Page 7 of Taken by the Lawman

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Deegan watched Kiersten with a new hunger that the pizza couldn’t touch.

He reached for the bottle of wine at the same time she wrapped her fingers around the glass. The second their skin met he felt a burst of appreciation. His breath came out in a hiss which caught the attention of the group of people sitting at the next table over. He hadn’t even noticed when they came in—of course he noted that they’d come in almost ten minutes ago, but he hadn’t taken his eyes off the amazing woman sitting across from him. She jerked her hand away, pretending that they hadn’t touched, but he could barely breathe through the electrical jolt still ping-ponging in his body. These sensations were unexpected. Uninvited. Damn terrifying.

Feeling an invisible cotton ball being wedged down his throat, he smiled—probably as goofy as a clown. His intention was to fool her into thinking she hadn’t just tilted his axis, but he’d done the opposite, he was certain.

“Okay. Let me get this straight.” She tore a piece of pizza off and popped it into her mouth. “Senator Kline wants you to find out who killed his lover because he says she didn’t shoot herself up with drugs? To top it off, he wants you to keep this completely private. Run while you can. You’ve been in this field long enough to know why we don’t get involved with cases that are personal.”

Deegan lifted his forefinger. “Hang on.” He got up and ordered a coffee, feeling like he needed to lay off the alcohol. Although a cheap wine wouldn’t get him drunk, his mind seemed to want to travel down places it didn’t belong. Every time she twirled a strand of her silken black hair around her finger, he wanted to pull the elastic band from the wavy mass and watch it tumble down her shoulders. “Can I get you coffee? Anything else?” he asked Kiersten.

She gave her head a quick shake.

Once he had his cup, he went back to the table and eased into the chair and stretched his legs, looking at her through the steam of his coffee. His heart had been pounding hard against his ribcage since he spotted her walking across the street toward him earlier, but she hadn’t seen him. He flicked a glance at her, then looked down before he gave too much away.

He’d done a damn good job not wanting her for two years, but the ache behind his zipper proved he was a liar. If she wasn’t one of the best investigators and was top notch when it came to crimes involving women, he wouldn’t have come here to see her. She’d treated him like the plague since they’d slept together. He had plenty of women who would gladly ease his tension, so then why in the hell did he want Kiersten? At work she was distant, professional, and firm, but his body recalled how soft and warm she felt in his arms. How giving of a lover she’d been.

Clearing his throat, he sipped from his cup, not caring that the heat burned its way down his throat.

Although her frustration was evident in her tight lips and narrowed gaze, he couldn’t get over how beautiful she looked. Her shiny dark hair that hung in soft coils in the pony tail. Those blue eyes that were glossy after her second glass of wine and were on him in curiosity while her plush lips stayed in that fixating frown. Those lips felt wonderful when they’d kissed, and when she’d wrapped them around his—

“Bronx?”

“Hmm?”

“Aren’t you going to answer me?”

He wasn’t sure what happened between them. They’d had a good night together. Hell, an amazing, world-tilting night that had left him wanting more, but he awoke to an empty bed. She’d given him the cold shoulder ever since which only made him want her more. Even now, sitting here while she looked at him as if he was Satan’s son, he had the strongest desire to bend her over his knee and spank her for treating him so coldly. He wondered if she still liked it a little kinky? “I don’t leave my friends in a lurch.” His throat was tight, just like his jeans. He shifted to make more room. “I believe she didn’t use drugs, at least not that night.”

“What is the Senator wanting from this? Does he understand that if the aide’s death is ruled a homicide, he’ll be the number one suspect?” She lifted a thin brow and reached for the bottle, pouring herself half a glass. When she brought it to her lips, one shoulder of the shirt slipped down to expose her smooth skin. He was a fool to want someone so badly—so badly that he could taste her without one lick or kiss. Maybe he’d made a mistake by coming here to speak to her…but he knew he could trust her above anyone. She was smart, skilled and fair.

Scratching his jaw, he blew out a breath from the corner of his mouth. “Max loved her and there’s something else…” He tapped his fingers on the rim of the cup.

“He’s afraid this will cause him to lose the next election? Yeah, I’m sure he’s squirming.”

“She was pregnant.”

She didn’t even flinch a muscle. Years of training had taught her how to hide her emotions. “By him?”

With a shrug, he pushed his cup aside. “He says it was his.”

“What is the real proof that she didn’t stick the needle in her arm of her own freewill? A young woman caught up in a love triangle, pregnant, scared…maybe she needed a fix.”

“There’s a video. I watched it myself. She was heading to bed, not the bath tub, where she was found by a neighbor the next morning. Detectives said she was sitting in that water for at least twelve hours.”

“Any evidence of a break in? Foul play? Someone in the apartment with her? Any witnesses?”

“No.”

She squeezed the bridge of her nose. “Maybe you should tell me why you’re speaking to me. Senator Kline isn’t my friend.”

“I need your help.”

One corner of her plush lips twisted. “I understand your loyalty to your friend and wanting to help him, but he’s in deep shit. No matter which way you slice this, he slept with an aide who is now dead. His wife will probably divorce him and rightly so. My advice is to not get yourself wrapped up in this. Do him a favor and tell him to go to the locals and tell them everything he knows. Cooperation is important.”

“He didn’t have anything to do with this. He has an alibi.”

“Oh, and that means he’s guiltless? Ask his wife how she feels about that.” Kiersten slid out of the chair, pulled on her jacket and sighed. “Sex, lies, and politics. That leaves no room for either of us.”

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