Lead Me On

Jane Morgan was fine. She was just a stone-cold bitch.

His mouth twitched at the lie. No. She wasn’t cold. She’d rocked his fucking world on Friday night, and if he was being honest with himself, that was part of the reason he was so pissed. When he’d stepped out of the shower and toweled himself off, Chase had been downright giddy. Exhausted, but giddy. Like a goddamn little girl.

“Shit,” Chase muttered, running a hand over his eyes.

At the very moment he decided to salvage his pride and drive away, a car turned into the lot. A little white BMW zipped past him, Jane Morgan at the wheel. She didn’t glance in his direction. In fact, she seemed totally lost in thought, brow furrowed as she pulled straight into a space and jumped out of the car.

By the time Chase got his door open, she’d already unlocked the office and slipped inside. Being late probably didn’t sit well with a girl like Jane.

And the sight of her, all prim and proper again in a dark gray suit, wasn’t sitting well with Chase. She looked the way she always did. Unruffled. Unmoved. Cool and composed as she turned on lights and moved toward her desk. She looked as if Friday night had never happened.

Until Chase walked through the door.

Jane’s eyes flew wide as she swung toward him. “Oh!” she yelped. “What are you doing here?”

She sounded so absolutely incredulous that Chase felt a jolt of fury. “Seriously?”

“Well…” He watched her gather up all her shock and will it away to nothing. It took only a few moments before her expression settled into calmness, and she was prim Jane again. “Yes, I’m very serious. What can I help you with, Mr. Chase?”

“Look at my face, Jane. I’m not in the mood for this. You took off in the middle of the night. While I was in the shower.”

“Er…” Her face stayed impassive, but she had the grace to blush, anyway.

“First of all, I was terrified something had happened to you.”

She shook her head, drawing his attention to the way she’d rolled her hair under at the nape of her neck. “What do you mean?”

“I mean that you were out walking in the middle of the night!”

“It wasn’t the middle of the night. It was nine-thirty. In Aspen.” When he opened his mouth to cut her off, she raised a hand to stop him. “I only walked the two blocks to Main Street, and I had a can of mace with me. I grabbed a cab as soon as I reached The Lodge.”

He crossed his arms. “And how was I supposed to know that?”

A flicker of confusion crossed her face, and Jane dropped her hand. “I’m sorry.”

“Secondly,” he growled, uncrossing his arms and moving forward until his thighs hit her desk, “that was really fucking rude, Jane.”

“I… I suppose it—”

“Kind of cruel, as a matter of fact.”

“Cruel?” she whispered.

“I was okay with being your little birthday gift to yourself. Use me. Fine. But I don’t appreciate being treated like a worthless piece of garbage afterward.”

“I’m sorry. I… I thought you’d be glad I was gone.”

“Now, that’s just a lie, Jane. If you thought I’d be glad, you would’ve stuck your head in my bathroom and said, ‘Thanks for the ride, stud. I’ll call you sometime.’ Instead you waited until I’d turned my back and then snuck away so that you wouldn’t have to speak to me after you fucked me.”

That brought more color to her cheeks. He felt a moment’s happiness that he’d gotten to her, and then the unthinkable happened. Jane Morgan began to cry.

Not really crying, Chase scrambled to assure himself. Her eyes just got a little…wet. She sniffed.

“Oh, shit,” he muttered. “I’m sorry.”

“No, you’re right.” She sniffed again and swiped at her eyes. “I was beyond rude.”

“Okay, but I shouldn’t have said that.”

“You have every right to be mad. I was… I told myself it was okay because you were a man, but it wasn’t okay. It was unkind. I’m sorry. I’m really sorry.”

“All right, apology accepted. I didn’t mean to make you cry.”

She put her shoulders back and took a deep breath, seemingly calming herself, but a tear still escaped and slipped down her cheek before she swiped it impatiently away. “I had a tough weekend. It’s not your fault.”

“Bad birthday?”

“Oh, boy,” she said on a laugh, but the laugh turned into a little hiccup.

