Jamie Hill Triple Threat (21 page)

She tossed her hands in the air and sighed. “I can’t think about this right now. It’s scary and confusing. Can we put it on the back burner again for awhile, please?”

“Of course.” He slipped an arm around her shoulder and kissed the side of her head. “We’ve got time. Why don’t I give you something different to think about? I was thinking when we get home…” He whispered in her ear and finished the thought.

Crystal
’s eyes widened and she looked at him. “Is that physically possible?”

He grinned. “Oh, yeah.”

She took a big gulp of her beer. “Where's that damn pizza? We need to get home!”

* * * *

It was after midnight.
Crystal
slept with Jack wrapped around her. The house alarm went off and Zeus started to bark. Jack jumped up and slid into his jeans. He swore and reached up high on his armoire for his gun. Tossing
Crystal
his robe, he told her, “Go to the boys. Stay in there!” He stepped into the hallway and was gone.

She slipped into the robe and her glasses. She glanced down the hallway but didn’t see anything, so she went to the boys' room and shut the door behind her.

“What’s happening?”
Devon
asked.

“I don’t know, sugar.” She climbed in bed between the boys and drew them both to her. “Probably nothing. Jack will take care of it.”

“Jack’s brave,” Mark said.

“Yes, he is.”
Crystal
kissed his head, then his brother’s.

The alarm silenced. A minute later so did the dog.
Crystal
held tightly to the boys, her nerves on edge, until Jack and Zeus reappeared.

“Everything’s fine,” Jack told them. “I called it in, and there’s a police car on the street that’s going to stick around for a while. Why don’t you three go on back to sleep in here? Zeus and I are going to sit up for a little bit.” He returned to the hallway.

Crystal
comforted the boys. “See, I told you Jack would take care of everything. Now lie down and see if you can get back to sleep.”

“Jack is the bravest,” Mark said as he settled in.

“Zeus is brave, too,”
Devon
added.

Crystal
glanced up and saw Jack in the doorway. He gave her a small smile and stepped back into the room. He planted kisses on all three of their foreheads. “Forgot that,” he said softly.

Crystal
smiled up at him. “Never, ever forget that again, okay?”

“Yes ma’am,” he murmured. He winked at her before he left again.

Crystal
must have dozed off. She glanced at the clock and noticed it was an hour later. The boys were sound asleep, so she slipped out of bed quietly and wandered into the living room. Jack sat in his chair, wide awake. His gun rested in his lap as he sat rubbing Zeus’s back. The dog sprawled on the floor next to Jack's chair.

“Hey,” she said softly. “Don’t shoot, it’s just me.”

“Of all the things I’ve envisioned doing to you, shooting you was never one of them.”

She leaned over and kissed the top of his head. “How about I make some coffee? Since it appears you’re not coming back to bed.”

“Coffee would be nice. I’d rather have a drink, but coffee would be nice.”

She ruffled his hair and went into the kitchen. She brewed a pot of coffee, and when his cup was poured she added a shot of whisky to it. She carried two cups to the living room and handed his over.

“Thanks.” He sipped and tossed a grateful look at her. “Now I really mean it. Thanks.”

She smiled and sat at his feet. Zeus put his head on her leg and she started rubbing behind his ears. “Was it really nothing, or was somebody out there?”

“Somebody was out there. There were jimmy marks in the frame of the front door, but nothing else I could spot in the dark.”

“So they’ve traced us here.”

“I haven’t been that careful about being followed. I didn’t realize, before today, exactly how high the stakes were.”

“We’re not safe here anymore.”

“Without actually putting you into hiding, you’re as safe here as anywhere. I have selfish reasons for not wanting to do that, because I wouldn’t be able to go with you. I’d like to think you’re safer when I keep you close to me.”

She put her head on his knee. “I definitely feel safer being close to you. I’d hate it if we had to go hide somewhere. I’d be a nervous wreck.”

“So would I,” he admitted. “And as long as nothing else happens, we’ll stay here.”

“I hope we can,” she said softly, rubbing her cheek against his knee. “I’m getting used to spending time with you, detective.”

“The feeling is mutual.” He ran a hand through her hair. “But I won’t sacrifice your safety, or the boys’. If I decide you need to go, you’ll go.”

“We’ll do whatever you say, Jack,”
Crystal
conceded. “I trust you completely.”

He smiled at her. “That’s nice to hear. I’m not getting a lot of that at the office these days.”

“I noticed.” She leaned against his knee and looked up at him. “Maybe it’s time to move on to the next phase of your life. Unless being a cop means that much to you. If it does, you’ll just have to tough it out, I guess.”

He shrugged. “Being a cop is all I’ve ever known, all I wanted for as long as I can remember. My old man was a cop, and his old man, too.”

She smiled. “Ah, the Dunlevy family tradition. Let me guess…Irish Catholic, with a relative who owns a pub in there somewhere.”

“My Uncle Finn,” he confirmed, nodding. “Now he was a force to be reckoned with.”

Crystal
laughed. “Are your parents still alive?”

“Hell, yeah. Retired, traveling up a storm, and loving it. They have a house on the other side of town, near my sister and her husband.”

She squinted. “So you
do
have a sister.”

“Yes, but her kids are grown and gone by now.”

Crystal
pondered that statement. She suspected Jack had purchased the coats and clothing for the boys. Finding out the truth merely confirmed that he had a good heart. She'd suspected that, as well. “So, are you close to your family?”

He shrugged. “Pretty much. We do the holiday thing and all that. I’m busy, they travel a lot, so we don’t see each other all the time.”

