Isla frowned. “Of course they do.”
Garrett continued, his tone clipped. “SAPD already checked Harris’s phone records. The call he got right before everything went to hell came from a burner. No way to trace it. And security cams in the area are being pulled now to see if they can spot his Jeep or catch the shooter.”
Isla crossed her arms, the antiseptic still stinging her fingers, her mind replaying the scene behind the warehouse. She heard the bullets again, felt the weight of Garrett shoving her behind the Dumpster. The noise, the smoke, Harris bolting.
She shook her head. “That person wasn’t shooting at Harris. Every single shot was aimed at us. It was cover fire. They wanted him gone.”
Garrett’s gaze locked on hers, dark and steady. “I know,” he said quietly. “Whoever was behind that attack made sure he had a clear path out. Harris didn’t run from us on his own. Someone pushed him.”
Isla washed her hands, scrubbing away the sting of antiseptic, and then dried them on the towel. When she turned, he was still sitting there, shirtless, the muscles in his chest and shoulders flexing as he shifted. Still hot. Still Garrett. The pull in her gut hadn’t faded—it never really did.
“Deck the halls with longhorns,” she muttered under her breath, hoping the absurdity of it would reset her brain. But it didn’t. Not with him sitting right there, close enough for her to see the faint rise and fall of his breathing, close enough to smell the clean bite of soap clinging to his skin.
Her gaze caught his. Heat flashed in his eyes, sparking against every nerve in her body. The quirky line fell flat. Her heart kicked hard against her ribs.
“Screw this,” she whispered.
She closed the gap, fisted her hands in his damp hair, and pulled him to her. His mouth met hers with no hesitation, no question, just fire and the dangerous kind of hunger she’d been trying to keep locked down.
The kiss deepened, burning through her like a fuse catching fire. She couldn’t find the will to stop, not when every nerve was sparking, not when the years of wanting him wrapped tight around her chest and squeezed. The need hit her like a flash storm, sharp and overwhelming, and she knew there wasn’t a single excuse she could make to pull back.
So she didn’t. She leaned in, pressing closer, her palms sliding over the hard planes of his chest. Warm, solid muscleshifted beneath her touch, and she let out a shaky laugh against his mouth.
“You didn’t have this body when we were teenagers,” she breathed, dragging her fingertips over him like she had to prove he was real.
His answering groan vibrated against her lips, and his hands came up to cup her breasts, thumbs stroking with a heat that made her gasp. “And you didn’t have this,” he murmured, voice rough, eyes dark.
The kiss flared hotter, emotions tangled in every movement—want, fear, memory, and the sharp edge of something that had been waiting far too long.
The need for him roared through her, flooding her veins with heat, and she knew Garrett felt it too. His eyes burned with the same hunger that had been locked away for years, waiting for this exact moment. He tugged her top over her head, and before she could catch her breath, his mouth was on her.
Kisses trailed over her neck, down to her breasts, each brush of his lips pulling a gasp from her. When he moved lower, to her stomach, she gripped his shoulders, half-wild from the storm he was stirring in her. She was on fire, every inch of her strung tight, and all she wanted was to have him now, not later, not when things had cooled. Later they could savor. Right now, she wanted the burn.
She went for his jeans, fumbling with the button, urgency sharpening her touch. The second she got them undone, Garrett’s arms wrapped around her, strong and steady even in the rush of heat. He lifted her with ease, her legs instinctively winding around his waist as he carried her into the adjoining bedroom.
The world narrowed to the thud of her heartbeat and the feel of his body against hers. He set her down on the bed, easingher onto the cool sheets, his gaze sweeping over her with an intensity that sent another wave of fire through her veins.
Her body ached with urgency, the kind that made her gasp out his name. “Hurry,” she whispered, the plea rough and desperate.
But Garrett didn’t hurry. He moved with purpose, with patience, easing away her clothes piece by piece. Each time he bared her skin, his mouth followed, his lips leaving trails of fire over the places he revealed. The combination of restraint and devotion made her tremble, the tension between them stretched so tight she thought she might shatter.
When his mouth brushed her ear, he murmured, “I’ve had twenty-two years to think about doing this.”
The words struck deep, right into her heart. Twenty-two years of him carrying her with him, never letting go. It touched something in her she didn’t know could ache more than her body already did. She had always been on his mind, always been with him.
She wanted to tell him the same, that he had been with her through every lonely night, every regret, every what-if. But before she could speak, his mouth claimed hers, and the words dissolved on her tongue. His kiss robbed her of breath, leaving only the burn, the ache, and the truth of how much she wanted him.
The urgency clawed through her, impossible to hold back. She kissed him hard, pouring every ounce of want into it while her hands moved quickly, ridding him of the last of his clothes. His body pressed to hers was everything she had craved and everything she had denied herself for far too long.
Garrett reached to the nightstand, pulled a condom from the drawer, and with a swift motion slid it on. Then he came over her, his eyes locking with hers for a breathless moment before he pushed inside.
A cry escaped her lips, the shock of pleasure stealing her breath. It was better than she had ever imagined it could be, and her imagination had been plenty vivid when it came to Garrett McCall. Every thought, every dream she had buried came rushing back, only now reality soared higher than any fantasy.
The rhythm built between them, fierce and consuming, until her body arched and the climax tore through her. She clung to him, trembling with release, and felt him give in seconds later, his body shuddering against hers as he followed her into that same rush.
For a moment, there was nothing else. No danger, no past, no secrets. Just the heat, the pounding of their hearts, and the connection they had never really lost.
Chapter Seventeen
