Mistake (Siren Publishing Classic)

by Allyson Young

  Her car wasn’t in the driveway. Bryce blinked. Fucking stupid. He assumed she’d gone straight home after retrieving her car. So much for thinking like a cop, but then Jenna wasn’t an objective file, held at arm’s length. A flash of gray ahead caught his eye and he realized it was Jenna’s generic sedan, turning the corner just up the block. Without hesitation he shoulder checked and pulled away to follow her.

  He saw that she drove competently, if slightly above the speed limit, taking advantage of every opening to pass those moving slower, so whatever she was feeling, she had it under control. Somehow he’d expected erratic, nervous driving. Regardless, she wasn’t doing a good job of watching her mirrors because his truck was fairly memorable. Unless she had seen him and…he had to quit thinking about her motives and find out what the hell was going on from her directly.

  Skirting the more congested part of the city, she pulled into a small housing development surrounded by encroaching retail outlets. Bryce appreciated the serenity of the area, the houses and yards well maintained and symbolically resisting the boxy silhouettes of progress. Jenna drove to a small cream two story with shocking crimson trim and pulled into the driveway, all the way to the back, like she was hiding it from eyes on the street. He noted two cars at the curb, one a noxious yellow, the other an eye-catching red.

  Pulling out his cell phone, he called Darren. “What can I do for you, partner?”

  Darren was always obliging. Where Bryce was intense, Darren was laid back and easy going, a perfect foil for his bubbly redheaded wife, and a good balance for Bryce, too.

  “Can you run a plate for me?”

  “Sure.”

  Bryce chose the yellow vehicle’s plate before idling on by to turn at the corner and drive around the block. He automatically checked for familiar vehicles, comparing the ones he did see with the memory of ones driving behind him and Jenna on the way here. He didn’t observe one, so believed Jenna hadn’t been followed.

  Darren’s voice crackled in his ear. “Judith Hird. 1717 Osprey Drive—”

  “Got it. I’m there. Can you do a check on Jenna for me?”

  Silence, then Darren quickly recovered. What the fuck? Bryce easily read between the lines. It seemed his partner knew about him and Jenna no longer being an item and he didn’t have time to wonder how the news had gotten out. He hadn’t breathed a word, not that he was a girl about his sex life, talking to his friends.

  “You have a birth date?”

  “No.” Shit, he didn’t even know when her birthday was. “She’s thirty-six.”

  “She a native of Sarasota?”

  “No.” Okay, but where was she from? This was insane. Even his casual women told him where they were from. It was almost part of the foreplay. What else had he missed? How was it Jenna was so like him—withholding and so cautious? Then he reminded himself she, too, had been casual and they were no longer involved. He was doing his job.

  “Buddy?” Fuck, Darren had been talking while he’d been thinking.

  “Sorry?”

  “Lots of Jenna Muirheads in the system, but none in that age group so far. I’ll keep looking.”

  His cop senses went to full alert. “She works for Bullock and Company. Transferred here from…someplace up north. Way north. Call me, okay?”

  “Want to tell me what this is about, Bryce? This why you moved on?”

  So Darren did know. Another puzzle for another time.

  “Call me.” He tucked his phone back on his belt and found a place to park his truck a couple of houses down. Time he and Jenna had a chat.

  An extremely curvaceous black Amazon answered the door. He approved of the way she checked him out, carefully, and didn’t open the locked outside door. “Bryce Meadows?”

  Bryce knew they’d never met, and he sure as shit didn’t post his stuff on social media. He nodded.

  “Saw you in court a couple of times.”

  What? Well, Jenna had talked about her friends but in retrospect, had been cautious with the details. How blinded had he been by what they had that he hadn’t noticed her reticence? Like she had learned early on how to be private. And he bleakly recognized that it had fit with his own need to remain aloof. Maybe that was why their passion burned so brightly.

  “I was running some files over to district court for one of my asshole bosses who can’t remember to take shit with him. Somebody pointed you out.”

