Forged in Desire (The Protectors #1)(102)

Striker captured her mouth in a kiss that held so much love and promise. He didn’t know that he could love a woman this much. At first the thought had been scary. Now it was wonderful.

When he released her mouth, he whispered against her wet lips, “I love you so much, Margo.”

“And I love you.”

He smiled before sweeping her into his arms and standing. “Now for your bath.”

“Will you join me?”

“That’s my plan,” he said, heading up the stairs. “I don’t intend to let you out of my sight for a while.”

She smiled, tightening her arms around his neck. “Trust me, I have no problem with that. Like I said earlier, I want you for my forever-protector.”

“Baby, you got me.”





CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

DR. RANDI FULLER glanced up at the knock on her door. “Come in.”

She smiled when Detective Ingram walked in. She was still baffled at the vibes she got whenever she was around the detective. She’d gotten the same vibes that night when she’d met Margo Connelly. For some reason that she didn’t quite understand, her subconscious was saying that over the span of their lives the three of them would become the best of friends. She definitely couldn’t understand the logic in that.

First of all, she’d met Margo Connelly that one time and didn’t expect to ever see her again. And second, unless she returned to Charlottesville to work on another case, there was no reason her path would cross with Detective Ingram’s either. Besides, as a rule, she’d made it a point not to have close female friends due to an incident that had happened while she was in college. Her older sister, Haywood, was all she needed. Randi considered Haywood her best friend and confidante. And then there was her mom, Jenna. She and her mother had always had a close relationship. In fact, she was close to both her parents. Very few people knew she was the daughter of world-renowned defense attorney Randolph Fuller.

“I was hoping to see you before you left, Dr. Fuller. It’s been quite a day and one of the cases I worked involved Margo Connelly again.”

“What happened?”

Detective Ingram spent the next ten minutes telling her what had gone down at Margo Connelly’s home. “I’m glad Ms. Connelly is okay,” Dr. Fuller said.

“So am I. It’s bad enough to have one person out to get you, but to have two others at the same time is crazy. I think she might need a full-time bodyguard.”

“It certainly sounds like it.”

“And I guess you heard about the medical examiner’s report regarding Erickson’s death,” Detective Ingram said.

Randi nodded. “Yes. According to the coroner, Erickson had been dead a good two hours before Small’s visit.”

“Yes. So that means Small wasn’t the one who killed him.”

“Any leads as to who did?” Randi asked.

Detective Ingram shook her head. “Not a one. The FBI will have their hands full trying to figure this one out. Even the security cameras where Erickson’s cell was located had been tampered with. We know it was an inside job, but by whom? Rumor has it that the mob replaced Erickson and it was decided that he would never leave prison alive.”

Randi nodded again. “That doesn’t surprise me. Erickson knew too much about the mob’s business.”

“I wonder who’s in control now.”

Randi smiled. “I hope you don’t think that I know. And in case you’re wondering, I also don’t have a clue as to who killed Erickson. Usually victims come back to me wanting justice, but I doubt Erickson will. We didn’t hit it off, and I warned him he would die before me.”

“You did?”

“Yes. It was after he made a few veiled threats during our one-on-one meeting,” Randi said, “although, at the time, I had no idea his life would end so soon.”

“And now the mystery of Erickson’s death is another murder to be solved.”

“And it will be.”

Detective Ingram glanced around. “Need help with anything?”

“No. I’m just packing up a few things. I wasn’t here that long.”

“But you were effective, and we appreciate it. So, you’re headed back to Richmond?”

Randi had shared that much with the detective. “Yes, I leave in the morning. I’ll be home only for a day or two and then I’m leaving again. To come back here, I canceled plans for a short visit to an island off of South Carolina. I plan to finally go there and spend at least two weeks doing nothing.”

“What will you be doing later tonight? A gentleman friend of mine and I are grabbing a few beers and chips after work if you want to join us.”

“Stonewall Courson?”

Surprise lit Detective Ingram’s eyes and then she smiled. “Yes. How did you know?”

Randi chuckled. “I don’t need psychic powers to figure that out. I saw your reaction at the cabin when you saw him race into the burning cabin to help save his friend.”

Detective Ingram ran a few fingers through her hair, and Randi found the gesture telling. “Due to both our jobs, we’ve only had time to talk on the phone, text and meet to grab a few beers. We have our first official date this weekend.”

“Good for you and thanks for the invite, but I’ll bow out. I need to get back to the hotel and start packing if I want to be on the road first thing in the morning to avoid any rush-hour traffic.”