Trust Me: The Lassiter Group, Book 1 (17 page)

Max finished off the pudding and grabbed the bottle of water she’d left in the fridge last night. Her fingers closed around it and immediately her thoughts turned to what had happened between her and Lucas. Even though everything had changed afterward, her face grew warm as she tipped the bottle back to take a drink.

She chanced a glance at Lucas and was relieved that nothing on his face hinted at knowing what she was thinking about.

He ventured closer, choosing the same spot as last night to lean up against the counter. Okay, so maybe he did know what she was thinking.

Shaking off the memories best forgotten, she crossed her arms. “I still don’t know how you think I can help.”

His expression grew solemn. “I need you to walk me through everything you can remember about Blackwater and the people in the warehouse that night. We’ve got photographs and intel at headquarters that might help you identify someone besides Blackwater. Maybe then we can figure the rest out.”

“Okay,” she said slowly.

He nodded, his lips curving in a grateful smile that made it all too easy to remember how she’d ended up naked and on the table last night. Positive her cheeks were flushed, she fiddled with stuff on the counter while he got dressed.

She was the first one out the cottage door after they grabbed some food and locked up. It was easier to breathe outside and there was no way for Lucas to box her in. He hadn’t said a word about them getting naked, but the long, loaded looks he aimed in her direction whenever he thought she wasn’t paying attention said it all.

It would have been just fine if she didn’t feel that tug low in her belly every time she noticed him watching her. Letting things go so far between them when she hadn’t known the entire truth was bad enough. Giving in a second time would be disastrous. Almost as disastrous as sleeping with a senior detective in the middle of a huge case and watching him take all the credit for the bust.

Thinking of Wade and the crap he’d undoubtedly been saying about her since her suspension hardened her resolve to clear her name and prove to him and everyone else she was a good cop.

Dark, heavy clouds hung low in the sky, promising more rain in the not so distant future.

Max fiddled with her hoodie and fell into step beside Lucas as they followed the leaf-covered driveway up to a winding dirt road. “So what’s the plan?”

“Lover?”

Confused, she frowned.

“The last time you asked me that, you called me lover.” His shot her a teasing grin, and she caught herself wanting to grin back at him.

“I was just playing along.”

“And last night? Were you still just playing along?” He was still smiling, but his tone hinted at something deeper.

Something that made her heart pick up speed even when she knew she couldn’t let anything like that happen again. Aside from the fact that trust was an issue for them, the sex had thrown her into a dizzying backspin and changed things between them. There just wasn’t in any point in figuring out what that meant when she planned on parting ways with him at the earliest opportunity.

Maybe Lucas knew what he was getting into with going after Blackwater, but her own determination to see the dealer brought down had already come at a high price. Whether or not Lucas had lied to her, she didn’t want him to end up dead too.

Her stomach wrenched painfully at the thought.

“Max?”

The concern in his voice only made it that much harder to pretend last night hadn’t meant anything to her. “Oh, does your ego need a little boost this morning?”

“Not quite.” He continued to stare at her, his gaze probing a little too deep.

“What?”

“Last night,” he began, but she sidestepped to cut him off.

“There’s really nothing to say. We both got carried away last night, and it’s not all that surprising considering how much adrenaline was drop-loaded into our bloodstream in a twenty-four hour period.”

His lips twitched. “So the sex was about adrenaline?”

Apparently it only sounded like a reasonable explanation in her head. “I don’t think we really need to fixate on it. We’re both adults and we had sex. End of story.”

Lucas didn’t press the subject, surprising her, and they feel into an awkward silence that only grew more uncomfortable as they traveled along. After nearly an hour they reached a paved road, but with little traffic they could flag down for a ride.

Finally a red pickup truck stopped, and the driver offered them a ride to the closest gas station after Lucas lied about their car breaking down. Unfortunately, the closest gas station ended up being nearly a half-hour drive, during which she was pressed up against Lucas from shoulder to knee.

But that wasn’t the worst part. Lucas had stuck with their original story of being a vacationing couple and held her hand whenever he got the chance, his grip solid and warm. Only when the lazy rub of his thumb across the top of her hand left her insides all tangled up, did she finally tug her hand free.

