Disarming Detective (20 page)

She held out her hand. “Okay. I hope your shower is big enough for two.”

Logan took her hand, twining their fingers together, and stepped closer, wrapping his other hand around her waist.

“Ella,” he whispered. He’d planned to ask her if she was sure, but the way she was looking at him, with need and desire and something else, something that looked a lot like deep, deep affection made him shut up and kiss her. He pressed his lips to hers a little harder than he’d intended, with all the built-up emotion he’d been trying to suppress.

She wound her free hand around his neck and leaned into him, kissing him until his head felt as if it was going to explode.

He pulled back just enough to wrap one arm more securely under her arms and hook the other under her knees. Then, he was carrying her as fast as he could down the hall.

She laughed and the sound rung in his ears as she kept kissing him—his chin, his cheek, his neck, whatever she could reach—as he pushed open the door to his bedroom and carried her to his bed. He lay her down gently and then just stared at her, wanting to freeze this perfect moment.

She belonged here. She belonged with him.

He lowered himself carefully down on top of her, trying not to bump any of her bruises. Then, he brushed her hair back, letting his fingers slide through it, wanting to memorize every single detail of the night. He hooked his fingers through hers and found her neck with his mouth.

“I wish we had more time,” he whispered as he licked his way up to her earlobe. “I’d like to take you out to my family’s cabin, on the ocean, and do nothing but make love to you for a week straight.”

Ella made a sound that could have been agreement or desire, as her fingers broke free of his and sank into his hair, pulling his lips back to hers. Then her tongue was in his mouth and he couldn’t speak at all, could barely think.

Her hands slid around his back and he could feel them up under his T-shirt. He helped her pull it over his head and then reached for hers, letting his hands glide over her smooth skin on the way up.

When he tossed the T-shirt aside, he discovered she was wearing a black lace bra. For some reason, he’d expected something more basic, like a sports bra. He made a noise of appreciation in the back of his throat, the only sound he was still capable of making, and she laughed at him again.

Until he lowered his head and pressed his mouth between her breasts. Then, her laughter turned into a moan as she arched up toward him. He slid his hands down over her rib cage, careful of the cut slicing her left side, as he circled his hands around her tiny waist. Then he felt her strong hands gripping him, trying to pull his mouth back to hers. He smiled against her skin and kissed his way slowly downward instead as his fingers found the button on her jeans.

She lifted her hips as he slipped her jeans down her long legs and tossed them aside. Then he slid his hand up one leg as his mouth traveled the same path on the other leg until she was squirming beneath him and his lips hit her hip. And, oh jeez, her panties were the same black lace as her bra.

His eyes must have rolled back in his head, because she gave him that sexy smile again and whispered, “I have a pair in every color.”

Logan started at her belly button and licked a fast line up to her lips. Then, with his mouth locked on hers, and her hands on his hips, fitting him against her just right, his whole body started throbbing with need.

“Logan,” she moaned. She was reaching between them, trying to get his pants off, when they both flinched as his phone started beeping from his pocket.

“Ignore it,” he mumbled against her mouth, kicking his pants free and rocking against her until she arched toward him again. Until her fingers dug into his back and she was making encouraging little sounds as her tongue found his.

He slid the straps of her bra down her shoulders and slipped his tongue under the lace. Ella’s legs wrapped around his waist, squeezing tight. He was reaching under her back, fumbling for the hook, when his phone buzzed again.

Cursing, Logan forced himself to disentangle his body from Ella’s and grabbed his pants, fishing his phone out of his pocket. Two calls so close together probably meant a break in the case.

He had to blink repeatedly to get his eyes to focus on the phone and then he saw it was Becky.

He let out a frustrated groan, looking over at Ella, her lips swollen and moist from his kisses, her pupils dilated with desire.

“One second,” he croaked, pulling up the text in case it was important. They’d worried all along Becky could be a target of the killer’s, so he couldn’t ignore two frantic texts now, not even with the likely killer in custody.

