UP IN FLAMES

“This… That was… That is so inappropriate that I don’t even know where to begin.” She reached up, taking off her glasses. For the briefest second, he saw her face for the first time without them before she placed them back on. His eyes narrowed. Just what did she see in Christopher Wesley that made her marry him, he wondered.

She stared at him for a good half a minute and then exploded like a bottle rocket. “For fuck’s sake, talking to you is impossible! Fucking forget I even came here, because this was the most pointless trip I’ve ever made in the history of fucking forever! And just so you know, you’re the worst Detective I’ve ever met in my life. It’s a wonder how you manage to keep your job since the only thing you’re good at is making false accusations, and being a shitty person.”

He blinked, surprised by her outburst. And turned on-completely, 100 percent rocking a raging hard-on. There was definitely something wrong with that, but he wasn’t surprised. He liked his women mouthy. And this one was a volcano.

The volcano was also leaving. Vanessa yanked at the door and nearly threw herself off balance. Racheal must’ve locked it on her way out, something they should’ve thought about earlier, but then again, Alaric couldn’t find it in himself to regret Vanessa’s interruption.

Cursing up a storm under her breath, she unlocked the door and tore it open. Within seconds, she’d disappeared into the shadowy hall outside the private room.

Alaric started after her but stopped.

“Shit,” he muttered, thrusting his fingers through his hair.

He needed to let her go for now. She was damn right. He’d been so unprofessional. He’d never been that way before. He didn’t even know much about her apart from police business, but one thing he was sure of was that the woman would be nothing but trouble. That was the last thing he needed in his life right now. It didn’t matter that her appearance had his cock waking from its majorly inconvenient slumber. And the most messed-up thing was that he was still hard.

Damn, she had smelled good. The scent of a flower that reminded him of spring, but he couldn’t place what it was. And now he was thinking about how she smelled. Fuuuucck.

The woman was in trouble, and he’d just insinuated that he’d rather fuck her than do his job and protect her? He didn’t feel bad about saying the things he’d said, but damn, he hadn’t even looked at the note.

“Shit,” he said again.

———–

The back of Vanessa’s throat burned as she made her way across the crowded club floor. Even if she wasn’t speed walking, she’d stand out among the patrons of Leather and Lace. Her prim black suit was an eyesore among the shimmery tops, skintight jeans, and pretty dresses. So plain. So boring.

Normally, that wouldn’t bother her, but tonight, she felt like all her emotions were on the outside, coating her skin instead of being neatly tucked away.

A hand grabbed for her as she rounded a cluster of small tables. She shot a warning look at the offender, a young male with kohl-lined eyes. He simply laughed and threw an arm over the shoulders of a petite redhead.

To Vanessa, the air in the club was suffocating-hot and heavy with the scent of perfume, cologne, and liquor. She barreled out the front door, gasping in the cool night air as it washed over her flushed skin.

Stupid-she had been so incredibly stupid coming here. His crude statements were most likely nothing more than an attempt to get a rise out of her, and he’d succeeded. She hurried down the sidewalk, passing the graffiti-sprayed exteriors of the old warehouses. What was she going to do now?

‘I’ll be seeing you soon.’

Her practical mind clicked over, taking control. She was on her own, something she’d grown accustomed to in her twenty-eight years. You could really only count on yourself-trite but true. So she’d need to find out who was responsible for stalking her, and she also needed a gun. Then she needed to know how to use one, because she honestly had no idea how to even take off the safety and-

Rounding the street corner, she winced as she realized that two of the overhead street lamps were now out and the packed parking lot was nothing more than hulking, looming shadows and a cesspool of potential assault and battery. Great. Getting stabbed and robbed would be the icing on the fucked-up cake and make her night.

Digging the car keys out of her pocket, she threaded them between her fingers and kept her eyes peeled for any suspicious movement. She picked up her pace, focusing on the third line of cars where she’d left hers.Owned by NôvelDrama.Org.

The parking lot nearest to Leather and Lace was like a used luxury-car lot. She passed Audis, Volvos, BMWs, and a whole fleet of foreign vehicles. Vanessa was willing to bet her ass that half the city’s power players were members of the club. She wanted to be all kinds of judging, but she was the type of person to call a spade a spade. How could she judge them when she had been inside that room with Alaric, picturing herself on the longue?

Unwanted heat unfurled low in her belly, and she swore softly as she cut between a Mercedes and an Infiniti SUV. She would not think about Alaric. She would not give that son of a bitch one more ounce of her-

Vanessa stopped a few feet before her car, her breath expelling harshly. It was so dark here she couldn’t be sure what she was seeing. Bending at the waist, she blinked once, thinking that her eyes were playing tricks on her, but when her vision centered on the front of her car, she cried out in disbelief. The windshield had been smashed in.

Jagged edges of glass remained, but the whole center was gone-completely gone. Wicked sharp pieces of glass lay on the dashboard.

Her breaths came out in short pants as she reached down and opened the driver’s door. Glass was everywhere-on the seats, the floorboards. She started to reach in but stopped herself. Lying on the passenger seat was a brick. There appeared to be a paper wrapped around it, secured with a rubber band.

For a moment, Vanessa was absolutely frozen. She didn’t move. Her breath stilled in her throat. All she could do was stare at that brick, and the only thing that moved was her heart. It thumped heavily in her chest, sending adrenaline coursing through her veins.

Her gaze crawled over the interior and then widened when she saw the ignition.