Thinking about her plan to eventually slip away from Lucas was the only way she could distract herself from how good he felt next to her. As it was, by the time they were dropped in front of a small brick structure with two gas pumps out front and hopefully a pay phone inside, Max was about to melt right out of her skin.

Inside the store they found a guy in his mid-forties behind the counter, reading the paper.

“Morning,” he called out as they walked inside. “Another dreary day, but better rain than snow I say.”

Still a little chilled from the walk, Max shivered hearing the word snow.

“Do you have a pay phone?” Lucas asked, taking a look around.

“Sure. Down the small hall at the back, opposite the washrooms.”

“Great.” Lucas took a step, paused.

She waited for him to say something about going with him, or at least give her a look warning her to stay put, but he headed for the phone without a backward glance.

Deciding it was better to hear his side of the conversation than none at all, she trailed behind him. A thickly frosted cinnamon roll sat with some other baked goods on the end of the counter, and she eyeballed it as they passed.

She leaned up against the wall, watching Lucas dig out his wallet from his side pocket and use a credit card to place the long distance call. At least one of them had money, which meant that cinnamon roll was hers when he finished the call.

Lucas looked a little relieved at whoever answered the phone, but his expression quickly changed and he paused, listening.

He cursed under his breath. “We don’t need to wait—” He snapped his jaw shut, listening again. “That’s not necessary. Max is working with us on this.”

Whatever the voice on the other end of the phone said, Lucas didn’t appear happy to hear it.

“Don’t tell Caleb, Joe. Not yet.” Lucas glanced at his watch. “Eli can’t get here before then? I can try renting a car—” He flashed Max a quick look. “Fine. We’ll find a place to lay low and call you back with the location.”

All traces of his earlier laid-back mood had vanished by the time he hung up. Max turned and headed back to the counter, grabbing two cinnamon rolls, along with something to drink on the way.

“Just passing through?” The man behind the counter asked.

Lucas wandered over to the far aisle, browsing the shelves and leaving Max to answer. “We’re from Ontario actually. Just visiting some family in the area.”

The owner began bagging the items. “My son lives in Toronto. Just landed himself a new promotion and bought a house in the suburbs. He and his wife are expecting a baby and are about to make me a grandpa.”

“Congratulations.” Lucas dropped a couple of T-shirts on the counter with a logo Max only got a peek at before they were added to the bag on the counter. “Is Miss Maddy’s Bed and Breakfast far from here?”

“About twenty kilometers or so. You stick to the main road for about ten to twelve kilometers and then take a left. It’s a big old farmhouse, you can’t miss it. Maddy has done the place over really nice.”

“Great.” Lucas handed over his credit card.

Max noticed him staring at the newspaper on the counter and she followed his gaze to the headlining article about the incident in Riverbend and whether or not it was connected to yesterday’s car chase involving two suspects.

Max tensed, but kept her smile in place, shooting a quick glance at Lucas.

He looked thoughtful for a second, then gave her slow, sexy grin. “A little alone time and a break from your family is just what we need.”

“They’re not that bad,” she managed for the owner’s benefit, trying not to stare at Lucas’s mouth.

He glanced at the owner. “It’s like visiting with The Addams Family, but I’d do just about anything to make her happy.”

If she thought the sincerity in his voice was too much to process, Lucas looping an arm around her waist and pulling her close was probably enough to knock her brain offline.

He ducked his head, his mouth drifting lazily across hers. The kiss was over before it really got started, but the tease of his lips, soft and slow, lingered long after he’d turned back to the counter to collect their bag.

“I’ll give Maddy a call and let her know to keep an eye out for you two.”

Max trailed Lucas out of the store, looking forward to the twenty kilometer walk as much as she was to pretending that kiss hadn’t made her crave a longer, deeper one.

“I take it we have to wait at this bed and breakfast for your team?”

He nodded. “Yeah. Seeing as we made the front page of the local paper, probably better if we’re not hitching our way into town to rent a car.”

“So I take it hot-wiring cars is not one of your strengths.”

