Lasting Pride (Pride Series Romance Novels) (11 page)

Looking at it in clear light, she realized what had probably happened. They’d had an affair, Maria had gotten pregnant and told her family she didn’t know who the father was. She had too many of his traits not to be part of her old man, he must have found out Maria had given up custody of her to her grandparents and snuck in and taken her as a baby. That was the only explanation she could come up with. That was how she hoped it had been.

Turning now, she looked into Ric’s eyes. She saw the concern and it ate at her.

“Did you know that when I was seventeen, I broke into this building?” She patted the window sill. “I crawled in this window, opened a safe sitting just there,” she pointed to the corner, if she closed her eyes, she could still see the old black safe in her mind. “I took twelve hundred dollars in cash and this,” she held up her right hand and showed him the gold ring that glimmered on her finger. She hadn’t realized tears were streaming down her face until he stepped closer and gently wiped them with his thumb.

“I walked back to my friends and we went to celebrate, and they were all gunned down that night and it was my fault. All my fault. I’ve never told anyone about what really happened that night.”

She took a deep breath, “Just like I haven’t told anyone else what I just found out this week. My father stole me when I was a week old from my grandparents house.” She pulled away from him and hugged herself.

“He raised me by himself, knowing that they were looking for me. He taught me to be a thief, showed me how to pick-pockets almost before I could walk. How to crack a safe when most ten-year-old’s were tucked warmly in their beds. Then, when I was older, he’d hit me after drinking too much. Hit me until things would break, until I almost broke.” Ric pulled her into a light hug.

“I’m so sorry…” he started.

“I’m not,” she pulled back and looked at him. “Over the last few days I’ve thought about it.”

Pulling further away, she quickly dashed away the tears. “I wouldn’t be where I am now if it wasn’t for that man. If it hadn’t been for that night over ten years ago. And, if it hadn’t been for Detective Johns. I can’t look back, I’m Roberta Stanton, ex-thief, detective, and I love my job, I love the people I work with, I love my apartment, my old car, and I even love my stupid cat.”

Ric smiled, “You are the strongest woman I know.” He walked up to her again and placed a soft kiss on her lips. “I’m not sorry you are who you are either.” Upon her empty look, he continued, “I would have never met the sexy, spit-fire detective who has me thinking about her all the time.”

Rob laughed, “Is that really what you think of me?”

He smiled at her, then he was kissing her and answering her question. His lips were warm and soothing. She held onto his shoulders as his tongue played with hers. She felt a shiver run down her spine when his lips set a trail down her neck. She arched back to give him better access. Running her hands over his shoulders, she enjoyed the smoothness of his suite. He was neat and prim and she really wanted to mess him up. Tugging his shirt from his pants, she ran her hands up his chest and enjoyed the feel of every muscle. She’d seen his body, all of it, and knew just how wonderful he looked.

Then, he returned the favor and pulled her shirt free from her pants. His warm fingers sent shivers up her spine as he roamed higher and higher, until finally, her hands fell away from him and she was gasping for air as he gently stroked her delicate skin.

Leaning against the brick wall, she moaned his name as he bent his head and replaced his hands with his mouth.

The wall was cool on her back as Ric’s mouth claimed her skin, heating her up from her core. She grabbed his hair and held on as he tortured her, running his hands up and down her sides.

She reached for his belt and tried to pull it from his pants, but he took her hands and pulled them beside her head and looked into her eyes. They were both gasping for breath and she could see the matching desires in his eyes.

“Wait,” he said and leaned his forehead against hers. “Let’s just slow down a minute.” He closed his eyes.

Closing her eyes, she rested her head back against the brick wall.

She’d wanted the sex, she wanted it with him, fast, here against the wall in this room with so much history. She’d be damned of the consequences. Thank goodness he had the sense to stop.

“Listen Ric…” she started, but he interrupted.

“Don’t,” he leaned back and took a deep breath, “don’t tell me this was a mistake. Because we both know it wasn’t.” Tucking in his shirt as she tucked in hers, he smiled at her. “How about we go get some dinner?”

She laughed, “Sure, how about we swing by Barb’s. I’m in the mood for a greasy burger.”

Two days later, his bruises on his face were completely healed, he still had tender spots on his head and his shoulder still felt stiff, but the stitches were finally gone. He’d been given the go-ahead from his doctor to start lifting weights and running again. Running had been something he’d done almost every day for the past twenty years. Giving it up for those few days had been like giving up caffeine.

The next morning as he was jogging on the riverfront pathway, he couldn’t help but feel more rooted. The sun was just rising, bouncing off the river as he took his favorite path.

