Free Stay With Me by S.E.Harmon Page B

curiosity a second longer. “So what are you doing?”
    He paused but answered gamely. “Putting my coffee mug in the sink. Exciting stuff, huh?”
    “It’s no high-speed car chase, but whatever.”
    The sound of his laughter made my girly insides quiver a little. I could think of no further reason to hold him on the phone, and I concluded the conversation reluctantly. “I’ll be able to e-mail you the uploaded video and a report of what I found. Or I can deliver it if you don’t want the information electronically.”
    “I’d rather you deliver it,” he said quickly.
    My eyebrows shot up, and I smiled. He was probably blushing at how that sounded. I wanted to bang my head on the steering wheel. I’d found the perfect guy—smart, funny, adorable, and on a side note, good-looking—and he didn’t play for my team. God, I wanted to know what could happen if Jordan would relax and let things happen. But I couldn’t begrudge him his preference. How would I feel if someone told me to relax and let things happen with a woman? Uh-uh, girlfriend.
    “I probably don’t even have anything to worry about.” He stopped short and started again. “Everything’s still okay, right?”
    I gunned it onto the main road, tires squealing a little. The Beemer made a quick U-turn, and I groaned. U-turns were never good. U-turns meant a change in pattern, a change from the normal routine. Excepting poorly designed roads, no one scheduled regular U-turns into her daily routine. She was coming toward me, but all I could see through her tinted windows was a pair of huge dark shades perched on what I assumed was her pale face.
    “Perfect,” I said and winced. “I gotta run.” I didn’t wait for a response, but tossed the phone in the cup holder and made a sharp U-turn.
    Bessie groaned.
    I made it around the next bend just in time to see the tail end of the BMW fishtail onto I-95. I kept my eye fixed on her car while trying to navigate traffic, sliding neatly into her lane behind two smaller cars. They were big enough for a distraction between us but not too tall for me to lose her. She suddenly whipped into the HOV lane, and I glanced at my watch. The lane was restricted for another two hours, and I shook my head as she surged ahead. The highway crested into a high curve, and I watched her pull away with regret.
    I wasn’t the police anymore, and I wasn’t looking to be stopped by them either. Nor was I going to get killed trying to see where this woman was headed. But it damn sure wasn’t to work. Coral Gables was the other way. It didn’t look good for Jordan, and I felt horrible that my first thought was pleasure. He would be devastated. And then you’ll move in for the kill.
    “For God’s sakes,” I snapped at my wreckage of a conscience. But no matter how much I scolded myself, I couldn’t deny that I wanted Rachel to be a fucking dirty cheater.
    I pulled off the next exit and coasted to a stop in a gas station parking lot. I bought a Coke Zero and a bag of Fritos and wrote my report in my truck, muttering under my breath the entire time. I was a professional, and I didn’t like to lose my prey. But the woman drove like a fucking stunt driver. Not to mention all the illegal turns and breaking the speed limit on every street and interstate she’d been on. I’d hand off the next shift to Drew—the Mazda would do a better job keeping up with her than my poor old girl.
    I started up Bessie to coughing and sputtering. “No, no, no.” I groaned as I tried to crank it up again. “Don’t do this now.”
    In response, she coughed and died.

Chapter 8
     
    “Y OU WANT to tell me again why we’re going to a pub again?” I groused, shoving my hands deeper into the pockets of my stonewashed Rocco jeans. The heat was out full force even though the sun had gone down long ago. “Or why you parked on the moon?”
    My brother was one of those freaks who parked in the last spot on the lot to get every crumb of exercise