She ached in a way she couldn’t describe. Sometimes, actions really did speak louder than words. He fought so hard to keep her safe, to rescue her when she needed. What lay between them couldn’t be all about his job. The way he made love to her didn’t feel like a temporary fling, even if she didn’t have a ton of experience to draw from.
Ally tightened her muscles around his throbbing erection and his hands returned to her hips, guiding her up and down. The musky scent of their lovemaking filled the steamy interior of the car. She kissed him and his hands tightened, squeezing her bottom.
Greg gave her everything she needed, and his tenderness was her undoing. She cried out, sinking down onto him. Felt his answering groan against her lips and the throb where their bodies were joined.
She rested her cheek on his bare chest, his thundering heart beneath her ear and pressed a kiss to his skin. Aware of the unrelenting passage of time, the sound of cars coming and going around them and thankful for the tinted windows and overcast sky. The steady rhythm of his heart soothed her.
“We need to go, sweetheart.”
“I know.”
Reluctance made her limbs heavy as she sat up. Greg’s expression was tense, his green eyes guilty. Why? For making love to her? Because she loved him? Or for using her as bait? She ran a finger along his square jaw.
“None of this is your fault, you know.”
“It’s not exactly yours, either.”
“No. I just think you try to take on the world, and this isn’t something I want you to bear the burden for. You carry enough on your shoulders.”
His eyes turned bleak. “I care about you, but I can’t stop who I am, Ally. It’s my job to take risks. I’m damn good at my job. At least, I used to be. You shouldn’t have to put yourself in danger to catch a bad guy.”
“It’s my decision to make, Surfer Dude.”
Greg smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes.
Her heart squeezed.
“Did you join the police because of what happened to your parents?”
“I don’t know. Maybe.” His gaze dropped and he fiddled with her dress. “Experiencing something like that firsthand probably influenced my choices. Guess I wanted to be someone’s hero, after failing my family.”
“How can you think that?” Holding his face in her hands, she waited until he met her eyes. “What happened to your parents was completely out of your control. You became a father figure to your sister. You took care of her and provided a home for her. You stood beside her, even with your own life destroyed. You are the definition of a hero, with or without your job.”
He didn’t say a word.
“You don’t want any real relationships with a woman because of what happened to your family.”
His expression shut down so fast she blinked. “What?”
Ally glanced down where her fingers lay tangled in his chest hair and shrugged. “I saw a picture of you with a girl at some formal dance. You were doing a pretty good imitation of a couple and you looked young, high-school age, so I just thought…” What could she say? That she wanted to believe she was more than a convenient lay?
“Look, I care about you. I’ve already told you that. I don’t know what more you want from me.”
She flinched. Stretching past him, she snagged his discarded shirt off the backseat. She ran the fabric through her fingers, fighting tears. Blinking rapidly, she pressed the shirt against his chest and slid off his lap into her own seat.
He cared about her. Rubbing her hand over her heart, Ally turned away.
Greg drove out of the parking lot. Anything could happen, but ten to one, tonight would be the last time she saw Detective Greg Marsing. A tear slipped free and she impatiently brushed it away.
Chapter Sixteen
Greg pulled into the park—the same park Victor had abducted her from only days ago.
Ally fought the urge to vomit. Crap. I can’t do this.
“You okay?”
Deep breath. This was totally doable. Piece of cake. “Dandy.”
He threw the car into park and took her cold hand in his. “Ally, you don’t have to do this.”
She pulled her hand free. If only she believed him, she would walk away without a qualm. “You said you were bringing in a couple of friends and the area is secure.” See? She could be reasonable. “Who are these friends, anyway?”
“I grew up with them. Frank is a commercial airline pilot who did time in the Air Force. We’re lucky he happened to be in town. Ted is a chef at Les Poulets Rouge. He’s scary with knives. Probably goes back to preparing meals for Special Ops guys. Then there’s Georgie. She’s fierce, but three tours of duty and she retired to decorate people’s houses.” He shrugged. “Go figure.”
