14
ANOTHER WOMAN GOES MISSING
Slash
Slash needed to leave.
Now. Right now.
It was bad enough that they were hooking up, but love?
“I gotta go.” She snatched her plate and pushed out of the chaise. “I’m gonna cut you a break. Your brain is mush. We’ve had alotof sex in the past two days.”
“You holdallthe power.”
She snickered. “You’ve lost it.”
He stood, draped his arms over her shoulders, peered down at her. “I know exactly what I’m saying, and I mean every word. But I gotta know… if there is zero chance you’ll take me back, I will back off. We’ll work together, that’s it.”
She could tell him the truth, but that would give him all the power. Earning her trust would take time. But… she didn’t want to push him away for good.
“One,” she said after a beat. “One percent chance.”
A smile so big and so breathtaking filled his face. “The odds are in my favor.”
Biting back a smile, she returned to the kitchen, set her plate in the sink, grabbed her leather overnight bag, and headed toward the front door. She was moving, but he was faster, and he caught up with her before she left.
“Let me add you to the security system,” he said. “Two minutes.”
“Why?”
He ran his long fingers down his beard, and she tracked his movement like a hungry fox tracks a rabbit.
“Which answer do you want?” he asked.
“The honest one.”
“Here, we can work the missing persons cases in total privacy.”
“Makes sense.”
“And I love having you here with me.”
Hmm…
“And if I stopped having sex with you?” she asked.
He caressed her cheek with the back of his fingers. “I’m all in. Sex or no sex.”
She wanted to wrap her arms around his muscled torso and hide from the world. A few precious moments of much-needed escape. Instead, she crossed her arms to thwart her true feelings.
“Okay. I’ll do it,” she said.
He took a few voice recordings for the computer, then scanned her retinas.
“Test the computer,” he instructed her.
“Computer, lock the external doors,” she said.
