Be With Me(27)

She pulled away, her eyes glazed with the same passion that burned inside him. Her mouth was swol en, a temptation that beckoned to him.

He cupped her cheek and ran his thumb over her lips. She opened her mouth and sucked the tip inside the warm, moist haven. He groaned, whisper-soft, at the image of her sucking at his finger. It was too easy to imagine her lips surrounding his cock, coaxing him deeper.

“We should go,” he said hoarsely.

She slowly let go of his thumb, and he let his hand drop to his side. She turned and he put his hand at her back to guide her from the bedroom.

Chapter 11

Dusk was fal ing when Cam pulled up to the house and parked. Sawyer drove in beside him, and they both got out.

Cam looked over to see Hutch’s truck parked and Birdie’s car gone. He reached into the back of his SUV for a suitcase then slammed the door shut.

“Let’s get al the office shit tomorrow,” Cam said as he walked around the front to where Sawyer stood.

“Yeah, good idea. I’m looking forward to a cold beer.”

They mounted the steps, and Cam reached for the doorknob, only to find the door locked. He frowned and reached for the keys he’d shoved into his pocket.

“Hutch getting paranoid on us?” Sawyer said dryly.

Cam inserted the key and turned it. He opened the door, shoved his suitcase inside and set it down in the foyer. As he and Sawyer walked in, he glanced into the living room to see Hutch sitting on the couch.

The television was on, but the sound was way down.

He walked farther in, and it was then that he saw Reggie lying on the couch, her head on Hutch’s lap.

Hutch’s hand was resting in Reggie’s curls, and she was fast asleep.

“Drugged her again?” Sawyer asked in an amused voice.

Hutch didn’t smile. There was a darkness to his expression that Cam didn’t like. Sawyer caught it too. Hutch held up a finger to his lips then nodded to the chairs beside the couch.

Sawyer slouched into the first armchair, and Cam settled on the couch at Reggie’s feet. He slid his hand up the leg of her sweats to rest just below her knee.

“What’s going on, Hutch?” he asked.

Sawyer leaned forward in his chair, his elbows propped on his legs, his fingers forming a vee at his mouth.

“Someone broke into the house while we were gone,” Hutch said in a low voice.

“What the f**k?” Sawyer immediately turned his head away to staunch the outburst then turned back again. “What?” he asked in a quieter voice.

“Reggie stashed Birdie in the upstairs closet and went after him with one of your basebal bats.”

“Christ,” Cam muttered.

“It’s worse,” Hutch said. He looked at both Cam and Sawyer. “They think it might be the same guy who attacked her the other night.”

“Who is they, and why would they think that?” Sawyer demanded.

Hutch scowled. “I spoke to Jeremy after Birdie took Reggie home to get her gun.”

Cam shook his head then dug his fingers into his hair. He could feel the beginnings of a headache plaguing him.

“Start over. I’m confused. Someone broke in.

Cops show up and think it’s the guy who attacked Reggie the other night, and she went home to get her gun?”

Hutch nodded. “In a nutshel .”

Sawyer gave Hutch a look of understanding. “She held out on us, didn’t she?”

“Yeah. She did.”

“You going to fil us in then?” Cam asked.

“Jeremy said they think it’s personal, that Reggie was the intended target, not the woman the attacker kil ed. Apparently he cal ed her Reggie, which is something no one but us cal s her. While he had his hands wrapped around her neck intending to strangle her, he told her that it was ‘time to make him pay.’”

“Son of a bitch,” Sawyer growled.

“Do they know anything else?” Cam asked.

“Al Jeremy said was that they think it’s possible it could have something to do with her father.

Politicians attract nutjobs with agendas. Maybe he doesn’t agree with Peter Fal on’s politics. Who the f**k knows. But they think he was the one who broke in today. No fingerprints. Just shoe prints outside that match the ones at the murder scene from the other night.”

“And we left her here with only Birdie for protection,” Cam said in disgust.

“Where is Birdie now?” Sawyer demanded.

Hutch turned to look at Sawyer. “She’s at home.

Reggie’s department and the county guys are alternating patrols by her house. She lives just a block from the chief, so he’l be looking in on her too.

I wanted her to come out here, but she insisted on going home.”

“I’l cal her in a little while to check in on her,” Sawyer said. “And I’l run by there tomorrow morning to make sure her security system is working properly.”

Cam nodded. “That’s a good idea. We need to think about beefing things up around here. Obviously we can’t leave Reggie alone again. Not if this ass**le is stalking her.”

He glanced down at Reggie again then frowned when he noticed the brace around her wrist was gone. Hutch fol owed the line of his gaze.

“She irritated it wielding that bat,” Hutch explained.