“You trust them?”
He rubbed a hand over his face and tightened his other one on the steering wheel until his knuckles shone white. “With my life.”
Ally tried on a smile, for his sake as much as hers. “If you trust your friends to keep us safe, so do I.”
She made a grab for the door handle, but Greg was faster. He pulled her back for a quick, fierce kiss. His expression was unreadable when he released her, but one side of his mouth kicked up.
“Let’s do this, Sugar Lips.”
“Right, and I’ll just pretend my legs aren’t rubber after that kiss.” She shoved her door open. He was standing at her side before she’d even closed the door. “What exactly did you ‘accidentally’ leak?”
“The usual crap. How lame it was to be forced to follow some chick on a self-help trip.”
“Gee, thanks.”
“No problem, doll-face.” He grinned.
An image of Victor leering at her flashed before her eyes and she swayed.
“Don’t ever call me that. Ever. Victor…he liked…that’s what he called me.”
Greg took a step back. “Never again. I promise.”
His voice sounded harsh, choked, and she glanced at him. Set in granite would be a good way to describe his expression, except for the ticking muscle in his jaw.
“So…” Ally cleared her throat. “How do I know your buddies from the bad guy?”
“You won’t see Ted or Frank. Georgie will be around. She said something about a disguise. One thing we do know is our man is exactly that. A man. So unless Georgie comes gussied up like a guy, we’re good.”
A woman ran past pushing a baby jogger. Long and lithe, toned to a painful degree of perfection. Ally turned and stared until her ponytailed form disappeared around a bend in the trail.
“Speak of the devil.”
“What?” They closed in on the curve leading them to the little lake. We’re going fishing and I’m the bait. Her stomach rolled. Then she got it. “That was Georgie?” At his nod, Ally rolled her eyes. “Good night. Why do all the women you know look like supermodels?”
He attempted an innocent expression. Not a good look for him.
The woods opened up and the sun slipped out of the clouds. The glare off the water hit Ally in the face. Squinting, she lifted a hand to shield her eyes.
Something popped. Greg hit her with a football tackle and they slammed into the dirt. Dazed, she lay on the packed-dirt path. Fluffy white clouds floated by overhead. Pain unfurled with slow breath-stealing agony.
Over the buzzing in her ears, someone shouted and Greg rolled off her. Footsteps thumped past.
“This way,” a male voice hissed.
Greg jumped to his feet. “You take the right flank, I’ll take the left. Set Georgie on the front and Frank on the rear. Do not let this guy get away. Ally, stay put.”
No problem.
A cloud came into view shaped like a teddy bear. Footsteps thudded away. More pops and the sound of branches breaking. Answering gunshots came from multiple directions. Ally tentatively ran her fingers along her collarbone to the source of the intense pain beneath her right shoulder. Her fingers came away sticky and glistened red in the afternoon sunshine. Black spots flickered on t
he edge of her vision and she sucked in a painful breath. Getting shot officially sucked.
More gunfire, sounding farther away this time. Shouts, then ominous silence. At least it felt ominous, considering she was lying on the ground bleeding and helpless, and didn’t know what was happening.
Someone rushed toward her and she instinctively tried to flinch away, only to be rewarded with searing pain. She gasped.
“We got him, Ally.”
Wanting to share his pleasure, she tried to smile but couldn’t quite manage it. “Good.”
“Yeah.”
Greg’s handsome face came into view, marred by a dirt smear, a concerned frown pulling his eyebrows together as his gaze took her in. The color drained from his sun-bronzed face and he dropped to his knees beside her. Something warm ran down her side and pooled underneath her. She shivered.
Greg yanked off his T-shirt and pressed the warm fabric to her chest below her right shoulder. Fresh pain roared through her and she closed her eyes.
“Come on. Stay with me, sweetheart.”
Ally licked her lips and whispered. “You are so bossy.”
His laugh sounded strained and shaky.
She struggled to focus on anything other than the exquisitely sharp pain digging deeper into her with each breath. Footsteps thudded to a stop beside her.