  Again, he nodded, putting the distraction aside. “I’d like to talk to Jenna.”

  “Why?”

  Fair question. “Her car’s been stolen twice and the way it was found conveyed a message.”

  Judith, he assumed it was Judith, snapped the lock open and motioned him inside. “She’ll hate me for this but it’s kinda big.” She hesitated. “If you found her here…”

  “I saw her drive away from her house. Nobody followed her. Or me.”

  Another careful perusal with her big, almond-shaped eyes. They were so dark they appeared black. “I suppose you’d know.”

  Following her down a short hallway painted in an outrageous shade of bright blue, Bryce figured he knew who chose the color. Judith was wearing equally bright shorts and T-shirt in orange. She looked magnificent and quite formidable. Feminine voices drifted to him as they turned right into a turquoise living room. Once again the color choice shocked him, an emotion reflected on Jenna’s face when she turned her attention from the blonde at her side on the couch and saw him.

  Her hand rose to cover her mouth and he noted that she wore a wrap of gauze around it. “What are you doing here?”

  “I told you to call me back. You didn’t. So I decided we’d talk in person.”

  “You decided,” she replied slowly, and he watched as she visibly raised her emotional shields far higher than her injured hand.

  “I didn’t pay attention the first time. No excuse. I’m paying attention now. Talk to me.” He put a little snap of authority into his tone. The blonde flinched but Jenna simply stared.

  “No thanks.” Her dismissive tone made him want to shake her before he hugged her close. He could feel the fear and worry emanating from her despite her considerable effort to hide from him.

  “He’s a cop, Jenna. You should probably—”

  “No, Carla.” She cut off the little blonde and glared at Judith. “I shouldn’t have come here, involved you. I couldn’t think of anywhere else to go.”

  She was still in her work clothes, another well-tailored suit in charcoal with a fancy green blouse underneath. Bryce saw that it exactly matched her eyes. The dark shadows beneath them made his gut hurt, knowing he put them there.

  “Bullshit. Of course you came here, Jenna. And you’re gonna let this man help you.” Judith issued the challenge with the aplomb of someone who detested lawyers and didn’t care who knew it.

  “No. I’m not doing this. I’ll figure it out.” Jenna rose to her feet and made to push past him. Bryce moved right into her space and grasped her arms right above her elbows. She narrowed her eyes and struggled for an instant before conceding his superior strength. “Let go. I don’t want your hands on me.”

  “You like my hands on you.” This was so not the time, but her words cut him.

  “That was before you kicked me out of your bed, Bryce. You need to let me go.” The collective feminine gasp behind them triggered his shame.

  “Not until I know you’ll be safe.” She froze at his words and fear flitted across her lovely face.

  “Why do you care?” she whispered.

  “Because I’m a cop and you were mine.”

  “Past tense, Bryce. I can’t do this. You hurt me and I’ll keep hurting if I keep seeing you.”

  Deeper shame and guilt washed over him but he pushed them away. “So you’d rather something happen to you?”

  “Yes. Maybe. I don’t know.” She shook her head as she said it, obviously knowing how nuts she sounded, but didn’t take it back.

  Fuck. Save him from women. He released her and pulled ou
t his cell. “Darren? Anything?”

  “Just about to call you…she’s using her mother’s maiden name. Minneapolis is sending me stuff any minute.”

  “I’ll be there in thirty. Can you interview her for me? Work late?”

  After a brief hesitation, Darren agreed.

  Three pairs of eyes surveyed him when he shut the call down. Blue and dark brown were annoyed but approving. Green was infuriated. He stared right into them. “If you’re that blind, sweetheart, then my partner will take care of it. Now get your purse and come with me. Judith? You probably don’t want that car here so I’ll have somebody come by and take it to impound.”

  “Okay,” Judith promptly replied, her loud voice nearly masking Jenna’s affronted gasp. “And me and Carla will come down to the station to lend moral support. Maybe fill you in on what our girl here is going to gloss over.”

