A Touch Of Heat (H.E.A.T. Book 2) Page 34
“Welcome to the world of public service and interdepartmental cock-ups,” Pierce offered. “Oh, and welcome to the team.” He slapped Damon on the back and went off in search of something else to bother.
“What just happened?” Damon asked, staring after a retreating Pierce and a now disappeared Inspector Hart.
“You just got screwed. Big time,” I offered.
He turned and looked down at me, his face a picture of blank understanding for a moment. And then he let a whoosh of air out in what had to be a release of tension that rivalled the volume of a hot air balloon.
“Lara,” he said, pulling me closer, leaning his forehead against mine. “Jesus, Lara. I almost lost you.”
“It wasn’t that bad,” I replied automatically.
He laughed. It was strained, not his normal rumble. Almost a mixture of frustration and fear.
“You weren’t getting out of there alive.”
“Neither were you,” I whispered.
“Your wrists,” he suddenly said, picking up my hands and gingerly holding them while he stared at the marks the chains had made. A growl emerged from the back of his throat. “Let’s get them seen to. There has to be an ambulance around here.”
“Damon,” I said, as he started to herd me out of the Irreverent Inferno cavern.
“They must be painful,” he blurted, interrupting my argument. He was deflecting, and for a moment I almost let him.
My heart hurt. My body ached. Damon was a solid shield at my side. I could be his too.
But Carole was missing. He’d chosen me over her. And I knew what he’d be feeling inside.
“Damon,” I said again, halting him in his tracks by pulling back on his tender grip of my hand. He stopped immediately, too scared to hurt me more than I already was.
I looked up at him. This man who had chosen me. I looked into his dark eyes and saw my future there. As well as my present and past. I saw everything good there was in my life. I saw his pain and it almost ruined me.
“We’ll get her back,” I vowed. “We won’t stop looking until we’ve found her and Weston is behind bars. I promise you this.”
“Lara,” he breathed, the weight of his guilt and worry plastered all over his face.
Carl once said, you can’t solve everything at once. But you can sure as hell solve everything eventually. Samantha Hayes’ murderer was going away for a very long time. Eagle would get the help he needed, as would those street workers who went before him into Marcroft’s Hell. And we knew who the HEAT arsonist was and it wasn’t a HEAT member.
The CIB traitor may not have been Cawfield, although I refused to consider other options any time soon. And Carole may have been found and then lost. But I was not giving up on either.
I would solve them. I would find her. I would capture Weston and make him pay. I would track down the betrayer who threatened my professional family, even while I tried to come to terms with my father’s place in my world.
And I would look after this man before me, take care of him when his heart ached and his mind clouded with fear. I would trust him with my life. With my heart. With my body.
I would trust him.
And one day soon I might just be able to face Carl and solve that mystery too.
“Take me home,” I said, holding Damon’s hands and looking up into the most stunning eyes I’d ever seen. They weren’t any different from their usual dark brown. Not heated with desire. Or flashing with power. Or darkening with an impressive anger.
They were just him. And they were stunning.
“Take me home,” I repeated.
“Where’s home, love?” he asked, voice low and wrapping around me with a touch of heat that curled my toes.
“Home is with you,” I said, and watched those gorgeous eyes disappear behind closed eyelids and then reappear and pin me to the spot.
“Then let’s go,” he whispered. “Moonlight and alabaster await.”
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About The Author
Nicola Claire lives in beautiful Taupo, New Zealand with her husband and two young boys.
She's tried her hand at being a paramedic, bank teller and medical sales representative, (not all necessarily in that order), but her love of writing keeps calling her back.
She has a passion for all things supernatural, spiced up with a good dollop of romance - as long as they include strong characters, alpha males and capable females, and worlds which although make-believe are really quite believable in the end.
There's nothing better than getting caught up in a compelling, intriguing and romantic book.
When she's not writing or reading, she's out on her family boat at Lake Taupo, teaching her young boys to fish, showing them the beauty that surrounds them in nature and catching some delicious trout for dinner.
Creating rich worlds with dynamic characters and unexpected twists that shock and awe has been pure bliss for this author. And just as well, because there's a lot more story yet to tell...
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