Page 10 of Fighting Conviction
“I, um. I think I’ll ride home.” The room was quiet and she dared a glance back to see the raised side of his mouth had flattened into a hard line and he’d stuffed the hand not holding his jacket into his pockets.
Is he… disappointed?
“But, could you walk me out?”Ellie quickly followed up. The compromise was worth it when his mouth curved up again. It wasn’t even a real smile by normal standards, but it still had the power to tie Ellie’s stomach into hopeful knots.
“Love to, angel.” This time he said the endearment like a brother to a sister, and Ellie bristled at the tone. So dang confusing.
Dev tugged a pack of gum from his pocket. Big Red, like always. He popped a piece into his mouth before offering her one.
“No thanks.” She shook her head. Her mouth was already watering enough.
He nodded and stuffed both the pack and his hands back in his pockets before leading them out, both of them making sure to wave bye to everyone in the store before leaving.
Nora was talking to Naomi near the check-out counter, no doubt trying to enlist another volunteer. If a survivor helped around the thrift store under the guise of a volunteer opportunity, they were able to keep Sasha Saves close in case they needed help. The thrift store was advertised as a non-profit for kids with cancer. No one questioned or fought against helping kids with cancer. Some of the proceeds did actually go toward them, so it wasn’t even a lie. Hopefully, Naomi agreed and the two would come up with a plan to convince whoever caused her injuries.
Ellie weaved behind Devil through clothing racks and tried not to be frustrated that even as he held the door open for her, he seemed to carefully avoid touching her.
They hardly ever did, she’d noticed, as if their bodies had conspired to leave a buffer as an attempt to never give in to the tension swirling between them. But the constant focus onnottouching had the opposite effect on curing the charged energy that zipped over Ellie’s skin whenever Dev was only inches away. Instead, any time their fingers brushed, a delicious shock traveled up her arm and down to the bundle of nerves that craved his attention.
What would happen if she gave in to the urge to pounce on him? Just once? If he pressed his body up against hers, would it finally relieve the ache inside? Or would it make it more unbearable?
Ellie suppressed a shiver at the same time her stomach lurched. Not even her body could decide whether being brave enough to act on her needs was arousing or terrifying.
Moving on from her past was the equivalent of standing on the edge of a cliff. She’d managed to avoid looking down until that point, but would taking the leap with someone like Dev feel like flying or a total crash and burn?
Things had gotten hot and heavy with a few guys before she was kidnapped, but she’d never had sex. After months of therapy, she was trying to regain some semblance of a normal life as a college student. That included a relationship, right? Maybe Virginia could fix her up with some guy. Not that he’d ever compare to Dev.
Ellie tripped over the welcome mat outside the doorway. One second, she was falling to the ground, the next, strong hands whisked her up, gripping her around her waist.
“Careful, angel.”
It was back. His tone a soft caress against her skin. She looked down at Dev’s hands, spanning her waistline as he held her tightly with her back flush to his chest. Ellie leaned sideways to meet those big forest green eyes and gulped back the butterflies threatening to escape. The heat in his gaze lit her up inside. It was the first time they’deverbeen that close.
Relief? Or unbearable?
His fingers twitched on her lower belly, sending the flutters there straight down to her core and making her throb with need.
Guess I have my answer.
Chapter Four
“Investigator Burgess, I’m not sure these meetings are as productive as we’d hoped,” Hawkins Black, the BlackStone Securities leader, growled across the Ashland County Sheriff’s Office conference room.
Devil raised an eyebrow at Hawk’s show of emotion. Their team lead was usually methodical, like Devil. It was the Jaybird between them, Jason Stone, who had the temper. He was barely keeping it in check, bouncing his leg so hard he shook the table.
But Devil couldn’t blame Hawk for the slip in character. They’d all been pushed to the limit, and this case was a sore spot for each of them for different reasons. It was high-time Burgess was called out on his bullshit.
Over the past several months, the BlackStone Securities Crew had hit a dead end in their search for answers about the county’s human trafficking. The Crew had been able to stop the operation, and even eradicate some of the assholes, before they could take off with Ellie and the other women.
But now the fuckers had gone radio silent and the Crew had no other choice but to work with the man none of them trusted. Investigator Burgess of the Ashland County Sheriff’s Office had tried to pin Ellie’s kidnapping and Sasha’s murder on Jaybird, for Christ’s sake. Not to mention the fact the only sources of scientific identification of the subject were missing in action. Sasha’s DNA samples “somehow” got lost and her body was “accidentally” cremated. Even after Sasha’s parents sued the county for emotional distress, the apologies from the sheriff’s office were weak at best. The whole situation was fucked and Burgess was the shitty ass dildo.
Devil’s hands tightened around the chair rests, teasing the skin on an exposed nail he’d found at the beginning of the meeting. He leaned back, schooling his face as he pressed harder into the sharp point. It was past the point of soothing pain, but not close enough to break skin. He didn’t have time for another tetanus shot.
Investigator Burgess squirmed in his leather seat. How the overweight man sat comfortably in his already bulky police-issued uniform was a mystery. “Now fellas, this has been a big case. Lots of movin’ parts—”
“It’s been months,” Hawk interrupted through gritted teeth. “I think it’s time to say the trail has gone stale, and all these so-called leads you’ve been sending us on have been nothing but one long wild-goose chase.” Hawk’s quiet accusation rang out despite the poor acoustics of the wood-paneled walls. Jaybird nodded silently, every muscle tensed, on the verge of exploding.
As their leader, Hawk took on more than his share of guilt when jobs went south. He’d been that way even before Devil served with him in MF7, their paramilitary group where Hawk had been second-in-command.
