Shattered Heart (Z series) (5 page)

She slid away from JT, not wanting to look at him. What just happened never should have. Shaun was probably rolling over in his grave at that very moment. She’d betrayed him by being intimate with another man.

“You okay?” JT asked, his voice deep and
sexy
.

She was forced to glance his way. “Yeah, I’m fine.” So it was a lie. He didn’t need to know that. “I’m going to take a shower and then go into work early.”

She quickly picked up her pajamas and rushed away, tears threatening in her eyes.

“Charlotte.”

She refused to look back. Not when she was filled with such guilt for what they had just done.

JT didn’t know what to think. He and Charlotte had just shared something intense, something beyond his comprehension, and she ran off as if they’d done something wrong.

He’d never understand women. Most of the females he’d dealt with over the years hadn’t been of the best quality. Sort of like his mother, since he really didn’t think he deserved any better.

Charlotte was different. Way too classy for the likes of him. Maybe that’s why she left. She realized the same thing. Yet, somehow he didn’t think she was like that.

JT pulled up his pants and walked to where he’d placed his cell phone. He needed to call in reinforcements. Someone was going to have to keep an eye on Charlotte while he was trying to find what that key opened.

He picked up his phone, punched in Zackary’s number and waited.

A groggy, rough voice answered.

“I need you to come to Oregon.”

“I thought you’d never ask. Do you need Lynch?”

“No. I think you and I can handle this. He’s got a new wife and his unborn child to think about. I don’t want anything to complicate that.”

“All right. I’ll be on the next flight out. I’ll have to rent a car in Portland, but I’ll get there as soon as I can.”

“Thanks, Zack. I appreciate this.”

JT ended the call and closed his phone, then glanced at his watch. It’d take a good day for his roommate to arrive and until then, he planned to stick to Charlotte until the cafe opened. She’d be safe as long as people were around. But after hours, he’d have to see that she was not a target for Terran. He’d hear about her male house guest and would probably lose his cool. The man had an ego. True, his marriage proposal hadn’t been for the right reasons—love—but the man would feel betrayed by Charlotte sleeping with another guy. And, he would think that. Why else would some dude be at her house that time of night? Terran would be furious, and he’d see that Charlotte paid for that anger.

The moment JT met the man, he saw through his niceties. To Terran, JT was a body, someone to do a job he didn’t want to.

While William tried to woo Charlotte.

The mere thought had him on edge. It wasn’t like William loved her—at least as far as he knew. If he did, that would complicate matters further. A scorned man was a dangerous man, and Terran was already that.

JT sat on the sofa. It was going to be a long day since he’d barely gone to sleep when that rock came sailing through the window.

If Charlotte insisted on going to the cafe early, he’d need to be by her side.

He reached for his socks and pulled them on, then his shoes.

When he’d buttoned the last button on his shirt, Charlotte entered the living room. She refused to meet his gaze, which irritated him a little.

“I’ll see you later.” She headed for the front door.

JT caught up with her, reaching for her arm. “I’m going with you. It’s still dark. You can’t be at the cafe alone, not until we put Terran away.”

The look she gave him voiced her opinion without saying a word. She was not happy, but that had to be the way it was—for now.

* * *

“What’s wrong, Charlotte? You haven’t been yourself all day.” Cara’s eyes scrutinized hers.

Charlotte continued to roll silverware into paper napkins and place them on the tray. “I’m tired. I didn’t sleep much.”

“So, I meant to ask, I saw William outside yesterday evening when I left. What did you tell him?”

“I told him I wasn’t ready.”

Her friend’s amber eyes widened. “What’d he say?”

“He wasn’t happy.”

Cara turned on her stool. “I’ll bet if Mister Hottie asked, you’d at least consider it.”

“No, I wouldn’t.”

“Oh my God, Charlotte. Shaun has been gone for almost two years. Don’t you think it’s time to at least start dating again?”

