The Girl Who Cried Wolf (3 page)

Chapter Two

As she leaned into downward dog beside Becka in yoga class the next day, Kat decided that last night hadn’t been a complete waste in Operation Get Reese Back. While he might not have believed her story about someone following her home, he’d definitely been worried about her safety. She could use that to her advantage. But how could she make him think she was in danger without him getting suspicious? She wasn’t going to get away with saying some random guy followed her home from yoga. Reese’d never buy that.

Kat wanted to ask Becka if she had any ideas, but figured she’d better not. Her friend already thought she was crazy where Reese was concerned. She was on her own with this one.

Unfortunately, she still hadn’t come up with anything by the time she got home. Tossing her bag and yoga mat on the floor, she grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge, then flopped down on the couch. Her gaze wandered to the door as she drank. The easiest thing would be to pretend someone had tried to break in while she was out.

She chewed on her lower lip, considering that. Since she’d never done any breaking and entering, she wasn’t sure how to go about it. Smashing the window was the obvious choice, but that would be too noisy. Not to mention expensive. Maybe she could jimmy the lock.

Setting her bottle of water on the coffee table, she went into the kitchen to grab a butter knife from the drawer. A screwdriver would be better, but she didn’t have one, so this would have to do.

Opening the door, she took a quick look around to make sure no one was around, then stepped outside. Closing the door, she shoved the tip of the knife in the lock and wiggled it around, making sure to leave obvious scratches on the metal. She wasn’t sure if that would be enough to convince Reese someone had tried to break in, so she dug the knife into the wood between the door and the jamb. By the time she was done, she had to admit she was impressed with her handiwork. The lock looked suitably scratched up and she’d even managed to chip off some of the doorjamb. Looking around again to make sure no one had seen her, she ducked inside.

Kat dug her cell phone out of her purse to call Reese, but then hesitated. That might only make him suspicious. Maybe she should call her brother. Dylan would tell Reese, and Reese would immediately come over to see if she was okay. Unless Dylan assured him she was safe and sound, of course. That wasn’t going to work.

Crap
.

She was simply going to have to do what every other person did, and call 9-1-1. The dispatch operator would send a uniform cop out to take a report, who would immediately tell her brother what had happened. She hoped.

Half an hour later, two police officers knocked on her door. Unfortunately, she didn’t recognize either of them. So much for word getting back to her brother.

As she told them about coming home from yoga to find the lock like that, she couldn’t help feeling a little twinge of guilt. She was filing a false police report. That was a crime. But it was for a good cause.

“I’m going to need you information for the report,” the taller of the two men said as she led the way back into the living room.

“Of course,” she said, supplying him with her name and phone number when he asked for them.

“Sinclair.” He looked up from his notepad. “Any relation to Dylan Sinclair?”

“He’s my brother,” she said, then quickly added, “Please don’t tell him about this. Dylan’s really overprotective. If he found out someone tried to break into my apartment, he’d insist I move. I really love this place.”

The officer regarded her in silence, as if considering that, then gave her a smile. “We won’t say anything.”

But the look he exchanged with his partner told her he was going to tell her brother everything.

Sure enough, Dylan showed up at her apartment twenty minutes after they left. Her pulse skipped a beat when she saw that Reese was with him.

“Dylan, hey.” She stepped back so Reese and her brother could come inside. “What’s up?”

Dylan swept the apartment with his gaze. Though they were brother and sister, other than having the same blue eyes, they didn’t look much alike. Whereas she was petite with blonde hair and a smattering of freckles across her nose, Dylan was tall with dark hair, a square jaw and absolutely no trace of freckles on his not-quite-straight nose.

“I got a call from a uniform saying someone tried to break into your apartment this morning,” her brother said. “Why didn’t you call me?”

She tucked her long hair behind her ear with a shrug. “I didn’t think it was a big deal. Whoever it was didn’t actually break in and take anything.”

