Rock Chick Renegade (Rock Chick #4)(86)

Silence.

“Luke?” I called when the silence stretched.

“Good male role models?” Luke asked. I could tell by his tone he thought that was funny.

“Can I bring them or what?” I snapped, losing patience.

“Don’t be late.”

I guessed that was a yes.

Roam and Sniff walked into the offices trying to be cool but I was right, they couldn’t hide it, I knew they were impressed.

I walked into the office scared to death I’d run into Vance.

Dawn smiled at me sweet-as-pie and informed me Vance was not in the building.

Bitch.

Then Roam and Sniff watched me get my ass kicked by Luke and they’d laughed themselves stupid. I told myself when their eyes weren’t closed with laughter they probably learned something so it was worth it.

After training, I took Roam and Sniff out for burgers then back to the Shelter then I went home to Boo and listened to him complain about my constant absence. Mostly I ignored him.

I took a shower, dressed in my take-on-the night uniform (my new burgundy cords; black belt; black cowboy boots; black, stretchy, tight, long-sleeved tee; and black leather blazer). I waited for Vance to break in, say he wasn’t going to let me go (like Eddie had done to Jet and apparently Hank had done to Roxie and also Lee had done to Indy).

No Vance.

I told myself this was good. I didn’t believe myself and was beginning to think myself was a big, fat moron.

Luke picked me up. We drove around for two hours, doing mostly nothing and saying absolutely nothing (Luke, I found, wasn’t a big conversationalist). We stopped a couple of times so I could talk to some kids and that was it.

* * * * *

At my door I pulled my keys out of my pocket.

Luke pulled my keys out of my hand.

“What the…?” I started but with a Super Dude super-door-unlocking-power he was already pushing open my door. When he was inside, he turned to my alarm and punched in a code.

“How do you know my code?” I asked, coming in behind him.

He threw my keys on my chaise and walked into the house. “Everyone knows your code,” he told me, still walking across the living room.

I stared at his back.

So much for my life going back to normal.

I closed the door, turned on a lamp and followed him. I saw the light go on in the kitchen and heard Boo talking to Luke.

Luke was making himself at home and opening a bottle of Fat Tire beer when I arrived. Boo was asking him who the hell he thought he was and also could he spare a few kitty treats for a poor, abused house cat?

“What are you doing?” I asked as he leaned his h*ps against the counter and took a pull off the beer.

“Havin’ a beer,” he answered when he was done swallowing.

“I can see you’re having a beer. Why are you having a beer?”

“I’m thirsty.”

Oh for goodness sakes.

“Luke. It’s late. I’m tired. I’ve just been bored out of my mind. I don’t even know what patrol is, all I know is, so far, field work sucks.”

“Field work is the business.”

“My business is plastic wrap and canola oil,” I told him.

After I was done with my statement he gave me one of his half-grins and I realized what I said sounded like.

“Go home,” I ordered, deciding to get snippy instead of blush.

“If you’re worried Vance can see us on the cameras, don’t. He’s after a skip.”

With everything that happened, I’d forgotten about the cameras.

I did a mental review of my time in the house without Vance and realized with relief I’d been clothed through all of it and hadn’t done anything embarrassing like dance around singing “Sir Duke” with Stevie Wonder (which I was prone to do).

I decided to ignore the cameras, for now. “A skip?”

“Someone who skipped bond. Vance is in Wyoming.”

For some strange reason knowing that and finding out from Luke slid in deep like a knife to the chest and it hurt like hell.

He pushed away from the counter, index and middle fingers around the neck of the bottle, and walked up to me, like Vance did, overpowering and right in my space.

Then he put the hand not holding the beer to my neck, thumb at my jaw. I had no idea what he was up to but I stood my ground, head-crackin’ mamma jamma that I was, no retreat.

I rethought my decision when I looked in his face.

This was not badass, Super Dude Luke. His look was gentle and if he was kickass hot normally, gentle would have taken me to a serious Grade Three belly flutter if I wasn’t hung up on Vance.

“He shouldn’t have f**ked a virgin,” Luke said to me.

Oh my God.

Any hint of a belly flutter disappeared. Mace had heard the cherry popping discussion and talked.

I tried to jerk my head away but his fingers tightened around the back of my neck and I felt the warmth of his body as he got closer, way closer but still not quite touching me with his body.

“Nothin’ to be embarrassed about, Jules.” His voice was soft.

“Maybe you should go home now,” I suggested, deciding he was wrong. There was indeed something to be embarrassed about but I didn’t want to have this discussion with him (or anyone for that matter).

“It’s sweet as hell and every f**kin’ guy at the office wished they’d gone after you and trapped you in that alley after you shot out Cordova’s tires. Including me.”