Hot Secrets (Tall, Dark & Deadly #1)(52)

Royce hung up and shouted, “Lauren!” To hell with caution. Blake was right. If there really was a bomb, time was everything. He was halfway to her office when he paused, hearing a muffled pounding noise.

“Lauren!”

More pounding. He ran towards the noise, and then, thank God, he was at the bathroom door and heard the sweet sound of her voice. “Royce! I’m in here! Help. Please, help me.”

“I’m here, baby. I’m here.”

“Oh God, thank you. The door is stuck and my phone won’t work and”

“But you’re okay?” he asked, his gaze catching on the wooden doorstop jammed in the door.

“Yes. Yes. Now that you’re here.”

He yanked out the wedge and tossed it, pulling open the door. Lauren fell into his arms and clung to him as if he was her lifeline. Wrapping his arms around her, he hugged her, saying a silent thank you and kissing her. “Let’s get out of here.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her with him, his gun still at his side.

“What’s happening?” she asked from behind him. “What’s going on?”

“Bomb threat,” he said, pulling open the door again and inspecting the path before pushing her in ahead of him. “In other words, run, don’t walk down.” He followed her, ready for a strike from behind.

***

Luke was standing inside the yellow line, talking to an official when he saw Julie shoving through the crowd, desperately trying to get to him. “Luke! Luke!”

“I’ll be back,” he said to the cop, heading to the tape to meet her, the pale pink of her fall jacket flaring behind her.

“Tell me she’s okay,” she pleaded, grabbing his arm. The touch sent that familiar punch to his gut that he’d always felt when she touched him, magnified by about ten because he knew Lauren was all she had, because he knew how scared she was.

“Royce went in after her,” he said. “She’ll be okay.”

“Oh, God. So she really is still inside? They said there might be a bomb. Please tell me she isn’t in there with a bomb.”

“They just located it on the roof,” he said. “A team’s already tearing it down.”

“But it’s still live and she’s still in there?” Her hand tightened on his arm. “Please tell me they already disarmed it.”

“She’ll be fine,” he said, praying that was true, on edge himself about Royce getting the hell out himself. “He’ll get her out, if she’s even in there. If you want to help, search the crowd.”

“I have,” she said, swiping at a long lock of blond hair covering her face, her hand shaking. “I tried. I’ve looked. No one has seen her.” She inhaled and let it out. “I don’t… I can’t lose her.”

The vulnerability in her gave him another kick to the gut. He knew better than anyone, besides maybe Lauren, that Julie hid everything behind sex, sin, and a fa?ade of cool, all of which were gone now.

“Hey,” he said, bending under the tape to stand closer to her. “You won’t.” He reached up and slid the wayward hair in her eyes behind her ear. “You won’t lose her.”

They stared at each other, the past between them, the passion, the connection, and yes, even the bad goodbye, sizzling into awareness.

Her perfect pink lips parted, then, “Luke, I… we…”

A loud commotion erupted and they both turned to the building to find Royce and Lauren running towards them. Julie took at step towards the tape, but then stopped and blinked up at Luke. Then, to his surprise, she pushed to her toes, and pressed her lips to his. “Thank you,” she whispered and then ducked under the tape to run towards Lauren.

Luke watched her embrace Lauren, savoring her taste on his lips, her scent on his skin while he did. And he knew right then that the wall he’d just seen come down had to fall again, and this time for good… and for him.





Chapter Twenty





Hours later, when the bomb was disabled and she’d answered a million and one questions from law enforcement, Lauren walked into Royce’s apartment, exhausted as the rush of adrenaline slid away. Royce tossed his keys on a small table by the door and Lauren kicked off her heels, heading for the couch where she collapsed, thankful that her offices were closed the next day. Thankful that the trial would finally be ramping up for jury selection soon, and she could get this behind her.

Royce shoved the coffee table away and went down on his knees in front of her. “We have to talk, Lauren.”

“Not the talk thing again,” she said, sitting up to rest her hands on his chest. “It’s never good and I can’t deal with any more bad right now.”

“Plead the case.”

“What?” she asked, trying to scoot away from him. “No. You said you supported what I do and why I do it.” She tried to scoot away from him.

He closed his hands on her hips and held her. “I do, but there is a time when everyone in law enforcement makes a decision, for the safety of everyone involved. This is one of those times.”

“This is going to go public,” she said. “Too many people know what is going on after today. That means the public will know a plea is caving to intimidation. What message does that send about our system? And it invites copycats. I’ll be a target and make other people targets.”