Irresistible Force (A K-9 Rescue Novel)(8)

He glanced around a second time. "Of course, the cabin's not much. All a  temp's salary can afford. But I like to rough it once in a while."

The look he gave her made Shay suck in a breath.

The sound of a snapping twig caused a sharp jerk of his head toward the woods. "Where's your dog?"

For a split second she thought about lying. But he'd realize soon enough  that Prince wasn't here. "Due back from the groomers." She made herself  hold his stare. "Any minute."

He hunched his shoulders against her words, a sullen look creeping into  his expression. "You got a dog when you know I have allergies. That was  thoughtless."

"I didn't-" Shay took a deep breath. No more explanations. No more apologies.

But she knew she'd shown her vulnerable side as a smile tugged at his  mouth. "It's cooler out here than in the city. Mind if we step inside?"

Everything in her cried, Don't let him in. Yet that's where her phone was, and she needed to get to it.

A nervous tic jerked the edges of her lips. "No. We don't need to talk.  I've heard your apology. Let's part as  …  friends." She turned away, not  too quickly so as to seem frightened.

She stepped up on the porch, refusing to look back over her shoulder for  fear she would give her nervousness away. If she could just get inside,  she'd be okay.

The moment her key turned in the lock, he moved behind her much more  quickly than she had thought possible, and pushed the door wide.

Shay leaped away from him. Spying her phone on the table by the chair,  she lunged across the room and scooped it up in her free hand before  facing him. "Get out before I call the sheriff."

"Okay, okay." He lifted both hands as if he were under arrest. After a  quick glance around he shoved at the door with his foot. It didn't quite  close but he didn't seem to care. "Did you like my flowers?"

"No." She decided not to provoke him by saying she threw them away,  along with the note signed "Mine forever." It had sounded to her more  like a threat than a lover's promise. "We're exes, Eric."

He gave a little jerk of his head, as if to dismiss her words. "You  wanted me to work for it. I got that message. Here I am. Aren't you glad  I didn't give up? Most men would have, a long time ago."

The wet chill from the oyster bag she still clutched had seeped into her  tee and made her shiver. "Then you should be glad to be rid of me."

He paused and stared at her. "Yes. But I'm the loyal sort. Why aren't you the loyal sort, Shay?"

He sounded wounded, as if she really had hurt him. It tugged an old  reaction in her, one that made her want to make things right. Then she  remembered the tracking device.

Never taking her eyes off him, she made herself remember a week ago,  when he'd shown up unexpectedly at a bar and grill where she was having  dinner with Angie and Henry, friends from work. He had slid into the  booth beside her and put an arm around her as if they were still a  couple. Her friends had said nothing. Embarrassed and not wanting to  make a scene, she said nothing, either. But when she slipped outside, on  the pretext of going to the restroom, she had discovered that two of  her car tires were flat.

Before she could call for help, Eric had appeared in the parking lot. He  pressed her to let him drive her home, saying how dangerous it was for a  woman to be out at night alone. It was the gleam in his eyes that gave  away the truth. He had slashed her tires. But she had no proof, and he  knew it.

So she'd run back into the restaurant and asked Angie and Henry for help. When they came out, Eric was nowhere to be seen.

A shiver rippled over Shay's arms. She was isolated, nowhere to run this time, and he knew it.

His gaze shifted to the fireplace where wood had been laid for a fire,  and the sheepskin rug before it. "Nice. Cozy. Almost like you were  expecting me."

He looked back at her, his eyes a little sleepy in that way he had when  his thoughts had turned to sex. "You hurt me, Shay. I don't mind  admitting it. I keep thinking, what if we had a whole weekend alone to  talk about things? I know we could work this out."

"We're over." Her finger slid over the emergency key of her phone in warning.

"Yeah, about that." He rubbed his forehead. "I've got some news you need  to hear from me." When Shay didn't bother to respond he said, "I'm  engaged."                       
       
