Desperate Girls

30

LINDSEY WADED through the sea of cops and CSIs and emergency workers. Even a few marshals were here, getting the latest news on what had to be one of the most bizarre cases they’d seen. She spied Erik over the crowd. He caught her eye and motioned for her to follow him into a hallway off the Atrium’s lobby.

“This place is insane,” she said over the noise.

“You should see the rooftop.”

“I’ll pass.”

Even if she could get up there, she had no desire to see another bloody death scene right now. She’d already watched the body bag being rolled out on a gurney by the ME’s people.

“How’s Brynn?” she asked.

Erik frowned and rubbed his jaw. “I think she’s in shock.”

“Is she at the police station or—”

“Yeah, she’s being interviewed. I’m on my way over there to pick her up and take her home.”

“Home? You mean here?”

“Pine Rock. She needs to get out of here. I have to grab a few things from her apartment, and then we’re out.”

“ ‘We,’ huh? I knew there was something up with you two.” Lindsey smiled at him, but he continued to look grim as he scanned the packed lobby, hypervigilant as always.

“Listen, Erik, tell Brynn thanks for me, would you? If it weren’t for her, we wouldn’t have cracked this case. Ross Foley wasn’t even on anyone’s radar until she put it together.”

Erik’s expression clouded. “I’ll tell her.” He glanced over Lindsey’s shoulder, clearly eager to finish his errand and get back to Brynn.

“Anyway, thanks to both of you.” Lindsey patted his arm. “It was good working with you.”

“You, too.” He started to walk away, then paused. “And if you’re ever thinking about a career change, give us a call.”

Erik turned and walked off, cutting through the crowd of cops as Lindsey stared after him.

A career change? Her?

Something to think about.

Erik took Brynn home to Pine Rock because he knew it was what she needed. But the instant he turned onto her street, he changed his mind. The reporters and news vans camped out in front of her house had him pulling a U-turn and hopping back onto the freeway. Thirty minutes later, they arrived at his apartment, where they spent the next twenty-four hours ignoring the outside world while they stocked up on food, sleep, and time together.

It was a much-needed break, but Erik was worried about Brynn. She was too quiet. After a lazy afternoon in bed together, he went out to buy some steaks and a bottle of wine, hoping that cooking dinner with him might snap her out of her daze. When he got home from the store, he found her out on his balcony, wrapped in one of his flannel shirts.

“You all right?” he asked, stepping outside.

“Yeah.” She smiled slightly. “Just enjoying the view out here.”

“Pretty impressive, huh?”

“It is.”

He looked across the crowded parking lot at a row of pine trees. It wasn’t bad, really, if you overlooked the cars. But he wasn’t home enough to spend much time out here.

He handed her a glass of wine and took the chair beside her. She looked so pretty sitting there on his balcony in the fading daylight, and he wanted to freeze this image of her in his mind to take with him.

“Brynn?”

“Huh?”

“I’m worried about you.”

“Don’t.”

He set his glass on the table. “I’m sorry about Ross—”

“Don’t say his name.” She took a deep breath. “I don’t want to talk about him right now. Or ever.”

Erik was no psychologist, but he knew she needed to talk to someone. Maybe not him but someone. She’d spent an hour this morning on the phone with her sister, but something still seemed off with her. Erik would talk to Liam. He had to know someone trained in dealing with PTSD.

Brynn cleared her throat. “I was thinking.”

“About?”

She sipped her wine and set the glass on the table. “I need to go in tomorrow.”

“Okay. I can take you to get your car.”

“Thanks.” She sighed. “I need to meet with Reggie. I’m going to ask for some time off.”

Erik took her hand and squeezed it.

“I’ve got to, I don’t know, get my head straight,” she said. “Recharge my batteries.”

He nodded, waiting for her to continue. He sensed there was more.

She turned to look at him. “What about you?”

Damn. They needed to talk about this, but he hadn’t counted on right now.

“I’m leaving soon,” he said.

“When?”

“Friday evening.”

They only had two more days together. But they didn’t even have that, because Erik needed to spend most of that time at headquarters.

“It’s a twelve-week job,” he said. “I’ll have a few days’ leave after six.”

“Six weeks?”

He nodded, watching her reaction. “I’ll be back as soon as I can, and I’d like to see you. I’ll miss you like hell while I’m gone, Brynn.”

She smiled. “Promises, promises.”

“What?”

“Nothing.”

“You don’t think I’m serious.”

She shrugged. “It’s okay. I mean, Hawaii, right? I doubt you’ll have time to miss anything.”

“Brynn, look at me.”

She did, and the raw vulnerability in her eyes worried him. She’d had that look there since he’d seen her on the rooftop with Ross.

She tugged her hand away.

“Don’t do that.” He leaned forward and took her hand again. “Don’t blow me off. I’m serious about you.”

She looked away and shook her head.

“What? Talk. Because you obviously have something on your mind.”

“Okay, you’re right. Here it is, full disclosure. I don’t have a good track record with relationships, Erik. Actually, my track record’s pathetic.”

“You’re talking about your ex?”

