Page 62 of The Agent
She nodded against the fabric of his shirt before she loosened her grip from around his waist and stepped back. “Honestly, I’m fine. I just needed to feel ... safe.”
“You’re always safe with me.” He put his arm around her shoulders and guided her inside and down the hall to a cozy den. “I know you stopped to eat, but how about a drink? One of those Manhattans you like so much?”
The burn of rye whiskey might blot out some of the memories. “That sounds good. Have you got what you need to make one?” Manhattans required some uncommon ingredients.
“I laid them in today when I knew you were staying here.” He gave her shoulders a gentle squeeze before he released her and walked to the built-in bar.
Her heart gave a little leap of pleasure because he’d remembered her favorite drink.
Pushing that feeling away, Natalie glanced around the room lined on two sides with book-filled oak shelves and furnished with matching overstuffed blue velvet sofas, a carved-wood coffee table, and a wine-and-navy Persian rug. The sofas invited her to kick off her shoes and curl her legs under her while she leaned against a throw pillow in the same wine color as the rug. She let her head fall back as she watched Tully through half-closed eyelids.
The standing lamp by the bar threw gold across his face, outlining the blade of his nose and sharp line of his jaw while keeping his eyes in shadow. The hair dusting his arms picked up glints of the light as he measured the liquor into a jigger and poured it into the cocktail mixer. He moved with precision and economy, just the way he did when he inspected her house for security flaws.
“You’re very quiet,” he said, with a quick glance her way. “Don’t want to talk about it?”
“Actually, I think I do, but right now I’m enjoying your presence.”
He flashed a grin as he swirled the cocktail shaker in circles. “A lot of folks run in the opposite direction.”
“Only the folks who are doing something they shouldn’t be. The rest of us wrap ourselves in the mantle of your strength.”
“That sounds like something out of a Greek epic poem.” Tully poured the amber liquid into two martini glasses and dropped in Luxardo cherries skewered on cocktail picks. “I always wanted to be a Homeric hero like Odysseus.”
“You certainly could pose for a statue of one.” Natalie smiled at him as he settled beside her on the couch.
He laughed and handed her a drink. “I’m not much for standing still.” He touched the rim of his glass to hers. “To the end of a long day.”
She took a sip, closing her eyes as the liquor slid down her throat like liquid flame, loosening her muscles before it even hit her stomach. “So your day was long too?”
“A lot of work stuff, projects I needed to catch up on.” He snaked his free arm around her and shifted so his solid body pressed against hers from thigh to shoulder. “But I had this to look forward to, so it went by fast.”
“You’ve been spending too much time on my problem,” she said as guilt nipped at her.
“No, I spend too much time at brain-sucking meetings.” He tipped the glass to his lips and swallowed, the muscles of his throat rippling under the skin dusted with five-o’clock shadow. “I have some bad news on the license plate Deion caught on video. It’s stolen.”
“They were driving around Cofferwood with stolen plates? Isn’t that kind of risky?”
“Not if they behave themselves. It’s a pro move for short-term surveillance. Costs money to acquire them but Van Houten has plenty of that.”
“But now we can’t prove it’s him.” Not even the effects of the Manhattan could fend off the tension that crawled through her.
“Not yet.” Determination ran like steel through his voice. “You ready to tell me about the appointment with Alastair?”
Natalie took another swig of her Manhattan. “He’s great. Do you know anything about his background? He seems to feel strongly about domestic abuse.”
“Just that he’s from England and came here to go to law school. Maybe the fact that he put an ocean between himself and his home tells you something right there.”
Tully’s perception still surprised her when it shouldn’t. Being good with a gun was only part of his job. “You’re a very smart man,” she said.
“I’m going to get a swelled head tonight if you aren’t careful.” But there was an undertone of gratification in his voice.
“Dobs is even worse than I thought,” Natalie said. “He forced sex on Regina because he wanted her to get pregnant so badly.” And Regina had made excuses for him. “She only left him because she was worried that he would hurt the baby.” It had taken a near tragedy to open Regina’s eyes to the fact that Dobs wasn’t the person she thought she had married.
Natalie understood that mindset only too well.
She felt the muscles in Tully’s body tighten as a wave of fury rolled off him. “When I take him down, I’m going to take him downhard.”
Natalie half turned to him. “Can you find a way to keep him from getting even visitation rights for his child?”
