Irresistible Force (7 page)

There was a truck in the yard. It looked suspiciously like the one that had been parked at the edge of the woods the night before. Of course, it might be coincidence, or his imagination working overtime. Or a maintenance man, or a—

Bogart suddenly lunged forward in his harness; his ears pricked forward, and from deep within his chest came a low guttural growl. He’d caught a scent.

“Shit!” James turned into her drive. Bogart on alert was good enough probable cause for him.

*   *   *

The door was ajar, wide enough for James to see inside before he even reached the porch. In seconds, he took in every pertinent detail.

A tall man in jeans and a blazer stood facing the far wall, legs apart as he leaned forward. Shay was behind him, forced tightly against the wall by his body. James’s pulse ticked up at the sight. Was this a threat, or a sexual encounter he was about to disturb?

The man was speaking, his voice so low James couldn’t pick out words. Shay suddenly turned her head away as if to avoid looking at him.

James saw her expression. It was one of a small animal cornered by a larger one. Before James could react, the man seized her shoulders and her head snapped back against the wall with a sickening thud. “You stupid bitch!”

James tensed, equally angry and relieved. The man’s threat gave him every right to enter without invitation.

He released Bogart’s leash and said firmly,
“Geh weiter.”

Bogart shot through the opening, barking in alarm.

The sounds of an angry dog stopped the man from shaking Shay. He glanced around and into the jaws of a snarling Belgian Malinois.

He whipped his head back to Shay. “You said your dog wasn’t here.”

Without seeking to explain Prince’s appearance, Shay seized the moment to try to free herself. “Let go of me, Eric. If you don’t, he’ll tear you to pieces. I swear.”

“Shit!” Eric shoved her away, freeing her.

James pushed the front door wide, his gaze fanning the perimeter of the room as he entered. Satisfied no one else was present, he gave his partner a new command.
“Pass auf!”

Ordered to guard the man, Bogart moved in, head low.

James watched his canine doing his job. Bogart was getting details he couldn’t sense, like the odor of pheromones flooding off the pair. The man would be running high, giving off pheromones of an aggressor. Shay would be shedding fear. The man began backing slowly away.

“I’d stand still, if I were you.” James kept his voice calm though his own emotions were running high.

The man stilled, eyeing the dog warily as Bogart sniffed his pants leg. When he gave a soft growl and bared rows of flesh-tearing teeth, the man involuntarily stepped back in alarm. “Call him off!”

James waited a beat, just to make certain the threat had been delivered and received, before giving the command to back off.
“Fuss!”

Instantly obedient, Bogart trotted back over to James.

“Good evening, Ms. Appleton.” He spoke to Shay as a courtesy. His attention was focused totally on the man beside her.

“What is this?” Eric’s head swung from Shay to James. “Who the fuck are you?”

James braced his legs apart, arms slightly flexed. “I’m the police. Who the fuck are you?”

Eric shifted toward Shay. “You tell him.”

Shay shook her head.

James kept his gaze on Shay’s guest. “Step away from Ms. Appleton. Now.” When the man had moved grudgingly a couple of feet away, James spoke again. “I’m going to ask you one more time, nicely, who are you?”

The man smiled a professional’s smile, all charm and confidence-building. “I’m a friend of Shay’s.”

That brought a sound of derision from Shay as she rubbed her upper arms. “We’re not friends, Eric.”

James shifted his weight. “Want to try again?

The man’s smile dissolved. Obviously, charm had a short half-life with this guy. “I don’t have to answer your questions. I haven’t done anything wrong. She let me in. Tell him, Shay.”

“Why do you keep telling Ms. Appleton what to say?” James cocked an eyebrow. “Afraid she might say something not so flattering about you?”

The man’s gaze narrowed as it moved from James to Shay, and then the dog. “What’s going on here?” He looked back at Shay. “Is this guy really a cop? He’s not in uniform.”

James moved back the edge of his camo jacket to reveal his badge, hung on his belt, and then the gun on his hip. The man’s demeanor changed from intimidating to nervous. A muscle flexed just below his left eye while, at his sides, his hands began flexing and unflexing. Maybe he was the kind of jerk who saved his rage for women.