  * * * *

  Jenna felt herself vibrating. Literally vibrating. She couldn’t catalogue everything she was feeling. Terrified for sure. Jason had followed her to Sarasota, no doubt in her mind about that, and her involvement with Bryce had been so intense she hadn’t been paying attention. Cars like hers were easy to steal. In fact they were among the preferred choice of car thieves, right behind a certain minivan. Poor car thieves, not the luxury car kind. Jenna’s brain stored all sorts of trivial thoughts. She was so tired of watching her back trail and taking care of herself she had let her guard down, and her time with Bryce had muddled her brain. The call to Minneapolis-St. Paul after picking up her car the second time had confirmed her worst fears.

  But it was the way her friends allied with Bryce that cut through her reaction to him, her heart first leaping at his entry then deflating when he made it clear he was doing his job. As women experienced with heartbreak, they should have had her back, turned him away, but they were actually thinking clearly and her safety was first and foremost on their agenda. Okay then.

  “I’ll ride with Judith.” It was her final effort but Bryce overruled her.

  “You’ll ride with me.” She’d wanted to smack someone all day, and her palm positively itched to raise it to his resolute face. Instead, she hugged both her friends to let them know she wasn’t pissed with them, and also in case she moved on and didn’t see them again. Drama, but it felt like it could be true. And at the back of her mind she figured he could take care of himself on the drive to the station if it was necessary, better than her friends could. But in the end, Bryce would still be in the crosshairs. Jason didn’t share. And she had no idea what to do, how to protect Bryce.

  He held her elbow lightly the entire walk to his truck but she knew better than to pull away. He was seriously pissed. She noticed how he surveyed their surroundings, stiffening when a white van cruised past, then relaxing when the woman driving twisted to visibly call back to the children strapped into car seats in the back. Jenna said nothing, just let him help her into the truck, her slim skirt impeding her climb into the high seat. She tried not to breathe in his scent or notice the way her body responded even to his impersonal touch. As soon as this was over, however it came to be over, she was moving to the moon.

  Fastening her seat belt, she watched out the side window and looked in the mirror, seeing Judith and Carla getting into Judith’s car. She kept her head turned away from Bryce and avidly perused the scenery flashing past as he drove them to the station. He called in an order to have her car towed while he drove.

  “You scared?”

  She flinched but managed to shrug the shoulder closest to him.

  “Who do you suspect it is?”

  “I’m not talking about it with you, Bryce.” She caught the distorted reflection of her lips moving in the polished side window. “You can get all the gory details from Darren.”

  “He knows we aren’t together.”

  That hurt. Another kick in the head. Seemed he just couldn’t resist. But she’d suffer his verbal arrows if it meant he’d stay away from her from here on in and maybe be safe from Jason. She didn’t answer him.

  “I didn’t tell him.” His tone was mildly curious.

  She wasn’t throwing Karen under that particular bus so she remained silent.

  “Maybe I didn’t share because we aren’t done.”

  Her heart exploded at the exact same time as her self-control. Snapping her head around she stared at him and wished for a heavy, blunt object to materialize in her right hand so she could beat his arrogant head with it. She couldn’t separate her worry for him from her reaction to the unmitigated gall. With a concerted effort, she bit the words out instead of screaming them at him. “Fuck you, Bryce Meadows. Like it’s up to you. You arrogant prick. Shut up and drive.”

  After a couple of heartbeats, his, not hers, because her heart was in smithereens, he replied, quietly, despite the ticking of his jaw speaking to his effort at control. She knew that look. He wore it when he was holding back his orgasm so she could come first. Her anger dissipated instantly and left her shockingly weak with fear. Tears filled her eyes and spilled over her lower lids to track down her cheeks and fall to wet her neck. She barely heard his words, but they penetrated and she cried harder, albeit without a sound.

  “You don’t give second chances.” He said them quietly but the regret resonated.

