Burning Seduction (2 page)

Trent nodded to the clerk. “Got something I can tie him up with?” His cuffs were in the cruiser, which was back at the station.

“Sure thing,” the nervous clerk said, hustling out from behind the counter.

Seconds later, the guy handed him a roll of duct tape. With the boy slammed against the counter, Trent managed to secure the thief’s hands. He then stepped away and brandished the perpetrator’s gun at him, hoping the weapon was loaded in case he needed to fire a warning shot. “Don’t move.”

Trent called the precinct and asked for back up. Two units arrived rather quickly, and he could only hope the paperwork would go as fast. He had a party to attend and a certain situation to forget.

*     *     *

Charlotte Hart, Vic’s
twenty-four-year-old daughter, went in search of her father in the kitchen. “Didn’t you say Trent would be here in ten minutes? It’s been forty-five. Do you think we should call him?”

“He’ll be here. He probably got sidetracked. Maybe he had to get a cat out of a tree.”

Charlotte huffed. Her dad never seemed to take her seriously, especially when it came to Trent “That’s not what he does.”

Her dad stepped over to her, enfolded her in his arms, and kissed her forehead. “Don’t worry, he’ll be here.”

Her pulse raced. “Does that mean you’re in favor of me dating him?” Not that Trent had shown much interest or asked her out. Yet.

“You know how your mom and I feel about that. Trent’s job is dangerous.”

“Your job is dangerous, yet Mom came back to you.” So what if her parents had divorced for five years because of her dad’s former FBI gig. Mom and Dad had remarried just last week, and that was all that mattered.

“All I’m saying is be careful. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

His cell rang and excitement raced through her, hoping it might be Trent calling again. “Is that him?”

Dad nodded. “Hey, where are you? Seriously?” Her dad chuckled. “Murphy’s Law, I guess. Get here when you can.” He then disconnected.

“What did he say?”

She probably shouldn’t be so excited, as that would only lead to disappointment. After all, she hadn’t seen him since the Christmas party two months ago. Before that, he’d only called twice after the stalker incident to make sure she wasn’t having a meltdown.

“Apparently, he was delayed by a robbery at a convenience store.”

Charlotte slapped a hand on her chest. “Is he okay?”

“Yup. Your hero was buying some beer and caught the guy. He has to fill out some paperwork and will be here as soon as he can.”

That sucked, but at least he was safe. She should just forget about him. Dad had told Trent that she’d moved to Rock Hard last week, yet he hadn’t made the effort to contact her. She was such a fool, but with a bit of planning, she would change that.

Before she became more upset, the front doorbell rang and a good-looking guy walked in with a food tray in his hand and a six-pack resting on top. Maybe the night wouldn’t be a total loss, after all.

Two of the partygoers greeted the newcomer before he made it six feet. “Who’s that?” she asked her dad, partly needing him to believe she was willing to focus on others.

“That’s Devon Navarro, a cop with the Rock Hard Police Department. We worked together on a case last month. Nice kid. Works hard and is competitive. I think he might go places in the Force if he can keep focused.”

Another cop. Damn. Being new in town, though, it wouldn’t hurt to meet as many people as she could.

Her mom stepped into the kitchen. “Everything okay?”

“Just getting another beer,” her dad said as he slipped a can out of the cooler and escorted her mother back out to the party.

Charlotte picked up a tray of chips and dip to bring out and rushed up to her dad. “By the way, nice going inviting mostly men.”

He wagged a finger at her. “Remember, they’re all in law enforcement.”

That meant they were off limits. She spotted his secretary, Sharon, and a few other women at the party, but most seemed to be attached to a specific man. Charlotte set the tray on the dining room table, but only after moving a few things around to make room for it.

“Hello,” came the deep voice behind her.

She spun around. Whoa. It was Devon, the hot cop with the movie star good looks. “Hi.”

He smiled and she bet there were a lot of broken hearts in town. She held out her hand. “I’m Charlotte Hart.”

He introduced himself. “You Vic’s daughter?”

“The one and only.”

“Awesome. Where should I set this?” He glanced down to his tray.

How nice of him to bring food. She lifted the beer from on top and made room on the table. “Right here.”

“You come down for your dad’s birthday?” His brows pinched. “Didn’t I hear you lived up north?” He slipped the beer from her hands.

Had Trent talked about her? Or had her dad? “I use to live in Kalispell, but I moved here about a week ago.”

His eyes shone. “You going to school here?”

Rock Hard had a good university, and because she was blonde and had a round face, she looked young, but she was twenty-four, not eighteen. “No. I’m opening a branch of an interior design firm that’s based in Kalispell.”

“Wow. You’re a decorator?”

She was pleased he didn’t look down his nose at her. Some men did. “Yes.”

“Cool.” He plucked a beer from the six-pack. “Care for one?”

“Sure. You want to put the others in the fridge?”

“That would be great.” He followed her into the kitchen.

Charlotte had to squish a few things to make room for his drinks. Hopefully, her mom wouldn’t freak that she’d set things on top of each other. “My dad says you two worked together on a case.” She closed the door and faced him.

Devon smiled. “He did?” She nodded. “That was very generous of him. All I did was track down a few leads and make the final arrest of some guy who was harassing your dad’s client.”

“That sounds like you helped a lot.”

“I’d like to think so.” He glanced down for a second, almost as if he wasn’t used to compliments, something she found interesting.

“I know this might sound strange coming from his daughter, but what is my dad like to work with?” It was only a few months ago that she and her dad had reconnected.

His brows rose as he leaned against the kitchen counter and tipped back his beer. “Your dad’s focused and a bulldog. He leaves no stone unturned, so to speak. He’s a stand up guy.”

