was almost no jiggle to her firm little butt in the skintight biker shorts. His large hands would cover that bottom completely, and he’d hold her still, keep her steady for his thrusts....
Josh interrupted his very interesting imagery. “So? What are we looking for?”
“Nothing now.” Mick deliberately sipped his coffee, knowing he had to get control of himself. And he had to get her; maybe after he’d made love to her for no less than ten days, he’d be able to get her out of his system.
A comical look on his face, Josh stretched past Zack, nearly knocking his plate off the table, and pressed his nose to the window. He looked and looked and finally said, “Damn it, there’s nothing, no one, out there worth staring at!”
Mick and Zack shared a look. Zack shrugged. “If you’re only looking for breasts, that could be. Maybe Mick was looking for something else.”
Josh frowned at Zack. “No way. You know he’s straight. We’ve both seen him with women.”
Mick spewed his coffee. Zack burst out laughing, and several women in the restaurant looked their way. They kept looking, smiling, flirting, and Mick shook his head. “You’re drawing attention to yourself again, Josh.”
“Me? I’m not the one laughing like an idiot.”
“You don’t need to laugh,” Zack told him, “to be an idiot.” Then slowly, as if speaking to a half-wit, he said, “I meant Mick was maybe looking at a woman who wasn’t top-heavy. Just because it’s your ultimate definition of what makes a woman, that doesn’t mean the rest of us agree.”
Josh studied Mick. “That right?”
“That you have strange ideas about women?” He took another sip of coffee and shrugged. “Yeah.”
“I meant,” Josh said, exasperated, “is she...lacking in the upper works?”
“As far as I can tell,” Mick told him, a little annoyed and not sure why, “she’s not lacking anywhere.”
That only perplexed Josh more.
Mick again peeked out the window, and to his surprise, he saw her turn at the corner, cross the street and start back toward him. There was no more jiggle from her front than there’d been from her back. When she was just opposite the restaurant, she slowed and finally stopped. She rested her hands on her knees while she breathed deeply, heedless of the light rain and his avid attention.
When she straightened again, she stretched her arms high. Her shirt rose, showing a very sweet belly that Zack no doubt would have adored. Captivated, Mick continued to stare at her while a slow heat stirred deep inside him. She walked into the jewelry store located directly across from the restaurant, and Mick made up his mind.
Pushing aside his plate, he stood. So many times over the past few weeks he’d considered following her, initiating a conversation, introducing himself. He didn’t want to rush her, but he’d dreamed about her twice, so he knew his fascination wasn’t about to go away. Now seemed like as good a time as any to make his move. “I’ll be back.”
Josh and Zack stared at him, blank-faced. Mick was aware of a thread of urgency vibrating through his blood. It had been like that from the second he first saw her, and every moment after when he watched her. He couldn’t put his finger on it, couldn’t tell anyone outright what it was about her that appealed to him, what pushed him over the edge. He only knew he wanted her. Bad.
As he dodged cars and puddles in the roadway, and muddy, slick spots along the curb, he wondered—for about the hundredth time—if she’d been in the area awhile, or if she’d only recently moved in when he first saw her. He’d been buried in work for the past two months, putting in seventeen-hour days, so it was possible she’d been close by for longer than two weeks.
He could get another assignment any day, so he had to take
advantage of the opportunity now.
He hoped like hell she was single. Since first seeing her, he’d studied her closely. There weren’t any rings on her fingers, but then he knew women who didn’t wear them, especially while jogging. Not once in the two weeks of his awareness had he seen her with anyone, definitely not a man, but that, too, could be a fluke.
Mick turned up the collar on his windbreaker and darted across the sidewalk, trying to keep as dry as possible. He didn’t have to look behind him to know both Josh and Zack would be craning their necks, their noses pressed to the window, spying on him. It was totally unlike him to chase a woman.
It was totally unlike him to be interested enough to bother chasing.