“Aw, Jane,” he murmured, edging around the desk to pull her into his arms. He half expected her to resist, but she stepped into him and pressed her forehead to his shoulder.

“I’m okay. Really.” She actually sounded a little better. He’d expected her to break down, but she took a few breaths and relaxed. “All right,” she whispered, but she didn’t push away.

“Tell me nothing bad happened to you.”

“No, nothing. I’m just stressed out and tired. I had trouble sleeping last night.”

Good. Now he could enjoy the chance to touch her. He recognized the scent of her shampoo already. It had been imprinted permanently on his brain on Friday night. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

“Thank you. I’m really sorry, Chase.”

Chase was busy with thoughts of the last time he’d touched her, so it took a moment for the noise behind him to register. He was just lifting his head when Quinn walked past.

“Hey, Chase,” Quinn muttered. “Morning, Jane.”

Jane jumped back, jerking violently away before Chase could drop his arms. Inhaling sharply, she slapped a hand over her mouth as if to stifle the sound, her eyes flying to her boss’s back. But Quinn walked on, head down, totally absorbed in the papers in his hand. A few seconds later he disappeared into his office and closed the door.

“Oh, my God,” Jane whispered. “Chase, you’ve got to get out of here. Oh, God.”

“All right, all right. I’ll go.” He held up his hands to appease her, but she backed away. “But you owe me another date.”

“I certainly do not—”

Quinn’s door opened. He stuck his head out, brow furrowed with harsh suspicion when his eye fell on Chase. He glared at Chase for a moment, then his eyes slid to Jane.

“Jane? Is everything okay here?” He sent Chase another dark glance, as if she needed a hint.

“Yes, sir. I’m sorry. Everything’s fine.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yes, Mr. Jennings.”

Quinn took a moment to look between them again, eyes narrowed. “All right. If you’re sure you’re okay…”

As soon as his door closed again, Jane snapped, “Get out!”

“Absolutely, as long as you agree to dinner.”

“I specifically said… Okay, fine! Just go.”

“I need your number.”

Jane snatched up a Post-it note and scribbled on it before shoving it into his hands. “Out. Now.”

He smiled. “I’ll call you.”

She was growling when he left, but Chase wasn’t the least bit worried. That girl was hot. And he wanted more time with her, despite the way she’d treated him. He’d enjoyed the hell out of being used…up until the part where she’d snuck out as if he was a gigolo she didn’t want to pay.

Next time he’d tie her up before he took a shower.

Grinning in anticipation, Chase slammed his truck door and headed out to the morning’s site. If only there’d been an explosion scheduled, he would’ve been in a perfect state of bliss.

“THE POLICE ARE OBVIOUSLY trying to draw this out. They’re looking for something bigger, but your brother claims to have no idea what it could be.”

Jane nodded at the grandmotherly woman behind the desk. She didn’t look like a defense attorney, and maybe that was a good thing. She certainly seemed sharp and aggressive.

“The charges are ridiculous. Felony grand larceny will never hold up. I’ve filed for a probable causes hearing. We’ll hear soon.”

“You haven’t found out anything more about this Michelle woman?”

“No. You thought you remembered the name from the search warrant?”

“I think I remember Michelle, but not the last name, and my mom threw the warrant away so she wouldn’t have to look at it. Shouldn’t you be able to get another copy?”

“I should have it today. As to who she could be… Jessie says that one of his friends is dealing. He wouldn’t say who or what, but apparently a girl OD’d a few weeks ago. He’s worried it has something to do with that, but swears he’s never sold drugs. Maybe one of his friends is trying to pin something on him.”

Jane felt her heart speed to a panicked pace. “Oh, God.”

The attorney held up a steady hand. “That’s just Jessie’s mind turning. There’s absolutely no evidence of anything, one way or another. The cause hearing will happen soon. They’ll have to show the rest of their hand and that will work to our advantage.”

“Is there something I can do in the meantime? Anything?”

“Just be patient. And be ready for my call if you want to be at the hearing.”

Her stomach turned as she wondered who the prosecuting attorney would be. “I don’t think I can. Is it important that I be there?”

She nearly slumped with relief when the woman waved a dismissive hand and shook her head.

