Page 56 of Dining for Love
Reid
THIS HAS BEEN the day from hell. The absolute worst kind. Being woken up by my uncle calling me to work a massive pile-up that shouldn’t have happened, but someone was drinking and driving, and the 18-wheeler behind them couldn’t react fast enough. The pile-up was chaos, but not deadly.
I left so fast that I was in the middle of working the accident before I realized I’d not so much as left a note for Willa. Considering she’d been naked and sleeping soundly in the early dawn light of my bedroom, it was the worst kind of asshole move.
Even sorrier was the tiny thrill I got as I drove to the scene. Finally, something was happening in this sleepy town.
I’m not sure which was worse: no note for Willa, or being excited at an accident. Both are terrible.
Paperwork and phone calls took up most of the rest of the day, and then my Miami chief called.
I strode into Jack’s office. “What’s up?”
He nodded at the phone on speaker. “Chief Muñoz, I’ve gotReid.”
“Hey, Chief.”
He launched without preamble. “Things have taken a turn. You need to lie low—real low.”
My gut twisted. “What’s the damage?”
“DA didn’t have enough to hold our guy. Let the bastard out two days ago and just now got around to telling me.”
My blood went cold, then immediately boiled. “What?”
“That’s about what I said. We’ve gotten word that he’s looking for you. Any cover you might have had is totally blown, and there’s a hefty bounty out for you.”
“Shit.” I ran my hands through my hair, my thoughts running a thousand miles a minute. This was bad. Very bad.
“Just stay low, MacKinnon,” Chief cautioned. Then he clicked off.
I didn’t need to look at my uncle to know he was thinking the same thing: between JJ’s ridiculous cover stories and relentless coverage of what he’d now dubbed “The Kitten Cop,” I was the farthest thing from low.
And now it’s the afternoon, and Willa has the balls to walk right by the house without so much as a glance my way.
Well, fuck that.
After making sure Midnight has her dinner, I lock my house up and stomp over to Willa’s.
I knock, but there’s no answer. She’s probably in the shower.
I try the door, which is unlocked and incredibly stupid. It’s never a good idea on a regular day to be so exposed, but now? With the danger she’s in because of me? My gut twists. I enter the house, lock it, then stalk to her bedroom to wait.
I don’t have long. She walks into the room dripping wet, a tiny purple towel doing little to hide her curves from my ravenous eyes.
She yelps. “Jesus, Reid! What are you doing?”
“You need to lock your door,” I growl.
She opens her mouth, then closes it when my words register.
I fold my arms across my chest.
Her eyes narrow into tiny slits. “So, you bolt in the middle of the night, and now you’re breaking into my house to order me around?”
“I didn’t break in. It wasunlocked.”
“I didn’tlet you in,” she counters. “Therefore, you broke in!”