Page 84 of Fracture

“It would have been, if you hadn’t figured it out.”

Vinnie swallowed roughly, remembering how he found her.

“That kind of intuition is very valuable. It’s the kind of thing that saves lives.”

“Yeah,” Vinnie said. “I trust my gut, and my team does, too.”

“Don’t stop. We need more cops like that.”

Vinnie chuckled. “I’m not sure most of the detectives would agree with you.”

Marcus shook his head. “Every job is different. A detective has to prove something. Your job is to stop things from getting worse.”

Vinnie exhaled a laugh. “That’s a good way to put it.”

“It’s true. And you’re good at it. Damn good, Vinnie.”

“Thanks, Marcus. That means a lot.”

Marcus clapped him on the back. Gage and Braden came over and asked if they were ready to start cooking, and the men moved to the patio to start the grill.

Vinnie joined them, hanging on the outskirts. With Marcus, he felt like he belonged, but until he knew Lorelei wanted him around for longer than she needed his help, Vinnie knew his connection to the others was tangential. Getting too attached would only end badly for him.

“I can’t believe you threw me a cast party,” Lorelei said when she and Vinnie made it home.

Home. Back to his place. She wasn’t sure where home was for her. Besides with Vinnie. She hoped.

“We wanted you to know you have people who care about you.”

“Are you one of those people?” she asked. What Karli and the others said about Lorelei being in love with Vinnie had been on her mind for the last two hours. She knew it was too soon to tell him how she felt, but with the knowledge in her mind, she couldn’t argue with it either.

Vinnie walked up and wrapped his arms around her waist. He looked her in the eyes, his soft and caring before he nodded. “I’m definitely one of those people.”

“Yeah?”

Vinnie nodded. “Yeah.”

Lorelei felt the words billowing to the surface. Before they could fall out of her mouth, she dropped her crutches and pulled Vinnie down for a kiss.

Vinnie didn’t waste any time wrapping her up and lifting her into his arms.

She squeaked and tried to pull back. “I’m too heavy for you.”

“Not even close.” His whispered words were accentuated by him carrying her through the apartment and depositing her gently on his bed.

Lorelei didn’t let him go, pulling him down on top of her.

He crawled over her, bracketing her hips with his knees. He let some of his weight rest on her. Her ribs were mostly healed, but Vinnie was still careful with all of her injuries.

Too careful if Lorelei had a say. She wanted to know what he was like unfiltered. Wild and passionate and crazy for her. A part of her wondered if he wasn’t that interested in her. If he’d never be that way because they were just sleeping together and she was the only one falling in love.

He nipped her lip, and she gasped. “You’re getting lost in your head. What’s going on?”

She shook her head.

Vinnie propped himself up. “You can tell me.”

“I’m just worried about what happens after tomorrow.”

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