Tempting Alibi (8 page)

“I’m sorry. I’ll call you.”

She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and eyed him warily. “Okay.”

Before he could change his mind, he left. He didn’t make a move to kiss or touch

her because he knew if he did, he’d want to stay. And that would only be more painful.

The front door shut behind him with a quiet click.

As he drove into town, he didn’t bother with the radio. Maybe he should have

stayed and talked to her, but he wasn’t sure what to say. He’d planned to tell her

tonight that he wasn’t planning to sleep with or see anyone else and he wanted to make

sure she was on the same page. They hadn’t actually discussed a future, but he’d never

felt about anyone the way he did about her.

And she didn’t think it was serious.
We’re not serious… I don’t give a shit if they

approve of him.
Her words echoed around in his head like a broken recording.

“Fuck!” He slammed his hand against his steering wheel. He was a fucking pussy.

What they’d shared over the past week
was
serious. There was no doubt in his head. He

knew she felt the same way. He was just letting his old bullshit and insecurities get in

the way.

When he pulled into the parking lot of his shop, he immediately kicked his car into

reverse. He’d run out on her like an asshole and she deserved an explanation. As he

started to leave, he noticed a light bouncing around through one of the windows of the

main storefront. “What the…” It was from a flashlight. The realization hit him like a

punch to the stomach. Someone was in his garage.

He immediately turned his car and the headlights off. For a brief moment he

thought about calling the police but quickly brushed it aside. He doubted Sheriff Hill

would do much to help him. And hadn’t he mentioned a break-in at his nephew’s

place? Maybe the old man had been telling the truth. This could be the same guy.

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Tempting Alibi

Quietly, carefully, he opened and shut his car door, then raced toward the side of

the building. Whoever this was wouldn’t know the layout of his store so they were

virtually working blind with the exception of that flashlight. His heart pounded a little

faster as he edged toward one of the side EXIT doors that led to the main garage. After

unlocking it, he ducked inside then crouched behind one of the high-end cars they’d

kept over the weekend.

The hood was popped open and Scott knew he hadn’t left it like that.
What the hell

was going on?
He thought he heard a rustling sound coming from the office area so he

inched toward the rear of the vehicle and peered around.

When he did, light flooded the main garage and he found himself staring down the

barrel of a gun.

“What the hell are you doing, Frank?” Scott kept his voice steady and even as he

stood up.

Frank Hill stood four feet away by one of the main light panels with a gun in

hand—a .40 Smith & Wesson by the looks of it. And that hand was shaking something

fierce. “You weren’t supposed to be here.”

“Neither are you.” Scott couldn’t keep the wry note out of his voice.

The man rubbed his free hand over his face. Looked as if he had three-day-old

stubble and his eyes were red rimmed and glassy. “Shit, shit, shit.”

“Talk to me, Frank. What’s going on? You need money?”

“I don’t need your charity!” he screamed.

Yeah, but he had no problem stealing.
Scott took a small step toward him. He’d had

enough training that he could disarm Frank. If he didn’t get shot first, of course. “Talk

to me, man. This isn’t about money, is it? Something else is going on.”

Frank nodded unsteadily and the gun wavered again. Scott took the opportunity to

close another few inches between them. “Lisa…she left me. Said she wanted to be with

someone she could count on. Someone more successful.”

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Savannah Stuart

Out of the corner of his eye, Scott saw a flash of unmistakable red hair duck behind

one of the counters in the outer office area. His entire world tilted on its axis. What the

hell was Michaela doing here? Only a glass wall separated her from a man with a gun.

He forced himself not to look in her direction. He couldn’t let this piece of shit know

anyone else was here. “So you were planning to steal from me?”

Frank shrugged and had the decency to look a little apologetic. “I was going to

sabotage a couple of your customers’ cars, get some business driven my way. That’s all,

I swear.”

The fact that he was telling him meant he likely wasn’t planning to let him go. Scott

could see Michaela inching toward the glass door toward them. Now he wished he’d

called the cops. Or hell, never left her house in the first place. If he hadn’t, she wouldn’t

be here. Instead, they’d be tangled up in her sheets.

“What’s the plan now, Frank? No one’s been hurt. You need to put the gun down

and leave.”

“Why? So you can call the cops on me?” he spat.

“What am I gonna tell them? You haven’t done anything. It’s my word against

yours and the sheriff is your uncle. No one would believe me anyway. Just put the gun

down and leave. I’ll forget this ever happened. Everyone deserves a second chance.”

“Second chance,” he muttered.

In that moment, Scott knew Frank was seriously contemplating putting the gun

down. His options were clear. Unfortunately, at the same time the realization hit him, a

loud police siren wailed in the distance.

“You son of a bitch! You called the cops!” He swung the gun in a wide arc.

Scott was still too far away to get to him. He moved a couple inches closer and

shook his head. “How could I have done that? And
why
would I have done that? I came

here alone tonight to get some paperwork done. If I’d wanted to call the cops, I’d have

let them come here and arrest you and never set foot in my place. That siren isn’t for

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Tempting Alibi

us.” Or he really hoped it wasn’t. If the cops showed up, he’d be screwed. And

Michaela…he couldn’t even think about what could happen to her.

Frank scrubbed a hand over his face. “That makes sense.”

A crash inside the main office jerked both their attention away. Scott knew it was

his only opportunity. Frank swung his gun toward the office and Scott saw red.

Covering the rest of the distance, he threw himself at Frank.

Frank was faster than he imagined. He whipped back around, but Scott went

straight for his gun hand. He knocked him off balance then broke his trigger finger.

After that, taking the gun was easy.

