Page 48 of Back in Black

His eyes closed for the briefest of time, then frustration took over.

“Son of abitch,” he snarled as he launched himself out of the bed. “I don’t fucking believe this.” He stormed into the bathroom and came back with the condom gone and a towel in his hand. He wrapped it around his hips as he headed out of the bedroom.

“Be right back.”

He had no shame at all. “I’m not going anywhere.” Gillian knew he didn’t hear her because he’d already stomped through the door. She started to worry about Dickey, as he was the obvious choice for interrupting, but then it occurred to her that it could be anyone calling. Getting caught buck naked in Drew Black’s bed wouldn’t be a smart business move. She all but leaped from the bed.

Forgoing underwear, she stepped into her skirt and was still buttoning her blouse when she crept to the hall to listen in.

Peeking around the corner, she saw Drew look out the window first, and then with a muttered“What the fuck?”he opened the door.

A solid, uniformed officer stood there. He must have gone prematurely gray, because he looked to be in his late forties but had a full head of silvery hair. “Drew Black?”

“Yeah.” Drew leaned out the door to look beyond the cop. “What’s going on?”

“I’m Officer Sparks. Everyone is fine, but there was an incident I’d like to discuss with you.”

For Gillian, an officer at the door was a monumental thing, so she couldn’t believe it when Drew said, “It’s a bad time, Sparks. Can you make it fast?”

The officer’s face grew stony. “All right, I’ll try to cut to the chase, then.” His smile wasn’t pleasant. “A bomb threat was called in to Roger’s Rodeo.”

“No shit?” Drew didn’t seem particularly thrown by a bomb threat, either. “Anyone hurt?”

“No. We did a thorough check of the building and found nothing.”

“That’s great.” He propped a shoulder against the door frame. “So why are you at my door?”

“The caller specifically named you as the target for the bomb.”

Gillian’s automatic gasp drew the officer’s attention. He leaned into the entrance to look at her.

Oops. Too late to dart behind the wall as she’d like to do. It was unfortunate that she hadn’t tucked in her blouse or retied her scarf to hide the love bite on her neck. Chagrined, she stepped out into the open. “Officer Sparks.”

The officer did a quick, automatic once-over before nodding. “Ma’am.” He averted his gaze.

Attention lingering on her breasts beneath the white blouse, Drew sent her a chiding glance. Raising a brow, he turned back to the officer. “As you see, I’m a little preoccupied right now.”

Pen poised, the officer asked, “And she is . . . ?”

Drew repositioned himself to block Sparks’s view of her. “She’s none of your business.”

Shocked at the disrespect, Gillian gaped at him. “Drew, what in the world is wrong with you?”

Sighing loud enough for his neighbors to hear, Drew pivoted around to face her. “He has a notebook, honey.” When she just stared at him, he prompted, “For taking notes?”

Neither the officer nor Gillian understood.

“He’s investigating a bomb threat,” Gillian reminded him. “I imagine he wants to get his facts straight.”

“I’m sure he does.” Drew didn’t budge an inch. “But I’m the prez of the SBC, and someone apparently sent that bomb threat in my name. Given that everything with me goes public, this will sure as hell hit the Net, and probably the local papers and news stations. Even if the good officer is discreet, you know how jammed Roger’s place gets. Lots of folks would have gotten wind of this by now.”

“Oh.” Drew was trying to protect her. Gillian felt like a fool.

“So tell me, doll, do you really want him to write down your name, give details of how he found you, and share with others what it’s pretty clear that we’ve been doing?”

Her cheeks warmed at his deliberate provocation. “Of course not.”

Drew smiled at the cop. “There you go. The lady’s keeping mum.”

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