Free Viper by Patricia A. Rasey

then she tried to sidestep the both of them.
    Cara wasn't in the mood to entertain two of her least favorite people. They could humor each other, for all she cared. Suzi hadn't bothered to call Cara after she had left town. Although that wasn’t exactly being fair, since Cara was the one who had her number changed and hadn’t passed it along. When Cara left behind Pleasant, she left behind everyone in it as well. She could hardly blame Suzi for her own actions. And Kane … well, who the hell knew what the biker was up to? Although her job as lead detective was to find out and nail his well-formed ass to the wall.
    Kane grasped her shoulders, stopping her from fleeing as she intended. The heat from his touch seared through her sweater and into her flesh as if he had caressed her bare skin. The man couldn’t be accused of being stone cold, which meant he was indeed flesh and blood, ruling out the ridiculous vampire notion. She stiffened her spine and looked back up at him, hoping her gaze told him to leave her the hell alone. But apparently he wasn’t getting the message.
    "Where's the fire, Detective?" Kane asked, a smirk turning up a very sensual set of lips. Lord, she could imagine how soft they would feel against her own. Her heart picked up a beat and her breath stuck in her throat.
    Cara willed her libido back into its dormant stage. "It's my bedtime," she said, filling her tone with sarcasm.
    His smile widened as though humored, before it dawned on Cara where his thoughts likely had led him. Great, Brahnam, why not just invite him into that bed of yours?
    Cara gritted her teeth and shook off his hold. "It's late."
    "I beg to differ,” Kane said as he allowed her to step back. “The night is young. Care to join us, Detective?"
    "No. You and Suzi can have fun entertaining one another." She tried a second time to brush past him, only to have her efforts stymied again. Settling one hand on her hip, she glared up at him. "Is there something you want, Mister Tepes?"
    His smile deepened. "It depends on what you're offering, Detective."
    Suzi grunted, obviously annoyed by his taunts of Cara. Not that Cara cared one iota what Suzi thought, but she’d be damned if she allowed Kane any farther under her skin. "Go to hell."
    This time, Cara managed to stomp by him and headed for her car in the parking lot. She had forgotten that Murphy's Tavern and Blood 'n' Rave shared the same mall parking lot. Unlucky for her, she had quit Murphy's the exact time Kane and his date had left the seedier bar. Kane had some nerve hitting on her while in the company of Suzi. She might have felt sorry for the girl had Suzi not been glaring at her.
    Cara reached her car, clicked her remote to unlock the Charger, then crawled behind her seat, taking one final look back to see Kane had thankfully let her go without following. Good. Maybe he had finally gotten the message she wasn’t interested.
    Now, Cara needed to convince herself.
     
    * * *
     
    Cara grabbed her purse from the passenger seat and stepped out of the car, locking the doors. The night was heavy with humidity, curling the escaping tendrils of her hair. She blew a couple from her face as she dug for the house keys from the bottom of her purse, making her way through the dim security lighting to the back of the house. Glass crunched beneath the soft soles of her shoes as she stepped onto the stoop. Her gaze followed the sound. Clear shards scattered the cement, twinkling from the porch light. Her heart raced and her mouth dropped as she spotted the large hole in the window of the door. Reaching for her purse again, Cara withdrew her Glock and held it at the ready.
    Her blood pounded in her ears.
    Slowly, she pushed open the back door, holding her breath as the small creak echoed through the still house. More glass crunched beneath her feet as she stepped over the threshold, indicating the window had been broken from the outside inward. Cara stopped, trying to detect any sound over the