“And pretty much every guy I’ve known since college.” She sighed and folded her arms over her middle. “I don’t communicate well. I let my work consume me. I shut myself off from people, and then they end up lying and cheating on me.”

Erik dipped his head down and looked at her. “I’m not like that.”

“I know.”

“So what’s the problem?”

“Relationships are the problem. People hurt each other, whether they want to or not. That’s life.”

She sounded so convinced, and his heart ached for her. She’d been burned repeatedly by people she trusted, starting with her own father, who’d walked out on her family.

Erik shifted his chair so he was facing her and unfolded her arms. He took her hands in his and looked her in the eye. “What if I tell you I have no intention of hurting you?”

She gave him a baleful look. “That’s sweet. But even if you don’t intend to do it, it happens. Trust me on this, because I think I have more experience with relationships than you do.”

He smiled.

“What?”

“Come here,” he said, pulling her into his lap.

“I’m too heavy.”

“You’re perfect.” He arranged her legs over the side of the chair and looked at her, sliding his hand over her smooth thigh. “Give me a chance to show you how good we could be together. While you’re busy trying to prove me wrong, we might actually build something solid.”

She looked at him with those deep blue eyes.

“I don’t trust myself right now, Erik.”

“You don’t have to trust yourself. You just have to trust me.”

“I want to, but . . .”

“What?”

“I’m afraid of what could happen.”

Now they were getting to the real issue. She looked uncomfortable, but at least she was making eye contact.

“I’ve never felt like this before, Erik. So emotionally . . . churned up. When I’m with you, I just . . .” She let the words trail off.

“I know.” He touched her cheek. “Me too.”

Relief filled her eyes. But then she looked troubled again. “I’ve always been the one to keep my distance. To end a relationship when it got messy or complicated. But the thing is, I don’t feel any distance with you.”

“Good.”

“How is that good? This is a terrible time to start a relationship, and you’re leaving anyway, so what’s the point?”

He kissed her. Softly at first, but then he kept at it until her hands slipped around his neck and her tongue tangled with his. He slid his palms over her hips, kissing her and taking in everything about her that he’d come to need.

Slowly, he pulled away. “That’s the point.”

Friday came way too soon.

Erik was up before the sun. Brynn lay in her bed in the dark, pretending to be asleep as he dressed for his morning run and slipped out of the house. When he was gone, she got up and shuffled to the kitchen to make coffee. Now that the media had dissipated, they’d spent the night at her place, and she had to admit it was a relief to be home.

She took her mug onto the screened porch and curled up on the wicker sofa, letting her thoughts flow along with her tears as the sky went from black to indigo to gray. She was still in shock from everything, and her emotions were all over the map.

She’d been so wrong. About so many things. Days ago, she’d actually prided herself on her talent for reading people. She could read a jury. A witness. But those closest to her? Not at all. How had she been such a horrible judge of character?

Ross had left a gaping wound in her chest, and she didn’t know whether it was his death or his betrayal that hurt worse. She closed her eyes to block it out, along with the self-doubt that had been plaguing her for days now.

She took a deep breath and snuggled inside Erik’s flannel shirt. It was deliciously soft and smelled like him, and she planned to keep it when he left. She dried her eyes with the cuff and thought about today. They had a few more hours, and she wanted to make the most of them. She needed to hold it together.

The front door opened and closed, and she heard his footsteps. The screen door squeaked, and he stepped onto the porch. She’d expected him to be flushed and sweaty, but he wasn’t at all.

“Thought you went for a run?”

“I changed my mind.”

He seemed tense, but he didn’t say anything, just looked at her. “There’s coffee,” she said. “I’ve got decaf, too, if you want me to make some.”

The fact that she’d purchased something so pointless just showed how gone she was over this man.

“I’m good, thanks.” He sank onto the sofa beside her, and it creaked with his weight. He pulled her into his arms, and she felt a rush of warmth. No matter how crazy her head was, his arms around her made her feel better. He pulled her close, and she settled her cheek against his shoulder, loving how right they felt together. She’d never had such a natural fit with anyone.

“When do you leave for the airport?” she asked.

“I’m not going.”

“What?” She pulled back.

“I called Liam and told him to count me out.”

“When?”

“Just now. From your driveway.”

“But . . . you said you’re the lead agent.”

“Someone else can take the lead this time.”

She squirmed back to look at him, and she could tell he was dead serious. He’d really done it. “What did Liam say?”

He shrugged. “He wasn’t too happy. But I’ve never taken a vacation before, so he agreed to give me some time.”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea? I know you’re already on thin ice with him, and I know how much your job matters to you.”

“You matter more.”

She stared at him, her heart thrumming. He was willing to risk his job for her. She felt a flood of joy and panic, both at the same time.

“How long do you have?” she asked.

“I don’t know. As long as you need.” He took her hand and laced their fingers together. “You’re going through something right now, Brynn, and I want to help.” He paused, as if trying to read her reaction. “I figure we’ll take two weeks and go from there.”

Brynn’s head was spinning. She’d been prepared to say good-bye today.

You matter more.

“Say something,” he said. “You look shocked.”

“I am. In a good way. I mean, two weeks. What are we going to do?”

He smiled and squeezed her hand. “I have an idea.”