Page 17 of Hart of Darkness
I barely lowered the phone, when Dillon started in. “That was your cop friend?”
I yawned. The long day was hitting me all of a sudden, or more like my adrenaline was nonexistent now. “Ted Hughes.”
“As in Detective?” Dillon asked.
“You know him?” That would be weird… or cool… Actually, I didn’t know what I thought about that, although Ted was well-known in the city as the commander of the gang force.
“Eddie mentioned him. So are you saying that the guy who gave you your scar is the leader of the Black Knights?”
“I can’t prove it yet. I have a source who heard a rumor about Cory Calderon being connected to the Black Knights.”
Dillon threaded long fingers through his hair. In the soft light coming from the lamp next to him, I could see the exhaustion evident in his face. “As in Calderon Investments?”
I wanted to be those fingers. “You know Cory?” My heart sped from zero to a hundred in a flash. If he said he was good friends with the man, I might punch him.
“My financial advisor works for the company.”
Suddenly, I wasn’t tired anymore. “Who? Harold, the owner?” My mind was spinning like an out-of-control tornado. Maybe Dillon could introduce me to his contact, then I could pose as a client and do some investigative work. On second thought, that wouldn’t work. I didn’t have money to invest.
“Your mind is going crazy.” Dillon’s voice lowered my pulse a little.
Dillon was my age at twenty-six. I only knew that because I’d asked Lou about the Hart brothers. He’d given me the basics—ages, where they lived, and to stay away from them since they were rivals. We weren’t enemies anymore, and I wondered where Dillon had gotten enough money that he needed a financial advisor. Only old people had those, unless he was into drugs or another illegal business. My mind was diving into the deep, dark abyss with thoughts of sex trafficking and the idea of him opening a shelter. He’d asked me about my story earlier.
I shuddered a breath, playing with my scarf, a habit I had when I was nervous or thinking.
He gave me the same wolfish grin he had earlier. “I know what you’re thinking. The shelter is legit. I’m not into anything illegal like sex trafficking. I truly have made wise investments. And no, I don’t know Cory. I’ve never met his old man either.”
He spoke with sincerity and passion, erasing my morbid thoughts. I did believe him.
He wormed his way closer to me until we were almost thigh to thigh. “No need to be nervous.” He proceeded to remove my scarf, exposing my cleavage. I would’ve slapped his hand away, but his ocean-scented cologne was gluing me to him, and the gentle way he was untying my scarf gave me reason to pause. Probably because I was excited he was so close, whether I wanted to admit it or not.
I should’ve worn a high-neck shirt like I usually did. But I didn’t have any clean ones. The only shirts left in my wardrobe were V-necks.
He dragged a rough finger down the length of my scar, eliciting an array of tingles that chugged their way south as if they had a mind of their own. “This right here is part of who you are. Don’t hide it.”
My breathing ramped up. A man had never said a word about my scar except Ted, but he’d said something in a fatherly sort of way, not raspy and breathy like Dillon had. Then again, I didn’t like to show off my disfigurement. It prompted too many questions that only brought up the past.
Slowly, Dillon’s long lashes swept down across his strong cheekbones as his gaze fell to my lips. His hand was still on my scar, which meant it was very close to my cleavage.
Damn.
“Battle scars are beautiful,” he rasped.
I jumped up, my pulse off the charts. This time, my excitement was vastly different than it was when I was thinking about sticking Cory in a jail cell. I’d come to the shelter to help someone in need, not have sex with the owner, although that wasn’t such a bad idea. What worried me, though, was my heart. I could fall for Dillon in a flash, and I wasn’t ready to go steady with anyone. Frankly, I didn’t know if I would ever settle down, at least not until I accomplished my mission of exacting my revenge on Cory.
Dillon chuckled, his deep timbre licking across my skin. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t help myself. You’re more beautiful than I remembered.”
Yikes!My throat was as dry as the Sahara Desert.
I moved to the ping-pong table. “Do you play?”Nothing like deflecting.
He stalked toward me with a sense of purpose as if he were planning to lay me out on top of the smooth green surface.
I might have let him.
His mouth curled on one side. His hair was untamed and silky around his shoulders, and his swagger screamed that he knew how to handle a woman in bed.
Kill me now.
