Page 45 of Hart of Darkness
I wasn’t afraid of what Dillon had said as much as I was afraid of myself—of feeling for someone. I studied him from head to toe, silently berating myself for what I was about to say. “You’re right. We do need to come to an understanding, and as much as I want you, mywantI think is different than yours. I’m not into relationships, short or long. I hook up with a man, and then I walk away. No strings.”Then why were you holding his hand in his car and then again at the park? Why do you feel this intense connection with him and feel like he gets you?
He stepped away, far away. His jaw hardened. “No strings. Right. So let’s keep sex off the table. We work together. I help you with finding out more about the Black Knights, and you… well, you’ve already given me a great lead with the tattoo shop. I guess you held up your end of the bargain.”
I liked his bluntness. What I didn’t like was his tone, the finality that we would not have sex, and the pouty lips. Sure, he looked kind of hot with his bottom lip jutting out, but he couldn’t possibly think that we were about to run off into the sunset and live happily ever after. In my world, there was no such thing as happily ever after.
As though he knew the war going on in my head, he said, “I’m not into anything steady either. I do like you. I do think you’re beautiful. I am extremely attracted to you. But I’m not asking you to marry me. My sister comes first. Not you. Not me. Not anyone else in my life except the shelter.” He held up his hand. “I’m sorry if I read you all wrong.”
Whoa!My tongue was tied into a knot the size of the globe. I had to be a thousand shades of red, and my cheeks felt hotter than the sun.
He buttoned his shirt.
The air in the room thickened to the consistency of honey.
My stomach felt weird, as if someone was inside poking me with a sharp, pointy object.
I pushed off the counter. “Dillon, I’m sorry.” I let out a huge breath. I really didn’t know why I was sorry. I had to say something, though. “I agree too that we keep things platonic.” I knew that would be difficult. I’d gotten to feel his hard body, his hand in mine, his arms around me. Hells bells, his scent was still clinging to my nostrils. “Despite the lead on the tattoo shop, I still want to help you find Grace.” That was no lie.
Deep down, I believed her trail would open some doors for a good story, whether it was about the Black Knights or not. Plus, I had a huge soft spot for helping women. Dillon did too since he’d opened a shelter. I also didn’t want to ruin building a friendship with him either, and sex would do that. Of course, my body was yelling at me that I was a doofus for not having a wild and crazy night with him in bed.
“Friends it is, then.” He delivered the words evenly, with no emotion at all.
That sucked. I would’ve liked to have heard a little bit of disappointment. Then again, I was the one who’d backed off. He’d shown me a little bit of his so-called hand, but now he had his poker face painted on tightly.
His phone danced on top of the table near the window. He waltzed over and snatched it up. “Hello. Yeah. This is Dillon Hart.”
I wasn’t sure why I shivered when the color drained from his face. Maybe the cops had found Grace’s body like they had Nadine’s. The news was reporting that Nadine had been found with a bullet in her neck and that she’d bled out. I had yet to confirm that with Ted.
Oh crap, Ted!I needed to boogie out of there and fast. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be surprised if Ted showed up at Dillon’s door.
“I’ll be right down.” Dillon ended the call. “I need to go.” The anger on his face said whatever news he’d gotten was bad.
“Can I help?”
A muscle ticked in his jaw. “It’s family business.”
The word family rubbed me the wrong way. It always did. I hated to see how mothers doted on their children or fathers played catch with their sons. I’d done a story on a family who had lost their son to a drunk driver, and they had given me pictures of him in a baseball uniform for my article. I’d stared at the picture for hours on end, crying at how tragic the story had been. But I’d also been envious of the dead boy who’d had parents that loved him dearly.
Jangling keys eroded my quandary.
“I know we were going to the Crow, but I have to postpone,” Dillon said.
“Yeah, I forgot to mention before I walked in that Ted is waiting for me down at the precinct.” I followed him out. “You didn’t say anything about Nadine, did you?”
As he locked his house door, he said, “Not at all.”
My nerves did a little jig. Guilt was setting in hard, particularly knowing that Dillon had lied to protect me. He’d sounded a bit irritated when he mentioned Ted’s name earlier. I wondered if he was upset with me or if he’d had words with Ted.
I was about to ask him, when my phone beeped with a text from Ted. Not only that, Dillon was ushering me down the porch steps. So I made a mental note to visit the topic of Ted and Dillon later.