  Too late.

  * * * *

  Holy fuck, did he just say that? Had he just asked Jenna to cut him some slack and give them another chance? Indeed he had, and he decided he wasn’t going to hide behind his cop persona and pretend he was just doing his job. Hands tightening on the wheel, he waited for her response. When she said nothing, he risked a look. She was looking out the windshield, her profile awash with tears, and as she raised a hand to dash at them he saw the blood on the bandage wrapping her palm.

  “Jenna!” He threaded his way through traffic to a turnoff and pulled into a parking lot full of semis and pickups, parking at an angle in the nearest space. Slamming the shifter into park, almost before they were at a full stop, he released his seat belt and shoved the console up to gain access to her. His to-go cup flew from the cup holder and fell into the back seat with a clatter, accompanied by bits and pieces of detritus.

  She turned to face him and she wore the same look as the night he told her they were over. It hit him squarely. Taking her hand, he gently folded her fingers up, releasing the fist she’d made and surveyed her palm. She’d clenched so hard her fingernails must have opened the cut and blood had soaked through the gauze. He carefully unwrapped it and saw three other half-moon indentations that slowly turned purple before his worried gaze.

  “Sweetheart.” He reached into the glove box and pulled out a small first aid kit.

  “I’m fine.” Her voice was flat.

  “Right.” He freed a couple of gauze pads from their wrappings and gently laid them against the wound. She didn’t move but the tears still slid down her face, if in less quantity.

  A worried face filled Jenna’s window and Bryce clawed at his service weapon until he realized it was Judith. He pushed the button to lower the window, his arm pressing against the soft mounds of Jenna’s breasts as he did so. She made a tiny sound but Judith put her face inside and he pulled back.

  “What happened?”

  “Jenna’s hand started bleeding so I stopped to fix it.”

  “You going to fix her crying, too?”

  No second chances. Maybe no fixing this mistake. No. he wasn’t caving at the first hurdle. He would need to make his own luck. He met Judith’s accusing eyes and released Jenna’s seat belt in the next instant. “Take her to the station. I’ll follow you.”

  Judith pulled the door open and helped Jenna out, her arm going around her friend’s shoulders, ushering her to that yellow car parked kitty corner to his truck as he watched both them and the surrounding area. Jenna walked stiffly. He hadn’t even noticed Judith and Carla pull in, so intent on Jenna. If it had been someone else, he couldn’t have protected her, so intent on caring for her. He obviously coul
dn’t do both, at least not out in public. They needed a safe house. Like his house.

  Their abbreviated convoy made it to the station without incident and, while pale and wan, Jenna had recovered some of her aplomb, her shoulders back and her spine straight. She kept her hand fisted over the gauze pads and ignored him as they entered the big front doors. Bryce wondered at the conversation that took place in the half hour drive. If he knew women, and he did, he’d been dissected and vilified. Fucking well served him right.

  Ushering the little group inside, he saw his partner hustling their way. The older man greeted Jenna, who managed a smile, and then Darren introduced himself to Carla and Judith. Bryce admired the skilled way Darren cut Jenna from the pack and convinced her friends to wait while they tried the station house coffee. He slipped to the side and made his way to the observation area outside the interviewing room he knew Darren would use—Jenna might not be willing to talk to him, but he was going to listen in.

  The light flicked on and he heard Darren ask Jenna to sit. She complied and Bryce watched her face intently through the mirror, then adjusted the microphone. She was in control again and he breathed a sigh of relief. They needed all the information she could give them.

  “You should have come to us as soon as you suspected.” Darren laid it out.

  Whoa. His partner wasn’t messing around. Bryce fought the tension in his shoulders.

  Jenna nodded. “I panicked a little when Bryce called me. I had called the detective in Minneapolis and he’d retired. They gave me his replacement who jacked me around until I could give him enough information to prove who I was, and then he told me Jason was out. At least he apologized for not letting me know, some excuse about file transfers.