Heated (Most Wanted 2)

"Do you really believe that?" I heard the rise of anger in his voice, but there was something else, too. Something that sounded like hurt. "Christ, Sloane, is that really what you think?"

"I--" I shook my head, not sure what to think.

"Yes, it's good for business to have a cop on my arm. And yes, that's part of how it started with you. But that's not how it is now. It's not why you're here." His voice went soft and he shook his head, as if to clear away his thoughts. "You're here for only one reason, and that's because I want you beside me."

I swallowed, my breath hitching a bit.

"What's between us may have started as an arrangement, a deal. But I think we both know that it's becoming a hell of a lot more than that. As far as I'm concerned, that's just an excuse to be with you. To have you close, when and how I want."

He ran his palm over my shoulder, bare in the sky blue dress. "I don't know where this is going, Sloane, or where it will end. All I know is that you're in my head, you're inside me, and that I will lose a piece of myself the day you go back to Indiana."

"Tyler." I knew I should say something. Tell him I was relieved. Tell him I felt the same way. Tell him that I'd never in my life felt around anyone the way I felt around him. But I couldn't seem to find the words.

So I did the only thing I could do. I folded myself into his arms, and I kissed him.

His arms went around me, and he held me tight. Our bodies molded together, and his hands stroked my bare back. I felt warm and safe and complete, as if I'd been living my life with a piece missing, and now that I'd found Tyler, everything clicked into place.

I was falling in love with this man. Fast and hard, maybe, but I was certain. What was it he'd said? The speed of us? And he was so right. But love was only part of the equation, and right then, I had to hold tight to the faith that somehow we could make it work. If he really was clean--if everything he'd done was truly in the past--then maybe we could find a way to move forward.

"I'm sorry," he said, when we broke apart. "I didn't think. I should have told you before. I didn't--"

"I know. It's okay." I kissed him again, this time soft and quick before pulling away with a suggestive smile. "Do you need to show me off to somebody else? Or do you think maybe you could take me home and take me out of this dress?"

I could see the answer in his eyes, but before he said it out loud, his phone rang. He glanced at it, mouthed, Cole, and answered the call.

He said one word--"Hello," and then he simply listened as Cole spoke.

I watched the change come over him. That relaxed, calm expression turning into hard, cold rage.

When he ended the call his eyes were blazing, and though he looked at me, I wasn't entirely sure he saw me at all.

"Tyler?"

"He tried to rape her," he said. "Lizzy woke up, and she told Cole that bastard Franklin tried to rape her. That's why she was in a hurry. That's why she crashed the car."

"I'm sorry," I said, then put a hand on his arm. "But don't. I can see what you're thinking and don't."

He just looked at me, and then he stalked back into the rotunda.

Shit.

I hurried after him, scouring the crowd. I saw Franklin on the far side by an exit, and breathed a sigh of relief. If I could just get Tyler out of here before he saw the man ...

But it was too late. Tyler swooped in, grabbed Franklin by the arm, and as I watched helpless from the far side of the rotunda, Tyler forced him out of the room.

Dammit all to hell.

I hurried that direction, trying not to run and knowing I couldn't really manage it in those shoes anyway. I paused only when I saw Angie.

"What is it?" she asked when I grabbed her hand.

"Get Evan."

"Why?"

"Get him," I called back, already on the move again.

I kicked off the damn shoes, hiked up my skirt, and picked up my pace.

They weren't in the closest gallery, and I turned in a circle, cursing, trying to figure out where the hell they could have gone, when I heard the crash of metal. I ran forward, then skidded to a stop when I entered a darkened room filled with small aquariums with glowing sea life. All around me, jellyfish floated like angels on a starlit sky, and at my feet, Tyler was pounding his fist into Franklin's face as the man cowered beside a toppled trash can.

"Tyler! Get off him!"

He didn't even react, and I bit out another curse, then dove into the fray, moving in to restrain his hands--wishing I had a pair of goddamn cuffs--and yelling at Franklin to stay the fuck down and not move a muscle.

