Mace

M ace wasn’t sure if meeting with Julie was a good idea. He didn’t believe a word that she told him over the phone, and he definitely didn’t want Brooke in the same room with Julie. He worried that Julie would end up ruining her chances with Brooke, and he was so close to convincing her to give him a chance. She all but agreed to go on a date with him once he was cleared, and if Julie could clear his name, so that could happen, then this meeting would be worth it.

Brooke had helped him pack up his meager belongings and load them into her car. They found a place around the corner from the motel with a perfect view of his room. If Julie showed up, they would be able to see if anyone else was with her, waiting to ambush him.

“You know, you don’t have to go in with me,” said. For the last ten minutes, he had been thinking about ways to get Brooke to let him talk to Julie alone.

“No fucking way are you going to meet with her alone, ,” Brooke insisted. God, she was sexy when she cursed. There was something about seeing the buttoned-up lawyer come undone around him. She was being herself around and he loved it.

He chuckled and she shot him a look telling him that she wasn’t amused by any of this. “Have you considered that Julie could very well be a suspect in Reece’s murder?” she asked. Honestly, he hadn’t. She was with him for most of the night—well, except while they were closing up the bar. He was back in his office, doing paperwork, and he assumed that Julie was cleaning the bar and floors. never imagined that she’d be up to something as nefarious as murder while he was working on his bank deposits for the next day.

“I hadn’t thought about that,” admitted. “I don’t know when she would have had the time to clean the bar after closing and murder Reece Childs out in the parking lot.”

“Where were you while she was closing down the bar?” Brooke asked.

“I was back in my office, doing paperwork and getting the bank deposits ready for the next day,” he said.

“So, you weren’t with her the entire time then?” Brooke asked.

“No,” he breathed.

“Reece was murdered between 11 pm to 1 am. Was she with you during that period?” Brooke asked.

“Not the entire time,” he admitted. “Julie came back to my office around midnight.” left off the rest of what he was going to say about what happened next between them. He had already told Brooke all the sordid details.

“She would have had time to go out to the parking lot and kill Reece before coming to your office. Did anything seem off about her?” she asked.

“No, not really. I didn’t know her very well. She had just started working at the bar a few weeks before. I’m not sure that I’d know if she was acting off at all,” he admitted. really wasn’t helping his image with Brooke. She didn’t seem to flinch when he told her all the sorted details, but he was pretty sure that those details didn’t win him any points with her.

“Do you really think she could be the one who killed Reece?” asked.

Brooke nodded to the motel where Julie was waiting outside his door, gun in hand. “I do,” she said. They watched as Julie banged on the door and when no one answered, she tried the handle, and finding it open went into his room. Julie walked back out of the room, standing in the parking lot, she pulled her cell phone out of her pocket.

’s cell phone rang, and he didn’t even have to look at the caller ID. “Julie,” he breathed.

“I’m at your motel and you aren’t here. I thought that we were supposed to meet,” she said.

“We were, but then, I got the feeling that you weren’t on the up and up with me, and I left,” he said.

“How could you say that about me, ? I thought that we shared something special,” Julie lied. She was in the parking lot, gun still in hand, and he wanted to laugh.

“We did not share anything special, Julie,” he admitted.

“This is that woman lawyer’s idea, isn’t it? She’s convinced you that I wasn’t good for you because she wants you to herself. You can’t trust that bitch, ,” she spat.

“Don’t call her that,” growled, “she has nothing to do with any of this.” He looked over at Brooke and damn it, she looked worried. She was always so in control that seeing her this way broke his heart.

“You’re wrong,” Julie screamed into the phone, “but that’s not your fault. She has brain washed you against me. But once she’s out of the way, you’ll remember how much you love me, .” Brooke’s gasp filled the car, and he was sure that Julie would be able to hear her. “So, she’s with you now,” Julie said. She wasn’t really asking. No, she was telling that she knew that they were together and when Julie threatened to get Brooke out of the way, he believed her.

“Think this through, Julie,” said. “Brooke and I aren’t even together, so why go after her? What would it change if Brooke was out of the picture?”

“It would change everything,” Julie insisted. “I have thought this through already, . Your lawyer has to go, and then you‘ll see that things will change for the better.”

“You won’t get close enough to touch her, Julie,” said. “I won’t let you.”

“Always the hero, ,” Julie taunted. “I’ll find you both and if you get in the way, I’ll kill you too. Please don’t make me do that. I really do like you, .” She was crazy and arguing with her while sitting just feet away from her was a bad idea.

“Got to go,” said, ending the call while Julie screamed at him to stay on the phone with her. She got into her car and took off down the road, in the opposite direction from where they sat.

“Are you okay?” Brooke asked.

“I’m good,” lied. Hearing Julie threaten Brooke made every one of his protective instincts come roaring to life. “What now?” he asked.

“Now, we find a place to lay low. I’m going to have to call my father and admit that I’m still on your case—something he won’t take lightly. I need to warn him that Julie might show up at the office or try to track him down to find me. I’m going to take her threats very seriously,” Brooke said.

“As you should,” said. “Do you have a place to lay low?” he asked.

“I do,” Brooke said. She pulled her cell phone out of her handbag and uploaded a map to her car’s computer system.

“That’s a two-hour drive,” he said.

“Do you have plans?” she asked. “I’m pretty sure that you shouldn’t be out in broad daylight while the cops are looking for you. How about you let me handle things for now, and then, we can talk about your ideas for what we should do next.” Strong women were never really his type, but something about Brooke being bossy turned him on.