Kat glanced at Reese out of the corner of her eye. There was a mix of suspicion and concern in his dark eyes. Like he thought she was making it up, but he wasn’t sure. The fact that she’d filed a police report should be more than enough to convince him she was telling the truth. If she was lucky, he’d offer to stop by frequently to check on her.

“Any chance the person who tried to break in might be someone you?” her brother asked, bringing her attention back to him.

She frowned. “Why would someone I know try to break into my apartment?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe it was an ex-boyfriend you had a bad break-up with.” His eyes narrowed. “Who’ve you been seeing lately anyway? You haven’t mentioned anyone.”

Kat ignored the warning glance Reese sent her way. “I’ve been really busy at work, so I haven’t gone out with anyone in a while. And I’m still friends with the few guys I dated before that.”

It was Dylan’s turn to frown. “I’ll get a crime scene team over here to check for prints and send out a couple uniforms to canvas the neighborhood. Until we find whoever did this, I don’t want you staying here.”

She blinked. She hadn’t expected that. “Why?”

“Because the guy who tried to break in could come back, Jellybean. Until we find him, you’ll stay at my place.”

Kat stared at her brother. Oh hell, that wasn’t going to work at all. She’d never get a chance to work on Reese with her brother hanging around. And why did he have to call her by that silly nickname in front of her boyfriend? Because he didn’t know Reese was her boyfriend, that’s why. Even then, he’d probably still call her that.

“But Brynn just moved in?”

Dylan shrugged at the mention of his girlfriend. “So? You two get along great.”

“I know, but…” She bit her lip, trying to come up with a good excuse as to why she couldn’t stay with her brother. “Dylan, you two just moved in together. You don’t need your little sister hanging around. I can stay with Becka.”

Her brother shook his head. “No. If this guy is targeting you, I want you somewhere safer than that.” He glanced at Reese. “Is it okay if she stays with you?”

Kat blinked. She had to remember to get Dylan a little something extra for Christmas because that was one heck of a fantastic idea. Would Reese go for it, though? He probably wouldn’t be thrilled with the idea, especially after last night. But he couldn’t very well tell her brother that, not without going into detail about their relationship.

She snuck a glance a Reese under her lashes. His jaw was clenched so tight she thought his teeth might crack.

He absolutely hated the idea. She knew he would.

Dylan frowned. “That’s not a problem, is it?”

“No.” Reese’s voice was surprisingly even. “No problem at all.”

Dylan nodded. “Go pack, Jellybean. Reese and I will wait for you.”

Kat could barely hide her smile as she slipped past Reese and headed for the bedroom. This was working out even better than she’d hoped. Reese couldn’t possibly avoid her while she was staying at his place. Once she started working her feminine wiles on him, he wouldn’t stand a chance.

* * * * *

Reese had doubts that someone had tried to break into Kat’s apartment, but he didn’t know for sure. What if she was telling the truth? The lock on her door had looked pretty beat up. But considering the stunt she’d pulled last night, he wouldn’t be surprised if she’d done that herself. On the other hand, he didn’t want to think she’d go so far as to file a false police report. But dammit, he just didn’t know. Before last night, he couldn’t see her making up a story about a guy following her home from some club, either, but he was pretty sure she had.

As he drove home that evening, Reese groaned when he thought of her waiting for him back at his apartment. He couldn’t believe it when Dylan had come up with the idea. He’d had no choice but to agree. If he refused, Dylan would have wanted to know why, and then what would he have said? That he thought Kat was making the whole thing up?

Shit
.

He tightened his grip on the steering wheel. He’d been so fucking stupid to get involved with her. She was his best friend’s sister for crying out loud. For a while, he thought he and Kat could be friends, just like Dylan thought they were. They had been friends, really good friends. Right up to the point where he realized that with the sprinkling of freckles across her nose, great smile and beautiful, blue eyes, she wasn’t just cute anymore—she was gorgeous. And had a smoking hot body to match.

