to use on you, anyway.” His gaze swept over her face. “How are you still this beautiful?” His voice had turned into a rasp. All sensual and rough. “You know, I think I almost missed you.”
She had missed him. She’d cried over the jerk. Had to bury her sorrows in her favorite cookie dough ice cream. Then she’d made herself move the hell on. If he didn’t trust her, if he didn’t want to fight for what they had, if he didn’t have faith in them…the man didn’t deserve her or her pain.
“Almost,” War continued as he finally dropped his hands and took a step away from her. “Right up until the moment when you shoved me into a pile of garbage. Not a cool move, sweet—Rose.”
Her chin notched up. “If you’re expecting an apology, you have the wrong woman.” He didn’t get it. She was fighting for her life. If she had to fight dirty, so be it. “You don’t understand what is happening here. And I don’t even understand why you are here!”
“Oh, that’s simple. I’m here…because I’m hunting you.”
She sucked in a sharp breath. She’d feared that would be the case.
“I was hired to hunt you. To find you. To turn you over to the cops.”
Frantic, Rose shook her head. “No, no, please, War, give me a chance to explain!” Talk about a nightmare situation. “It’s not what you think! I’m not—”
“If you’re expecting me to believe your lies, you have the wrong man.”
Ice covered her heart. She’d never lied to him.
His hand reached behind his back.
Rose tensed.
“Remember when I said I had something else I planned to use on you?”
Fear flooded through her. “War, don’t.”
War lifted the handcuffs he’d just pulled out. “Guess what? I think these are going to fit you perfectly.”
Chapter Two
He’d never seen fear on Rose’s face before. He’d seen lots of other things. Happiness. Pleasure. Pain. But not fear.
War hadn’t liked it when he saw the pain. The pain had been there on the last night that they’d been together, the night she’d left him. And right now, he sure as hell wasn’t liking the fear he could see, either.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” he said. Rose should know better than that. “I’m just going to haul you to jail.”
She licked her lips. Her delectable, bow-shaped, ever so bitable lips. Lips that felt like heaven against his. Lips that still made their way into his dreams. She made her way into his dreams on far too many nights. With the tumble of dark hair that skimmed her shoulders, her emerald eyes—a gorgeous green that normally sparkled with her emotions—and her smooth, creamy skin, she was a stunner. He’d been hooked on her long before they met in person. Embarrassing to admit, but he’d always tuned in for the nightly news just so he could watch her. A fucking crush. Then she’d walked into his bar…
And he’d been a goner. Two days after meeting her in person, he’d had her in his bed. He’d planned to keep her there.
But that shit hadn’t happened.
Now she was staring at him with her eyes all stark and scared, her lower lip was trembling, and if he didn’t know better… “I’m not the freaking wolf.”
Her eyes became even bigger.
“Stop looking at me like I’m going to bite you,” he growled. Okay. Growling probably wasn’t the way to reassure her, and he had nibbled on her in the past, but those had been sensual, heat-of-the-moment-type bites.
“I’m looking at you like you’re the crazy guy who just threatened to cuff me!”
“Oh, come on.” The words burst from him. “Like I haven’t cuffed you before.”
Heat immediately stained her cheeks. “That was different. And it was one time.”
It had been one hot as hell time. He wasn’t going to point out that she’d enjoyed that particular instance of being cuffed…because he knew she wasn’t going to have fun tonight. “It’s just temporary. I’ll slap a cuff on your wrist, then one on mine. It’s to make sure you don’t try to ditch me again.”
“I assure you, I will try to ditch you.”
He grunted. “I figured as much.” The cuffs felt cold in his grip. Why the hell hadn’t he slapped one on her yet? What was he waiting for? “Once we’re at the police station, I’ll take it off.”
“I can’t go to the police station.”
“You’re a person of interest in a murder investigation.” His head cocked to the left.
Her eyes narrowed on him.
“Two murders, actually,” he clarified. “So, yes, you