Chasing Thunder (32 page)

M.J. couldn’t concentrate on the screen in front of her. She’d been using every resource she had to figure out if Xavier was a new threat, and Kelly had yet to report back to her on what he had found. In fact, she hadn’t seen the determined detective in days.

Maybe he had been as thrown by their near kiss as she had been.

Things had shifted between them since they’d sparred. It stood to reason. She truly believed one of the three instances when a person showed their true character was in a fight. The other times were during sex and when facing death, and she had no plans to experience either of those with Detective Kelly Harris.

She shook her head to rid herself of thoughts of his body, his eyes, or that damnable smirk. He was under her skin, taunting her like a misspelled tattoo. She hadn’t planned on giving him the tip about Xavier, but she’d have cut off her own arm to get him out of her apartment before they could do something as monumentally stupid as kiss.

Her heart, such as it was, belonged to only one.

She slammed her laptop closed. It was because of Cooper Scoggins she couldn’t concentrate at all. It was his birthday, and normally she’d find a way to be with him, even if it was in the dead of night when nobody but the two of them knew it. Ever since that first kiss on her sixteenth birthday, celebrating these significant moments didn’t seem right unless they were together. They’d been two halves of the same whole since they were kids. Her heart was broken that she couldn’t be at Wyndryder with Snake, and with Kid . . . and with Baby. Their time together had been so brief, but it was a glimpse into the past she’d shared with her Pops and her Gramma, way back when she believed she was good enough to be part of a family.

She hadn’t always felt that way, and she certainly didn’t feel that way anymore. She’d made her peace with being a lone wolf, but secretly she longed for a pack to call her own. When she closed her eyes, she could reach back in time to when she was a little girl, snuggled tight in the arms of her mother. Those memories had long ago begun to fade, but had been resurrected briefly by her Pops and then once again when Baby landed right in their midst.

It was a precious thing to find a place where one belonged. She knew better than to trust it, as it never lasted very long. Worse, it usually ended with someone dying. That was how the universe liked to remind her that the only person she could ever count on was herself. They all had it wrong, thinking she walked alone by choice.

She walked alone because that was safest. For her, and for everyone else.

Kelly Harris was an idiot to try and get close to her. But, she thought with a snarl, if it was going to happen to anyone, it might as well be a cop. She grabbed her jacket from the chair and stalked to her front door, determined to chase down Kelly before he got a chance to corner her again.

When she swung the door open, however, it was Snake who stood, larger than life, in her doorway. He carried one red rose, which he held to lips that were pulled into that shit-eating grin she adored.

“Snake,” she breathed. Without thinking about it, she threw her arms around his neck and kissed the man she had loved for more than a decade, crushing the flower between them as she practically climbed him like a jungle gym.

He picked her up easily, slamming the door shut behind them as he carried her effortlessly toward the bedroom.

She was his gift, and he was going to take his sweet time unwrapping her.

23. SIMPLE MAN

K
id’s hands were shaking as he walked through the crowd looking for Baby. She had yet another tray full of cups, passing out refreshments for the guests. She brightened when she saw his familiar face. “Have you seen Snake?” she asked.

“He left,” Kid told her, and she was crestfallen.

“Wasn’t he having a good time?” It broke her heart to think that he wasn’t, after all their planning and their effort. After everything he had done to save her, she wanted Snake to have the best birthday ever.

“He was missing someone,” Kid replied, and she nodded. She was no dummy. She knew his heart longed for M.J.

“I hope he finds her,” she said, placing the tray on a table.

“He will,” Kid said. “That’s the only gift he wants.”

They walked together away from the crush of the crowd. “You know, your birthday is coming up,” she reminded with a smile. “Given any thought to the kind of party you want?”

He glanced down into her endless blue eyes. “I’m a pretty simple guy,” he said. “I don’t need much to make me happy.”

She linked her arm with his. After weeks of sparring, tumbling, and tackling, he was familiar to the touch. It was a safe way to indulge her cuddly side, which she found herself wanting to do more and more. Now that she was in a safe environment, she wanted nothing more than warm human contact. In fact, he was as comforting as a security blanket. “So . . . games to play, tunes to blast, and noms to nosh,” she supplied with a knowing smile.

He laughed. “You know me so well.”

“I pay attention,” she chirped happily. “I think Mad Dog and I can arrange something pretty kickass for your birthday.”

They crossed the street toward the beach. It was one of her favorite places to be, especially as the sun set. They parked themselves in the sand, sitting close, as the sun began its descent. His heart nearly beat a hole through his chest as he looked down at her. “I was thinking I’d like to keep it small.”

“Just the family?” she asked.

“Just you,” he answered.

Her brow furrowed and he looked away. “But if you don’t want to, it’s okay. I understand.”

She immediately felt bad. She wasn’t used to rejecting people. And she certainly wasn’t used to hurting anyone, especially someone as close and dear to her as Kid. She took his hand in hers. “No, you don’t.” He looked back up into her face. “It’s not you, Kid. It’s me.”