“Is that your truck outside?”

The guy’s gaze shifted toward the door. “Why?”

James reached into his pocket and retrieved his police notebook. He thumbed through it until he found what he was looking for. “I’ve got a partial of a license plate and a description of a vehicle just like the one you’re driving. It was reported as a prowler in this neighborhood last night.”

The man sucked in a breath and turned to Shay. “Unbelievable!”

James let a smile ease into his features. He had the bastard. “Ms. Appleton didn’t make the complaint. Added to that, I just witnessed you shaking her in a manner that could constitute assault. I need to see some ID, Mr.—”

The man let out a heavy sigh as he reached for his wallet. “Eric Coates.”

James took his time as he made a note of the information on the license, letting the man stew as he pondered what he was going to do next. So far, Shay had contributed four words to the conversation. He was going to have to get rid of the guy to get her side of the story.

When he raised his gaze from his notepad he was pleased to see a sheen of sweat had formed on Eric’s upper lip. Definitely nervous. “You need to know I can arrest you right now for harassment and assault.” He waited a beat to allow the man time to absorb his situation. “If Ms. Appleton wants to press charges, I’ll be happy to add a laundry list of other offenses.”

Eric’s head swiveled toward Shay. “You can’t do that. Not if—” He seemed to catch himself before he finished.

James glanced at her. “Shay?”

She offered a stiff lift of one shoulder. “Stay away from me, Eric.” She looked at James, a small frown pinching her brows together. “No charges.”

James didn’t take his eyes off Coates. “But Shay—”

“I said no charges.”

James suppressed his annoyance with her decision while noting that relief flooded Coates’s expression. “In that case, I’m issuing you a citation.” He signed a sheet and ripped it off his pad and held it out.

Looking smug, Eric took it, then turned to Shay. “Remember what I said. We’ll talk later.”

“I wouldn’t advise that.” James came up behind Eric, close enough to make his physical presence a direct threat. “On a personal level I’m telling you to leave Ms. Appleton alone. Permanently.”

Eric swung around, his eyes widening. James let him look. “So … what? You’re the new boyfriend?”

Bogart stood up, his ears flicking forward in response to the man’s aggressive tone toward his handler.

Eric looked down and his expression changed. “So that’s where the dog came from.” He looked back at Shay. “You cheating slut.”

Bogart bared his teeth in answer.

Shay lifted her chin against the insult. “You should leave, Eric. Now.”

Eric’s gaze flicked between man and dog. “Okay. Right. I’m done.”

James didn’t plan to block Eric with his shoulder as he passed, but somehow the man was thrown off balance, stumbled into the sofa, and fell.

Unsmiling, James held out a helping hand. “Sorry about that.”

For a split second the heat of testosterone-fueled challenge shimmered between them. Then Eric’s gaze shifted to where James was holding the harness of an angry barking dog.

Ignoring James’s offer of a hand, he quickly righted himself, and lurched through the front door, slamming it behind him.

The second the door closed the remaining pair turned and spoke at the same time.

“Are you okay?”

“How did you know about last night?”

CHAPTER SEVEN

“Go ahead.”

Shay rubbed her palms up and down her denim-clad thighs. “No, you.”

James smiled, slipping out of police mode. “Ladies first.”

“Wait a sec.” Shay crossed over to lock her door.

As James pulled Bogart’s favorite ball from his pocket and tossed it as a reward for a good job, he noticed that she had three locks where most people could have been satisfied with one. The first was oxidized with age. The other two were shiny and new.

When she turned back to him, it seemed she had reconsidered her first question because she substituted another. “Why did you do that?”

“What?”

She folded her arms and stared.

Busted.
“I saw what he was doing to you, Shay. You should have let me arrest him. Since you wouldn’t, I sent him that message in a way he’ll remember.”

Her chin shot up. He didn’t need words to translate that into
I can take care of myself.
Trouble was, it was obvious that she had been doing a lousy job. Not that that was his business, but—whoa. Wait. Not. His. Business. Even so …

“Want to tell me why you won’t press charges?”