Naturally, the bastard didn't. He kicked out twice, first knocking me backward, and then catching Tyler in the jaw.

Fuck.

Tyler retaliated by snatching Franklin up by the collar, then slamming him back with a fist to the face.

"Enough," I said, this time managing to get Tyler's arm behind him and hold him fast. He was bigger than me and stronger than me, and I knew he was pissed off enough to do something about it, but I damn sure hoped he wouldn't. "Take a breath," I said. "Take a breath before you kill the bastard."

I heard footsteps, and looked up to see Angie and Evan rushing in. Evan came straight to me and Tyler, and I passed him off, figuring that Evan was better prepared to handle Tyler than I was. "Back it down," Evan said. "Back it down or it's going to get a lot worse."

"He tried to rape Lizzy," Tyler said, when he was finally calm and motionless. "He said that he'd seen her dancing at Destiny. He thanked me--he fucking thanked me--for sending him such a tight little piece of ass. That I sure knew how to pick them."

"Oh, Tyler, no," I said.

"And when I told him he was an ignorant prick, he told me that she wanted it. That she wore short skirts. That she teased him. That she asked for it."

I saw the same fury bloom on Evan's face, then watched as he stalked to Franklin, who still sat on the floor, breathing hard and looking like he was having the worst day of his life. He looked up, then flinched when Evan spat on him.

I met Angie's eyes, and had to fight the urge to applaud.

Moments later, the security guard joined the fray, which really got the party started. He took initial statements and contact information, then cleared Angie and Evan to leave.

"Do you want us to stay?" Angie asked me.

"Go on back to the party. I'll make sure Tyler calls tomorrow."

"Okay," she said, then pulled me into an impulsive hug. "Take care o

f him."

"I will," I promised.

I moved toward Tyler, but the guard insisted that Tyler, Franklin, and I remain separated, so I sat on the floor beneath the jellyfish until I saw the detectives arrive. One went straight to Franklin. The other headed toward Tyler.

I stood, then walked toward the second detective, meeting him halfway. Then I reached into my purse and pulled out my badge. "Detective," I said. "Could I have a word?"

Chapter Twenty-Two

"Self-defense, Detective," I said. "Mr. Sharp had told Mr. Franklin that he had evidence that Franklin had sexually harassed an employee. Franklin attacked, and Sharp defended himself."

"And you saw that?"

"I did. I'm not telling you how to do your job, but if it was my case, I'd just have everyone walk away."

The memory played in my head, over and over like a broken record, blocking out everything else.

"You did the right thing," Tyler said as we stepped inside his suite at The Drake.

They were the first words we'd spoken since leaving the benefit, and they sounded far away. "It doesn't feel that way."

"He files charges for assault, and the only way to defend is to drag Lizzy into this mess," he said as he headed into the living room. "Would you want that for her?"

"You didn't have to pound his face in," I said. "What the hell were you thinking?"

"I was thinking that he attacked an innocent girl who'd already suffered enough."

"Yes, I know. Of course." I drew in a breath. "But, Tyler, there are laws against rape, even attempted rape. Lizzy could testify. Bring assault charges, attempted rape."

"That's bullshit, and you know it," he said. "A former stripper crying rape? What cop would believe her?"

"I would," I said, and I saw the flicker of warmth in his eyes.

"Fair enough," Tyler said. "But even if the DA did believe her, he'd get a slap on the wrist and no cage time, and we both know it. Justice doesn't always go hand in hand with the law."

I shook my head, knowing I needed to just drop this. That it was becoming too damn personal. "That doesn't mean you can take it into your own hands."

"Why not?"

I just looked at him, willing myself to stay silent.

"I'm serious," he repeated. "Why not?"

"Because you can't," I snapped. "There are rules. There are codes." I thought of my mother. Of my stepfather. And in my mind, I heard the sharp crack of a shotgun.