LITMIR.BIZ

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an off-ramp, barreling through a red light and swerving onto a busy street.

      He skidded, hit the brakes, turned the car, and accelerated again.

      Dana sat fully up, her blond hair flying over the back of the seat. “I should’ve brought a gun,” she muttered.

      “Why?” He turned the wheel and drove the car to the rear of a fast-food joint, whipping around to face the main street. The VW was partially hidden behind the building and foliage as well as the darkness of night.

      “To shoot,” she muttered.

      He kept his hands light on the wheel. “You can’t get into a shootout on a busy street. This isn’t the movies.”

      She rolled her eyes. “Do you have to be so literal all the time?”

      He mulled the question over. “Yeah. I think so.” Several minutes passed without any sighting of the black truck. He tugged his phone from his back pocket, wincing as he caught his fingers in the tight leather of the pants. Hitting speed dial, he waited until Angus Force, his boss, picked up.

      “What?” Force snarled.

      Great. He was in another mood. “Have someone drop off my truck at . . .” Wolfe flipped open the jockey box to pull out the rental agreement and read quickly. “Squishy’s Car Rental on Third Street.” He clicked off before Force could ask questions, turning to face Dana. “We’ll get rid of the car, fetch your things, and then you can come home with me.”

      She faltered. “I’m not going home with you.”

      “Sure, you are.” Sometimes things were so clear to him, he truly couldn’t understand how anybody else could be confused. “Either those guys were shooting at you—”

      “Or maybe you,” she countered, her fragile chin lifting.

      He nodded. “Or maybe me. In which case, they surely got the plates of this thing and will investigate the hot blonde in the passenger seat. Even though it’s dark, their headlights were bright enough to get the license plate and your hair color. The guys after me wouldn’t hesitate to go through you to get to me.”

      She rubbed her nose. “What guys are after you? I mean, besides the guys in the black truck, who could be after me and not you.”

      There were too many guys after too many people. He had to take care of his problems sooner rather than later, and he needed to ensure her safety first. “I like you.” The words rolled out, surprising him.

      She drew back, confusion clouding her emerald eyes for the briefest of seconds. “I like you, too.”

      “I don’t have many friends, Dana.” It was hard to find the right words, especially when dealing with someone who used words all the time in her work. She was an excellent journalist and writer, and he knew he wasn’t putting this right. “You’re my friend, and I can’t let you get hurt.” There. That made sense.

      Her shoulders relaxed. “You’re my friend, too, but I’ve been taking care of myself for a long time, Wolfe. I’m on a story, one that matters to me, and I’m not letting up.”

      Her tenacity and dedication had impressed him from the beginning of their friendship. Oh, if she were tough or hardened, they would’ve taken it temporarily beyond friendship. But she was sweet and soft and kind . . . and he was none of those things. Probably never had been. “Would you please relocate to my place while we figure out what’s happening with both of our cases?”

      She blinked. “You just said please.”

      “Yeah.” He was the muscle for his unit, and when it came to safety, he usually gave orders. She wasn’t his to protect unless she allowed it. Although, if she said no, he’d camp outside of her apartment out of sight. But she didn’t know that.

      She sighed. “If I don’t go with you, you’ll just skulk around my apartment complex and scare people.”

      Maybe she did know him better than he’d thought. “I don’t skulk.” The idea was a little insulting. He started the engine and drove sedately out onto the main road, turning quickly to use back roads to the car rental place, which took longer than he’d planned. By the time they reached the business, his truck was already waiting on the front curb, gleaming beneath the streetlight.

      “Angus Force sure gets things done,” Dana mused.

      True. Wolfe parked the car, tossed the rental agreement and keys in the after-hours box, and once again took Dana’s hand to lead her to his truck. Her hand was small and her skin soft against his, and he tried not to notice. He really did.

      She hesitated at his truck, pulling free. “I’m not sure I should stay with you.”

      He turned to face her, knowing exactly what she meant. Even if he had it in him to be coy, he wouldn’t be with her. Her green eyes glowed in the dim light, matching the corset that pushed up her breasts, creating enticing mounds. Her legs were bare to the heels, and somehow, even her knees were sexy. She was the girl next door, the ambitious professional, the sweet woman who’d befriended him when she’d had no reason to be nice. Somehow, she brought out a side of him he’d thought had died on a dusty road a million miles away, along with his teammates. With her, and only with her, he wished he could be different from the man he’d become.

      Worse yet, she had a penchant for barreling headfirst into danger, and everything about him spelled danger. He felt the draw between them, and he’d fought it since day one.

      He swallowed as desire hit him so hard he couldn’t speak for a moment.

      Her eyes darkened and she shifted her weight, knowledge tilting her lips. “So. I stay at my place and you stay at yours?”

      It was a smart plan, except for the fact that she might be in danger. “I’d rather have blue balls than you dead, sweetheart. Get in the truck.”

      Her face flushed. “Wolfe. Geez. You’re not supposed to say everything that pops into your head.”

      He reached for her arm, assisting her into the truck. “Hazard of a brain injury, I guess.” He waited until she settled and then gently shut the door, wishing he could shut down his attraction for her as he crossed in front of his vehicle and jumped into the driver’s seat. Once he’d ignited the engine, he drove away from the curb. He’d already survived the closest thing to hell he could imagine, but something told him the next few days with her at his house would be worse. He needed to find the guys after them and take off their heads, now.

      “Wolfe. Geez.”

      Crap. He’d said that out loud. Yep. This was going to be tough.

      Chapter Three

      By the time Dana had packed her clothes and research files and returned to Wolfe’s truck, she was starving, and still uncomfortably turned on, or maybe her breathlessness resulted from the aftermath of the car chase. An image of Wolfe in those pants flashed through her head. Nope. Turned on, for sure. At least she’d had a chance to change into worn jeans and a comfy flannel shirt. As she retook her seat on the passenger side, he slid his phone into the cup holder between them.

      “Force just called and I need to drop by the office,” he said, starting the engine and pulling the truck out of her lot.

      She glanced at the clock on the dash, frowning. “It’s one in the morning.”

      Wolfe shrugged. “We work when Force wants to work, and that’s usually late. I didn’t see any activity around your building, so you’re safe for now.”

      Her adrenaline had finally ebbed so she could think clearly. She shivered. Getting shot at shouldn’t be in her wheelhouse, but it was happening more frequently. “Who’s after you?” she asked, plucking at a string on her jeans.

      “Nobody who matters.” Streetlights and darkness took turns highlighting and shadowing his strong face as he sped toward his office outside of D.C., his voice deep and unemotional.

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