Dating.
Ha!
She’d gone way past that with JT. But she’d never tell Cara anything about what happened between them. She’d want to hear everything—every sexually explicit detail and Charlotte had never shared her intimate moments with her best friend or anyone else. She wasn’t about to start now.

“Are you listening to me?” Cara’s question drew her back to their conversation.

“I’m sorry. I have a lot on my mind.”

“I know you do, but you can’t let this thing with losing the cafe convince you that William is the answer. You’d never be happy with him. I think you know that.”

“Okay, Cara, I get it.” Let her think William and the cafe were on her mind. It was better that way.

The bell over the door jingled, and Charlotte’s breath caught in her chest. Her hands shook as she reached for another spoon, fork and knife.

“How are you two doing?” JT took a seat on a stool by the counter.

“Fine.” Cara spun around on hers.

Charlotte couldn’t even look at him. She was afraid her friend would see something she didn’t want her to.

“Did you want to eat?” she asked. “We were about to close for the day, but I could make you a sandwich.”

“That’s okay. I’ll grab a hamburger at the drive-through on the way back to my motel room.” He rose from his seat. “You ladies have a great evening.”

When he was gone, Cara looked at Charlotte. “What was that about?”

“What do you mean?”

“Surely he saw our hours, but he came in anyway. I think he was going to ask you out. But chickened out.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Cara. Maybe he didn’t see the sign.”

“Nope. He’s got the
hots
for you, and I say go for it.”

“You would.” Charlotte snorted.

Cara glared at her. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing, Cara. I’m just not interested in JT Malone. Okay? So drop the subject.”

“All right. You’re in an awful mood. I think I’ll head home, to my lonely apartment since that’d be preferable to your company tonight. See you in the morning.”

Cara jumped up, grabbed her purse and sweater and left the cafe.

Charlotte blew out a relieved breath. She was glad Cara was gone. Now she didn’t have to pretend that her life wasn’t a huge disaster and she was afraid to go home. JT would be there and then she was going to have to fight her attraction for him—especially when she knew how powerful being in his arms felt.

CHAPTER SIX

JT paced the back of the cafe, kicking at gravel, waiting for Charlotte to exit the building. He never should have gone inside. He was sure Cara probably wondered what was going on. Then, Charlotte refused to even look at him—like he’d become some kind of pariah. All because they’d had sex. Boy, did that make him feel as if she’d used him for her own pleasure, then tossed him aside.

Maybe karma was coming back to bite him in the ass.

A slamming door brought him to attention.

Charlotte came around the corner and stopped dead when she saw him. She glanced over her shoulder, then looked back.

Was she afraid someone would see them together? Hell,
he
should be concerned about that, especially if anyone working for Terran came along. He didn’t want to break his cover.

JT signaled to the alley and entered, hoping she’d follow. In the shadows he waited, relieved when she came toward him.

“We are going to get caught together,” she said once she was close and out of earshot of anyone. The way she stood with her hands planted firmly on her hips indicated her annoyance with him.

“After last night, I don’t trust Terran not to try something. I have a friend coming into town today to keep an eye on you when I can’t. Then we won’t have to worry about being seen together.” JT hadn’t meant for those last words to come out so sharply, but it cut deep that she didn’t like being around him after what happened.

Too bad she hadn’t felt the same way last night, instead of boldly eying his crotch. As far as he was concerned, she’d initiated everything and now she acted as if she was too good to be seen with him. That in itself pissed JT off.

“I need to go get groceries. I’ll meet you at the house.” She turned to leave.

“Charlotte,” he said in a stern voice.

She whirled back to him. “I’ll be all right. There will be plenty of people around. Okay?”

The tears clouding her eyes didn’t get past him. Her obvious pain stopped JT from denying the request.

“I’ll see you later.” He walked away. Why should he care what happened to Charlotte Delaney? Taking care of her wasn’t the job he’d been sent here to do anyway. He was in town to get to William Terran, and that’s what he intended to focus on. Not some widow who just happened to fuck him and then have the nerve to be embarrassed by it.

