“Sam, be careful with Shauna about Jason. They were friends for a long time before they got involved. She’s not naïve, but she’s not going to tell him he’s persona non gratis.”
“She should,” Sam said, getting up from the tall bar table.
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
Sam ignored Mike and walked over to where Shauna was pouring two pints and chatting with regulars who’d been coming to Dooley’s so long even Sam recognized them.
“Shauna, do you have a minute?” he said.
She glanced at him, hope in her eyes and he realized she probably thought he had information about Mack’s murder investigation. How was he going to do this?
She served the pints with a smile and excused herself. “Dooley!” she called to the other end of the bar. “I’m taking five.”
“Take as much time as you need, girl,” Dooley said.
“It’s crowded,” Sam said as they made their way through the storeroom and to Dooley’s small office in the back. It was more Shauna’s desk—she handled Dooley’s books and paid all the bills. A small fan on top of the filing cabinet blew warm air over them.
“Everyone is coming in to support Dooley,” she said. “He needs it, but it’s keeping me on my toes. You have news?”
“No.” He didn’t want to give her false hope about Callie’s boyfriend, but he said, “We have a lead on the boyfriend, and the crime scene techs have been all over Mack’s apartment. They have some fingerprints that aren’t his or yours and are processing them. Maybe we’ll get a break.”
“What about the beer? At Natomas Fast Gas?”
“No archived security footage.”
“Too bad,” she said.
“Um, we need to talk.”
“That’s what you said a minute ago. What’s wrong?”
He had to spit it out. “What did Jason Butler want?”
She stared at him, her green eyes so bright and vivid he could get lost in them. Except he knew that look, and it was too calm.
“Mike told you,” she said.
“He said Butler was at Murphy & Sons today.”
“He was.” She didn’t elaborate.
“And?”
“And what?”
“Why?”
“You want to know why he came to visit me?”
“The guy’s a convicted felon.”
“Who served his time.”
“You know he was guilty of worse shit than what he pled to!”
“What business is it of yours?”
“I just don’t want to see you make a mistake.”
Her eyes widened and her chest reddened and Sam realized he’d way over-stepped.
“I mean…” He tried to backtrack. “If he—”
She poked him with her index finger. “Do you think I would let my brothers dictate who I talk to or who I do business with?”
“You’re doing business with him?”
“Do you think,” she said without answering his question, “that I care what you think? If I do anything with Jason Butler, it’s my choice. You have no control over my life or my decisions. Jason served his time. He paid restitution, and I’m not going to banish him because my over-protective wannabe brother thinks I’m going to make a big mistake!”
She turned to leave, but Sam grabbed her by the waist and spun her around, his arm tight around her back. Her lips parted in surprise. She was shaking, her pupils were dilated and her breasts were pressed against his chest.
He kissed her. Lust and need drove him. He’d never stopped thinking about the brief but passionate kiss two years ago when he wanted so much to take Shauna to bed, but thought it was wrong. There was nothing wrong about this.
He hadn’t thought of Shauna like a sister in a long, long time. One day she was one of the boys, trailing after him and Mike and Brian, trying to keep up and prove she was worthy. The next day, wham! She was practically a woman with breasts and legs that went to heaven and back. He worked double-time to make sure he didn’t make an inappropriate advance, because he could never stop looking at her then. And now? Now it was worse.
He hadn’t thought of another woman in two years.
Shauna was stunned into silence when Sam kissed her, then was hit with all the wild emotions she’d had since she was seventeen and knew she loved him. Every nerve was on fire, and the pitiful fan did nothing to cool her off.
There was nothing soft about Sam Garcia. He was a rock, inside and out. His lips were so persistent, searching, pushing, wanting her. She yearned to be closer. She wrapped her arms tight around his neck and brought her body closer to his, her breasts painfully, erotically crushed against his chest. She feared her legs would buckle as her desire for Sam melted her from the inside out.