He could smell summer coming and knew he’d be heading to California in a few months to stay there for a few weeks. He wondered why he continued to divide his time so much. He really did enjoy Portland and the slower life style here more than the fog and fast-pace of downtown LA. He had several galleries across the US. Why did he keep splitting his time between these two? He knew that LA was the hot-spot for a lot of the art world. New York was as well, but he only traveled there once or twice a year.

It’s not as if he was needed at any of his locations for any given time. Oh, he occasionally flew in to town for a show, or a meeting, but for the most part, he could successfully run everything from this office. He’d thought about staying in Portland full time more and more over the last few years.

Then his thoughts turned towards Roberta. He’d never enjoyed someone’s company as much as hers. When they’d eaten at Barb’s the other night, the conversation was something they didn’t have to work at. She wasn’t just damn sexy, but smart and witty. They’d laughed and enjoyed each other so much, that they’d stayed at the restaurant until after eleven that night.

Every time he thought of her, he found it too hard to concentrate on anything else. He’d just hit the three mile mark in his run and was turning around to start heading back when he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.

The jogging path was well traversed, he always ended up passing a dozen or so people on his morning runs. However, as he looked around now, he couldn’t see anyone else in sight. Maybe that was the reason for his alarm, since he was hardly ever alone on the trail. Pulling his earbuds out of his ears, he listened and looked around. When he didn’t hear or see anything, he was just about to start jogging again, when a sharp burning pain exploded on his side and he heard the gun shot.

R
oberta was just leaving the chief’s office with her partner Tom, Sergeant Johns, and three other officers, when she received a call on her cell phone from Ric.

“I’m being shot at – running trail twelve along the river – three miles from my apart…” She heard a round of shots and the line went dead.

Jumping up, she relayed the message as she and her partner ran through the building, heading for their car. As she ran she tried to call him, but it went to his voice mail, so she texted him in hopes that he would see it.

“Be there in two minutes – stay down – stay alive -Rob.”

She broke every speed record she could to get there, to get to him. When she pulled the squad car up onto the dirt trail, she saw Ric sitting on a bench surrounded by a half dozen people in bright running suits.

The paramedics pulled in behind her as she sprinted from the car and ran towards him. When she got closer, she saw the blood on him and her concern tripled.

“I’m okay,” he said holding up his hand as she approached. “It’s just a graze. Dr. Kim here,” he nodded to an elderly Asian man, who was decked out in a bright orange running suit, “has taken a look and assured me it’s just a graze. He doesn’t even think I’ll need stitches… this time.” She could tell he was trying to calm himself down and noticed he wasn’t doing a good job at it. She saw that his hands were shaking as he held his bloodied tee-shirt against the wound that no doubt would need just some cleaning.

Squatting down next to him, she looked into his face, he was paler than his normal tan glow. His hands were still shaking and she could tell he was pissed.

“Tell me what happened,” she said as the paramedics started to check him out.

“Well, there I was, enjoying my first run in over a week, when, bam, someone shot at me.” She knew he was trying to use humor to mask the fear. “And they didn’t stop, they unloaded several rounds trying to get to me.”

“I’ve never seen a man move so fast.” Dr. Kim piped in. “If my running team hadn’t been around the corner and heard it all, I think Mr. Derby here would have been a goner.”

“What do you mean?” Rob asked, looking up at the man.

“Well, the shooter was reloading his gun when we came running across the bridge and I guess we must have scared him off. The man was calmly walking to where Mr. Derby was hiding behind that tree.” Dr. Kim pointed to a large oak. From where Rob was kneeling she could see the trunk had been sprayed with bullets.

“Tom, would you take Dr. Kim and his group’s statements. I’ll take Mr. Derby’s.” Rob didn’t take her eyes off Ric’s face.

“Sure thing Rob. Dr. Kim, did you get a good look…” she tuned her partner’s questions out.

“Are you okay?” She’d seen the large gash across his left ribs that marked where a bullet had been inches away from going straight through his side.

“I had just taken my earbuds out, if I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have heard and reacted so quickly.” He looked down as the EMT was placing a large bandage over the opened wound. “This was personal, it felt personal.”

“We’re all done here,” the EMT interrupted, “You’ll need to make sure that stays clean. Maybe take something over the counter for any pain. If you see any swelling or signs of infection, see your doctor.”

As Ric stood, she watched him test himself. His face was still paler than normal. His shirt was a complete loss. Grabbing his arm, she said, “Hang on a minute.” When he nodded, she walked over to her partner.

“Tom, I’m going to drive Mr. Derby back to his apartment. Can you get a ride from…” she looked around and saw two other cops from their unit and nodded towards the pair.

“Sure thing Rob, don’t worry about me. I’ll write this up, help them pull evidence, and have it on your desk.”