She liked hearing good things about him. “Cool.”

“You said you were new in town. You like guns?”

That was an odd question. “What do you mean?” She had her concealed weapon’s permit, though she needed to practice more if she had any hope of hitting her target.

“The department is having a sharp shooting competition next weekend. You want to come watch?”

She didn’t dare ask if Trent would be there. When they’d been at his cabin, he’d asked her if she knew how to shoot a gun, and from his attitude, he was quite good.

“Sounds great.” While it wasn’t a date, it might be fun. She had a ton of stuff to do to get ready for her grand opening, but she needed to be involved in the community, too. Referrals were a way of life, though she doubted cops would ever use her service.

Just as Devon finished giving her the details about the time and location, two other good-looking men entered the kitchen.

“There you are, Dev.” The taller of the two slapped him on the back then glanced her way. “Keeping the beautiful ones to yourself like always, I see.” He stuck out his hand. “I’m Mason Everly. I work with Dev.”

She smiled. “Nice meeting you.”

Devon nodded to the other man. “And this is the guy I plan to beat at the competition—Connor Douglas.”

“In your dreams, man.”

The three of them laughed. The strong connection between the men made her miss her friends at home. Her mom claimed Charlotte would make new ones, and she hoped she was right. For now, she’d work hard at her new endeavor and have a good time.

“There you are,” her mom said.

“Need me to do something?”
Please say no.

“Just wanted to let you know Trent’s here.”

Tingles raced through her. Reacting so strongly wasn’t good. Now Charlotte wished she hadn’t confided in her mom about how much she liked him.

Devon slipped a hand around Charlotte’s waist. “Great. Let’s go talk to him.”

She couldn’t tell from his tone if he liked Trent, or if there was some competition between them.

With his warm hand on her back, Devon led her into the living room. The moment she saw Trent, her pulse sped up.
Stay cool
. She was smart enough to know that men enjoyed a woman who was hard to get, so it wouldn’t hurt to have him think she wasn’t all that interested.

But damn, she wasn’t sure she was that good of an actress.

Chapter Two

T
rent’s gaze shot
straight to Charlotte. Holy shit, she looked hotter than when he’d seen her at Christmas, if that was possible. She had on a body hugging sweater dress that accentuated her ample curves, along with booted heels that made her look so sexy. His heart actually pounded. Damn. Her hair was different, too. Instead of keeping it in a ponytail, she’d let it hang past her shoulders, and the blonde waves framed her face, making her even prettier. When she was at his cabin, hiding from the stalker, she hadn’t worn a speck of makeup. Now, she was done up with delicate pink lips and smoldering eyes.

Not liking how his cock had turned hard at the sight of her, he glanced away. How had he forgotten she might be here? Trent had been dreaming about her nightly, despite knowing he wasn’t the right man for her. Not only was she too young, she was Vic’s daughter, and he was highly protective of her. Vic, of all parents, understood how dangerous it was to be a cop, and he wouldn’t want his only daughter to be with one. Trent, too, understood that logic. His mom had left his dad for that very reason.

Vic told him Charlotte had moved back to town last week, so of course she’d be at her dad’s birthday party. Perhaps Harmon’s release had killed all of his functioning brain cells.

Charlotte giggled and Trent returned his gaze to her. As soon as he spotted playboy Devon’s arm around her waist, acid burned in his gut. She shouldn’t even think of messing with that man. He was a heartache waiting to happen.

Move
.

Trying to act as if nothing had happened between them in the cabin, he sauntered up to her and smiled. “Hi, Charlotte. Nice to see you again.” He leaned over and gave her a light hug, trying to ignore Devon’s arm around her waist. Trent stood back and glanced at the rookie. “Dev.”

“Detective.”

Trent wanted to wipe the smirk off the man’s face, knowing he’d only hurt Charlotte in the end.

A hand clasped on his shoulder, and he turned around. “Sharon.”

“May I speak with you for a moment?” Vic’s secretary smiled and led him away from Charlotte and Devon.

Her timing sucked. He looked over his shoulder to say he’d be right back, but Charlotte had faced Devon, Mason, and Connor, ratcheting his anger up a notch.

Surely the older woman wasn’t trying to pick him up. While he wasn’t in the most charitable mood, he admired Vic and wouldn’t do anything to piss off his right hand woman.

“You don’t stop by anymore. How have you been?” From the gleam in her eyes, that wasn’t the real reason she’d pulled him away. She must need information of some kind—or else Vic had instructed her to make sure Trent stayed away from his daughter.

“Good.” Ever since the stalker incident that necessitated the need to protect Charlotte, he and Vic had tried to get together for a drink once a week, but of late, Vic had cancelled more times than not, saying he wanted to spend any free moments with his new wife, and Trent couldn’t blame him. Vic only had one true love in his live, and she just returned after a five-year hiatus.

Sharon squeezed his arm, her brows pinched in concern. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

Trent refocused. She reminded him of the way his mom used to be—feisty, outspoken, and having a flare for the dramatic. “Not really. Can you keep a secret?”

People would find out sooner or later, and he had the urge to talk to someone about it. Seeing Harmon in civilian clothes, acting so normal, stirred doubt in him. While Vic would be a good sounding board, Trent didn’t need his friend meddling in the case—a case that had seemed pretty cut and dried at the time. After three years, Trent had time to think about his brother’s behavior but could never come up with a reason why Harmon would forsake his upbringing and lie for financial gain. Could his brother be innocent? It was possible, but Trent wasn’t convinced he’d been framed, especially in light of the damaging evidence.