Page 27 of Her Last Hope
Nick rested his hand over hers. She stared at histhumb caressing her skin. It had a calming effect on her mind, but the opposite in her heart.
She’d felt this intense pull once before.
Jerking her hand away, she turned her head and stared at the concrete wall.
“I should have them shortly, and Dylan has a guy who will compare them with what you were sent and let us know any discrepancies,” Nick said. His tone had remained even, but she thought she heard a hint of disappointment.
Or maybe she made that up.
Focus on the case.
Another SUV backed into the spot next to them. A tall man with the same smile as Nick stepped from the vehicle. Tall was an understatement. He wasn’t quite as broad as the other two brothers, but he had the same confident swagger as he strolled toward the car.
Nick hit the button that rolled down the passenger and rear side window.
“This must be Leandra. I’m Dylan, the tallest and best-looking of the Sarich brothers.”
Both Nick and Logan coughed.
“Correction,” Nick said. “Meet Baby Dyl who has yet to hit puberty.”
“Screw you, hickey boy.”
Leandra’s cheeks went hot as she covered the mark on the side of her neck, which she realized wasn’t the side that Dylan stood on, which meant he hadn’t seen it…but knew about it.
“Christ, Logan,” Nick muttered. “You’ve got a big fucking mouth.”
Dylan laughed. “Yeah, he does. But I enjoyed telling Mom you got a girl in your life. She’s planning your children’s names right now.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Nick said under his breath.
“Kidding you? I just entered the goddamned twilight zone,” Leandra said, glaring at Nick, who had the audacity to shrug. “And this”—she pointed to her neck—“does not make me your girl.”
“When a Sarich leaves his mark—”
She poked the center of Nick’s chest with her index finger.
“Ouch.” He smiled as he rubbed his chest. “That’s going to leave a mark. Does that mean—”
“Oh, my God. You’re impossible.” Leandra’s embarrassment quickly turned to amusement, which didn’t make sense and sent her stomach on a roll. “Really? You had to give me a hickey?” She looked over her shoulder, giving Logan the evil eye. “And you had to tell your brothers?”
Turning her attention to the youngest man, she waved her finger at him. “What is wrong with you people?”
“You have to understand he was known as Hickey Boy in high school,” Logan said, laughing. “It was like he saw a neck and had to suck.”
“At least I didn’t get caught by my girlfriend’s father in nothing but my birthday suit right after having sexfor the first time,” Nick said with a dark and playful tone.
“No, you just got caught by Dad in the patrol car with your ass in the air,” Dylan said with a stupid smile.
Leandra opened her mouth, but no words came out. Only a high-pitched screech.
“This coming from the guy who sent his crazy ex-girlfriend a dick pic who then preceded to plaster it all over Facebook,” Nick said.
“Oh…my…God. Is the other Sarich boy as perverted as you three?” She blinked a few times, staring in Nick’s warm blue eyes, wondering why the hell she found their banter endearing.
“We’re not perverts,” they said in unison.
“And Ramey is worse,” Nick said.