“We got him, man. You guys ok…ay? Damn.” The new arrival’s voice softened. “Bad?”
With more effort than she liked, Ally pried open her eyes and stared at the man looming over them. Big and tanned, with spiky black hair and laugh lines fanning out from sharp, bright- blue eyes. The good ol’ boy charm emanating from him was slightly off tune with the bump in his nose and assorted scars on his face.
He also wore a two-thousand-dollar suit, complete with a pink and soft-blue paisley tie and matching pocket triangle. This guy took down a nasty criminal two minutes ago?
“Nah. She’ll be up and giving me hell in no time. Ally, this is Ted.”
Greg didn’t look so good. A little green around the gills and eyes dark with concern.
Ted knelt down on her other side, replacing Greg’s hand over the T-shirt. He smiled, remarkably gentle and easy-going for such a big man. “How’re you doing, beautiful?”
“Wonderful.” She managed to only wheeze a little. “Just give me a sec and I’ll be on my feet.”
“No rush.” His gaze shifted to Greg, who still knelt in the dirt.
Greg’s expression shook her more than anything. All the world-weary cynicism was gone, leaving behind wide-open vulnerability—like a lost little boy.
“Marsing.”
Greg jerked upright at Ted’s bark.
“You need to call this in. Get the medics here ASAP.”
“Right. Yeah. Of course.” Greg took a few steps away and pulled out his phone.
“So you’ve been hanging out with ol’ Marsing, huh?” Ted’s words pulled her attention away from Greg. “He’s a real pain in the ass. Don’t know how you’ve stood being around him so long. Pretty sure I would’ve shoved him off a building by now.”
“I resisted. Barely.”
Ally never expected to feel this way. Then again, she never thought she’d get shot, but she wouldn’t mind seeing a doctor about now. An EMT, a nurse. Heck, she’d settle for a candy striper. Ground vibrations heralded the arrival of more people. Good to know she’d become one with nature.
A tall, good-looking man leaned against a nearby tree, his face inscrutable. The jogger, Georgie, dumped her stroller and spared Ally a brief glance before striding to Greg’s side. Georgie and Greg stood shoulder to shoulder, their backs to her. They looked good together. A different kind of pain twisted through Ally and she turned her head away.
Her gaze met Ted’s and he winked. “I know what you’re thinking, but you’re wrong. Trust me. They’d kill each other.”
None of her business. Greg had made that clear. “That’s Frank? He doesn’t look like a Frank.”
Ted snorted out a laugh, glancing at Frank before leaning closer to her. “I’ll tell you a secret, but he’ll kill me if he finds out.”
An elephant had taken a seat on her ribs. All the response she could offer was a raised brow.
“His real name is Frankfurt.”
“I’ve always said your big mouth will get you killed one of these days, Ted.” Frank didn’t move from the tree he was holding up or even change expression. “That day could be today.”
Ted winked again. The warmth of his expression and cheerful demeanor didn’t quite conceal his concern. Sirens wailed in the distance.
Greg knelt beside her, glanced at Ted and bent so close she could make out the specks of green in his eyes. “Hanging in there, sweetheart?”
Her eyelids were growing unbearably heavy, but Ally managed a wan smile. Sleep was very appealing.
The sirens were louder now. Surely a little nap wouldn’t hurt? Just close her eyes for a few minutes?
Greg glanced back at Frank. “Where is he?”
“We made him real cozy a few yards back. He’s not going anywhere, but he’s not talking either.” Frank’s voice sounded very different, low and hard. Dangerous.
Greg met her eyes. “I’ll be right back.”
Ally was losing her battle against the pull of sleep.
“The pros will be here real soon, beautiful,” Ted murmured, “and they’ll take good care of you.”
With effort, she cracked her lids open. Georgie hovered a few feet away, staring at her. Probably trying to figure out the appeal to Greg. Well, what did she know?
“Do you need anything?” the nurse asked, a floral arrangement in her arms.
“I’m fine, thank you.” Ally scooted higher in the bed. Nerves tightened her belly as she stared at the flowers.
