Page 63 of Dark ’N’ Deadly

“No.” Her nails dug into his biceps. “Did you say Gant is coming here? To New Jersey?”

He drew back, repositioning his weight on one elbow. The shock on her face had been replaced by something else. Stark, naked fear. He tipped her chin up with his finger. “What’s going on? Talk to me.” When she didn’t, the same gut feeling he’d had days ago slapped him upside the head.

There was something she wasn’t telling him.

…

Tess twisted the sheet in her hand.

She wanted to confide in Eric, but he’d just said that Jesse was in the clear, and it was her responsibility to make sure neither Eric nor the prosecutor changed their mind.

I can’t tell him anything.

“Tess?” He stared at her with more than a hint of suspicion in his eyes. “Something’s been bothering you since last week. Whatever it is, I can help. If it’s a problem, we can fix it.”

A cry of despair nearly bubbled from her throat. No, it can never be fixed.

Realizing that she wore her emotions on her face like an open book for him to read and dissect, she needed to redirect his line of questioning.

She slid her hands up and down his biceps, gratified when goose bumps prickled his skin. “I’m just worried.” That was, in fact, the absolute truth. A second later, the rest of the lie she concocted rolled off her tongue. “You’ve been after this man for years. I’m afraid of what will happen when you finally confront him.” That also wasn’t a lie. She was worried for Eric’s safety. “He murdered your friends and almost killed you. I don’t want to see him finish what he started.”

“He won’t.” Muscles in Eric’s cheeks flexed. “I will.”

“Please be careful. Gant is dangerous. You said so yourself,” she added quickly. “When he realizes you—the one agent he didn’t kill that day—are living right here, he’ll come after you.” Pritchard, too.

It shouldn’t have been such a shock to learn that Eric had encountered Pritchard before. Eric had been stationed in Birmingham, after all. He’d asked her directly if she knew Pritchard, and she’d lied to his face. Not telling him before he’d asked the question was bad enough—a lie by omission. Either way, as soon as he heard the audio at the barn, he would know the truth. Everything about her being here, in Eric’s house and in his bed, was built on lies.

“That’s exactly what I’m counting on.” A fierce gleam lit the icy blue of Eric’s eyes. “Two teams of agents followed Pritchard and the other men to a hotel in Chester. Eventually, Gant will show his face there and the second he does, I’ll know it. That’s exactly where I’m starting my shift today.”

Please, no. Things were on the verge of spiraling out of control. All the elements of her past were about to converge. When they collided, there would be one heck of an explosion, and they’d all be caught in the fallout.

“Now,” he said, cupping her face. “You were about to tell me what’s been upsetting you?”

She stiffened. “I was?” So not. Apparently, he wasn’t about to back off. Her only option was more diversion, and there was only one she could think of.

Tess slid her hands up his long arms, over his thick shoulders to the back of his neck, and drew him down for a sweet, promise-filled kiss. He shifted on top of her, cradling her head as he took control and swept his tongue into her mouth, deepening the kiss.

His erection pressed against the top of her thighs, and she parted her legs, allowing him to settle against her dampening folds.

If only this could last.

The doorbell pealed.

Tiger raced from the room, clumping down the stairs, barking with every step.

Eric grumbled, lifting his head to suckle at her breast. She arched off the bed, hooking her legs over the backs of his thighs.

“Don’t you have to get that?” she gasped as he tugged on her nipple with his teeth.

“If it was urgent,” he said around her nipple, “they’d call or text.”

His cell phone on the bedside table vibrated, and he grumbled louder as he reached for the offending device and glared at the screen. “You’ve gotta be kidding.”

“What is it? Is it Gant?” She held her breath. That moment would come, and all too soon, but she’d hoped and prayed for more time.

“No. In a completely different way, just as bad.” He rose from the bed, grimacing. “It’s my sister. She’s outside.”

Chapter Twenty-One