effect at will in front of juries, I might have been slightly swayed.
“Come home with me,” he said. “I’ve missed you too much.”
“You are out of your ever-loving mind if you think I’m going anywhere with you!”
“Why the sudden change of heart?” Dorian asked earnestly. “The other day at Caliente, I could tell your feelings were still there. I came over the next day to talk to you, but your house was burnt to a crisp and Dick had no idea where you were. I’ve been frantic ever since.”
He embraced me again, forcing his lips on mine.
What was once familiar and comforting was now repulsive. How could I have ever even thought twice about taking this guy back? The energy I felt from Dorian was a completely different kind of energy than I felt from Nash.
Dorian was powerful and strong, but in a self-centered, egotistical sort of way. He would always be looking for better deals and greener pastures. Nash felt powerful and strong to me, but more selfless. More of just everything that was right and in tune with the universe.
Also, the thing about Dorian was, he was such a good liar that even now, I didn’t know if he was really relieved to see me or just playing off the fact that he got caught snooping around somewhere he clearly shouldn’t be. Maybe he really was relieved to see me. But maybe the whole “come home with me” routine was just a ploy to get me to leave with him so he could deliver me to PetroPlex. That would seem incredibly evil, even for Dorian, but the thing is, with him, you just never knew. Above all else, he loved money, and if the price were right. . .
I twisted my neck away from Dorian’s face. “Nash!” I said. “What are you waiting for? Get him off me! Cuff him to something.”
Dorian looked up, surprised.
Nash launched himself out of the hidden chamber and tackled Dorian, wrestling him to the ground.
“Who are you?” Dorian got his arm free and delivered a punch. Nash caught the punch and expertly twisted Dorian’s arm back down. “Jensen Nash.”
Dorian grunted under Nash’s weight. “The cop?”
Nash rolled him over and cuffed his hands behind his back. “Detective.”
Suddenly, Dorian was all smiles. “Oh, I apologize, officer. Thank goodness you’re around. I don’t know what I’d do if Chloe got hurt.”
Nash rolled him over roughly and dragged him towards Schaeffer’s heavy wooden desk.
“Dorian, shut up,” I said.
Nash pulled out a second set of cuffs and double-cuffed him to the desk leg. Then he pulled Dorian’s cell phone out of its holster and threw it against the wall so that it broke.
The desk leg was thicker in the middle than on both ends, which meant Dorian couldn’t slide the cuff down to the bottom and underneath to get free. He’d have to pull the entire leg off the desk if he wanted to get away, and it was a pretty sturdy leg.
I turned towards Nash to thank him, but he refused to look at me.
My heart sank. I would have a lot of explaining to do here shortly, I was pretty sure.
Dorian. Trust him to show up at the worst possible time and ruin everything. Always.
“What are you doing here?” I demanded of Dorian.
“Trying to find you!” he said.
I resisted the urge to slap him. “You are such a liar. Did PetroPlex put you up to this, or are you just free-agenting, hoping to make a buck?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said.
“You know the rest of Schaeffer’s files were burned to a crisp in my house, right? They’re not here anymore.”
“Schaeffer’s files? What?”
“Oh come off it,” I said.
“Chloe, I swear. I was here looking for you. God knows I couldn’t get any cops in this town to do it for me. This town is the most backward place I’ve ever been in my life. I don’t know how you’ve managed down here for so long.”
“Why would you be looking for me here?”
“I didn’t know where else to look. I’d already been to your office and to your paralegal’s house and everywhere else in town. There’s not many other places to look. Kettle’s not that big, you know. I figured that since you spent a lot of time here, maybe I could find something that might give me a clue where you were.”
I wasn’t sure whether to buy it. He sounded sincere, but he always sounded sincere. It’s what made him so good in front