Thunder boomed, echoing over the street and rattling windows just as he stepped through the jewelry store’s ornate front door. Air-conditioning hit him, chilling his damp skin. He brushed his hair back from his forehead and looked around. Glass cases were everywhere, some large, some smaller to showcase a certain piece, and there, in the far corner, she stood. Dressed in her running wear she looked very out of place, conspicuous and unique in the upscale, glitzy store. She also looked sexy as the original sin with her skin dewy from the drizzle and sweat, her cheeks flushed from exertion, her hair as much out of the ponytail as in, wet and sleek.
Damn, he thought, annoyed with himself. She wasn’t that pretty, was in fact kind of plain. She wore no makeup, but her lashes and brows were as dark as her hair. Her nails were short, clean. She had a nice body, strong and sleek, fine boned, but not overly curved, not typically sexy.
Not the type of body to make him sweat at the sight of her.
She didn’t give out signals or flirt or even pay much attention to men, not that he’d noticed.
His eyes widened. God, maybe she didn’t even like men. That’d be a kicker, one he wouldn’t, couldn’t accept. Not when the mere sight of her turned him on. He didn’t just want her; he felt as if he had to have her, just as he had to sleep or eat. It was the damnedest feeling, and he wasn’t happy with it or himself.
She didn’t appear interested in any particular item as she moseyed from case to case, peering inside, then shaking her head and moving on. For the moment, Mick was content to watch her. He slipped his hands into his jeans pockets, then quickly pulled them out again when he realized that negligent pose might expose the weapon in the waistband holster at his back. Being off duty, he didn’t need the gun, but he always carried it.
In this day and age, his cover wouldn’t have been believable without it. Drug dealers, prostitutes, gamblers...they all expected you to be armed, and if you weren’t, you were considered an idiot, or worse.
Usually, even when conditions didn’t call for a weapon, he managed to smuggle in the Smith & Wesson 9 mm in an ankle holster. There were times, though, when he had to go without, leaving him feeling naked, and those were the times when he got most tense, when the adrenaline rush was all but blinding. He always wanted a woman afterward, a way to release all that pent-up energy.
He wanted a woman now.
He wanted her.
Moving closer, watching her, he was amazed that she didn’t feel his attention, so acute that it had him half-hard again with expectation. It had always been his experience that blatant staring was felt like a stroke of ice. But then, she was a civilian, and he’d already noted the first day he saw her how heedless she could be of her surroundings. It amazed him sometimes that people could survive with so little caution.
The door chimed behind Mick and more people entered. Two men, dressed much like Mick in jeans and T-shirts, wearing sneakers, one in a ball cap. They appeared to be in their mid-thirties, clean, middle-class. As a cop, Mick automatically took in everyone and everything. He’d already noted the two salesladies, the older couple looking at cocktail rings for an anniversary. He picked up on actions and quiet dialogue and expressions.
Caution was as basic to him as breathing. And because he wasn’t a civilian, wasn’t oblivious, he immediately detected the sudden charge in the air despite the nonthreatening scene and apparently ordinary people. It had come in like the wind with the men, and Mick didn’t like it worth a damn. He had a keen sixth sense, and he trusted it more than he trusted appearances.
The woman looked up, around, made brief eye contact with the two men who’d entered, then again with Mick. Their gazes locked and held for an instant, an instant that made his gut clench with awareness. She gave him a small smile, a simple, friendly smile that nonetheless heightened his tension, before she turned away again.
Senses on alert, Mick followed her, not too close, in no way obvious, but keeping her within reach. Because the shop was small and crowded with displays, the air thick and humid from the rain outside, he could detect her scent. It was earthy and rich, warm woman, damp skin and clean female sweat. His heart punched hard, a little fast; his sex thickened. He’d been too long without a woman, too long without any sexual relief. Sometimes being a contrary bastard was a real pain.
Her wet running shoes squeaked on the ceramic tile floor as she browsed, appearing to study the shop, not just the wares but the structure, the setup. Mick frowned as he watched her, further intrigued and a little distracted. Out of the corner of his eye he saw one of the men reach into his jacket pocket, and a silent alarm screamed inside Mick’s head.
He jerked around, but not quickly enough.
