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“Unfortunately, it’s a
problem everywhere, even in small towns like this. The kids know that we’ve got
our eyes on them, and that helps, but it never seems to be enough to save every
kid.”

She understood how hard it
must be, even for small town cops, to manage the issue. Drugs were like a
cancer; once they found a new victim, it was nearly impossible to help that
person heal. “Did you always know that you wanted to be a cop?”

He laughed. “If you were to
ask most of the people in this town, they’d tell you they were sure I’d end up
on the other side of the bars one day. I was a pretty wild kid.”

She frowned. “Isn’t there
some rule against a cop, especially a chief, having a criminal record?”

He leaned back in his chair
and laced his hands behind his head. “It never went that far. There were just
some fights, drinking, mischief, you know, the usual teenage stuff.”

No, she didn’t know what it
was like to be a normal teenager. She spent her teen years working to help her
mother put food on the table. She eventually went on to earn her college
diploma the same way, on her own, one credit at a time, as she was able to
scrape the money together. It took her twice as long as it should have, but at
least she finally got that coveted piece of paper. She was the first member of
her family to ever graduate college and she would sell her own blood to ensure
her daughter, Madison, was the second.

She thought back to those
lost years. The year she turned nineteen, her sister died, she met Glen, got
pregnant, and her whole world turned upside down in the span of twelve short
months.

“Hey, you okay?” he asked,
leaning forward. “It looks like I lost you again?”

She shook her head. “No, I’m
still here.” She smiled. “I’m just not used to sharing like this; it’s kind of
weird for me.”

He grinned. “Is it weird good
or weird bad?”

His grin was infectious and
she couldn’t help but smile in return. “No, it’s good. I like talking to you,
getting to know you better.” She knew she was venturing into unsafe territory.
There was no way this relationship had a future, and it wasn’t fair to let him
believe otherwise, but she couldn’t bring herself to leave just yet. Aside from
her blind date tonight, she couldn’t remember a man ever taking an interest in
her or her life unless he was trying to get her into bed.

“Good, I’m glad.” He tapped
his knuckles on the tabletop. “I think I’m going to grab that coffee now.”

“You know it’s probably not a
good idea to drink caffeine now.” She glanced at her watch. 11:37. “We’ll be up
all night.”

He laughed. “I could say
something right now, Lord knows you walked right into it, but my mama raised me
to be a gentleman, so I’ll keep my mouth shut.”

Suddenly, she didn’t want him
to be a gentleman. Maybe it was because she knew he was trying so hard to be
respectful, or perhaps it was the fact she’d been able to confide in him, but
she wanted him, and for once, she was going to go after what she wanted.

“I changed my mind, Tucker.”
She got up out of the chair, prepared to swallow her fear, set aside her
inhibitions, and silence her doubt. “I don’t want that coffee after all.”

He turned around to face her.
“Okay, what do you want?”

She reached for his belt
buckle. “I want you.”

Tucker looked into her jade
green eyes, saw the simmering arousal, and knew she was serious. She wanted
him, right here, right now, no more holding back. He couldn’t believe what he
was about to say. “Baby, I’m not sure if this is a good idea.” He knew when her
eyes lost their luster that he’d said the wrong thing again.

He gripped her shoulders.
“Listen to me; you are the sexiest, sweetest, strongest woman I’ve met in a
long, long time, if ever. I just don’t want to screw it up by rushing into
something you’re not ready for.” He took a deep breath as he tried to convince
his throbbing erection that he knew what he was doing. “I’m willing to wait as
long as it takes, Rachel.”

She grabbed the hem of his
t-shirt and hauled it over his head. Her eyes devoured his chest as she licked
her lips. “Do you know how long I’ve been waiting for my life to begin?”

He shook his head as she
reached for his belt buckle. “No, how long?” His voice sounded like he’d
swallowed a handful of broken glass and it felt like the pain was traveling
south.

“Forever. I don’t want to
wait anymore. Just this once, I want to do something fun, without thinking about
the consequences.”

He knew he should question
her assumption this was a one-time deal because there was no way it would be,
but all of his focus was centered on the movement of her hands deftly un-doing
his belt, his button, zipper…

He reached for his gun,
detached it, and set it down on the counter.

She glanced at his weapon
before turning her attention back to him. “Do this for me, please?” She pushed
his jeans down over his hips and cupped his cock in her hand. “I need you
tonight.”

He couldn’t think straight
when she was caressing him like that. If she’d asked him to walk over blazing
coals or jump in front of a moving train right now, the answer would have been
a resounding yes. Anything she wanted, anything she asked of him, was hers for
the taking. “Let’s go upstairs,” he whispered.

She nodded as she sunk her
teeth into her bottom lip. “Yes, let’s. Can you give me just a minute to
freshen up first? I’ll meet you up there.”

“Sure.” It would give him a
few precious minutes to get himself under control. Too bad he didn’t have time
for a cold shower. That was probably the only thing would prevent him from
jumping her like a randy teenager as soon as she crossed the threshold into his
bedroom.

He framed her face with his
hands and looked into her eyes as he tried to read her thoughts. “Are you sure
about this? You still have time to back out.”

She reached up on her
tip-toes, eased her hands into his hair, and pulled his mouth toward hers. Her
kiss was long and deep and so sensual he could have boosted her up on the
counter and taken her right there.

“Does that answer your
question, Tucker?”

He smirked. “Uh yeah, I think
so.”

She surprised him by tracing
a path up the length of his neck with her tongue before drawing his earlobe into
her mouth.

