Fury on Fire (Devil's Rock #3)(47)

It wasn’t enough. It wouldn’t be enough until they were melding into one. Until he was in her so deep—

Paper towels started to fall around them. He broke away, coming up for air.

She stared at him with wide, glazed eyes, her mouth inching back toward him, after more.

He reached out to stroke her pretty bottom lip, swollen and damp. “You still lying to yourself now?”

She blinked, the glazed look leaving her eyes like clearing smoke. Her hands worked, shoving between them, red splotches breaking out all over her face as she launched him away from her like he was some kind of poison and not the man she had been kissing for all she was worth moments ago.

Her eyes shone wetly, brimming with angry emotion as she sputtered, “Don’t touch—”

“I won’t. Never again.” His voice was hard with finality as he looked at her, standing before him, her face flushed, her lips still mocking him, begging for him to pick right back up where they’d just ended. “Forget I live next door. Forget you even have a neighbor.”

He stood back and looked at her solemnly, letting his words sink in. For her. For him. She appeared a little shell-shocked as she held his gaze. But still mad. Still furious. Angry fire shot from her eyes. Good. Better this than her looking at him like he was something worthwhile. In the back of his mind, he had started to feel almost normal; he’d started to think he could have a normal life. It was a necessary wake-up call. There was no normal for him.

Turning away, he grasped the bar of his cart in a white-knuckled grip and left her standing in the aisle.



Home was still the last place he wanted to be. Bumping into Faith at the store only reaffirmed that.

He stayed only long enough to drop off his groceries. Sticking the cold stuff in the fridge, he exchanged glares with his empty walls before pushing off the counter. “Forget this,” he muttered to himself.

Grabbing his keys, he hopped back in his truck. Without thinking about it, he found himself pulling into the gravel parking lot surrounding Joe’s Cabaret.

For midweek the place was hopping. He stepped inside the smoke-laden space to the raucous cheers of patrons waving money for a pair of dancers dressed like pink bunnies.

He assessed the crowd in one sweep. He spotted Piper weaving through tables. She looked harried even with a smile etched onto her face. Her big doe eyes looked tired with shadows underneath them. He knew Cruz hated that she had to work so hard, but there was little else she could do with no parents around, a brother in prison and a fourteen-year-old sister to raise. With her day job and picking up shifts here at night, she was burning the candle at both ends.

Her face lit up when she spotted him. She waved him toward a vacant table near the back. Naturally, all the tables near the stage were occupied. Fine by him. He wasn’t here to stuff money in G-strings.

He seated himself with his back to the wall, settling in until Piper could get to him.

He was still waiting when the main door opened again and an officer stepped inside, the dark blue of his uniform with its glinting brass bits unmistakable. There was a noticeable shift in the air as everyone became aware of the new arrival. He stepped deeper into the room. The red stage lights cast him in a glow and revealed his face. North released a low, mirthless chuckle.

Why the hell not? He’d already run into one Walters sibling tonight. Why not toss in another one? Maybe Tucker Walters would show up, too.

Sheriff Hale Walters slowly navigated the room. Several of the waitresses and dancers eyed him and it wasn’t out of trepidation. North guessed it didn’t hurt that the guy had the kind of face women liked. Not that he was any judge, but if the girls who worked at Joe’s—the girls who saw men all day long in every shape, size and flavor—were eyeing him, then he was better than average. He was impressive. Taller than North at several inches over six feet and built like a tank. North recalled that when he was in high school Hale Walters basically was the Sweet Hill football team’s defensive line.

As it became clear that he wasn’t there to break up the fun, the customers relaxed and resumed their catcalls. North kept his gaze fixed on Walters.

Eventually, the sheriff came to stand before him. “Callaghan,” he greeted.

He dropped his head back. Damn, Faith’s brother was a big bastard. “Looking for me?”

“How’d you guess?”

“Well, you found me.” He didn’t even want to consider how the guy tracked him down. He’d either followed him or had an APB out for him. He wouldn’t put such things past him. The man had power and influence. Enough to make North’s life very complicated. He wouldn’t forget that. “Surprised it took you this long. You could have just knocked on my door.”

“I thought it was a good idea for us to have a little talk someplace . . . neutral.” And by neutral he meant someplace where his sister wouldn’t see him hounding North. “I would have come sooner, but I was hoping to convince my sister that she needed to move.” He shrugged one shoulder. “Faith is headstrong. She believes in second chances.” He lowered himself into the chair across from North. “But you and I have been around. We’ve seen the worst that life has to offer. We aren’t so optimistic. Are we?”

North stared long and hard at the man across from him. “You and I have nothing in common. Sheriff.” This last he added with a touch of force, spitting the word off his tongue as though he didn’t like the taste of it. He’d had enough exposure to lawmen to last him the rest of his life. The fact that he now lived next door to the sheriff’s sister was a major point of discontent. He was leading a law-abiding life. He shouldn’t have to deal with the man.