“These are beautiful.” The smiling nurse placed the vase on the window sill, pulled the card out and presented it to Ally. “You’re one popular young lady. You’ve gotten so many flowers in the three days you’ve been here this place looks like a florist shop.”
“It does seem to get people’s attention when you return from the dead.” A wry smile twisted Ally’s lips.
The nurse smiled, checked the water level in a couple of the vases and fiddled with the I.V. bags. She set a tray of bandages on the bed beside Ally’s legs, unsnapped her hospital gown, and gently peeled back the bandages from her wound. The nurse set the dirty cotton aside.
“You’re healing nicely. There’s a very small amount of blood and some clear seepage, which is positive. The stitches from the surgery to repair the damage to your tendons look good.” She stepped back and smiled. “I’ll get some warm water and bath the edges so you don’t feel sticky, then we’ll put some clean cotton and tape on you.”
She turned away to fill a small bowl at the room’s sink, giving Ally a modicum of privacy. She opened the card and hope wilted. Another one of her coworkers wishing a speedy recovery and welcoming her back to the land of the living.
A few minutes later, the nurse left and the silent room settled around Ally. A hollow feeling made itself at home in her stomach. Greg wouldn’t be putting in an appearance. He’d told her more than once he didn’t do relationships. Sadly, forewarned didn’t always equal forearmed.
The door creaked open again and Ted glided in on silent feet. Probably a handy attribute in a busy kitchen for a man his size. She’d never been to Le Poulet Rouge. Five-star restaurants were a bit out of her modest price bracket.
“Hey, beautiful.” He dropped a kiss on her cheek. “You’re looking perkier by the day.”
“Thanks.”
He set an elegant take-out container on her bedside tray and glanced at the door. “Contraband,” he whispered.
“More?” She reached for it.
He put his hand on top of the box. “No peeking until I’ve gone. You might injure my fragile ego.”
Nodding, she did her best to look earnest. Fragile ego her butt. He dropped into the chair pulled alongside her bed
and stretched out his long legs. Despite his expensive suit, he was incongruous with the flowers crowding every nook and cranny. Ted turned his astute gaze on her and addressed the white elephant in the room. “Heard from Marsing?”
Becoming absorbed in a loose thread on the blanket, Ally shrugged. “I’ve been so busy with coworkers and hospital staff coming and going, I haven’t had time to think about it, but now that you mention it, no.”
Liar, liar, pants on fire. She’d looked for him upon waking from anesthesia, heart jumping every time the door opened. The second day, she was more hopeful than expectant. By this morning, she’d slipped into a resigned state of depression she refused to dwell on.
“Not even a bouquet of flowers, I see.”
Startled, she glanced up. He hadn’t even looked at the cards.
“I know Marsing’s style. Pretty low, not sending so much as a card.”
That stung. “What do you mean? Have you spoken to him?”
He shot her a look full of pity. “It was pretty obvious you two were involved in a lot more than an investigation.”
Past tense was more appropriate, apparently. She focused on an especially lovely spray of tiger lilies and forced a smile. “I don’t need more cards or flowers. So, how’ve you been?” Not the smoothest subject change.
“Oh, fine. Took a few days off. I’ve been keeping Marsing company on and off. Got my head bit off this morning for my trouble, so I thought I’d bestow my presence upon you again. Figured a lovely lady such as yourself would be too gracious to snap at me like a grumpy old bear.”
“This grumpy bear is going to throw your ass out in the hall,” a familiar masculine voice growled from the doorway.
Ally’s heart skipped a beat before setting a pace fast enough to make a racehorse proud. Fingernails biting into her palms, she drank him in as he crossed the room. His lazy saunter and laid-back attitude were nowhere in sight.
“Hey, baby. How are you feeling?”
“Good.”
Greg gently untangled her fingers from the loose blanket threads, his touch sending her already racing pulse into the stratosphere. “Your fingertips were turning blue.”
“Oh.” Ally stared at him.
Sweet Deception Page 18
