Page 51 of Proof

But prison was an entirely different thing.

I closed my eyes to try to get a hold of myself and be the cop I’d once been. I didn’t want to think about Cass and his life behind bars. I didn’t want to think about the fear and loneliness he must have felt from the moment his cell door had been closed with him on the wrong side of the bars.

Icouldn’tfeel them.

If I did, that would be the end of all this. I’d never know the truth; I’d never understand how a man who’d become a part of my family from the moment he and Sully had met on that football field became a man who’d stood accused of murdering three people and trying to kill a fourth.

Stood accused?

Where the hell had that come from?

He hadn’tstood accused… he’d beenproven guiltyin a court of law.

Pain began to build behind my eye. I knew what would come next if I didn’t manage to control it. The last thing I needed was to end up curled into a ball on the floor again.

“You mind if we take a walk?” I asked, catching both Cass and myself off guard. Where the hell had that come from? I was supposed to be interrogating the man.

It was all I could do not to jerk when a jolt of pain went through me.

“Fuck it,” I whispered beneath my breath because I was tired of thinking. I was tired of trying to put together all the pieces that kept appearing the more I delved into the past. “I’m going for a walk,” I announced as I climbed to my feet. “If youwantmy brother to tear you limb from limb when you tell him you lost me in the woods, then stay here.”

I left the kitchen and carefully maneuvered down the extremely weathered and undoubtedly rotted porch steps. Cool air greeted my skin. It had been chilly inside the kitchen with the door open for so long. Now, though, the breeze was comforting,and the sun warmed my face. I closed my eyes and let my head drop back a little so I could enjoy the warm rays. The pain in my head began to lessen.

The creaking of the stairs that were just behind me told me I was no longer alone. It was both exciting and terrifying.

Terrifying in a good way, unfortunately.

The memory of Cass grinding against me in that shower had me thinking about what it would feel like if he did the same thing against a tree. When my body began to react, I started walking in the hopes of tempering my bout of lust. I didn’t know or care what direction I walked in because Cass wouldn’t let anything happen to me.

I stopped so suddenly that I felt Cass’s front press against my back. His hands wrapped around my biceps, probably to keep him from actually running into me.

“You okay?” Cass asked.

I nearly moaned when his warm breath flowed along my neck. All I had to do was push my ass back a bit and I’d know if Cass wanted the same thing I did.

Fortunately, he was stronger than me because he quickly released me and stepped back. I felt like I’d lost something.

The pain behind my eye began to intensify. Okay, so maybe the walk hadn’t been the best idea.

“JJ, just close your eyes, okay?”

Cass’s deep, smooth voice draped over me like the softest of blankets. I could feel him at my back again. I closed my eyes.

“Just keep ’em closed, sweetheart,” Cass murmured. I could sense him moving around me. I wasn’t afraid, though. His hands gently closed over my shoulders from behind. “Okay, there’s a log just a few feet to your left. I’m going to steer you to it and tell you when to stop. You work the pedals, and I’ll take care of the rest.”

Even though it hurt like hell, I laughed. “The rest?” I asked. “I’m supposed to trust a guy who didn’t know shit about driving the muscle car he’d just painstakingly restored but decided doing donuts in abandoned warehouses was a good idea anyway?”

There was a long beat of silence, and I feared I’d fucked up whatever little truce we’d been in the middle of, but when Cass’s chest pressed up against my back, that fear turned into something else.

“Yes, you are,” he whispered into my ear before letting his lips skim over the sensitive skin right behind my earlobe. His words didn’t sound like an order, but they didn’t sound like a flippant response either. They’d sounded almost… desperate?

“Okay, I’m just going to turn you a bit and then I want you to walk straight. The log is only about six feet away.”

The searing bolts of lightning behind my eye reminded me where we were and what was happening. Fuck, I really didn’t want him to see me like this yet again. “Cass. I’m fine, I can?—”

“—move forward six steps,” Cass interjected. He didn’t sound desperate anymore. “And if you don’t shut up about it, I’m never going to kiss you again,” he continued, his voice lighter now.

I could feel my skin heating as I remembered what I’d told him in the bathroom after he’d refused to stop talking.

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