JT jumped into his pickup and started the engine. The clock on the dash said it was almost seven. Zack would be here soon, and Charlotte would no longer be his concern. His buddy could shadow her every move until Terran was brought to justice. Then JT could leave this rainy-ass region of the country and head south. Charlotte would then become just another notch on his belt. Simple as that.

He slammed the truck into reverse and backed out of the parking spot, headed for his motel. He’d hang out there until Zack showed, then he’d take him to Charlotte’s and be on his way.

The idea suddenly left him with an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of his stomach. What if she shared that luscious body with Zack too?

Anger took hold. For the first time in JT’s life, the idea of another man with a woman he’d been with bothered him.
No, not bothered
. The mere idea filled him with an intense fury he’d never experienced before. Why, he was too afraid to analyze.

* * *

Charlotte toted the grocery bags to the kitchen and placed them on the countertop. Nothing seemed to keep her mind off the one thing she wanted to avoid: JT and their night together. She needed to forget it ever happened, but unfortunately she couldn’t. It was too powerful to push away.

A knock at the door had her heart skipping a beat. Probably JT and his friend. Was she ready to see him again?

She trudged to the front of the house, then unlocked and opened the door, surprised to find William standing on her porch.

She swallowed hard, hoping she didn’t look as terrified as she felt.

“I need to talk to you.” He charged inside the house before she could stop him.

Her hand tightened around the knob. She was afraid to close the door.

“I’m not going to bite, Charlotte.” His eyes focused on her hand.

Reluctantly she closed the door. Now she wished she hadn’t sent JT away. What if he tried to hurt her? Would she be able to get away?

“I wanted to apologize for being so harsh with you yesterday. I have no real excuse. I was disappointed that you said no. I guess I’m not used to hearing those words from anyone. I know you miss Shaun. We all do.”

Charlotte’s gut coiled with anger. How dare he say that to her when he was the reason Shaun wasn’t here.

“I don’t want to rehash this, William. I’m just not ready to marry you. Even if it’s to save the cafe. It wouldn’t feel right.”

“I understand that. I came here to offer you another option.”

Charlotte stared at him, noting the prominent circles under his eyes. Clearly he hadn’t gotten any sleep either.

“What do you mean?”

“I want to offer you a partnership in another way.”

Her eyes narrowed in on his. “What other way is there?”

“I’ll give you thirty-thousand dollars, and I’ll take thirty-percent ownership of Lettie’s.”

Charlotte couldn’t believe what he was offering. A loan was one thing, but to take partial ownership was another—especially since it was him. She didn’t want to be linked to William Terran in any way. Not when he very likely killed her husband.

“I’ll need to think about this.”

His jaw slacked. “What’s to think about? You’d still have complete control over the day to day running of the cafe. It’s a win, win situation, Charlotte.”

Yeah, if it was anyone but you
.

“Look, William, I have groceries going bad on the kitchen counter. Let’s talk about this tomorrow. I’m too tired right now to think clearly.” She caught a glimpse of anger in his eyes, but it quickly disappeared. Did he know about JT being in her house last night? Did he assume they shared what they had? Was he upset about that?

“All right. I have to go out of town for a few days, but when I get back, I’ll expect an answer.”

Charlotte nodded, only to get him to leave. She didn’t plan to see him again if she could help it. Knowing what he’d done made it too hard. Hopefully JT and his friend could find the proof Shaun had on William so the man would be arrested. Then the next time she’d have to see his face would be in a courtroom.

She opened the door. “Have a safe trip,” she said, holding back the bile working up her throat. Being cordial made her physically ill. But she wanted him to go without stirring his suspicions.

Outside, he turned back to her. “I’m offering you a way to save Lettie’s that we could both live with. You need to seriously think about this.”

“I will.” She closed the door in his face. One more minute in his presence, and she was afraid she’d lose it.

She bolted and chained the door, then headed back to the kitchen.

What was the man up to? Why would he want to own a portion of Lettie’s? What would he have to gain by it? As far as he knew the place was losing money.

Maybe he wanted a key to get inside
?