Page 15 of Fiona and the Fixer

I wasn’t so sure about that, so to end the conversation, I shoved another huge bite of rice into my mouth.

She went back to the drawer, grabbed another fork and snagged her own stool. Sat down and took a bite of the rice from the other side of the dish. Her eyes met mine and now all I could see was kindness. She was open and friendly. While I was sure I wasn’t the only person she’d provided with a covered dish, I felt… seen. And welcomed. And liked for exactly who I was. “Good, right?”

I swallowed hard. Then grinned. “The best.”

“It’s the Ritz cracker topping. The trick is to add a sprinkle of garlic powder in with the melted butter.”

Yeah, that did it all right. I had a feeling she used her cheesy rice as an interrogation tool. One taste and anyone would spill their secrets. It was working with me.

“Mr. Dotson is at the garden center getting mums. He’ll be a while so we can have a nice long visit.” After another mouthful of rice, a curious gleam filled her eye. “Now tell me, what was it like taking that robber down?”

6

DAX

I droppedmy bag inside the front door of Jack and Hannah’s house. Their new place was what one would callquaint.The exterior looked like it had been in a 50s TV show where everything was perfect. Right down to the fall flowers in the window baskets and a white picket fence. It was small, but every inch of the place modernized. New windows, bathrooms, kitchen, roof, and state-of-the-art security system that beeped at me.

I entered the alarm code and then… silence.

“Fuck,” I whispered to myself.

What a fucking day. I leaned against the door and closed my eyes. My suit jacket was long gone. My tie tugged loose. Sleeves rolled up. Fuck, I was tired.

I’d found the perfect ravine to dump the bodies, remote and steep. And isolated. Since I wasn’t a litterer, I’d had to cut the tarps open and roll the bodies over the cliff without them.

Through all of that, I thought of one thing.

Her.The woman from the robbery. How she’d taken that guy down. I couldn’t fucking believe she did that. Twirling her hair and holding a coffee pot while a gun was aimed at her. I was pissed that she’d put herself in danger, but that was what kept replaying in my head.

I’d fucking spank her–I’d been thinking about that ever since, too–then fuck her for being so fucking hot while fucking singlehandedly stopping an armed fucking robbery. Yeah, that was a whole lot offucks,but fuuuuuucccckkkkkk.

Most women had lipstick and tissues and who knew what else in their purses. She had a fucking Glock.

I was fucking pissed. And turned on. And–Jack would laugh his ass off–obsessed.

Who was she?

I hadn’t been able to stay at the convenience store and find out. I couldn’t get her number. Or ask her out. Or fuck her in the convenience store’s bathroom to take the edge off my need for her, and my blood pressure. I’d known the police would show and with two dead bodies in my trunk, it was the last place I could remain. I left, not knowing anything about her, other than she was the sexiest thing ever.

I’d heard the term lady balls and next to the term in the dictionary was definitely her photo. Holy hell.

Ever since I drove off, I’d waffled between wanting to strangle and fuck her.

As soon as I got into cell phone range, I’d pulled over and called Nitro–my uber-talented IT guy who could access anything or get any answer–and tasked him with finding security footage of the robbery. Facial recognition. Her bio. If anyone could dig info up, it was him.

I’d find out who she was, track her down and get her to spend two weeks in Jack’s guest bed with me. Blow off any of the upcoming jobs.

I’d been with plenty of women. Ilovedwomen. But it’d been a while since I took one to bed. I used to find it easy to call a service. A beautiful woman for a fun time without any questions about work or emotional attachments? Perfect. I never got close long enough to answer the questionwhat do you do for a living?I could generalize what I did with a woman I spent a few hours with.

But a woman I wanted to keep? Impossible. That was the reason I hadn’t settled down. That and the fact that love made a man go fucking insane. I’d seen how my dad fell to pieces when Mom was killed, then turned to murder to ease his anger over it. Passed that onto me. Jack, too, until he found Hannah.

Dad taught me love was bad for your health. And sanity.

So far in life, it hadn’t mattered. No one had ever mademy dick stir like Miss Glock at the convenience store. And that had beenbeforeshe pulled her gun.

Why was I trying to track her down if nothing could come of it? My dick was doing the thinking, obviously. I was going to find her. No question. When I did–

I felt something bump and weave around my ankles all the while meowing. Pancake.

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