She put her chin on his knee. “It would be nice to have family like that.”

He rubbed a hand over her cheek. “What about you? Do you have family nearby?”

She leaned back and shook her head. “Nobody that I’m close to.” Hearing about his family had unnerved her. She could envision him growing up in a traditional middle-class neighborhood, riding bikes and playing football. They probably had a turkey for Thanksgiving and a Christmas tree with lights and presents.

She'd had none of those things as a child. Her childhood had been anything but traditional, with a drunken mother and a parade of step-fathers, each with a different bad habit. There was an occasional holiday celebration, but never anything
Crystal
could rely on, and usually not two years in a row. She was thankful that she was an only child, so no one else had to suffer through the pain that she did growing up.

She studied Jack again. He was handsome, hard-working, financially stable, and way out of her league. She had no chance with a man like him. She didn’t deserve to even consider it.

He touched her shoulder. “Are you okay? You’re awfully quiet.”

She forced a bright smile. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just tired. I’m going back to bed.” She stood and put a small kiss on his forehead. “Good night, Jack.”

She saw the confused expression on his face, but ignored it and went to bed anyway. She couldn’t stand the thoughts that were rolling around in her head. She wanted to sleep and try to forget about them. But sleep wouldn’t come. She lay there, tormented by thoughts of Jack...

And thoughts of being in love with Jack.

He was the first man to ever make her feel this way. There had been a few others—flings, nothing serious. No one had ever evoked much passion from her. She felt a passion with Jack that she'd never experienced before. He aroused unfamiliar emotions. Not just in bed, although the way he made love to her was more beautiful and thrilling than anything she could have imagined. She was affected by the way he looked at her and spoke to her, as though she was special and smart. Someone worth looking at and talking to. Few people had ever treated her that way.

She wondered if that was how Jack treated every woman. He probably didn’t realize what he was doing, because he was tender-hearted and would never hurt a woman intentionally.
Crystal
sighed. She might as well admit it: she was in love with Jack Dunlevy, her first real and true love.

But she remembered how he'd spoken about his two wives, especially the second, whom he married after just two weeks. He seemed to fall in love—or something like it—rather easily. So
Crystal
needed to face reality. What they had together was good and fun for now, but probably not a long-term thing. The thought of that pained her like a knife through her belly. She tossed and turned and prayed for sleep.

Chapter Ten

Crystal
woke up alone the next morning. She yawned and stretched, and stopped in the bathroom before she donned Jack’s robe and headed out of the room.

She found the boys in the front of the TV, and gave each of them a kiss on the top of the head. “Good morning. You guys sleep okay?”

“Yeah,” Mark replied.

Devon
smiled sweetly and announced, “Jack made waffles.”

She smiled back and ruffled his hair. “Waffles, huh? That sounds good. Guess I’ll go check it out.” She went into the kitchen, where Jack read the paper and drank coffee. “Good morning.” She got a cup from the cabinet and poured herself some coffee. Looking at him warily,
Crystal
tried to judge his mood. “You get any sleep?” She sipped, watching him over the rim of her cup.

“Not much,” he admitted.

She saw desire in his eyes as he looked back at her, and that was something she couldn’t resist. She put her cup on the table and stepped in front of him. “Got room on that lap for me?”

“Always.” He held out his arms and she sat sideways on his lap.

“Be careful,” she warned him. “I’m naked under this robe.”

“Now you’ve done it,” he teased and opened it. He wrapped his arms around her bare stomach and brought her closer to him. “You smell so good,” he said softly into her neck.

“Mmm,” she moaned and squirmed as he kissed his way around her neck and up her jaw line. “You should have come back to bed.”

“I definitely sleep better with you in my arms.” He pulled back from her slightly and looked at her. “It just felt like we needed some space.”

“Nah, we’re good.” She shrugged. “It doesn’t have to be so serious. We’re not talking about forever, here. We just need to relax and enjoy what we have now.” She rubbed her hands over his head and pulled him toward her, but he held back, the confused look on his face again.

“All of a sudden you talk like you’re going somewhere.”

She smiled and shrugged again. “Eventually I suppose I will be. But let’s don’t think about that.” She arched back so her bare breasts pointed up at him, but he ignored them.

“What happened to make you talk this way, Crys? I don’t like it.”

She gave a throaty chuckle. “There’s not a lot to like about this whole situation. Dead bodies, stolen money, drug dealers, and now people chasing us. I’m just trying to find a little comfort wherever I can.” She jiggled her breasts at him.

Jack closed the robe over her and peered into her eyes. “Let’s try to keep the business separate from the pleasure if we can. I’m talking about you and me—woman and man, not cop.”

She chuckled again. “We haven’t been able to keep it separate yet. But as for the woman and man part, well, it is what it is, Jack. We’ve known each other less than three weeks. That may be long enough for you to decide to marry someone, but I’m being realistic.” She flung the robe open again. “It’s basically hot sex. We enjoy each other. We’re having fun.” She squeezed her breasts against him. “And I’d like to keep having fun until one of us decides it’s not fun anymore.” She pressed her mouth against his and kissed him hard.

He resisted until he couldn’t any longer, and soon opened his mouth to her plundering tongue. They kissed hungrily, his hands roaming over her body as she moaned and pressed into him. “I want you, Jack,” she whimpered.

“Later, I promise,” he mumbled, his mouth pressed to hers. “We have responsibilities now. And I have something I want to say to you.” He leaned back and looked in her eyes. “I don’t know why you’re pulling away from me, but I don’t like it. And I have to tell you, it’s too late. I love you,
Crystal
, and no spin you put on it is going to change that.”