She looked away. “I have my reasons.”

“Whatever they are, they aren’t going to keep him from putting his hands on you, again, like when I walked in.”

Shay reached down to Bogart, who had come up to her, and scratched him behind one ear. “News alert, Officer Cannon. I’m not your concern.”

“Come on, Shay.” He said her name softly, as if he had used it before, and it sounded wonderfully comfortable in his mouth.

Shay straightened up, feeling a little shaky from running on adrenaline. “Are you asking as a police officer or a friend?”

James felt himself shifting onto uncertain ground. “Whichever you need.”

Shay searched his face for a moment. What she needed was someone to believe her. But she couldn’t explain why without explaining the very things she wanted most to keep hidden. So even the compassion in his expression couldn’t help her.

Shay snatched her gaze away, searching for her security blanket of hostility. “Why did you come back, anyway? Looking for a little pat on the back to make you feel like a hero?”

Annoyance jerked at James’s patience. He’d swung by on a hunch. Yet after his graceless entry into her life, what had he expected, a parade?

“Fine. My bad. I thought maybe since we share a fondness for Bogart that we might become … friends.” James made a business of putting his pad away. “So, who is that asshole?”

Shay almost smiled at his description. “He’s my ex. Boyfriend.”

“Your decision?”

She nodded. “I broke it off a month ago, but he hasn’t taken the hint. I think now he will.”

“Don’t count on it.”

Shay pushed a hand up under her bangs, using her fingers as a comb. “Is that why you let Eric believe you had more than a professional interest in me?”

She caught that, did she?

“It’ll make him think twice before he tries to force his way in on you again. The least I could do.”

“Or you just pissed him off in a way that will make him an even bigger threat when you’re not around.”

Reminded of Eric’s violent actions, Shay moved her hand to the back of her head, probing the place where it had connected with the wall.
“Ouch.”

James frowned. “Are you hurt? Here. Let me look at that.”

“No, it’s okay.”

But James didn’t pause. He spun her around lightly and then his fingers were in her hair, parting it carefully at the crown. He wanted to lecture her on the dangers of violent men but he sensed that right now the last thing she needed was to be pressured by a man. He felt her flinch as he revealed a red bruised area. “You’ve got a knot developing back here. You should be looked at.”

Shay slipped free of his touch and danced away from him, as if being close to him could breach her defenses. “No. I’m fine.”

“Are you nauseated?” He held up two fingers. “What do you see?”

“V for victory. Okay?”

“Has he gotten rough with you in the past?”

Shay stared at him, not knowing what to say. No one had ever taken an interest in her claims before. Then she realized that no one had ever seen Eric in action before.

She licked her suddenly too-dry lips before she found her voice. “Once.” She looked away. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Fair enough. But you should think about pressing charges. It’s not too late. I can go after him. You call the sheriff while I track him down. I’ll bring him in and you have him arrested for assault. I’m your witness.”

“No.” She didn’t even give his suggestion a moment’s consideration. “Eric’s gone. That’s what I wanted.”

James waited a beat, weighing how hard to push her. He decided he needed to ease up before she shut him down completely. Maybe another approach would work. “Coates doesn’t seem the sort to take directions well. What would have happened if I hadn’t walked in?”

Shay jerked her gaze up to meet the full impact of his blue eyes. What she felt emanating from them was a genuine interest and something surprisingly like warmth. Then his question boomeranged back through her thoughts.
What would I have done?

The sudden sick look in her expression twisted James’s gut. She was trying to tough it out but clearly she had known she was all but defenseless against that bastard.

He took a step toward her, keeping his voice soft. “A guy who likes to manhandle women is likely to circle back as soon as he thinks he safely can. That might be a day, or a week. You should at least get a restraining order against Coates so you will have serious backup if you need it.”

“Is that your professional or personal opinion? Because what I really didn’t need was for Eric to think I left him for a hunky new boyfriend.”

She turned, picked up the soggy packet of oysters she’d dropped on the table, and headed toward the kitchen.

James stared after her.
Jeez!
Where had he gone wrong? He’d meant to reassure her. Now she was pissed.