He pulled one of the cinnamon rolls out of the bag and took a bite. “One stolen car per assignment is my limit.”

She took the second roll he held out.

“And twenty kilometers isn’t that far,” he added.

Glancing down at her non-hiking boots, she failed to work up much enthusiasm. “Maybe for some people.”

“At least it’s not raining.”

She punched his arm. “Are you trying to jinx us?” The words had no sooner left her mouth than the air thickened into a wet mist followed by a drizzle, and she shot him a dirty look.

Three and a half hours later they reached the bed and breakfast, both of them soaked to the bone. A woman in her late sixties—by Lucas’s guess—with hair dyed a bright fire-engine red and sharp, intelligent eyes waited for them on the huge porch that ran the length of the farm house.

Haunted
came to mind as he surveyed their temporary safe house even though there wasn’t any peeling paint or broken windows. Still, the place gave off an eerie vibe that sent a shiver zipping up down his spine. Clearly all the updating had taken place on the inside.

He and Max exchanged speculative glances as they walked up the steps that creaked under their weight.

The woman smiled in welcome, but there was an edge to it that hinted at a steel backbone beneath the simple white apron and heavily applied make-up.

“Welcome. I’m Miss Maddy, the proprietor. Let’s get you inside and out of this horrible weather.” She paused. “No bags?”

“This was an unscheduled stop actually. We’re taking a time-out from some overbearing family members we’re visiting.”

“The Addams Family, right.” She grinned, apparently having heard all the details from the gas station owner. She squeezed herself between them. “I haven’t had any guests in a few weeks. The last couple who stayed with me had an unfortunate accident. I tried to warn them… Oh, but I should stop myself before I really start to ramble. You two need to get settled.”

Unfortunate accident?

Brow arched, Max met his gaze.

“I’m sure you’ll both just love it here,” Miss Maddy continued. “This used to be my great, great-grandmother’s home. She was a fisherman’s wife, spent a lot of her time alone with her fourteen children and such. My grandmother inherited the place and then my mother. When it passed to me, my Earl suggested I turn the place into a B&B. Earl always had good ideas like that, a thinker he was.”

Max smiled at Miss Maddy, the innocent curving of her lips certainly not meant to entice him, but damn if he wasn’t thinking good and hard about her lush mouth. She’d finished off her cinnamon roll a while ago, but he’d bet he could still taste the sweetness on her lips.

His body tensed, revisiting the memory of how her body had strained beneath his last night, and his thoughts quickly turned to getting rid of their hostess, backing Max into a corner and peeling the wet clothes off her piece by piece.

“Perhaps, I’ll just save the tour for later and get you two…ah…settled.”

“Do any of your rooms have twin beds?” Max asked.

Miss Maddy frowned and Max hurried to add, “He snores.”

“I don’t—” Lucas began.

“Want to keep me up. I know.” Max smiled sweetly. She turned to Miss Maddy after warning him with a subtle jab of her elbow.

He decided to keep quiet in case she started talking about erectile dysfunction again. Once was plenty.

Miss Maddy slipped behind the desk in the foyer. The inside had definitely been redecorated, the warm earth tones and solid wood furniture off set by cheery colors that made him feel at home.

“I don’t have twin beds, but I could offer you adjoining rooms if you prefer.”

“One will be fine,” Lucas insisted, handing over his credit card before Max said another word.

“Oh, the room at the very top has a pull-out sofa bed.”

Max smiled. “Perfect.”

Seeming pleased that she’d satisfied her guests, Miss Maddy finished registering them and selected a key from the cupboard behind her, then waved for them to follow her upstairs.

Lucas gestured for Max to precede him. He regretted the thoughtless decision the moment he had Max’s sweet ass swaying in front of him, right at eye-level. Christ, she was killing him and she probably didn’t even know it.

She’d blown him off this morning, and at the time he thought it was the right call. Maybe it still was.

Joe hadn’t wanted to hear anything about Max willingly working with them, and after his solo mission, he didn’t need to give his boss another reason to rake his ass over the coals. Getting further involved with Max would put him on Joe’s shit list. Might even earn him Eli’s top spot.