Page 29 of Dangerous Secrets
Then in a sudden movement he whippedup a hand to grasp her wrist.“Watch it, Laney, you’re playing withfire.”His low, rumbly voice held a warning, but the gleam in hiseyes suggested something else, something hotter and moreprimal.
With her heart in her throat and hisgrip warm on her arm, she couldn’t stop herself from lifting herother hand to run a finger lightly over the skin at the edge of thewound.He didn’t pull her hand away.
The smooth skin of his templetransitioned to the rough texture of his beard.He watched her withthe wariness of a wild animal.It was terrifying to realize she’dbe happy spending the entire day running her fingers over him.Thatthought brought with it so many erotic images, she felt the warmblush creep up her neck.
He released her, and the searing heatin his gaze had her taking a step back.She looked at the truck andthen back at him.Realization struck and she actually felt theblood draining from her face.
“Is that abullet wound?Your truckwas shot at and you were hit?”Horror at the thought he could’vebeen killed threatened to strangle her.She balled her hands intofists because what she really wanted was to wrap him in her armsand hold on tight.He’d come millimeters from being killed andshe’d have lost him all over again.Permanently.
“I said I’ve got shit todo, Laney.I don’t have time for this.”
“Since when does everysentence you utter contain profanity?”
“Since I went toprison.”
Damn.There it was again, the pain inher heart when she thought of him wrongly incarcerated.
He moved to the side.She mirrored themove to block him, planting her hands on her hips and ignoring hisscowl.He’d just have to deal until she got some answers.“How’dyou get bullet holes in your head and in your truck?”
“I don’t have a bullethole in my head.”
She raised a brow.
“A bulletgrazedme.It didn’t puta hole in my head.”
“It came damn close.Answer the question.How’d you end up with bullet holes in yourtruck and a bulletgrazeto yourhead?”
“The usual way.Got shotat.”
She waited, and he heaved a sigh ripewith frustration, complete with eyes raised to the heavens like hewas hoping for divine intervention.
Delaney knew she was in trouble when,despite her worry for him, she found even that sexy.
“Give me a break here,Laney.Aren’t you supposed to be avoiding me?You’re doing a lousyjob of it.”
“Answer the question andI’ll get back to avoiding you.”
“I told you it’s no bigdeal.”
“If it wasn’t a big deal,you’d already have explained to get rid of me.”
“Damn straight.”But heraised his hands in mock surrender when she leaned forward, readyto blast him.“When did you get so damn nosy?”he muttered underhis breath.When she crossed her arms like she’d wait all day foran answer, he said, “Fine.A couple assholes tried to stop me onMill Creek Road last night.I didn’t want to be stopped so theyfired a few shots.That’s it.”
“What do you mean theywanted to stop you?Why would they want to do that?”
“Just what I said.Theytried to force me to stop, boxed me in.Since the one guy got outof his rig with a crowbar and the other had a gun, my guess is theywanted to fuck me up.I didn’t take the time to ask politely forthem to explain.”
She waited, fingers tapping on herelbows.He breathed another of those frustrated sighs.“JesusChrist.I don’t know what the hell they wanted, okay?Best guess isme coming back here isn’t popular with some people.”
“Did Sawyer catch them?Doyou know who they were?”
“No, and no.”
“Maybe it was Vance.Hethreatened all of us.”
“It wasn’t Vance holdingthe crowbar.Not his height or build.And Vance hasn’t got theballs to shoot the shit out of my pickup.It wasn’t Dicarlo,either.”
“Vance could’ve hiredsomeone to have it done.”