“Thanks,” she walked to where Ric stood, looking down at his blood covered hands.

A memory flashed in her mind of her standing, looking down at her own bloody hands, and something shifted inside her.

“Come on, let’s go get you cleaned up.”

Sitting in Rob’s car as she drove him the short distance back to his place, Ric’s mind played over the scene several times.

She’d given him some wipes so he could clean up. He looked down and was glad to see his hands clean of all the blood.

When he was laying behind the tree, escaping the bullets, his mind kept flashing to Roberta’s face. Looking over at her now, he could see the worry in her eyes. He’d seen pure fear there when she’d sprinted towards him on the running path.

Smiling, he realized she’d been truly afraid. Did it mean that she had feelings for him? Watching her drive, he smiled even more realizing he had feelings for her. What kind of feelings exactly, he didn’t quite know yet. But, he was willing to try and figure them out. After all, he had time.

“Keep looking at me like that and I’ll start shooting at you myself.” She said, stealing a quick glance at him.

He laughed, as they pulled into his parking garage.

“I’ll walk you up.”

He looked at her, raising his eye brows in question.

She explained, “I need to officially take your statement.”

He thought he saw her cheeks turning pink, so he just nodded.

The car ride had been bad enough, but it seemed to him that all the air had been sucked out of the elevator. The short trip up to his floor seemed to take longer than usual. He stood across the small space and just looked at her. Her eyes were glued to his bare chest and arms.

He could see her desire plainly written in her eyes and most likely his mirrored hers. Finally, the doors slid open and she walked out slowly. He followed and watched the way she walked, the way her hips swayed, in the light tan slacks that she wore today. She had on a dark blue button up blouse, and he wondered what was underneath it all.

When he opened his door to his apartment, he watched her walk in first. When she stopped just inside the door, he pushed the door closed with his foot, not taking his eyes off her. Then, she was on him, pushing his back to the cool wood of the door. Her hot mouth was on his, her hands fisted in his hair. He lost all ability to think. She was a wild cat, her lips and hands traveled all over his face and arms.

He fisted his hands on her hips and pushed her until their positions were reversed. Pulling her shirt free, he ran his hands up until he cupped her silky breast.

Releasing a low moan, she continued running kisses over his face and neck while her fingernails bit softly into his shoulders.

He ran his hands up her neck and tugged her hair free from the large clip. He enjoyed running his hands through the long, dark tresses.

She arched her neck, exposing her soft skin for him to rain kisses along her jaw line. His hands were back under her shirt, playing with the soft skin underneath. He could feel her nipples straining against the silk of her bra. He wanted to taste her, wanted to take her, there against his door. Hard, fast, now.

He started to reach around and pull her upwards towards him, when his hands ran into her holster, and her weapon. It was like a large bucket of ice water had just hit him square in the chest.

Pulling back, he watched her face as she realized it herself. She took a large breath and closed her eyes, then leaned her head back on the door.

“I’m sorry,” she said.

“No, don’t be sorry.” Pulling her face into his hands, he held her until she opened her eyes and looked at him.

“We will finish this,” he didn’t know if he was promising her or warning her.

She looked at him and just nodded her head. He stepped back and watched her tuck her shirt back into her belt.

“Did your sister leave?” She looked around.

“Yeah,” he picked up his ruined shirt and tossed it in the trash. “She headed to Mexico to be with her friends.” He watched her walk around the large room and thought she might be trying to get under control. Her arms were crossed over her chest and she was pacing his living area, she looked like she was stalling.

“What do you want Detective?”

She spun around quickly and looked at him.

“What do you want to drink?” He held up a bottle of water and noticed that something flashed in her eyes.

“No, nothing. I’m fine.” She continued her pacing of the room.

Taking a large swig of water, he walked over to stop her nervous walking by grabbing onto her shoulders. Looking into her eyes, he saw her raw emotions.

Pulling her close, he held on tight as she went into his arms.

“
Thank you,” he said.

“Why are you thanking me?” She leaned back and looked up into his eyes. He took advantage and leaned down to claim her mouth softly.

“Thank you for being there for me.”

“I should have gotten there faster. It wasn’t me that saved you, it was Dr. Kim and his running group.”

“You were there. When I was hiding behind that tree, all I could think of was you.” He looked into her eyes and saw shock.

“I don’t know what to do with this information. Do you expect me to…”

“Shh, I don’t expect anything. Just know that I thought of you.”

He pulled her into another light hug.

“You know, since I’ve met you, I seem to always end up bloody and bruised.”

She laughed and he enjoyed the sweet sound and vowed to hear it again and as often as possible.

“Are you going to take my,” he cleared his throat, “statement?” She smiled up at him.