Page 51 of The Eleventh Hour
“No, ma’am, I just adored his work, and I wanted to hold an exhibit with a tribute piece to him, but I can’t find out his name.”
“Louis Falcon.”
I shake my head. “No, ma’am, that wasn’t his real name.”
She startles a bit but settles down and ponders what I’ve said. “Curious. The school would have records. Photos that they displayed on the walls. His name might be on there.”
“Thank you, ma’am.”
“You’re welcome, lass.”
I turn away when she calls outs.
“Why don’t you speak to his friends?”
“His friends?” I ask, startled.
“The little Harmon girl and Jacob Keylore.”
I inhale so fast I choke. I don’t know if it’s hearing my own name or Keylore that surprises me more. Jacob, I remember him; I haven’t thought of him for years. He was a short and fat kid with a seriously bad case of acne, but he was shy and sweet. He was Louis’ friend and mine.
“The Harmon girl is in the wind. I have not been able to track her down,” I say evenly.
The librarian looks at me, a little puzzled, but nods. “She moved away at the same time. She was a good girl.”
There is some relief that she hasn’t figured out that the Harmon girl who left Hurricane is the same one she’s accusing of committing murder.
I smile tightly at her. “Thank you. For the information, that is.” I make my way to the guys, ignoring their curiosity.
“The Harmon’s had another daughter?” Rafe asks.
I flinch and force a shrug.
“Yes, but don’t go saying anything. No one knows what happened to her, and it upsets the family.”
I feel bad lying, but there is no way I want that connection out in the open. After all I’ve done to keep my family separate and in the dark, I don’t want to blow it here.
“Were you friends with each other? You and the Harmon girl?”
I shrug and make sure I don’t look away from Dane’s probing eyes. “Not really. We ran in different circles.”
He grunts and pushes open the library doors. I slip through, sucking in a breath as my arm grazes his chest.
I stop dead when I see Dr Sparrow and turn back in a panic. There’s nowhere to go. I grab Dane by the shirt and drag him up against me, hiding me from view, and slam my lips on his.
I kiss him with my thoughts on Sparrow, but when his lips move under mine, everything disappears. He takes control of the kiss, moving his head to an angle that allows him better access. His thumbs slip under my top, rubbing circles on the sensitive skin of my waist. I feel alive. I wind my arm around his neck and cling to him.
Dane pulls away, and I stare at his lips. I want them back on mine. I want this more than I want air. Oh, shit, Sparrow. With trepidation making my stomach tight, I peek around his shoulder, and my whole body slumps in response to the relief I feel. I stiffen as Dane cages me against the wall. His blue eyes have darkened, and his teeth catch his bottom lip as he studies me.
I saved myself from Sparrow, but I may have opened the lid on a box that I should have left alone with this man. He looks…hungry. My stomach flutters, and I hold the eye contact, though I’m desperate to look away.
“I’m thinking you didn’t want to kiss me just for the sake of kissing me,” Dane says, and the gravel tone of his voice sends a shiver up my spine. He is a wall of sexy heat, and everything has melted away from my mind but him. There is only that predatory look in his eyes and the way he is almost, but not quite, touching me.
“I-”
“You don’t have to answer that, Jax.” Rafe slaps Dane’s hand away from me and pulls me out of the cage Dane’s arms have made around me. Again, in as many minutes, relief makes me sag. A few more seconds of that, and I might have bridged the distance myself, to hell with everything. I haven’t been this tempted in forever.
“I’d like the answer,” Dane says dryly.