Strong, Sleek and Sinful - By Lorie O'Clare Page 0,72
you fucked me.”
He turned the doorknob with a bit more force, fairly confident he could break it if he wanted. Not that he would, but something more than a thesis paper was hidden behind that door.
“Perry, don’t make me call nine-one-one.”
It was her tone that grabbed him more than her words. She meant it. She would humiliate him by calling Dispatch to keep him out of the room. Letting go of the door, he stalked down the hallway and out her front door, leaving it open behind him. Without turning around he knew she stood in the doorway. Her gaze pierced the back of his neck, making it prickle.
“I’ll be here at five on Wednesday to take you to my sister’s,” he called over his shoulder. By the time he climbed in and started his Jeep, Kylie’s front door was closed. “I’m going to learn what you’re up to, Kylie Dover,” he whispered into the darkness, and pulled away from her curb.
Checking his phone that he’d intentionally left in the car, he pushed the button to hear voice-mail messages. There were two new messages.
“Flynn, this is Bealey,” the first message began.
Officer Ron Bealey oversaw the Crime Analysis Department, his frazzled tone proof of the never-ending job he appeared to embrace. Bealey had been with the department long before Perry’s sister’s husband, David, joined the force.
“We’ve torn down that hard drive you sent over. There are no chat archives from any program showing she spoke with anyone by the name of Peter. Give me a call in the morning. We’ll have the hard drive ready to ship back over. Sorry to offer a dead end, man,” Bealey added, and hung up.
The automated voice asked whether Perry wanted to save or delete the message. He saved the message and listened as the second message began.
“Perry, what are you doing, bro? It’s Noah. Call me back when you can.”
The automated voice offered Perry his options. Glancing to see when the call came in and then what time it was now, he quickly dialed Noah Kayne’s number. It rang four times before a woman answered.
“Is Noah there?” Perry asked.
“Sure. Oh wait, you’re Perry,” she said, her soft voice suddenly sounding animated. “Noah, it’s Perry,” she called out. “He’ll be right here.”
Perry didn’t wait a minute before his old FBI friend came on the line.
“Screening your calls,” Noah teased when he came on the line.
“Got to keep out the riffraff.” Perry accelerated onto the interstate and headed toward his neighborhood. His friend sounded relaxed, happy, and shooting the shit with him for a few minutes helped lighten Perry’s mood. By the time he pulled into his driveway, he was laughing over an old joke. “One of these days I’m going to show up on your doorstep and set that woman right about you.”
“She’s head over heels for me, my friend. Nothing you can say will change her mind.”
“I thought you said she was intelligent.” Perry laughed easily when Noah defended Rain to the point where he announced she’d agreed to marry him. “And this convinces me that she’s right in the head?” Perry envied Noah’s happiness, though, and it hit him as odd that he did. “Congrats, man. I’ll be looking for my invite.”
“Invite, hell. You’re going to be my best man.”
“Well, hell. I’m honored. And more than willing to give you away.”
“The bride is given away, not the groom.”
“Damn shame,” Perry said, and headed inside and to his refrigerator. Pulling out a beer, he treaded through his dark house to his den and computer. “I tell you what, though. We’ve got a mess down here that hopefully I’ll have cleared up before the wedding. Have you set the date?”
“Rain hasn’t decided on a date yet. I’ll let you know when she tells me. Don’t be surprised if you and I get about a week’s notice. She seems to think that even though I’m the one who proposed, I might change my mind if I know the date too far in advance.”
“Don’t ask me to explain women to you,” Perry said, snorting and then taking a long drink of his beer. Relaxing in his chair, he remembered the quick change in Kylie’s attitude when he made a show of trying to get inside the middle bedroom. It was like cornering a nervous cat. He swore if he’d pushed her a moment longer, she would have pounced. Although if she attacked, it would have been round two of the lovemaking. Damn if that woman didn’t get