He’d figured out he was in serious trouble when he started daydreaming about her. Not about hanging out at the movies, either. Instead, he had high-def fantasies about taking his partner’s sister to bed.

He’d fought against it, God knew. Maybe he would have succeeded in keeping things platonic if Kat didn’t let him know she felt the same way about him. Before he knew it, they were dating, then sleeping together. And he was in completely over his head. He’d fallen fast and hard, and there’d been no turning back.

Then Dylan had stopped by his apartment one weekend when Kat was there. Thankfully, it had been early so Kat had still been asleep. It was only by pure chance his partner hadn’t seen her. The realization that he might have had been enough to finally shock some sense into Reese, though. He’d decided right then and there that their relationship couldn’t continue, and that he was going to have to put an end to it.

Reese hadn’t broken things off with her because he was afraid Dylan was going to kick his ass—something which he deserved. He’d done it because he and Dylan were friends. And friends didn’t sleep with their friend’s sister. Especially when that friend made it clear he didn’t want his little sister dating a cop.

It wasn’t that Dylan thought cops weren’t good enough. But being a cop was dangerous, and he didn’t want Kat getting her heart broken if something happened to her boyfriend in the line of duty. Reese understood and respected that. His own father was a retired cop. He remembered the endless nights his mom had stayed awake worrying about his dad. She’d been lucky. Not every cop’s wife was.

The only problem was that Kat hung out with a lot of Dylan’s friends, which meant that the chances of her dating a cop had been pretty good. Dylan worked overtime keeping them at bay, and he expected Reese to help him. If he knew Reese had been sleeping with her, he’d consider it a betrayal of the worst kind.

Still, Reese would have been willing to risk Dylan’s wrath if he was the only one who’d get hurt. But he had Kat to think of. Dylan would never lift a hand to her, but he’d be furious with her, and Reese didn’t want to do anything to ruin her relationship with her brother.

So, Reese had told Kat it was over. Breaking up with her had been one of the hardest and most painful things he’d ever done, and knowing how much he’d hurt her was almost more than he could take. But it had been the right thing to do.

He swore under his breath. Having her stay with him for a couple of days was going to be complete and utter torture. Especially since Kat was undoubtedly going to do everything in her power to get him to take her to bed again. He didn’t even want to think about how easily he’d given in last night. If she was running around in something skimpy when he got home, he didn’t know how he was going to be able to resist her.

He supposed he could always spank her again. He bit back a groan. He didn’t know which one of them had been more surprised when he’d dragged her over his knee last night. He’d never spanked a woman in his life, but she was being so damn stubborn, it had seemed like the most natural thing in the world. Though considering the little good spanking her had done, tanning her ass again would probably be a waste of time. Not that he wouldn’t enjoy it. The way Kat had squirmed and wiggled around on his lap had gotten him so hard it was all he could do not to bend her over the back of the couch, flip up that short, sexy robe she was wearing and bury himself inside her.

Pulling into his parking space, Reese stifled another groan as he pulled into his parking space outside his apartment building. Yeah, giving Kat another spanking was definitely out of the question. He’d simply have a talk with her. Explain to her that just because she was staying with him that didn’t mean they were going to pick up where they’d left off.

Taking a deep breath, he walked up to his apartment and let himself in. The aroma coming from the direction of the kitchen wafted across his nose the moment he opened the door, and he stood in the entryway for a moment, letting himself dream about what it would be like to come home to this every day, to come home to Kat every day.

Fuck
. He had to stop thinking about things that could never be.

Reese walked through the living room where Kat had her iPod playing, and into the kitchen, only to come to an abrupt halt in the doorway. Kat was leaning over checking something in the oven, her long, shapely legs stretched tight, her ass thrust out invitingly, her cheeks peeking out from her tiny, cotton shorts. He tried to look away, to look at anything other than her perfect ass, but his hardening cock wouldn’t let him. He stood in the doorway gazing at her, completely mesmerized.