He touched her arm where Cam had grabbed her. She might be bruised. She’d never had anyone defend her the way he had tonight, never had a reason to need that from anyone. But tonight she had, and Thad had been there for her. Appreciation mushroomed into more, warmth that her undeniable attraction fueled.
“Maybe you should stick to the traditional method of meeting someone,” he said.
His logical solution to her scary encounter chased the rest of her tension away. She stepped closer to him. “Okay, Officer. Traditional it is.” She played with the collar of his shirt. He wasn’t wearing a badge. She never saw him actually wear it. “Does this qualify as traditional?”
“We’re in a parking lot, and I almost arrested someone.”
Hardly traditional. Just then she realized he must have waited for her in the parking lot. “What are you doing here, anyway?”
“I’m a cop.” Giving her a grin, he stepped back and then headed toward his blue Charger.
That was the reason he gave her, but Lucy was certain there was another reason he’d waited. He’d been concerned. And more than the cop in him had compelled him to stay and keep an eye on her. He liked her, and he’d protected her. And, strangely, she loved that he had. Not only because he’d saved her from whatever Cam would have done. If anything, he’d cared enough to ensure she made it home safely.
“Hey,” she called.
Thad stopped at his fast car.
She was going to take a plunge headfirst. “I have to volunteer for a literacy program tomorrow night. Would you mind going with me?” She had two motives for this. One, she was afraid of what Cam would do, and two, she wanted to torture Thad with children. What better way to see just how interested he was?
There went that grin again. He had a really nice grin. “Not at all,” he said. “What time?”
“I have to be there at six.”
“I’ll pick you up.”
“But you don’t know my address.”
“I have your address.”
Cop. He was starting to sound like Cam, except there was no comparison. Thad’s reasons for hanging around and looking up her address were completely different from Cam’s. They were two completely different men. Still, she couldn’t let Thad’s boldness go without at least a little teasing...
“You’re not a stalker, are you?” she asked. “Should I be worried?”
He took her seriously. His grin went flat. “No, not you. But Cam should be real worried, because if he ever comes within ten feet of you again, he’ll have to answer to me.”
Sexy, handsome, protective cop...
The way her heart thumped gave her second thoughts about inviting him to one of her most cherished pastimes.
Chapter 4
Darcy wiped the coffee that had dribbled onto his lavender dress shirt with a damp napkin. “He’s got a rap sheet.”
Thad leaned against Darcy’s desk, looking at the mug shot of Cameo Harmon that Darcy had brought up on the screen. Cam’s mouth drew a defiant line, eyes gleaming hatred and reddened from the consumption of alcohol.
“Surprise, surprise,” Thad murmured.
“Domestic violence. His former wife pressed charges after he beat her for the last time. Put her in the hospital.” Darcy reached for the small printer on his desk and handed a few pages to Thad.
Thad took them. “Does somebody have to die before this guy gets sent to jail?”
“Yeah, he’s a real dream date,” Darcy said. “Two restraining orders. One DUI. Robbery when he was a juvenile.” Standing up from his desk chair, Darcy pointed to the line on one of the printed pages. “Stole a camera from a Walmart.”
Thad had seen sheets like this before, and many worse.
“Amazingly, he has a good job,” Darcy said. “Nice house. Decent car. He puts up a good front.”
“Lures them in and then the beatings begin, huh?” Thad could see how Lucy might have missed what a loser Cam was. “His online dating profile is a real smoke screen, too.”
“Guys like that have to fool women into getting close to them,” Darcy said. “This one’s probably on his way to doing something that will land him in prison for a few years. I wouldn’t be surprised if he winds up with a life sentence someday.”
As in murder. That didn’t sit well with Thad. Domestic violence usually escalated in men like this.
He flipped through the printed pages until he found what he was looking for and put it back in front of Thad. “Lucy met this piece of work online a little over a week ago.”
“What are you onto?” Darcy asked, looking at the page. When nothing there clued him in, he met Thad’s gaze. A few seconds later he caught on.
“Kate was shot around then.”
“But not killed.” Thad pointed to the page.
Darcy looked down and read the part about Cam having a military background. Gunnery sergeant.
“He was a sniper,” Thad said. “According to this, he has an NRA membership. Gun permit. And I’ll bet if we got a search warrant, we’d find all kinds of weapons in his house.”
“Guys like that feel big and powerful if they own a bunch of automatic weapons and a few Rambo-style hunting knives,” Darcy added. “Do you really think this could be the gunman who shot your mother?”
“I’m not saying anything, but let’s not leave any stone unturned.”
“He drives a Honda.” Darcy chuckled cynically.
“Smoke screen.”
“His favorite movie is probably some gory slasher film.”
Thad nodded along with Darcy’s dark humor and checked his watch.
“Going somewhere?” Darcy asked.
“I’m on my way to pick up Lucy.”
“Lucy?” Darcy cued in on that. “You have a date?”
“It’s not a date.” Some might argue that it was...like Darcy...and his mother.
“Where are you taking her?”
“Not dinner.” He headed for the door. “Thanks, Darcy.”
“Where are you taking her?” Darcy called after him.
Thad just looked back with a grin. Out in the hall, he didn’t escape Chief Thomas. Like the rest of them, he worked too much.
“Hey,
