Page 56 of End Game

Thrusting her phone into the pocket of her gray lounge pants, she turned toward the half bath to check her appearance, then stopped and reversed course. He’d already seen her at her worst, with bed head and scaly teeth.

A cami with an overshirt and cotton pants wouldn’t blow his mind. She opened the door leading to the garage and hit the button for the far stall.

Cranks and pulleys slowly lifted the door, revealing a pair of brown shoes, widespread, then a set of thick quads in casual pants. Lean hips. Strong hands anchored on each side of his waist. Broad chest. Squared, tense shoulders. Stubbled jawline. Piercing blue eyes.

At some point, Kayla’s brain had instructed her slippered feet to halt their march to her fouled vehicle and take in the wonder being unveiled for her, inch by tantalizing inch.

Her breath had stopped, too. The only part of her body working, including her mind, was the organ thrashing against her rib cage like a wild animal desperate for a midnight snack.

The clatter of mechanisms stopped and the cool night air swept in, sending goosebumps up her legs and arms. Neither of them said anything for a potent second, then the hesitant trill of a bluebird penetrated the silence, breaking their visual connection.

Ash dropped his hands from his hips and strode to the passenger side of the Mercedes. Kayla followed like a magnet attracted to steel.

26

Ash did his damn best to block out the image of Kayla’s ruched nipples pushing against the thin fabric of her camisole.

He was here to inspect the damage to her vehicle and to make sure she was all right. Not ogle her invade-his-dreams body. His stomach still hadn’t fully reseated itself after the free fall it had taken while reading her text.

Using a key or some other metal instrument, the perp had carved TRAITOROUS on the upper panel of the passenger side door. He angled around the sleek black Merc and found BITCH scrawled on the driver’s door.

Ash clenched his teeth, furious with the weak-minded asshole who got their jollies off terrifying women. “Where was your car parked when this happened?”

“In the parking garage near my office building.”

He wanted to ask where the hell Mason was, then recalled she only used his services during the week. Something he’d have to persuade her to change or hire a security firm to fill in the gap.

“Are there cameras in the garage?”

She nodded. “The police are working on getting a copy of the video.”

“I’ll check in with them tomorrow and see what I can find out.”

“Don’t trouble yourself. I’m sure they’ll let me know if they get a clear picture of the vandal.”

“Whether they do or don’t, I’d like to see the footage.”

“Why?”

“Because a person can give away their identity in more ways than facial recognition.”

She stood only a couple of feet away, close enough for him to reach out, pull her to him, and claim those tempting lips that were even now pursing to make some inane argument. You would think a lobbyist, especially one running such a successful firm, would know how to accept help.

A thought struck him. One that made his already tortured stomach clench tight. Maybe it was his help she didn’t want. The realization bothered him, more than it should.

What did he expect? Her undying gratitude? When he’d pushed, no—shoved—her away at every opportunity.

Disgusted by his conflicting feelings, he made a mental note to ask Detective Morgan to review the surveillance video to see if there might be a connection, no matter how slim, to the governor’s assassination.

“Do you have any thoughts on who did this?” he asked, finally turning to her, keeping his attention on her face.

Which was damn hard.

She stepped closer, and Ash’s pulse shot to one-fifty in a single bound. Her hand reached out, and she smoothed her fingertips over the crudely etched letters on the door.

Ash had never been so envious of a hunk of metal before.

“I’ve been called bitch a few times in my life. Once, in almost the exact same way.” She produced a smile, but there was no humor in it. “A hazard of the job. At least, for female lobbyists.” Her expression turned serious. “But I can’t think of any reason why someone would fling traitorous bitch at me.”

---