Logan, can you please come over right away? I’m back at my house and I think someone is here
, the first text read.

Logan grabbed his pants with one hand, swearing as he moved on to the second text.
Bodyguard sleeping, but I keep hearing noises outside. Probably nothing, but can you please come and check, Lo?
Lo
was the name she’d called him as a kid, back before she could say Logan.

He yanked his pants up his legs and put his T-shirt on inside-out, the way Ella had pulled it off of him. “I’m sorry, Ella. I need to go check on Becky.”

She sat up, worry replacing the desire in her eyes. “Is everything okay?”

“Probably.” He leaned over and kissed her hard on the mouth, a promise that they’d pick up where they’d left off as soon as he could get back. “I’ll hurry. If this really is a problem and I don’t get back and you need to go somewhere, my car is in the garage. Keys are by the door, okay?”

“Sure. You want me to come with you?”

Man, did he. “No, it’s okay. Get some sleep. I’ll put the alarm on when I go.”

Shoving his feet back into his shoes, he couldn’t keep himself from pressing another kiss to her lips. “I love you,” filled his mouth, but he held it back. Now wasn’t the time to tell her, when he was leaving. He’d wait until he returned.

And then, screw the challenges of her living in another state. He was going to fight for her.

* * *

M
AN
,
HIS
SISTER
had bad timing.

Logan tried to calm the blood raging through his veins as he dialed Becky and sped toward her house.

Why was she even there? She had been staying with their parents, she and the bodyguard both, and he didn’t like that she’d moved back home without telling him. Still, everything had been fine when he’d checked in with her earlier today. Hopefully, she was just nervous about being back home and hearing things. Hopefully, he could check it out quickly and get back to Ella.

Ella, who was waiting for him in his bed.

That thought sent another shot of lust spiking through his system and he turned the air-conditioning as high as it would go as he reached Becky’s neighborhood, not all that far from his own. His call went to voice mail, making him frown and unhook the snap on his holster.

When he pulled into her drive, the house was dark. Even the porch light was off. Something wasn’t right.

Logan squinted as he put the car in Park, his law enforcement instincts kicking into high gear. Her front door was open.

He grabbed the cell phone off his passenger seat to call for backup and opened his car door. He didn’t see anyone, but that didn’t mean no one was there. Dread felt like a steel ball in his stomach as he raced for the doorway, slipping his phone in his pocket and pulling his gun instead.

Where was his sister?

Even as he was rushing through the door, he knew he should have called for backup first, but this was Becky. And sometimes, every second mattered.

He realized someone was behind him a second before cold metal prongs touched his neck, before electricity shot through his body at way too many volts. Pain instantly darted along his nerve endings. He felt all his limbs stiffen and then shake uncontrollably, his gun slip from his hands, no matter how hard he tried to hang on to it. He felt himself falling before the Taser pressed against his neck a second time. He felt himself hit the floor before it hit him a third.

Then, he blacked out.

Chapter Fifteen

Something was beeping.

Ella groaned and rolled over. She blinked, confused, and then realized where she was. Logan’s bedroom. In his bed.

She sat up and looked around. She was alone.

The alarm clock next to Logan’s bed read 8:00 a.m. She listened for sounds in the other room, wondering if Logan had come home and she’d slept through it. Disappointment filled her at the idea. But she didn’t hear anything. The house was silent.

And then there was the beeping again.

Realizing it was her phone, Ella climbed off the bed, and all the bruises swelling on her body from her roll down the embankment last night protested. She grabbed her jeans off the floor and pulled her phone out, squinting at the readout. She’d missed a text from Logan.

Becky is fine
, it read.
Fink confessed.

Sean Fink was the killer. Ella sank back on the bed, mad at herself for ruling him out when they’d first talked to him. Even now, after he’d tried to run her off the road last night, she was still slightly surprised, her gut insisting he didn’t quite fit the profile.

But at least it was finally over. Oakville was safe.

