Page 16 of Hart of Darkness
6
Maggie
Ishould have been leaving since Nadine was safe for now, but the couch was too comfy, and I wanted to learn more about Dillon.
He stared at me with so many different emotions dancing in his golden-brown eyes. I was sure I had several going on in mine too. I couldn’t believe, after all these years, that I was in the same room as Dillon Hart. The Hart brothers had been my enemies, but Dillon had been my favorite. He had a brooding outer appearance, but underneath all that toughness was a teddy bear. I’d picked up on that when he’d defended his sister, much like Lou had protected and defended me. Back then, though, boys and dating weren’t on my list of things to do, not after what Cory had done to me. Moreover, if I’d had any notions about approaching Dillon, Lou would’ve cut off his manly parts, or those of any boy, for that matter, including the ones in my own gang if they’d breathed on me the wrong way.
My gang days were long gone. I didn’t have Lou to fight off the men, and I’d gotten past my fear of a boy touching me. It had been hard when I’d first had sex at the age of twenty. The man I’d been with had been gentle and kind. I’d soon realized that the more sex I had, the more fun it could be, especially when two people wanted the same thing.
My phone rang, breaking the silence between Dillon and me. I shifted in my seat, wanting to ignore Ted’s call. The quietness in the room was soothing, and Dillon’s gaze bouncing over me had my lady parts singing. Maybe it was the lip ring and the diamond stud in his nose that got me all heated. Or maybe it was how his beard hugged his strong jaw or how his tousled brown hair fell to his shoulders. I came to the conclusion that it was all of the above, the whole darn package, at least above his neck. I didn’t venture lower or examine his tatted arms. Otherwise, I would have been beet red.
I heaved a sigh as my phone continued to blare. I had to pick up, or else Ted would keep calling.
“Are you going to answer that?” Dillon asked in a husky tone.
I puffed out my cheeks as I set my sights on the ping-pong table behind Dillon for no other reason than to not look at the boy who made the butterflies take flight in my stomach.
The ringing stopped… then started again.
I lifted the phone to my ear, my thoughts taking a downturn to Nadine. I felt as if she’d punched me in the gut harder than anyone had in the past, and I’d taken some fists in my stomach. A small amount of guilt plagued me. I’d been praying she would tell me her pimp was Cory, not Miguel. That name didn’t ring a bell to me.
“I wanted to make sure you got home safe,” Ted said.
“Did you consider that I could be sleeping?”
“I know you, Mags.” Ted’s voice was like sandpaper. “When you’re trying to find dirt for a story, you’ll go to great lengths to get the facts.”
He spoke the truth. I considered myself relentless when I wanted something.
“Can you confirm that the gang you were up against tonight is in fact the Black Knights? What about the guy you arrested? Can you tell me his name?” Nadine had said the guy the cops caught wasn’t Miguel, but she didn’t know his name.
Dillon watched me intently.
Ted let out a low laugh. “My case is not for the media. When I have something that I can share, you’ll be one of the first ones to know.”
I believed that last statement was a lie. If his investigation uncovered the Black Knights, Ted wouldn’t want me anywhere near that case, especially if Cory Calderon was involved. Like Rick, Ted had also told me Cory was clean. When Ted learned what the boy had done to me, he did some digging. At first, I didn’t believe him, which was why I’d asked Rick to confirm things. But Cory didn’t even have a parking ticket. I would guess his rich daddy was paying someone off within law enforcement to conceal Cory’s records.
“You know I’ll do my own digging.”
Ted harrumphed. “I’m well aware of that. Remember, Mags, if you intrude on a police investigation, there will be consequences. Family or not.”
I rolled my eyes, even though he couldn’t see me. “I want to see Cory pay for what he did to me.” Ted wouldn’t throw me in jail.
Yeah, but you could lose your job.Better yet, you could lose the opportunity to exact your revenge on Cory Calderon.Then again, it was becoming increasingly difficult to get anything on a guy who frequented charity events and was considered a good boy.
Dillon grinned, and when he did, tingles peppered my body.
Since when did I get tingles from a guy who smiled at me?
Since the hottest guy you’ve seen in quite some time is sitting across from you.
Suddenly, I realized the last time I had sex with a guy was more than a year ago, maybe two. At least I had my trusty vibrator. Still, a woman had needs, and the image of two bodies sliding together, making glorious music jolted me right between the legs.
Dillon had a blank expression as his gaze roamed all over me, making those butterflies flutter endlessly. He was certainly better to look at than the ping-pong table. His chiseled biceps were yummy. The tats on his arms told a story, at least I assumed they did since he had the name Grace inked on his arm.
“You’ve got to let Cory go. Now get some rest.” Ted disconnected, killing the butterflies in my stomach.
I would get Cory if it took me forever.
