she had never developed the unhealthy, hateful and distrusting relationship to cops that her brother and others in her neighborhood had, she could see herself heading in that direction fairly quickly if she had to deal with Detective Hightower much longer.
She really hadn’t had to use the rest room or fix her makeup. She wasn’t even wearing that much makeup. Just a little foundation, eyeliner, mascara, lipstick and lip gloss. It was a lot more than she normally wore, though. Typically, she couldn’t be bothered with more than a little lip gloss. But she figured a girl who wore hip-hop designer clothing like the hot-pink, skin-tight Baby Phat denim minidress she was sporting and rocking two-toned hair would have on foundation and lipstick at the very least. She drew the line at eye shadow and blush, though. And there was no way she would get any long fake acrylic nails. There was only so much she was willing to do for appearances.
She looked in the mirror, surveyed her outfit and cringed.
This is so-oo not me…
Hoping the cop was gone, she decided to head back out to their table and try to talk the McKnight twins into calling it an evening. The sooner she was out of the flashy clothes and into some sweats the better.
She walked out of the ladies’ room and right into the nosy detective. He must have been standing in the narrow hallway waiting for her. He pretty much blocked the way back into the bar so she decided to lean against the wall and wait for him to be a gentleman and get out of her way. Heart thumping and pulse racing, she folded her arms across her chest and twisted her lips to the side.
A full minute must have passed with him just standing there staring at her like he was trying to figure out one of the great mysteries of the world. She huffed and moved to go around him. He grabbed her forearm and moved her back.
A tingle raced across her arm and landed smack-dab in her heart. At such close proximity, the masculine scent of him assaulted her nose and sparked a keening need in her gut. She took a deep, calming breath that she hoped looked like she had an attitude and not like she had been shaken to her core.
“Can I help you with anything, Detective? I couldn’t imagine what. But you must have some reason for making yourself a nuisance this evening, especially since you don’t know me and have no reasonable cause to harass me.” She tilted her head to the side partly for appearance’s sake but mostly because it helped with the sudden feeling of vertigo this man had her experiencing.
He looked puzzled for a moment before his lips formed a slight snarl. “You hanging with the McKnight twins is all the cause I need to keep an eye on you, Miss…Samuels.”
“So the whole ‘innocent until proven guilty’ thing is just a cute idea for a fairy tale or are you really an officer of the law?” She folded her arms across her chest and swallowed. She had no idea what had come over her, but she knew she refused to back down and let some cop punk her.
“Oh, so you’re a little smart-ass? You should ask your friend Timmy McKnight what happens to smart-asses in jail. ’Cause that’s where you’re headed if you keep moving in the wrong circles. I don’t know you but I know plenty of dumb little girls like you who get caught up, carrying weight across state lines, holding things they shouldn’t be holding in their purses…” He glanced at the small leather handbag she was carrying.
“Tell me something, what do you think I’d find if I took a look through that bag of yours? Maybe something you used to powder your nose? Would that be foundation or coke?” He leaned forward and she instinctively leaned forward, as well.
The nerve of this man! The amount of incredulity coursing through her only hinted at how shocking she found his entire demeanor.
They were standing so close to each other in the small hallway that it was impossible for her not to imagine his lips swooping down and covering hers. She licked her lips and swallowed. What might that kiss be like, taste like, feel like.
She noticed him swallowing too. Is he imagining the same thing?
She looked him up and down taking in every inch of his muscular physique. She’d never found herself so attracted to a man before. The lean, hard frame in front of her, wearing jeans, sneakers and a white T-shirt was just too sexy and too aggravating for words…And certainly too fine to be a cop…
Why was the first adult male to make her pulse quicken and her heart race a member of the police force?
“Don’t you have anything better to do than to harass people who aren’t doing anything wrong? Or is that what cops are getting paid for these days?”
“You need to—”
“Hey, bro, we’ve been looking all over for you. You need to get back over there so we can finish celebrating. You know I’m going to be heading out to make it home to my wife and Joel can barely wait to get back to his new fiancée…” The voice of the man who interrupted them trailed off when he noticed her standing there. He was a younger version of the detective and she got a cop vibe from him, as well.
“You need some help here, bro?” The younger one gave her the once-over. He had that penetrating gaze thing down and she wondered if it was a cop thing or a family trait.
They were certainly related. She could tell because they both shared the same ruggedly handsome looks and tall, fine, muscular frames. If that wasn’t enough, they had the same bold brown eyes. But the younger one had a light in his eyes that hinted at immense happiness whereas her detective…
My detective? Oh, brother…The annoying, mean and irritating detective had a hard, impenetrable glare in his eyes. She couldn’t see any happiness there.
“I’m cool, Jason. I was just trying to warn Miss Samuels here about the company she keeps. But you know what they say…you can’t save ’em if they don’t want to be saved.” He shrugged in a nonchalant manner. “So, I’ll just leave you with this. Stay out of trouble or it will be my pleasure to show you what cops get paid for.” He turned and walked away.
The younger one stared at her for a moment and shrugged. “I suggest you take heed and watch the company you keep. We’re not soft on crime around here. And the fact that my brother warned you gives you a lot more than most folks get. Consider yourself lucky.” The younger one spouted off his added warning with a slight smirk and headed off behind his brother.
Lucky? Yeah, right!
She leaned back against the wall to steady herself. Because no matter how cool and calm she might have appeared, just two interactions with Detective Hightower had her heart pounding in her chest and her knees weak. She had to catch her breath as she replayed the exchange. But most important, she had to get out of there and as far away from Detective Hightower as she possibly could.
The man screamed loud and clear without having to say a word: he could be her undoing…
“Why the hell, did you tell him her name?” Timmy glared at his twin in disgust.
“Because…Damn…It’s not like it’s her real name anyway. And you know what a pain in the ass Hightower can be. The man is like a bad penny. He just keeps showing up. And since we’re trying to go straight now, we don’t need to give him any reason to keep sniffing around.”
“He doesn’t need a reason. That’s just his annoying way. And since we’re going straight, he wouldn’t find anything. And we are going straight.” Timmy kept the threatening edge in his voice because he knew his brother had a weak will.
