How to Save A Life

Chapter 10

Well, she'd killed that mood.

Marli nuzzled her face into Trey's neck. God, he smelled good. She sniffed at him, then pressed her mouth to his skin, a soft, open-mouthed kiss. Emotions rose and fell inside her like lava in a lava lamp. It was such a relief to have finally told someone how she felt. Somehow, it shrunk the guilt and anguish down to size. Didn't get rid of them...and that was okay. But now, maybe she could handle it.

Trey was so amazing. How had he known? She supposed in his work he'd dealt with so much grief and sorrow he knew what people were going through. The fact that he understood her when she barely understood herself, though, touched something deep inside her. Made her soften, warm to him more than she already had. Jesus, next thing she knew she'd be thinking she was falling in love with him. Her hero.

She had to remember Trey was a cop, doing a job, passing through town, a man with shadows and secrets of his own that dogged him. Definitely not someone to fall in love with.

Slowly, she pulled out of his arms and again rolled to the edge of the bed, reaching down to the floor for her tank top. She slipped it over her head so she was semi-covered, although a quick glance down at her chest saw her beaded nipples were clearly on display through the thin white cotton.

She swallowed words that would tell him about the strange, soft emotions she was feeling for him. "I could use some food," she said instead.

He lifted his wrist so he could see his watch. "Yeah," he said. "It's seven o'clock. By the time we get something to eat, it'll be time to go."

She nodded, her tummy tightening. But tonight Trey would be with her. Really with her. Looking out for her.

She stood and went to find clothes to change into. She pulled her jeans out of her bag and slipped out of the loose yoga pants. Hmmm... She'd change her underwear. A quick glance behind her told her that, yes, Trey was watching her, with those intense eyes. She paused, then put her thumbs into the elastic band of the panties and shimmied out of them, her back to him. She felt his eyes burning into her like a brand as she searched for clean panties. She'd never felt so self-conscious in her life. She, who never felt self-conscious. She knew he was watching and wanted him so much to like what he saw.

She found the pink thong she'd tossed in, and stepped into it, adjusting the thin straps on her hips. Then she reached for the hem of the tank top and pulled it over her head, dropping it into the duffle bag. She tugged out a pink cotton T-shirt bra. Not her sexiest underwear, but that's not what she'd been thinking about when she'd fled her house last night. This morning. Whatever. She fastened the bra behind her and then pulled a long, snug navy blue T-shirt on. She ran her fingers through her hair and then glanced again at Trey before going into the bathroom.

He was still watching her and made no attempt to look away, all smoldering, dark intensity, lounging there on the bed with one knee bent, his shirt untucked and half unbuttoned. She turned so fast to go into the washroom that she ran smack into the wall.

"Ow!" God, how embarrassing. She fled into the bathroom and closed the door behind her with a sharp click, setting her hands on the counter, leaning forward. Her entire body burned. Things were getting way too intense.

She splashed cold water on her face, combed through her wildly tangled curls, touched up her makeup.

When she came out, Trey was just zipping up the fly on his jeans. He'd left the white shirt on, loose over the low-slung jeans, but he'd done up one more button over his chest. He ran his hands through his own mussed hair.

She met his eyes, and the air grew charged and hot around them. His pupils shot wide, making his eyes even darker.

"Trey."

"Mmm."

"I do want you."

No sense beating around the bush. When she had something to say, she said it.

His lips quirked. "Yeah?"

She nodded. "I don't know what's going to happen tonight. So I just wanted you to know that."

"Christ, Marli, nothing's going to happen tonight. And now I have to sit in that bar all night with a hard-on, just waiting to get you back here so I can have you."

Her knees went so soft she thought she might fall. That aching need between her legs was back. Her fresh panties were damp already.

"Me, too." Her eyes made him promises he seemed to understand and reciprocate.

"Let's go."

They ate in the restaurant in the inn, a family-type place full of parents and their kids on holidays. Marli picked at a club sandwich and fries, while Trey devoured another huge meal, a steak sandwich, fries and a big piece of apple pie with ice cream.

When they finished, they looked at each other.

"Showtime," Trey said quietly. He paid the bill and they went out to his car in the dusky parking lot.

Trey drove around and around until he found a spot on the street not far from Marli's car. When they left, he wanted to be close to her. He parked and they started toward Cactus Jack's. He stopped her on the sidewalk around the corner from the bar.

"We can't go in together," he said quietly. "We want it to look like you're there alone again. Just go sit at the bar. Try to find two chairs so I can join you."

She looked up at him with wide eyes. Christ, he hated sending her in there alone after everything that had happened. "I'll be right behind you," he said roughly. "Even if I don't sit down right away. Okay?"

She nodded.

"Remember. Don't look at just the guys with blond hair. You have to look at everyone."

"Yes."

He stared at her for a long moment, eyes moving over her face, then bent and kissed her hard on the mouth. Then he turned her by the shoulders and gave her a little push. With a glance over her shoulder, she went around the corner and entered the bar. He watched her go in and waited for the longest moments of his life. Then he, too, strolled casually in.

He spotted her at the bar with his peripheral vision. Good girl. Empty chair beside her, at the end where he liked.

Instead of heading directly to the bar, he pushed through the crowd toward the two pool tables at the back. He stood and watched people play, smiling as if he were enjoying the game, but eyeballing everyone around. Hands in his jeans pockets, he leaned against a rough-hewn post and turned to survey the bar.

