Page 16 of The Criminal

I put my purse in the car and pulled off my jacket, draping it over the back seat. It was a good thing I didn’t love this Ralph Lauren suit because I wasn’t sure it would survive this. The parking lot was recently paved, but cream linen slacks, blacktop, and sweat were a bad combo.

Onyx, my faithful friend, curled up in the passenger seat while I got the spare and jack from the trunk. His head poked out the open door, and his eyes stayed on me as I laid everything out on the ground and got to work.

I was in the process of loosening the lug nuts when I found it.

I pried a small device free from the wheel well. It wasn’t much bigger than my car’s key fob. I flipped it over in my hand a few times. A green light blinked innocently on the front, and a dot of super strong adhesive clung to the back. What the hell was this thing?

Google’s image search feature answered that question in a moment—a state-of-the-art GPS tracking device.

I blinked and closed my fist around the highly offensive violation of my privacy. It didn’t take me long to decide where the unacceptable bit of tech had come from. It wasn’t Tony. He wasn’t dumb enough to sabotage his own tracking device by slashing my tire. No, it was a different high-handed man.

“I’m surrounded by assholes.” I pressed my silk shell against my cleavage to stop the trickle of boob sweat before I put the jack under the car.

Onyx yawned in agreement and tucked his nose under the end of his bushy tail.

Chapter 7

Derek

“I’mcoming.”Thepoundingon my door reverberated off the newly refinished terrazzo floors. I wasn’t expecting a visitor. I’d only lived in this house for about six months, long enough to get the place ninety percent renovated. But not long enough to know the neighbors.

I checked my 9mm and slipped it into the back of my pants. Whoever was out there sounded pissed. Miami was full of crazy people.

What I saw through the glass front door stopped my heart: Lee and her dog. I yanked the door open. She was flushed and looked panicked. When I last checked her whereabouts, her car had been at Oleander, and she’d been working late.

“Oh my God, Lee, what’s wro—“

“Assholes are what’s wrong.” She cut me off and hurled one of my GPS tracking devices at my face. I caught it, barely avoiding an eye injury. Distracted by the flying electronics, I missed my chance to block the fist that slammed into my jaw.

Son of a bitch, that hurt.

Through watering eyes and a wave of pain, I looked at Lee. Pissed didn’t cover it. She radiated anger from every pore, her perfectly crafted persona long forgotten. And her dog matched her energy. His teeth bared and hackles up, he stalked beside her into my house.

I cupped my aching jaw. I knew what she was mad about but was unsure how to defuse the situation.

“Where do you get off?” Her nail dug into the same spot on my sternum as last time. “It’s a violation of my privacy.”

I started backing away from the painful stab of her nail and hissed accusations. Her salon must use a titanium topcoat on those talons. I shuffled backward. She and the dog pressed their advantage. Fire glittered from the depths of her black eyes, and her body hummed with barely controlled fury. I almost tripped on a throw rug in the entryway as I skittered back.

I wasn’t scared. No, far from it. Parts of my body were waking up, taking notice of how, despite—or maybe because of—her flushed skin, messy hair, and the smudges of dirt, she was breathtaking. Sexy.

My ass slammed into the dining room table. She had me trapped.

Her hot breath puffed over my cheek, and her nail dug deep. I yearned to press my hips forward, pull her against me. Let the waves of her anger engulf us both. My cock twitched behind my zipper. Apparently, pissed off did it for me. I curled my hands around the edge of the table to keep from reaching for her.

I opened my mouth to justify my actions. I considered lying and telling her I didn’t plant the device. But the blood required to form a credible lie had rushed south. I stuttered incoherently. My mind fixated on one thing.I want her.I wanted to fuck her—grab a handful of her hair, bend her backward, and kiss the ever-living hell out of her. Kiss her long enough and hard enough that I regained control of the situation. Kiss her until she melted.

On the heels of that damning realization, a wave of shame swamped me. She’s Ray’s sister, and I’m a horny idiot. I’d neglected my promise to Ray for two decades. I had to make this right, not try and get in her pants.

I closed one hand around her wrist, pulled her nail away from my chest, and moved her back, putting a foot of much-needed space between us.

“I promised Ray.” To cool the last of my unexpected and ill-timed ardor, I focused on my dead friend.

“You promised my brother that you’d stalk me.”

“No, that I’d keep you out of trouble. I failed.”

“I’m not a fucking mission. I’m an adult woman who has managed my life just fine without you or anyone else.” She jerked her hand away from me and crossed her arms, pushing her small breasts up, the white of her silky tank top straining to contain the mounds. I stifled a groan.

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