           



       

Shay opened her mouth and shut it. And opened it. "Who?"

"She lives in Atlanta. Daughter of a state senator. We were seeing each  other before I met you. But then she started jerking me around, wouldn't  commit. So I told her I needed a breather. It worked. She didn't last a  month before she called, saying she couldn't live without me."

Shay absorbed this information without an outward reaction. Eric had  been back together with the woman who is now his fiancée for nearly the  entire year I had thought I was exclusive with him.

Shay swallowed her resentment and disgust. "Does she know about me?"

He shrugged. "Women. They screw with your mind. Want to call the shots  in a relationship. But in the end, what they want is a man who's in  charge. You know the feeling, right?" He glanced at her from beneath his  brows, a bad-boy-with-a-please-forgive-me pose.

Shay knew she should just agree with him, in the hope that he would  leave. But then he'd have gotten everything his way. As usual. The heavy  thumps of her heart weren't just from fear. Anger spurred that pump,  too. She'd just spent a miserable month fighting her own self-doubts and  vulnerabilities. That was his fault. She just couldn't let him get away  with thinking he had bested her.

"Why were you seeing me if you had her?"

He looked a little annoyed. "Her daddy's had me dancing a damn two-step  courtship these last ten months. You were my no-strings revenge fuck."

Shay didn't even feel insulted by his crude remark. Instinct told her  he'd come here to do more than gloat, and that's where the danger lay.

She dropped the bag of oysters on the table and clutched her phone to  her chest where he couldn't miss noticing it. "You need to leave."

His head jerked up, annoyance spoiling his good looks. "Now see. I'm  asking you to understand my situation. But you won't even try to  understand. You'd rather jerk my chain." He folded his arms casually  across his chest. "Get this straight, Shay. I'm not leaving until I get  what I came for."

"You don't get to make threats anymore."

"Threats? I'm not threatening you." His tone of voice ratcheted up to  angry before he caught himself. He paused and unfolded his arms, his  expression showing the strain of dialing back his temper.

He took another step toward her, his voice dropping in tone. "The truth  is, Shay, I just can't forget how you walked out on me. And called the  cops on me. That wasn't very nice. I need you to apologize."

A spurt of anger made her brave. "Don't hold your breath. We're done."

His face lost animation. All that was left was an icy glitter in his  narrowing gaze as he approached her. "Who the fuck do you think you're  dealing with? You don't call the shots in this relationship."

In that moment everything clicked into focus for Shay. He's going to hurt me. Really hurt me this time.

The thought shocked her so much she immediately shied away from it. Yet  there was no avoiding his expression. She'd seen that look once before  on a man's face, and it had ruined her life.

Shay backed up, trying to avoid him as her finger pressed the emergency  button. But he grabbed her wrist and wrenched the cell phone out of her  hand then tossed it away before she could be certain the call had gone  through.

Panicked by memories, she swung at him wildly, her fist connecting to his jaw with a force that snapped his head back.

"Shit!" He pushed her back so hard her body slammed into the cabin wall.  Then he seized her shoulders and her head snapped back against the wall  with a sickening thud.

"You stupid bitch!" He began shaking her with enough force to cause damage.

Panicked and unable to free herself, Shay gripped his biceps to steady  herself and hung on. She had no family to protect her. No one ready to  smack down the man hurting her. Eric knew that. No one would come to  rescue her.

A whimper escaped her, drawing her deeper into remembered terror.





CHAPTER SIX

"Let's haul ass!" James swung open the door and Bogart bounded into the passenger seat of his pickup.

What should have been a mere formality at the sheriff's office had  turned into an all-day marathon of waiting while the  Charlotte-Mecklenburg police department "checked" their facts in the  matter. He suspected this was his chief's way of expressing disapproval  of the manner in which he had rescued Bogart. His unit leader was going  to tear him a new one, too, when he got home. That didn't matter. Bogart  was back where he belonged.