Karissa’s eyes widened, and Hale couldn’t miss the way her heart began to race. But just as she opened her mouth to say something, the ringing of his phone interrupted her.
“You going to get that?” she asked, clearly relieved at the interruption.
Hale didn’t want to. He preferred to hear what Karissa might say that would come close to answering all his questions. Unfortunately, with his job, ignoring the phone wasn’t an option.
Grabbing his cell from the coffee table, he checked the screen. It was Mike.
“I have to take this,” he said, moving to the other side of the living room so he could talk in private. As he thumbed the green button on his phone, he noticed Karissa help herself to another donut. He couldn’t help but smile at the furtive way she turned away to eat it, as if he wouldn’t notice.
“What’s up, Mike?” he asked, keeping a casual eye on Karissa, hoping they had a chance to continue their conversation. Though with all this time available to come up with a good lie, Hale doubted her answers to his questions would count for much.
“I need you at the North Central station house ASAP,” Mike said without preamble. “The guy still hasn’t talked, and headquarters wants to move him to the North Tower Detention Facility for holding until he can be arraigned. I’m concerned his crew might make a move to break him out during the transfer.”
“Seriously?” Hale asked.
He was surprised Mike would even worry about something like that. The guys they’d fought last night were gutsy, but attacking a DPD prison transport? He couldn’t imagine anybody being that bold.
“Maybe I’m worrying over nothing,” Mike replied. “But there’s something that bothers me about that guy. The detectives told him that he might be looking at life in prison and all he did was smile. Like he knows that’s not going to happen. Regardless, I want to have people here in case things go sideways during the transfer.”
“Okay. I’ll be there in thirty minutes.”
Hanging up, Hale turned to look at Karissa, opening his mouth to ask if they could continue their conversation later, but she was already heading toward the door.
“I heard,” she said, glancing at him over her shoulder. “Be careful. I may not be there the next time some guy tries to take your head off.”
“I didn’t know you cared,” Hale said.
He’d been trying for something clever and snarky but ended up going with the first thing off the top of his head. Even if it probably came out lame and more than a little like wishful thinking.
“Who says I do?” Karissa retorted. “I just don’t want someone blaming it on me. You know, considering my weapon of choice is a sword and all.”
The door closed behind her before he couldeven think of a response to that. Biting back a growl, Hale turned and headed for the bedroom to change clothes.
He was almost all the way across the room when the scent hit him. One of his feet caught on the carpet and he came damn close to face-planting. He barely managed to catch himself, even as he recognized the scent.
He’d smelled it before.
Last night.
When Karissa had blocked the blade that had been going for his neck.
Lilac blossoms.
It was the first real scent Hale could remember smelling in a long, long time. And it had apparently come from Karissa.
He glanced back down the hall to the door of his apartment. Outside it, he could hear her footsteps rapidly receding as she walked downstairs and out the front door of the building.
And yet he could pick up her intoxicating scent.
Crap.
Chapter 6
Karissa kept her rental vehicle tucked carefully behind a small moving van as she followed Hale across town. What the heck was she doing?
“Take the next exit and go back to the hotel,” she murmured out loud to herself. “Then we can act like this detour into stalker central never happened.”
But the next exit on Interstate 635 came and went without Karissa slowing down, regardless of what she’d just said.
