Torn - Cynthia Eden Page 0,102

back, took her order, and when she sipped her apple martini a few minutes later, the sweet taste rolled right over her tongue.

Again she looked back toward the door.

Warm hands settled around her waist, making her jump and sending some of that apple martini spilling over her chin and down the front of her top.

“Welcome home.”

The hands were a heavy, possessive weight on her hips, and she spun in her chair because the voice wasn’t Wade’s.

“Flynn,” she said, her eyes widening as she took in the blond male before her. The man she’d left the bar with just days before. They’d gone into the back alley . . .

And Wade had changed everything.

“Hey there, gorgeous.” Flynn flashed her a wide smile, one that made his green eyes gleam and his dimples wink at her. “Missed you while you were in Savannah.”

She and Flynn . . . they’d been lovers. Once. No commitment, no—­

Strings.

Her gaze darted over his shoulder and to the door. “How did you even know I’d gone to Savannah?” She hadn’t mentioned that to him, had she? Hadn’t she just said that she was leaving for a case?

He laughed. A rich, deep rumble. “You told me. When we ran into each other on my morning jog.” He took a seat on the bar stool next to her, but he leaned in close, crowding her with his body. “Though you didn’t give me any more details. You and your mysterious cases . . .” His hand reached out and his thumb gently slid over her chin.

Victoria jerked away from his touch.

His brows shot up. “Easy. You just had a little bit of drink on you.” He brought his thumb to his mouth and licked away the moisture.

She shot off her stool. “No, Flynn, it’s not happening.”

He laughed again. “What’s not?”

Flynn had always been so easygoing. No pressure. And he was fine with no strings. She wasn’t.

“I’m meeting someone tonight. The guy—­the guy from the alley.”

“Your partner.” His face darkened. “I didn’t like the look of him, Vik. Too intense. Dangerous.”

No, Wade wasn’t dangerous, not to her. “We’re together,” she said flatly. She wasn’t going to play around with some other guy while Wade was on his way.

Flynn nodded. “Fine, Vik, fine. As long as you’re happy . . .” He took a bottle of beer and saluted her with it. “Good for you.”

Her shoulders relaxed.

Then Flynn glanced around the bar. “But if you’re so together . . . why isn’t he here?”

WADE RAN OUT of his apartment. He was running too damn tight on time. Gabe had called, wanting a full update because Dace had contacted him . . . trying to tie up loose ends.

The call with Gabe had gone long. And now he was rushing to get over to that bar and meet Victoria. No other bozos had better even think of moving in on her—­

What the hell?

Wade stopped right next to his motorcycle. A motorcycle with very flat tires. Tires that hadn’t just deflated—­close examination showed that they’d clearly been slashed.

His bike had been fine earlier. He’d checked it out briefly right after he got home. Then he’d crashed.

Now, though . . .

I can’t get to Victoria this way.

Sonofabitch. He jogged toward the main street and saw not a single fucking taxi. He needed to call Victoria but—­

The cops in Savannah kept her phone. She’d contacted him from her landline before, he’d seen her number on the caller ID. When he’d talked with Gabe before, Gabe told him that he was taking care of replacing both his and Victoria’s smart phones. That replacement really needed to hurry the hell along.

He started jogging down the road. There had to be a taxi somewhere. This was Atlanta, for shit’s sake. He’d find a ride, and he would get to Victoria.

VICTORIA GLANCED DOWN at her watch. “It’s only been an hour.”

“What?” Now Flynn sounded shocked. “You’ve been waiting on the jerk for an hour?” He hopped off his stool and reached for her hand. “No way. Absolutely not. You don’t wait for some fool. Come on, dance with me.”

So meeting at Wild Jokers hadn’t been her best idea ever. At the time, everything had seemed to start for her and Wade right there . . . and it seemed like—­maybe a fitting place to meet. She’d thought they could dance, get a drink, and then go back to her place.

“Dance with me,” he said again, flashing his dimples.

His dimples were cute, but he wasn’t Wade and she was far