of others; he wasn't a publicly demonstrative man, but she could see the heat in his eyes as he looked down at her. The man definitely intended for the evening to have a more intimate end.
* * *
"We found them smoking in the alley, both higher than kites," the patrol officer announced as he accepted the soft drink a waitress handed him. "Claimed they came after their back pay, but the drugs blow the terms of their bond. They won't be out again."
The detective in charge snapped his ball point shut and shoved his notepad back in his pocket. "Until we find the dealer and where he stashes his stuff, the problem will only get worse." He glanced in Maya's direction. "Heard your sister is back in town."
"My sister has absolutely..." Maya started out of her seat as if prepared to scratch the cop's eyes out.
Axell grabbed her shoulder and shoved her back down. She turned her glare in his direction and spiked his foot with her heel so hard, he grimaced, but still ignored her fury. He answered for her. "Cleo is out at my place tonight, reading books to her kid. That was a cheap, lazy shot. And I'd already paid the bastards. This is a set up. Ask them where they got the stuff."
"Those kind never give straight answers." Undeterred by Axell's insult, the detective got in his parting remark. "Heard that musician staying at the shop is working at a club downtown that got raided. You might wanta be more careful who you associate with, Mr. Holm. Tar sticks."
For a woman who detested confrontation, Maya certainly put up a struggle as Axell grabbed her arms and physically held her in her seat, clapping a hand over her mouth as the detective walked off. She bit his fingers as savagely as she could and dug her fingers into his arm. He was damned glad he wasn't wearing just a T-shirt. She'd had her nails done, and they cut like miniature knives.
"You have no right—" she sputtered as the door closed behind the police and Axell released her.
"I have every right," he returned coldly, dragging her from the booth and toward the door. "This is my place, and I'll not have the local cops on my back. They just don't like outsiders, and Cleo and Stephen," he glanced down at her briefly, "and even you, are outsiders. It's much easier to pin bad things on people they don't know. They're human. Hell, I've met your sister and Stephen, and I still don't trust them. So let it go."
"You don't trust them?" she asked incredulously as he pushed her into the alley. "You think I would leave the kids with anyone I didn't trust? What kind of person are you? Would you leave Constance with someone you think deals drugs?"
"I'm trusting your judgment in leaving them there, and that's all I'm trusting. And there are times I wonder why the hell I'm doing that." Axell could see all his plans for the evening going up in a tower of flame. If he'd thought Maya capable of planning anything, he'd blame her for the evening's fiasco. He was in dire need and she was no less attractive for being furious. He had to hold on to her arm to prevent her from slapping him. He could think of a lot better things his hand could be doing right now.
"Right. I'm an airheaded idiot too naive and too stupid to know if someone's doing drugs. What do I know about people, anyway? They all look alike to me."
She was on a real roll, Axell realized as he tried to steer her toward the car. He'd married a spacy pacifist, and she'd emerged from her cocoon as a Valkyrie, prepared to defend those she loved. He'd always detested scenes like this, but the earlier adrenaline rush had combined with too much testosterone, and his lust not only took on new proportions, but entirely new perspectives. The sensual heat of her in his arms baked his brains.
"Why don't you take away my license and keys and keep me at home, where I can't hurt myself?" she taunted as he tried to drag her toward the car. "That's what you'd really like, isn't it? Complete control. Well, dammit, I'm not one of your little tin soldiers."
To Axell's surprise, she jerked her arm from his grasp and ran down the alley in those ridiculous strapped high heels. He'd never seen Maya in high heels. She