He grabbed her hips and
pressed his hard cock into her stomach. “You keep that up and I’m gonna fuck
you right here.” He cursed himself when he realized how harsh that must have
sounded. She’d already been through so much. He promised himself if she gave
him the green light tonight, he would be gentle and take it slow. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” she whispered.
“I’m not made of glass. I won’t shatter.”

He realized if anyone was at
risk of shattering here, it was him because this little lady was quickly
claiming his heart and she hadn’t given him any guarantees of what tomorrow
might mean for them. It was almost laughable to him that he, the biggest
proponent of the friends with benefits arrangement, suddenly found himself
wanting so much more with a woman he wasn’t sure was willing or able to give
him what he needed.

  “All right, I’ll give you a
few minutes. The powder room is just behind the stairs.” He smiled. “Take your
time.”

Chapter Five

Rachel locked herself in the
bathroom and quickly dialed the number, praying her mother would answer before
the phone woke Madison. Once the little girl woke up, getting her to go back to
sleep was nearly impossible. She had recurring nightmares about bad guys
breaking in to steal her.

Rachel wished she could
promise her that would never happen, but with Maddie’s biological father out
there somewhere, undoubtedly plotting to hurt them, she had to insist her
daughter remain on high alert. It was a huge burden for a little girl to bear,
but Rachel couldn’t afford to allow her to become complacent.

“Mama, it’s me,” she
whispered. “Did I wake Maddie?”

Her mother cleared her
throat. “No, I don’t think so. Where are you? It’s getting late.”

Sometimes she still felt like
a fifteen year old, having to account for her every move, but her mother had
given up her life to go on the run with her and help her care for Maddie while
she worked to support them. The least she could do was keep her apprised of her
plans. But she couldn’t figure out how to tell her own mother that she was
spending the night with a man who, up until a few hours ago, had made it his
mission to make her life in Brant County a living hell.

“Um, my car broke down, so
Tucker Carlton gave me a ride to Dixie’s.”

“Not again.” She moaned.
“That damn car. I guess we’re going to have to figure out a way to get it
fixed.” She sighed. “So you’re at Dixie’s now. Are you waiting for her to get
off so she can give you a lift home?’

“No, I’ve already left
Dixie’s.” She paused, trying to figure out the best way to tell her overly cautious
mother that she intended to spend the night with a man who had the power to put
her behind bars for a long, long time.

“Well, I’m waiting. Where the
hell are you?”

“I’m at Tucker’s house.”

Her mother gasped. “Tucker
Carlton… the chief of police? The same man who was determined to throw your
butt in jail when he
thought
you broke the law?” she hissed. “Imagine
how he’s going to feel when he finds out you chose to ignore the custody
agreement you had with that low-life ex-husband of yours?”

“Mama…”

“Girl, have you forgotten
that your little girl is considered a missing person? In the eyes of the law,
you abducted her.”

“You and I both know I did
that to protect her,” Rachel whispered as she felt the hot sting of tears burn
the backs of her eyelids. “She came home from his place with welts on her
bottom from that goddamn belt! I wasn’t going to let him do that to her.”

“I know how you felt,
sweetheart.” Her voice softened. “I would have laid down my own life to protect
you or your sister, but you know the lawmakers don’t think like a mother. They
would say you should have gone through the proper channels, tried to amend the
custody agreement, arranged supervised visitation…”

“And you know he said that if
I did that, or if I even thought about going to the police, he’d slit my
throat.” Her voice broke when she thought of the graphic visual he’d planted in
her mind. “What other choice did I have?”

“Fortunately, the local
police know him too well. I don’t think they’re going to make his case a high
priority, and he sure as hell doesn’t have the resources to hire a private
detective to track you down.”

“No, all of Glen’s money is
spent on booze, cigarettes, and gambling.” Child support never seemed to make
the list, not that she wanted anything from him. She could take care of her
daughter on her own, just like she had since the day Madison was born.

“So, back to the chief, how
did you end up at his place?”

“Like I said, he gave me a
lift to Dixie’s. He stayed to watch the game with his friends. He had a few too
many drinks, so I offered to give him a ride home.”

“Okay, so you’re not too far.
When will you be home?”

“Mama…” How could she find
the words to tell her over-protective mother that she didn’t intend to come
home at all tonight?

“Don’t tell me there’s
something going on between you two?” When Rachel didn’t respond right away, she
sighed. “Girl, are you crazy? You can’t afford to get mixed up with him. That
man has had it in for you ever since you gave his sister those dancing lessons…
then the fiasco with those girls who were working for you. How do you know this
isn’t part of his plan? Maybe he did some digging into your past and found out
you’re on the run. How do you know he isn’t getting close to you just so he can
take you down? Think about it; it would certainly be a smart way for him to get
even and get you out of town for good.”

Her mother used to love
Law
& Order
, back in the days when they could afford the luxury of a TV.
Now she passed the time checking mystery books out from the local library.
Rachel tried to convince herself that it was just her mother’s overactive
imagination spinning an outlandish tale, but she couldn’t afford to be that
naïve. Her mother could be right. Tucker admitted to the background check.
Maybe he was on to her, and this was his way of getting close enough to make an
arrest. But if that was the case, why didn’t he just get it over with? He
didn’t seem like the kind of man who would use his position for sex, but she
didn’t know him well enough to say for sure. Given her history with men, she
knew there were no guarantees.

“Are you still there?”

“Yeah, Mama, I’m here.” She
looked at her reflection in the mirror above the sink. She was bone-tired and
it showed. Her eyes were rimmed with red, her liner was smudged, her lipstick
had long since worn away, and her long, thick mass of red hair was tousled from
Tucker’s big, rough hands.