fit?”
“It’ll be tight, but I’ll fit.”
Only after he’d sent her a wicked grin did she realize what she’d said.
Heat hit her cheeks. “Great. I’m stuck with a pervert. Why does that not surprise me? Your reputation and all.”
“My reputation, Nurse Izzie, is greatly exaggerated.”
“Uh-huh. I saw you on the roof once, Jacobson. So don’t lie.” He’d been wrapped up around that evil pharmacy tech of his. “Most women don’t like to be one of the crowd, you know.”
He hadn’t even known Izzie was there. But Jess had. She’d shot Izzie a hateful smirk over Jacobson’s shoulder. Then tracked Izzie down to remind her to keep her mouth shut about what she’d seen. She’d dug her nails into Izzie’s arm hard enough to draw blood.
Izzie had grabbed those fingers and bent them back in a move her uncle had taught her years ago. Jake had spent years teaching self-defense classes to women. Especially Izzie and Annie.
Not that it had done much good for her tonight.
What Jess and Allen had been doing on that roof hadn’t been Izzie’s business. She wasn’t a gossip. Izzie had made it clear to Jess to stay out of her face or she would spill her guts. On everything she’d ever seen Jess do.
She and Jess had circled each other a lot after that. It hadn’t degenerated into a hair-pulling catfight between them, but it had been close.
She wasn’t glad Jess was dead, but she was glad the truth about that woman had come out.
It had hurt him, though. Everyone had seen that. That and the way Logan Lanning had died. Allen hadn’t deserved that. Compassion had her softening toward him. A little.
Izzie handed him a pillow. “Stick to your side. Hopefully, we’ll be going home tomorrow, and I’ll never have to sleep with you again.”
“Sorry, Izadora, we’re not heading back to Finley Creek anytime soon. You’re not going to be sleeping alone for a long, long time. So snuggle up, buttercup.”
He hadn’t put a shirt on. Damn him. He’d grabbed a spare blanket out of the overhead cabinet, but it was nowhere near big enough for a man his size.
He laced his fingers behind his head and looked up at the ceiling. He took up a lot of room—that was for sure.
She hadn’t realized he was so…big…before.
She could smell him, all warm woodsy and masculine. Izzie’s nose twitched. His heat was threatening to scorch her, and there were a good six inches between them. And the silk blanket.
“The roof rises on this thing,” he said, completely throwing off her train of thought. Which was good. She was starting to think hot man instead of irritant for a minute there.
“What do you mean?”
“It rises. Gives more headroom, and some ventilation. When we get to where we’re going, we can check it out and extend both the slides and the top. All we’ll need to make it a happy home are Izadora the Second and Allen Junior. Plus, a little dog. I’ll happily help make the kids. Tell me when you’re ready to start.”
“Gee, that will take us some time to arrange. How long am I going to be your hostage?” Time to get down to details. Izzie needed details. Details gave a person more control. She flipped over to face her nemesis.
Nemesis? That was such a Nikkie Jean word. It was a good one.
Hell, she was even starting to think like Nikkie Jean. “What exactly did Chief Marshall and Rafe and Nikkie Jean say?”
“They wanted to keep you safe.” His voice softened, and he flipped to look at her. Even closer. One hand came toward her face. Izzie barely resisted flinching away.
She wasn’t afraid of him. Not really. When he touched her, she had a hard time remembering that she didn’t like the man all that much.
Well, she didn’t like the man he’d been. She wasn’t so certain about the man he was now.
His fingers brushed through her hair near her hairline.
She thought about bitching about personal space, but it didn’t feel like the right thing to say. So she didn’t. As close as they were, physical space didn’t exactly exist.
“You have a nasty bruise right here.” He brushed a finger along her cheek. She fought a shiver. No, no, no. This was not going to happen.
“Yes. I know. I can feel it.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t stop the attack sooner.”
“Hey, you were there. You stopped them. Long enough for help to come. I think that’s all that matters.” She shivered again as it sank in. Those men