He scoffed. “That’s original.”

She shook her head. “No, it’s not like that.” She took a deep breath and looked into the ocean. “I’m broken, Logan.”

It was the first time she had called him by his real name, and it shocked him to his core. He held his breath and waited.

“A long time ago, in a world way far away from here, someone who looked an awful lot like me trusted the wrong person. Everything was great at first. I felt like I found something I had always been looking for.” Her eyes met his. “But dreams don’t come true for everybody.” His heart shattered as one lone tear escaped the corner of her eye and trickled down her face. “So I don’t dream anymore. I can’t risk any more nightmares.”

“And X?” Kid asked softly.

She sighed. “When I’m with him, I don’t feel like that girl anymore.”

“And with me, you do.”

“With you, I can.” Silently she reached into her backpack purse and pulled out a wad of folded paper. “This is me,” she said. “I carry it with me everywhere. Like chains around my feet. Whenever I get sad or depressed, I add to it. Things I’ve seen. Things I’ve done. Things that have happened to me. All of it. I thought maybe if I could purge it, I could forget. But it’s always there. It won’t ever go away, even if another soul never even knows. It’s the only thing I have to give. And there’s only one person I trust enough to give it to.”

He watched as she opened his palm and placed this precious gift there, closing his fingers over it. Finally Kid said, “I don’t have to see this to know who you are.” He cupped her face in one hand. “I see you. I always have.”

Their gaze held for a long moment before she finally leaned towards him. Her lips felt like velvet against his as the kiss lingered on his mouth. Her eyes widened as she pulled away. It was such an impulsive thing to do and it only confused her more. He had been her safe place to fall, her family, and she never wanted to confuse things again. Yet here she was, staring into his eyes, praying he would kiss her again.

He wrapped his hand around the back of her neck and complied with her unspoken request. The minute his mouth opened over hers, X was forgotten. She moaned softly as she submitted to the deeper kiss. He brushed the hair from her face as he moved away. “You’re not broken,” he whispered. “You’re perfect, Baby.”

She fell into those warm brown eyes. “Haley,” she whispered back.

“Haley,” he repeated softly before he bent for another kiss, just as the sun disappeared into the ocean.

Kelly sprawled on his living room sofa, staring blindly at the fancy high-definition TV mounted on the wall as he surfed through endless channels. His apartment was full of the latest gadgets and gizmos, decorated for utility rather than design. His furniture was utilitarian, just a basic couch, table, and chairs. It wasn’t like he entertained. Hell, he hadn’t even brought a woman back to his place in at least five years. He had no attachment to his apartment, to his possessions . . . to his life.

Yet all he could think about as he sat on that boring old sofa was a fiery redhead locked in the arms of another man.

With a snarl of disgust he powered the TV off and hurled his remote across the couch. He opened his computer and loaded up his email. There was a response from one of his contacts down at juvie who had more information on Xavier Castellano. Kelly Harris wasn’t one to let a little matter of sealed records stop him from getting the information he wanted. It seemed pointless now, since he figured that Xavier was nothing more than another distraction, a discarded bone M.J. had thrown to get him out of her hair. But his contact had risked her hide to provide said information, so he felt obligated to look it over anyway.

Xavier had been a ward of the court until he turned eighteen, bouncing in and out of foster homes and juvenile detention. Single mom, jailed dad, your basic sob story. Charges included things like petty theft, vandalism, and even arson. He sighed as he ran through the information, skimming most of it, until he saw the word
Slick
.

He was on the phone in an instant, calling his source. “Hey, Jill.”

“Did you get everything you needed?” she asked. She had a soft spot for the hunky detective. He had covered her ass a time or two, so she was willing to color outside the lines for him if needed. Plus, she was still holding out hope he’d ask her out someday, so she could inspect every ridge and contour of that sculpted body for herself.

“Yes and no,” he answered. “Tell me more about the incident on February 22, 2008.”

After a minute of clicking away on her computer, she finally found the information he requested. “His mother, Julia, apparently worked at the gentleman’s club Slick for a short time before she was fired for drug use. This sent him back into the system, and apparently he set off some explosives at Slick to retaliate. The charges were dropped, though. The owner decided not to pursue legal action.”

“What a swell guy. Anything else?”

“That was the only thing that involved Slick or Dominic Isbecky. Xavier was arrested only once more after that, just after his eighteenth birthday. But he was bailed out and he’s kept his nose clean ever since.”

“Who bailed him out?”

More clicking. “Bail bondsman. Donny Costas.”

He was on his feet before she was done. “Thanks, Jill. You’re a peach.”

She laughed. “Says the man who won’t shake my tree.”

He wore a smile as he grabbed his car keys. “You’d break me in half, sweetheart.”

“But you’d die with a smile on your face,” she replied, and he pictured her cheeky grin. “If you need anything else, you know who to call.”

“Don’t I always?” Then he was out the door and on his way to Costas Bail Bonding.