he brought her back to him in a gentle hug that heightened her desire. “You didn’t intend for it to go that far, and neither did I, but don’t tell me you’re sorry.”
“I’m not in the habit of lying, Detective—I mean Mike.”
“So you’re not sorry?”
She stepped out of his embrace and put on her shoes. “A lot of good being sorry would do. I just want to get back home.”
He began to readjust his clothing, revealing taut muscular abs. He was the epitome of the kind of man she’d dreamed of.
“Some people kiss and tell. It seems you kiss and run.”
Without thinking, she threw her left shoe at him. “You know exactly how to get on my last nerve.”
“I don’t get on your nerves, Darlene. I remind you that you’re a woman, and you don’t want to think about that.” He picked up the shoe and handed it to her.
Darlene jumped up. With her body inches from his, she wagged her finger in his face. “If you say something like that to me again, I’ll…I’ll…”
He grabbed the moving finger. “You’ll what? Come, let’s go downstairs. Boyd probably thinks I’ve killed you.”
“You’re probably right,” she said. “I suspect he’s not dealing with a full deck, but he’s such a sweet man. I like him.”
He took her hand and then dropped it. “Yeah. I like him, too. A lot, and as long as I have this job, nobody’s going to harm him.”
A frown creased her face. Did Mike think her capable of harming Boyd, or anyone else? She left his side and rushed down the stairs ahead of him, annoyed with herself for having what, until that moment, had been for her a tender, sweet and memorable kiss.
He bounded down the stairs behind Darlene and stepped in front of her. “What tripped your trigger this time?”
With a toss of her head, she walked around him. “You do that more easily than anybody I ever knew.”
“I don’t doubt it. Let me know when you figure out why.”
“Are you all right, Darlene?” Boyd asked her. “What happened? I don’t think you had time to get a little rest.”
“No, I didn’t. But Michael, I mean Mike, wanted to be certain that I stayed in line, so he came up to check on me. I think I’ll stay down here so that he can keep an eye on me.”
“She means I caught her trying to escape out of the window. Tonight, she sleeps down here on the couch.”
“Oh, my,” Boyd said. “I do wish the two of you would be friends.”
“Thanks, Boyd, but try being friends with an angry lion and see where you end up. I should be allowed to make a call.”
“Stop worrying. I called your brother Clark, and he said you’re getting precisely what you deserve, because you’re nosy and you’re always getting into things that aren’t your business.”
She glared at him. “You telephoned my brother? How’d you find him, and who told you I have a brother?”
Mike lifted his right shoulder in a quick and dismissive shrug. “It appears that the Cunninghams of Frederick, Maryland, are well-known. I’m a police detective. There isn’t much I can’t find out.”
“I could dislike you a lot.”
She wanted to wipe the smug expression off his face.
“But you won’t. You’re a smart lawyer, and that means you have a good memory. I’m betting you won’t be able to forget what happened upstairs for a long time.”
She opened her mouth to deny it, but she was a good lawyer, and she couldn’t lie. Without saying a word, she sat down and looked away from him.
Chapter 2
The doorbell rang. Mike started toward the front door, stopped and turned to Darlene. “Stay put and don’t say a word. It could be anybody, and you could be in danger.” He put his right hand under the left side of his jacket and went to the door.
“Hey, man, am I glad to see you,” he said after slipping the chain and opening the door. “I need to pick up a few things. There isn’t a bit of coffee in this house.”
Mike led another man into the room.
“You can bring some when you come tomorrow morning,” the other man said.
“I’m thinking of changing things here. You have a family, and I don’t. This is a four-bedroom house, so I can bunk here,” Mike said as he led the other man, presumably his replacement, into the living room. “Come on in, and I’ll introduce you to the latest addition to our problem. Detective Cody Johnson, this is attorney Darlene Cunningham.” Cody walked over to Darlene and looked at her, though he didn’t offer to shake hands.
“How’d you get involved in this?”
“I rang the doorbell, Boyd let me in and his honor over there detained me. I’m grateful that I’m not in handcuffs.”
“I see you’re full of attitude. You’ve got a mouth on you, too.” Cody turned to Mike. “How’d she get past you?”
“That’s one of the things that’s bothering me, Cody. A green Jaguar cruised slowly past here three times yesterday. This morning, it came by again, slowing almost to a crawl when it passed this house, so I followed it until it turned into Route 61 and headed toward Mississippi. That took me away for about fifteen minutes. When I got back here, Ms. Cunningham was about to leave. I’m not certain that her arrival at precisely that time wasn’t planned.”
Cody rubbed his chin with his right thumb and index finger. “I see.” He walked over to Boyd. “How’s it going, man?”
“Wonderful, Cody. Darlene is a lovely woman and so pleasant.”
“I guess you or any other man would say that after weeks of only Mike and me for company.”
Cody Johnson had spent a quarter of a century in the Memphis police force. He’d worked his way up to the job of detective, which he’d held for the past six years. At fifty years of age, he was a hardened lawman, though fair and honest. He walked back to Darlene. “Detective Raines is in charge of this operation, but when it comes to dealing with criminals, I take a backseat to no man. So, if you haven’t committed a crime, be sure to maintain that record on my watch. If you do, I’ll handcuff you and take you to jail.”
“What kind of crime can I commit with you watching my every move?”
“Resisting an officer is a crime.”
“I’m a practicing attorney. Thanks for educating me.”
Mike watched the interplay between Darlene and Cody and concluded that Darlene wouldn’t last five hours in the house with Cody. She couldn’t resist being a smartass, and Cody wouldn’t tolerate
