Page 59 of Rolling Thunder

He leaned well-muscled forearms on the gate between them and trapped her in a mesmerizing gaze of blue. His eyes slanted down slightly at the outer edges, giving him a wise, knowing look. His skin was weathered and tan, making the shock of those blue eyes and the wild reddish-brown hair all the more surprising.

“I figured the cops would be by. I just didn’t think you’d be so pretty.”

It wasn’t Nicole’s first rodeo. Being an attractive woman in uniform constantly attracted all the wrong attention. Ordinarily, she had a sarcastic comeback for every come-on. Today, she had nothing except for an eye roll behind her shades that he probably missed.

“I’m Evan’s brother, Jake.”

He wasn’t trying to hide the fact that his knuckles were bruised and cut. He followed her gaze to and from his hands, unapologetic.

“Officer Desmond,” she replied curtly.

Yeah, she deliberately did not share her first name with Jake. She felt like she needed to keep the barrier of her badge between them.

“Are you here to arrest someone?” he asked.

“Maybe you shouldn’t say anything else.”

“Is your dash cam on?”

“No.”

“Then I am going to say something.”

“I arrested Trent,” she said, cutting him off. “He isn’t saying who knocked him around.”

Jake nodded, cocking his head slightly sideways, appearing to read her.

“A guy like that has a lot of enemies,” she added.

Jake’s eyebrows rose a little.

No, her stomach didn’t flip. No, she did not want this man’s approval. Except, for some damn reason, she did. She was stupidly glad that he was obviously impressed with her willingness to look the other way even knowing Jake and Evan had beaten Trent.

“As far as I’m concerned, it could have been a drug deal gone bad.”

The way he was looking at her made her feel 0% cop, and 100% woman. Her uniform and accompanying Kevlar vest completely hid her femininity, but when he looked at her, it was like penetrating radar. As if he saw the curves she had carefully hidden, and because he saw them, she felt that hidden softness.

“I get the feeling you want to be sure you’re not making a huge mistake here,” he said.

She nodded. “Yeah, you could say that.”

“You can arrest me if you need to arrest someone.”

“Are you saying you did it?”

“We didn’t go hunting him. He came after her.” Jake met her gaze, and a little jolt went through her. “I can promise you this: we’re here to protect her. That’s all. Lock that guy up and throw away the key. Then I’ll go back to Key West, and everybody gets on with their lives. But if you need a fall guy, it’s me. My brother’s not a criminal.”

Glaringly, he didn’t say that he wasn’t a criminal. Yes, she did mentally make note of where he was from. Why? She couldn’t admit that to herself. Nor would she fully acknowledge the effect the proximity of this guy was having on her.

His eyes hadn’t left hers. He didn’t fidget. He wasn’t nervous at the prospect of being arrested or having this theoretical conversation about Trent. He was simultaneously calm and confident.

“If we’re lucky, he’ll plead out,” she said. She tamped down the knowledge that she didn’t want this conversation to end. She didn’t want to walk away.

“Nice to meet you,” she said.

His eyes twinkled, and the corner of his mouth quirked. “Same.”

She nodded a little and headed back to her patrol car, too aware that he stood and watched her walk away.

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