Page 55 of Heart Stopping
She firmly closed the door behind him and locked it again. Shame it didn't hit him on the way out.
"Now," she slipped her keys back into her pocket and returned to her chair. "Where were we?"
CHAPTER 21
HARLOW
"I'm sorry about him," Cass said. He shoved his hair back off his face and sank down lower in his seat. "He has anger issues. Anything to do with what happened to Auggie, he… He loses his shit."
"He's not your fault," I assured him, while resisting the urge to agree. That his brother had anger issues was abundantly clear. I sympathized with them both for what their brother went through. It was hellish, to say the least. Jules' problems, though? They went deeper than that. Some people were just assholes.
"Have you met Archer Hardwick?" I made the introductions, somewhat belatedly.
"From what I saw on the news, Wolfgang Taylor-Francis was murdered," Boner said. "Was that you and Hardball?"
"Hardwick," Archer corrected.
"It might have been," I said cagily.
"What did he do?" Cass asked. That seemed to bother him more than me and Archer potentially killing someone. That darkness I saw in him was becoming more and more evident. The need for control. The desire for vengeance, violence.
Some might say he was unravelling, but I'd compare it to a flower opening, embracing the full extent of their beauty.
"He was abusing his wife," Archer said bluntly, expressionless. Stating facts without giving them emotion. "He did the same to his former wife. And…others. He grew up with violence, like many abusers do. It stops with him."
"It's a good thing he's dead then," Cass said, clearly trying to convince himself as he said each word. By the time he got to the end of the sentence, he was almost as all in as the rest of us.
Boner looked at me questioningly, but he didn't ask. Lucky for him and me. Secrets of the kitchen needed to stay in the kitchen. Not to mention I wasn't ready to tell Cass what he'd eaten the other night. That wasn't a topic for casual conversation.
"It's a very good thing," Boner said instead. "Shame I missed it."
"We missed you while we were doing it," I said, leaning over to pat his hand.
Archer gave me a look that suggested he didn't miss Boner, but he didn't say anything. He was probably trying to think how to make this into a meme.
"So, Granger Fairfield," I said. "We know when he's going to be in the city. What else do we know?"
We spent the next hour planning as best we could, discussing variables and what roles we'd play. Once we'd exhausted everything any of us could think of, I headed into the kitchen to make coffee.
Cass followed me in to help. "I really am sorry about Jules. I was hoping some closure might loosen him up. He blames himself for what happened to our brother. He thinks he should have known and been able to stop it."
"He does, or you do?" I asked gently.
I pulled out cups and placed them under the spout of the coffee machine. Adjusted the settings and pressed the button to start dribbling out hot coffee.
Cass aside. "Both." He took my elbow and turned me around, pressing my back against the counter. "What you're doing, it means a lot. If Auggie was here, he'd want to help. He was always standing up for people who couldn't stand up for themselves."
"He sounded like a good guy," I said.
"He was." Cass leaned in and slanted his mouth over mine. He kissed me lightly, then deepened the kiss as I wound my arms around his neck. He tasted of garlic, tomatoes and a hint of basil. Fresh and delicious, if I said so myself.
He slid his hands down my sides and cupped my ass, before picking me up and placing me on the counter.
"I'm going to eat you, right here," he said, soft but firm.
For a moment, my mind went in a completely different direction and I was torn between laughing and worrying he was being literal. But then he was sliding his hands up my skirt and over the gusset of my panties.
"Cass," I whispered.