“Owww!” Frank howled in pain as he backed away from Scott.

Tucking the gun into his waistband, Scott advanced on the other man and decked

him. By nature he wasn’t violent, but this piece of shit had swung a gun toward

Michaela. That alone deserved a beating. His fist connected with Frank’s jaw with a

crunch and he slumped to the concrete like a crumpled piece of paper.

“Scott!”

He turned to find a wide-eyed Michaela rushing toward him. The glass door

slammed shut behind her and her boots clacked against the concrete floor. Before he

could move, she’d flung her arms around his neck and nearly knocked him over. “Oh

my God! Are you okay? I called the cops and my brothers when I saw the broken glass

out front. I didn’t know what else to do. What did that maniac want with you? Are you

sure you’re okay?”

Despite the situation, he chuckled as she fired questions at him. He pulled his head

back but kept his hands firmly on her hips. “I’m fine, sweetheart. Are you okay?”

“Me? You’re the one who had a gun pointed at your head.”

“It’s over.”

She ignored him as a river of unexpected tears streamed down her cheeks. “This is

all my fault.”

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Savannah Stuart

His gut clenched.
Shit.
Not tears. Anything but
her
tears. “Don’t cry. Please, don’t

cry.”

“I can’t help it. I know why you left. You overheard that stupid conversation I had. I didn’t

realize it until you’d gone. That’s why I followed you.” Her voice was thick and unsteady.

“I was an asshole. I shouldn’t have left like that. If you want to take things slower,

we’ll—”

“No, you stupid man! I don’t want to take anything slower. I just thought all that

talk from my family would scare you off so I told them to back off.”

His heart turned over in his chest. Cupping her jaw, he swiped at the stray tears still

tumbling down her soft cheeks. “Scare me? I love you, Michaela.” The words slipped

out before he could think about what he was saying.

Her pale eyes widened. “
What?
”

His throat dried up as she stared at him with that soul-searching gaze. Maybe he

should have waited.
No.
He loved her. It was a simple thing and it felt liberating to say

it to
someone
. He’d never uttered those words to a woman other than his mother before

and instead of feeling foreign, it felt right. So right it terrified him.

“I love you too,” she whispered.

“Don’t say it because—”

Her grip around his neck tightened. “Don’t tell me what to do, Mr. Bossy. I pretty

much realized it earlier tonight when you let my cousins jump all over you like you

were their personal jungle gym. You sealed the deal when you told my Aunt Celia you

liked her awful macaroni salad.”

“That’s all it took?” he murmured. He’d been half in love with her since the day

she’d showed up at his front door all those months ago carrying a plate of cookies.

She’d looked so hot in that skimpy summer dress all he’d been able to think about was

pushing it up and taking her right on his front porch.

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Tempting Alibi

She sniffed in a haughty manner that had his cock standing at attention. Of course it

was the wrong time, but his lower body didn’t care.

Flashing red and blue lights caught his eye through the front office window. He

sighed and looked back at her. “Looks like the cavalry is here.”

“Good, the sooner they get that jerk out of here, the sooner we can get back to my

place.” All traces of her earlier tears were gone as her voice dropped an octave.

He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed her tight against him. Heading

back to her place sounded like heaven. If he had any say over things, sooner rather than

later, they were going to get a place together. And then, he’d see about convincing her

to spend forever with him.

* * * * *

Michaela tugged her coat off before Scott put his car in park. They’d left her car at

his shop and after hours of filling out paperwork and answering questions down at the

police station they were finally back at her place.

And she was insanely turned-on. It was ridiculous. She should be exhausted but all

she wanted to do was jump Scott. From the heated looks he’d been giving her during

the drive back, he felt the same.

Scott unstrapped his seat belt, then hers. Before she realized what he intended, he

lifted her and pulled her on top of him.

Avoiding the gearshift as he tugged her over, her knees settled on either side of him

and sunk into the black leather bucket seats. There wasn’t much room but it made this

hotter.

As their lips and bodies meshed together, she tried to wrap her mind around

everything that had happened that night. A few weeks ago Scott had simply been her

neighbor. Her very sexy neighbor she was forced to only fantasize about. Now she got

to do whatever she wanted to him.

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Savannah Stuart

When she’d thought she might lose him tonight, it was as if the bottom of her world

had fallen out.

He showered kisses on her lips and jaw until he located the sensitive spot at the

nape of her neck. Good Lord, the man knew exactly what she liked and where she liked

it. A pent-up moan of ecstasy escaped, and her hands fisted into his thick hair. He could

take her from zero to hot-and-ready-to-go in milliseconds. One of his hands slipped

under her top and started working its way up.

“Will you go on the Pill? I want to fuck you without any barriers,” he whispered

against her neck. His words came out almost as a growl.

Something warm bloomed deep inside her core at his question. She pulled back and

looked into his face and saw need. Pure and raw. He might want her physically, but he

needed her just as much as she needed him. It scared and excited her at the same time.

“Okay.”

They were so close she could see where his iris met his pupil, though his eyes were

so dark it was almost impossible to distinguish the line.

Her mouth was full of cotton, and she couldn’t contain the tremors racing down her

spine straight to her pussy. She felt as if she needed to say something else but now

wasn’t the time for talking.

“Strip.”

A low gasp escaped. “What?” Her question came out as a breathy whisper.

In the dim light of his car, his eyes darkened, taking on a feral appearance. “Don’t

trust myself not to rip your clothes.”

Her stomach clenched at the demanding tone of his words. Involuntarily her

panties dampened. His sexy scent had taken over the car. Spicy and masculine, he

permeated everything in the enclosed space. Right now it felt as if they were the only