Read Online Cold Hearted (Cold Justice Book 6) by Toni Anderson - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Toni Anderson
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a little class to the cramped quarters.
Darsh came in behind her. “At least it’s cozy.” One side of his mouth tipped up and, for the first time, his eyes held a gleam of humor.
The moment she’d seen him walk into that bar flashed through her mind. He’d been with a group of guys all dressed the same; a bit sweaty and rumpled, as if they’d been out playing war games all day. They’d all been fit, attractive men, but she hadn’t been able to take her eyes off this man here, and they both knew how that had ended up. Her heart pounded, and her face flamed with heat, unfamiliar tingles of arousal stirred her blood for the first time in years.
His gaze touched her lips, but his expression was guarded. They were both pretending that sexual attraction wasn’t charging the molecules between them. That path went nowhere, and she refused to follow it.
“I’ll get out of your way and let you get settled in.” She went to brush past him, but he held her by the shoulders, his hands like hot brands even through her jacket.
“Tell me something?” His voice was deep and smooth like whiskey after midnight. “Does your husband know about what happened?”
She jerked out of his hold as if she’d been scalded, and knocked her head on the shelf behind her. Goddammit . She rubbed the sore spot. “It doesn’t matter. I’m not married anymore.”
“You’re divorced?” His hand shot out to stop her again when she would have run.
Being manhandled was not her idea of fun, so she pried off his grip and restrained herself from breaking his fingers. “No.”
She ignored his initial look of confusion and the way his eyes changed from suspicious to interested with the knowledge that her husband was dead, and she was single. She didn’t owe him any explanations. And it didn’t change anything between them.
“You can get supplies from the secretarial staff in the office next to Chief Strassen’s. When you’re ready to listen to the 911 call, come find me.”
“Erin—”
“No,” she cut in sharply. “It’s over. Done. It didn’t mean anything, and there won’t be a repeat performance.”
His jaw hardened, but apart from that, he didn’t move. When he spoke, the anger in his voice was barely restrained. “I wasn’t asking for a repeat performance. I was trying to make sense of what the hell is going on here.”
She raised a brow. His expression gave nothing away, but she knew he was lying. She tapped the gold shield he’d attached to his belt, and he jolted in surprise. Maybe he thought she was going after something lower.
“The only thing going on is a murder investigation.” Then she squeezed through the doorway and fled.
Her problem, she decided, striding back to her desk, was jet-lag combined with lack of sleep, plus a horrific double homicide and the absence of a normal sex life. A splash of cold water on her face and mainlining some caffeine could help with the first two enough to get her through the next few hours. Her lack of a sex life was something she’d just have to deal with, because she wasn’t opening herself up for heartbreak again. She came to an abrupt standstill as she eyed the hard plastic chair under her desk.
Get over it . A day or two at most, and Darsh Singh would be gone. She just needed to forget their past and wring as much information from him as possible so they could put this killer away. That was the only thing that mattered.
Chapter Five
D arsh sat at a small table opposite Erin and Officer Bickham, the same cop who’d let him through the police tape last night. He was glad for the buffer of another person’s presence. The minute he and Erin had been alone together and he’d found out she wasn’t married, his attraction had ratcheted up by a factor of a million, which wasn’t convenient or professional. And if she wasn’t married and hadn’t been divorced, then the guy was dead, and that raised a multitude of questions all on its own. Erin Donovan was a
Darsh came in behind her. “At least it’s cozy.” One side of his mouth tipped up and, for the first time, his eyes held a gleam of humor.
The moment she’d seen him walk into that bar flashed through her mind. He’d been with a group of guys all dressed the same; a bit sweaty and rumpled, as if they’d been out playing war games all day. They’d all been fit, attractive men, but she hadn’t been able to take her eyes off this man here, and they both knew how that had ended up. Her heart pounded, and her face flamed with heat, unfamiliar tingles of arousal stirred her blood for the first time in years.
His gaze touched her lips, but his expression was guarded. They were both pretending that sexual attraction wasn’t charging the molecules between them. That path went nowhere, and she refused to follow it.
“I’ll get out of your way and let you get settled in.” She went to brush past him, but he held her by the shoulders, his hands like hot brands even through her jacket.
“Tell me something?” His voice was deep and smooth like whiskey after midnight. “Does your husband know about what happened?”
She jerked out of his hold as if she’d been scalded, and knocked her head on the shelf behind her. Goddammit . She rubbed the sore spot. “It doesn’t matter. I’m not married anymore.”
“You’re divorced?” His hand shot out to stop her again when she would have run.
Being manhandled was not her idea of fun, so she pried off his grip and restrained herself from breaking his fingers. “No.”
She ignored his initial look of confusion and the way his eyes changed from suspicious to interested with the knowledge that her husband was dead, and she was single. She didn’t owe him any explanations. And it didn’t change anything between them.
“You can get supplies from the secretarial staff in the office next to Chief Strassen’s. When you’re ready to listen to the 911 call, come find me.”
“Erin—”
“No,” she cut in sharply. “It’s over. Done. It didn’t mean anything, and there won’t be a repeat performance.”
His jaw hardened, but apart from that, he didn’t move. When he spoke, the anger in his voice was barely restrained. “I wasn’t asking for a repeat performance. I was trying to make sense of what the hell is going on here.”
She raised a brow. His expression gave nothing away, but she knew he was lying. She tapped the gold shield he’d attached to his belt, and he jolted in surprise. Maybe he thought she was going after something lower.
“The only thing going on is a murder investigation.” Then she squeezed through the doorway and fled.
Her problem, she decided, striding back to her desk, was jet-lag combined with lack of sleep, plus a horrific double homicide and the absence of a normal sex life. A splash of cold water on her face and mainlining some caffeine could help with the first two enough to get her through the next few hours. Her lack of a sex life was something she’d just have to deal with, because she wasn’t opening herself up for heartbreak again. She came to an abrupt standstill as she eyed the hard plastic chair under her desk.
Get over it . A day or two at most, and Darsh Singh would be gone. She just needed to forget their past and wring as much information from him as possible so they could put this killer away. That was the only thing that mattered.
Chapter Five
D arsh sat at a small table opposite Erin and Officer Bickham, the same cop who’d let him through the police tape last night. He was glad for the buffer of another person’s presence. The minute he and Erin had been alone together and he’d found out she wasn’t married, his attraction had ratcheted up by a factor of a million, which wasn’t convenient or professional. And if she wasn’t married and hadn’t been divorced, then the guy was dead, and that raised a multitude of questions all on its own. Erin Donovan was a
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