“I’ll let you call the shots—for now,” said, smiling over at her as she pulled away from the curb and into traffic. knew that it wasn’t going to be easy to blend in and not stick out, but he needed to try. His life and now, Brook’s life depended on it.

They got to the safehouse in two hours and Brooke looked about ready to drop. He had offered to drive a few times, but she turned him down repeatedly. “Let’s get in and settle before we talk about our next move.”

“You need sleep, Brooke,” insisted. “You look about ready to drop.”

“Thanks for that, ,” Brooke grumbled. “A woman loves to hear that she looks tired.”

“It’s been a long day, Brooke,” said. “We both need some sleep.” She nodded and got out of the car. did the same, quickly following her to the porch. The place was quaint and off the beaten path. He could always see himself living in a little cabin just like this one, but he never wanted to settle down and become domesticated enough to buy a house.

“Is this your place?” he asked.

“Yes,” Brooke said. “I purchased it a few years back to take some time and figure out if I wanted to go to work for my father’s firm or not. No one knows about this place—not even my dad.”

“So, we’ll be safe here then,” said.

“Yep.” Brooke pulled a key out of her handbag and quickly unlocked the front door, holding it open for him. “Sorry, the place smells a bit musty. It’s been closed up for a while now. I don’t get a lot of time off to get up here often.”

“This place is great,” said, looking around. Brooke tossed her keys onto the table by the door and stretched. He couldn’t help but take in every inch of her. And when she caught him checking her out, giving him her shy smile, he nearly swallowed his damn tongue.

“Come on,” she ordered, “I’ll show you around and then, I think that a nap sounds like an excellent idea.”

“You know, you still haven’t called your father to give him a heads up about Julie and the threats she made against you,” reminded.

“I texted the head of our security team,” she said, “he’ll watch for anyone suspicious who comes to the building. While Julie was standing in the parking lot, talking to you on the phone, I was able to get a couple of good pictures of her. I sent them over too. I really don’t see what telling my father about all of this will do to help.” could tell that she was avoiding having to tell her dad that she was working with him. He couldn’t blame her father—no guy wants their princess to be with a big, bad biker, but that wasn’t the case here. Brooke wasn’t his—yet.

He decided not to press her about her father, instead following her from room to room as she told him what each one was. She walked into the master bedroom and looked at the bed as if she was longing for it and he almost laughed. “I’m pretty sure that I can figure the rest out on my own,” he assured. “Why don’t you go get some shut-eye?”

“I am suddenly tired. I guess all that driving really wore me out. Are you sure that you’ll be able to manage on your own?” she asked.

“I think that I can take care of myself,” assured. He raised his right hand and smiled at her, “Scout’s honor,” he said.

Brooke giggled, “I’m betting that you were never a Boy Scout, ,” she challenged.

“Actually, I was,” he admitted. He never really talked about his childhood to anyone—especially not the guys at his club. Them hearing that he was a squeaky clean, do-gooder, might mess with his tough guy image. “I grew up in a small town, not too far from where home is now. My grandmother had me in little league, Boy Scouts, and even a church youth group.” Brook’s gasp filled the room, and he couldn’t help his chuckle. “Don’t act so surprised,” he said. “I’m not that bad, am I?”

Brooke took a step closer, and he could feel his heart start to race. Every time she was close to him, he felt as though his body might catch on fire.

“You’re just different now,” Brooke breathed, inching closer to him.

“Different good or different bad?” asked.

Brooke shrugged, “Different good,” she whispered. God, she was so close to him all he would have to do was lean in just a bit and he would finally be able to taste her cherry lips. He was betting that she’d taste like cherries too.

“Brooke,” he breathed. She was breathing as heavily as he was, and couldn’t get out the rest of what he wanted to say to her. He wanted to ask if she’d be okay with him kissing her, but none of that mattered right now. The way that she looked at him was all he needed—she wanted him just as badly as he wanted her.

dipped his head, gently kissing her lips, and damn if she didn’t taste like cherries. Brooke moaned and wrapped her arms around his waist, giving him the green light to take more from her. pulled her into his body, framing her face with his hands as he pressed his lips against hers once more. This time, when she opened for him, he took that as his cue to deepen the kiss, letting his tongue find hers. And when he broke the kiss, leaving them both panting, he could see the regret on Brooke’s face. That wasn’t what he was expecting after that kiss, but he could tell that she had put her defenses up again and there would be no tearing them down.

“I’m sorry,” Brooke said, “I shouldn’t have done that. You’re my client and that was very unprofessional of me.”

“Fuck that, Brooke,” he growled. “You want me as much as I want you. I can see it in your eyes every time you look at me.”

“I do want you, , but acting on my feelings while I’m your lawyer is a bad idea,” Brooke insisted.

“What if I fired you as my lawyer?” he asked. “Would you kiss me then?”

She barked out her laugh, taking a step back from him. He instantly missed her body against his own. “You’d give up a good lawyer and the chance to clear your name for another kiss?” she asked. He’d give up more than that for another kiss from Brooke, but he was sure that telling her that would be a mistake.

“Brooke,” he breathed, reaching for her. She pulled away from him, crossing her hands over her chest. Yeah—she had put her defenses in place and there would be nothing that he could do to change that.

“I think you should go, ,” Brook insisted. “I’d like to take a nap now.” He knew that she was using that as an excuse to get rid of him, and that felt like a kick to the nuts, but he wouldn’t force himself on her. No, if Brooke wanted him, she’d have to give him the words now.

“Suit yourself,” he grumbled, walking past her, and slamming the door on his way out of her room. wasn’t sure how he’d get past the steamy kiss that they just shared, but he’d have to find a way because Brooke had just made it very clear that it wasn’t going to happen again any time soon.