Page 10 of No Going Back

Before she could ask what he was going to do first, he put his finger under her chin and tilted her face towards him. He smiled, but his steely eyes weren’t focused on her.

Then his lips were on hers and her entire body flared to life under the heat of the kiss.

He pulled back after a moment, and Branna could only stare stupidly at him. His smile was back, but his eyes remained away.

Sean leaned back and tapped the bill of her ball cap to cover more of her face. “Play with Jabba.”

Her skin flushed all kinds of red as he closed the door and then jogged around the truck. How was he functioning after that kiss?

Where the heck had that come from? And what could she do to get more?

She leaned down to rub Jabba’s fur. Sean opened the door. “Okay, babe, let’s head home.”

Babe? Home?

The words helped Branna’s brain click in as Sean closed the door.

He was creating a scenario. Making the casual observer think he, his girlfriend, and his dog were heading home. Which meant home wasn’t here.

If the thugs had moved close enough, that small sentence might have been enough to fool them. Smart man.

Which meant the kiss meant nothing except that he was a smart man. Meanwhile, her entire body wanted to stop the world from spinning so she could rewind to that moment and relive it over and over again.

It had been a simple touch of lips, and had lasted only a few seconds, but Branna felt like her entire axis had shifted.

Maybe the lack of food, water, sleep, and light had gotten to her. Or maybe it was the attraction she’d always felt to Sean blooming to remind her she was alive and safe.

She’d always felt safe with Sean around.

“Any vehicles I should be watching for?”

Branna jerked to attention and realized they were not only moving, but they’d traveled a few blocks while she’d been recovering from the kiss.

A quick glance at Sean showed an easy smile on his face as he drove. His gaze never settled, constantly watching their surroundings.

“Prince drives a fancy silver Lexus. Don’t know about his herd. I try to pay as little attention to them as possible.”

“You always were a smart girl.”

They drove for a few minutes in silence. Sean changed directions a few times, but neither noticed anyone following. Jabba laid his head on her lap and started to snore.

She rubbed the huge head. “Are you telling us we’re safe, Jabba?”

Sean grunted. “Hope so, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We need to find a safe place where we can talk.”

She nodded, although she wasn’t sure what was safe for her right now. If the police were working with Prince or even turning their backs as he did his thing, nowhere in the city sounded appealing. “I don’t want to call the police. They’ve already told me I’m overreacting and that I need to stop bothering them and let them deal with real police work.”

Sean shot her a glance, eyebrows up. “Wow. You got shuffled to a real jerk. Most cops want to take down the assholes who burn shit down.”

So he’d seen the pub. Or what remained of it. She didn’t have the heart to ask. “This was before they burned the pub.”

“What were you talking to them about, then?”

“Prince either killed my dad or had him killed.”

The truck jerked as Sean whirled to stare at her. Almost immediately, he was back in control. All except for his eyes. “Your dad’s dead?”

CHAPTER 4

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