“Everyone stay still and calm.” The guy waved a SIG Sauer .45 around the room with menacing intent. “No one panic or do anything stupid,” he said with a sneer, “and I won’t have to kill anyone.”
Damn, damn, damn. Mick took a quick, inconspicuous glance around. The elderly woman, clinging to her husband, looked ready to faint, while the salespeople stood motionless, frozen in horror. His movements so slight that no one paid him any mind, Mick edged closer to the woman he’d followed. She stared at the gunman, her blue eyes darker now with fascination, but he saw no real fear.
“We’ll do our business,” the guy in the ball cap said, “and then leave and no one will be hurt.”
Mick didn’t buy it for a second; the words sounded far too rehearsed, far from sincere. And there was an anticipatory expression on the man’s face.
Things never worked out the easy way—not life, not love, sure as hell not an armed robbery.
The second man hitched his gun at the saleswoman. “You, come open the register and make it quick.”
She balked, more out of surprise than rebellion. Mick had a similar sensation. They were surrounded by diamonds and gold of unbelievable value, yet this idiot wanted what little cash might be in the register? The robber had to realize that most sales would be handled with credit cards or checks; his demand didn’t make sense.
Mick’s hands twitched. He wanted to grab his gun; he wanted to be in control. Right now, control meant keeping everyone alive. It meant keeping her alive.
Without warning, the man who’d issued the order shouted, “Now, goddamn it!” and everyone jumped, the saleslady screeching and stumbling over her own feet as she rushed to obey.
A predictable panic reaction, Mick thought, to the threat of sudden violence, not something a robber intent on keeping things calm would have instigated. Mick’s suspicions rose.
The older woman quietly wept, one saleslady turned white, the other shook so badly she had a hard time working the register. Before she could get it open, distant sirens broke the quiet, making both men curse hotly. Mick tensed, waiting for another outburst, for them to turn and run, for them to retaliate by shooting the saleslady. He’d learned early on that criminals did the most absurd and unaccountable things, often causing death without reason. He prepared himself for any reaction.
But what they did took him totally by surprise.
They didn’t yell, didn’t run. They focused their blame on the young woman next to Mick.
“Bitch,” the guy in the ball cap snarled. “You set off an alarm.”
Startled, she blinked, looked around, backed up t
wo paces. “No,” she breathed. It was the first time Mick had heard her voice, which quaked with fear, bewilderment. “I don’t even know where—”
The man took aim at her and, without thinking, Mick blocked his path. Both gunmen froze at his audacity. He felt the woman’s small hands against his back, clutching at his jacket. He felt her face press into his shoulder, was aware of her accelerated breathing, her trembling. She was deathly afraid, and anger surged in his blood.
His voice as low and calm as he could make it, Mick said, “She’s a customer. She doesn’t know where the alarm is.”
He was ignored.
“Everybody get down!” As the guy in the ball cap yelled his order, a car screeched up in front of the shop, motor idling. The customers all dropped to the floor, panicked, including the woman at Mick’s back. He felt her jerky movements, could hear her panting in terror.
Mick moved more slowly, his mind churning as he tried to buy himself some time. If he could get his gun... His elbow touched the woman’s wrist, he was so close to her. She, like the others, had stretched out flat, covering her head with her arms, shaking. Mick kept himself balanced on his elbows, ready to move, watching without appearing to watch.
The sudden shattering of glass—again and again as each case was destroyed—caused the older woman to wail, the saleslady to whimper. The woman next to Mick never made a sound. He wanted to look at her, to somehow reassure her, but he didn’t dare take his attention off those weapons. The two men grabbed a few large items of jewelry, but it was as if they destroyed the store just for the sake of destruction.
It was by far the most pathetic, disorganized and unproductive robbery Mick had ever witnessed—and that made him more suspicious than anything else might have. By rights, they should have known where the most valuable items would be, and should have concentrated their sticky fingers there. Instead, they seemed to take whatever was at hand without thought to its worth. No one robbed a jewelry store without casing it first, without knowing what would be found inside and where.