The music twanged loudly, people danced with abandon and a burst of laughter came from a nearby table where two girls shrieked with hilarity over something. He smiled. Casually, he strolled the length of the bar, then said to Marli, "Anyone sitting here?"

She shook her head and turned away from him to watch the dance floor. The bartender slid a glass of Coke across the bar to her and she gave him a quick smile of thanks.

"I'll have a Surf Coast Pale Ale," he said, before the bartender disappeared with a scowl.

He shrugged and looked at Marli, and she met his eyes and gave him a faint smile.

"So what's new?" he asked.

"Nothing."

They both searched the room. "We might have to dance," he said. "Otherwise, it's too dark to see everyone over there."

She nodded. "If we must."

He grinned. His beer arrived and he drank thirstily. One. Just one. No way was he screwing up again when Marli's life was on the line.

"Did you know that if you dance on the bar here you win a free thong?" she asked conversationally.

He choked on his beer and she smacked him on the back, laughing.

"Really."

"Don't worry. I won't do it tonight," she assured him. "I've already got my thong."

He groaned.

"I did that the night Krista was killed," she continued, a bit sadly. "That was another thing that made her mad. She thought I was trying to attract Rob's attention."

"God, I am so out of my league with you."

She laughed.

They danced to Tim McGraw singing "When The Stars Go Blue," dragging their eyes away from each other's faces to search the dance floor for anyone who might be Sheldon Barnes. After, they sipped their drinks and talked at the bar.

"Tell me about your family," he asked her.

"I have a very normal, boring family. My dad is a doctor and my mom is an interior designer. She wanted to be an artist, but decided a career as a designer was more practical. I have two brothers, both younger than me. Brett is twenty-six and Jason is twenty-three. They were both extremely annoying pests when we were little, but now they're okay." She grinned. "Brett is almost finished medical school. Jason works for IBM."

"Very solid upper middle class."

"Absolutely. I'm very lucky. We have a lot of fun when we get together." She peered at him. "Why won't you tell me about your family?"

He looked at the beer glass with the inch of warm beer he was nursing. "We're kind of estranged," he said finally. "My parents and my sister felt sorry for me after what happened, and I just couldn't handle their pity. So I just stay away from them. For now."

"But someday you'll reconcile with them. Right?"

He shrugged. "I guess so."

"Family's important."

"Hey, I know it," he said. "Especially now, I know it. But shit happens."

"Are you waiting for one of them to make the first move?" Her voice was warm with curiosity.

He thought about that. Did he want his mom or his sister to hunt him down, force him to see them? Not really. "No."

"Then you're going to make the first move."

He glared at her. "You don't know what you're talking about."

He saw the hurt in her eyes the minute the words left his lips and regretted it. "I'm sorry," he apologized immediately. "I didn't mean to snap at you."

"I don't know what I'm talking about because you won't tell me," she snapped back at him. "You're too macho to talk about your feelings, to tell me what happened to split your family up."

"I'm not macho," he protested. "I'm just not ready to talk about it."

"You made me talk about my issues," she reminded him, challenging him.

"I know." Now he felt bad. But not bad enough to spill his guts and tell Marli what a screw-up he was. In his work and his personal life. And how he'd cost her best friend her life. "If I was going to talk to anyone, I'd talk to you," he said softly, repeating her words to him.

A reluctant smile played about her mouth.

"I guess I'll take that." She shook her head at him. "For now. At least tell me...both your parents are still living?"

"Yes."

"And you have a sister."

"Yes."

"That's it?"

He paused. "And...and a brother."

"You're the oldest, aren't you?"

He looked at her warily. "How'd you know that?"

"'Cause you're so bossy," she said sweetly.

"You're the oldest, too," he pointed out.

She grinned. "I know." She swirled the ice in her glass. "So what do they all do?"

"My dad's a cop. Surprise, surprise. Mom stayed at home. She worked part-time from home doing the books for some small businesses. My sister is now a lawyer."

"And...your brother?"

Is an asshole, he thought. Pain shot through him, but it wasn't like it used to be. That unbearable, agonizing feeling of betrayal was, amazingly, fading. "He's a computer hardware expert. He has his own business and goes around defragging people's hard drives or something."

She nodded thoughtfully. "Why're you mad at him?"

He shot her a sharp look. "What makes you think I'm mad at him?"

"Intuition. Gut instinct. The look on your face when you talk about him."

"How about those Padres?" he asked and was relieved when she laughed.

By one o'clock, Marli was yawning behind her hand and Trey was frustrated. "I guess we pack it in for tonight," he growled into her ear. "Here's the part I really don't like. We have to leave separately."

He saw her tighten her lips. "That's okay." Determination hardened her voice. She tossed some bills on the bar to pay for her meager bar bill, enough to include a generous tip for the poor bartender who'd brought her two Diet Cokes.

"Go to your car," he instructed her. "Drive home. I'll be right behind you." He looked around the bar. "I'll go first," he muttered. "Stay here for five minutes."

Shit, shit, shit. Again, he hated leaving her there. But there'd been no sign of Barnes, so he'd be better off outside, waiting in his vehicle to watch her leave.

His SUV, unfortunately, was parked four vehicles in front of hers, so he had to watch for her out the back window. He tried to stay low in case anyone else was watching. He looked around. Damn. This street hadn't been so dark and deserted earlier in the evening.

He waited impatiently for Marli, heart thumping slow and strong in his chest. Then he saw her. She was walking quickly to her car along the deserted sidewalk.

Son of a bitch. His heart jumped into his throat and he almost choked.