They wouldn’t need her anymore. She could go home, or fly to California and spend a few days on the beach before heading back to work. Neither option sounded appealing.

She wanted Logan. And not just for a night.

Ella blinked back sudden tears and lifted her phone again to read the rest of the text.
Fink lawyered up, so we’re in a holding pattern. Let’s get away. Meet me at my family’s cabin.

He’d texted her the address. Ella smiled as she thought of Logan’s whispered words from last night:
I’d like to take you out to my family’s cabin, on the ocean, and do nothing but make love to you for a week straight.

Desire and anticipation mingled as Ella grabbed her clothes, ready to get dressed and rush over there. Then, she remembered she hadn’t showered since yesterday and she realized she smelled like dirt.

Hurrying into Logan’s bathroom, Ella shed her undergarments and got into the shower. It felt intimate to use the soap that smelled like him and made her even more anxious to get to the cabin. To make good on all the promises he’d made last night with his lips and his hands and the look in his eyes.

She’d never gone into any relationship knowing it had an expiration date before. But she’d never fallen in love with anyone like this before, either. This crazy, irresistible pull that kept intensifying with every new detail she learned about him, every strength and even every weakness. Love wasn’t supposed to be like this. Lust, maybe, but simple lust didn’t come with this much desire to know everything about a person, to spend every minute with them, even if it was talking about a serial killer.

Ella laughed at herself as she realized she’d been smiling since she’d stepped into the shower, preparing to see Logan. Wow, she had it bad.

Drying off fast, Ella wrapped the towel around herself and ran into Logan’s living room to grab her bag. She dug through it until she found a pair of panties and a bra in red lace. A rush of lust filled her system as she imagined how Logan would react to seeing them, and she quickly slipped them on, topping them with a skirt and tank top. She left her gun in her bag and took it with her as she turned off Logan’s alarm, grabbed his keys and got into his convertible.

As she raced through the streets, following his navigation system to the address he’d sent her, she felt downright euphoric at the prospect of seeing Logan. Downright euphoric at the idea of wrapping her arms and legs around him until they both passed out from pleasure. And just downright euphoric at her intense love for him, no matter what happened in the future.

She’d take short-term with Logan over the rest of her life with someone else.

Winding down streets that took her out of Oakville, Ella kept pressing her foot harder on the gas. Forget checking out the cabin, forget looking out at the undoubtedly amazing view together. As soon as she saw Logan, she was going to tell him with her body all the things she was too scared to say out loud.

Way to play it cool, Cortez
, her mind screamed, while another part of her brain whispered,
Coward.

Ella bit her lip as she turned down a long, private road. Could she bring herself to tell him how she felt? Would it make any difference?

The navigation system led her to the last house on the road, a little two-story all-wood cabin with a wraparound porch. It was pretty, nestled in the woods and raised up off the ground, but it wasn’t at all what she’d expected his family to own. She’d assumed it would be another fancy Southern-style home that was more mansion that true cabin. But this did remind her a little of the lived-in part of his parents’ house, cozy and comfortable and meant for spending time together.

Ella stepped out of the convertible and took the steps up to the cabin two at a time. She was smiling so hard her face actually hurt.

The door was unlocked and when Ella pushed it open, there were rose petals leading into the darkened house, lit by candles scattered on the tabletops and sunlight streaming in the windows, filtered through the woods.

The woods.
Ella faltered, ice racing up her spine. Logan had said his family’s cabin was on the ocean.

She spun around, ready to race back to the car, back to her bag, which held her gun. But a man was standing there, just far enough from the light that he was bathed in shadows. She didn’t know who he was, but he wasn’t Logan.

Ella shifted her stance and lifted her fists. If her options were fight or run, today she picked fight. She didn’t know this house, didn’t know where another exit was, or if it would be blocked.

Fear shot through her, and not just for herself. It hadn’t been Logan who’d texted her.

She had a sudden realization of how the killer was targeting his victims, how he was getting them to meet him in a deserted location: hacking their phones and pretending to be someone else.