Jane hurried out of the attorney’s office, trying not to look guilty. Even respectable citizens had attorneys. And even excellent office managers occasionally snuck out of work at four forty-five if the office was empty.

Mr. Jennings hadn’t asked about Chase. He’d sent her a few questioning looks throughout the day, but that was the extent of it. And he wouldn’t have asked why she needed to leave early either, but she’d still wanted to avoid the conversation.

The knot in her stomach eased a tiny fraction as she stepped out into the spring air and felt it cool her cheeks.

The attorney seemed competent, at any rate. Levelheaded. Patient.

But Jane wasn’t feeling patient. She was feeling guilty. And that guilt was demanding action. There had to be something she could do. Even something small like comforting her mother.

As she drove toward her parents’ house in Carbondale for the third day in a row, the gorgeous scenery of jagged mountains and new leaves blurred as she considered the horror that had happened in the office that morning.

First she’d realized how awful she’d been to Chase. He might be a big tattooed bruiser, but he wasn’t trash. And even if he had been trash… Well, trash had feelings, too. Jane could attest to that.

And then… Then somehow the past few days had all caught up with her. Standing there in front of Chase, feeling ashamed for how she’d treated him, that moment of weakness had allowed fear and anxiety to bubble through the cracks in her shield. For a moment she’d been just a girl whose little brother was in big trouble. She’d felt helpless. The next thing she’d known, she’d been wrapped in his arms, crying.

It had felt good. His arms were strong and his skin was so hot. Jane had gone from being horrified by his presence to snuggling him within the space of one minute.

She shook her head as the highway shot past canyon walls. A semi rocketed past her, shaking the car, but her whole world seemed to be shaking right now, and Jane didn’t even wince.

It had been idiotic to think she could hook up with a guy she’d met at work and keep it totally separate from her professional life. And now she would have to go on a date with him.

“Crud,” she whispered.

Crud, because it was supposed to have been a onetime thing.

Double crud, because she really, really wanted to do him again. And if they were going on a date, she’d have the perfect opportunity.

This wasn’t her anymore. She didn’t date men whose jobs involved shovels and sweat.

But she felt a need to make up for how she’d left him on Friday. More guilt. She should have known he’d worry. Chase seemed like a nice guy. He’d certainly been nice about being her birthday present.

Jane suddenly found herself smiling as she remembered his crazy theory that she was a young widow in the throes of grief. But as she drove over a rise and headed down the other side, her smile froze. At the bottom of the hill sat Ryders. Chrome glinted off dozens of motorcycles parked in the lot. Broken glass shimmered in the gravel.

Ryders was the biker bar where Jessie liked to hang out…and was his favorite crime scene, apparently. Jane was pretty familiar with it herself.

As she passed the bar, a greasy-looking guy walked out, his arm around a woman whose leather vest covered only about 45 percent of her breasts.

Trash, Jane immediately thought, then winced and shook her head. She knew it was wrong to judge people based on appearance. She knew it was a defense mechanism, but that didn’t stop the hostility she felt toward women who wore leather cut down to their belly buttons. It was a knee-jerk reaction to her own sordid past, and she didn’t know how to let it go.

She wanted to let it go, because she knew every time she judged someone else, she was really thinking of herself. It wasn’t healthy.

Seconds later a bike roared past, speeding around her. The driver looked a lot like Jessie, and Jane felt a shock at the quick, sharp thought that he’d been exonerated and released. It wasn’t him. He didn’t own a Harley, first off. Second, he hadn’t been released from jail.

But that brief moment of surprise shook loose an idea, and Jane hit the brakes and pulled over onto the shoulder to turn the car around. Jessie and his friends hung out at Ryders. Maybe she could find out who was dealing. Maybe she could get the name of the girl who’d OD’d.

She eased into a narrow space at the very edge of the lot. She locked the car, then checked the handle just to be sure. Conscious of what Jessie had freely admitted to, she tucked her purse tightly under her arm and crunched across the gravel to the blank wood door. There were no windows here. No one wanted to hang out at a well-lit bar.

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