NaturesBounty(35)

Nate had used a nylon tie to cuff the man who’d all but finger-fucked Lydia, and he yanked the guy’s gun from a belt holster before sticking it away in his own waistband. He never looked her way as he jerked the man upright and led him out of her line of sight. No doubt he was thoroughly pissed at her for what she’d done to him. At least it appeared that he was working with the police, rather than running from them. Maybe that meant he wasn’t a fugitive anymore. At least one of them would have a life again. Considering her recent actions, he was the one most deserving of it.

“You lying little bitch,” Andrew said as his hands were zip-tied behind his back. “I thought you might have been trying to play me for a fool.” He jerked his head toward the waste bin. “But what you thought you had on me is gone now. As is your chance to make a deal.”

“I said I made two copies when I left town,” she said. “Which I did. I just forgot to mention the copies I made on the way back here.”

His nostrils flared as he was hauled to his feet. A cop was trying to read him Miranda rights, but he wasn’t listening. His eyes stared daggers at Lydia, who also stood.

“My lawyers will see to it those statements are seen as frauds you created to cover your ass. You’ve achieved nothing.”

“Except acquiring your confession,” Nate said as he stalked back into the room. Her eyes shifted to him, but he was staring Andrew down.

“She wasn’t wired.” Andrew gave him a dirty smile. “We made certain of that quite thoroughly.”

“I was.” Nate pulled a small tape recorder from his vest pocket, along with a tiny cell phone. “And the PD was listening in on an open phone line while I was hiding right over your head.”

Only after Andrew and his henchman were led from the room did Nate finally meet her searching eyes, and when he did, the jolt all but obliterated the adrenaline still coursing through her system. Even with a hard edge to his expression, he was still too fucking gorgeous for her not to feel the stark, chemical effects of it.

“I suppose you tracked me by the cell phone I took,” she said.

He nodded as he kept staring at her. “Among other tricks. I told you, I have ways.” He sighed. “You’re not hurt. I’m glad.”

“I was felt up, anally probed, and aggravated beyond belief. But no, I’m not hurt.” Just the part of her heart that was busy shouting at her for fucking up a good thing with Nate. Not that he probably thought they ever had a thing in the first place.

She let her eyes slide over him, down to his badge and back up to his penetrating green eyes. “And you’re not a fugitive anymore. I’m glad.”

With a sigh, he reached out with a finger and stroked a strand of hair away from her face. Her pulse sped up at his gentle touch. “You still are,” he said. “A recaptured fugitive.”

Her hands were zip-tied behind her back, and she nodded sadly. “I may have been innocent of embezzling, but I still broke the law. Even that bastard Andrew knew there was no way around that other than jail.”

“There is one other way.” He stepped closer, searching her face. “In light of the evidence we just gathered, he’ll be the one charged with embezzling, along with blackmail and a few other things. But that still leaves you with some serious legal problems, unless you cooperate like I just did.”

She narrowed her eyes. “What do you mean?”

“There’s one last bad-guy loose end. The DA will drop the remaining charges against you if you’ll help tie it up. I know that might sound crazy, but that’s where we’re at.”

A flicker of hope joined in a funny dance with the butterflies his proximity stirred in her stomach. “I think we’ve established I’m willing to do some pretty crazy things,” she said. She flicked a deliberate glance at his crotch, which looked snug and very grabbable in a pair of tight black jeans. “So count me in. What’s the plan?”

“I’ll explain in the car.” He took her by the arm, and the look he seared her with sent a flutter of purely sexual interest through her. “That would be my car, by the way. If it’s all the same to you, I’m taking it—and you—back.”

* * * * *

It was all Nate could do to keep nervous tension from exploding right through his skin as Lydia disappeared inside A-1 Bail Bonds. She had been all too eager to do her part of the plan, and he’d been happy enough about it when he’d talked her through it on the way over. Now he wasn’t so sure. Not because she hadn’t proven herself capable of keeping her wits in tense situations, but because he couldn’t go in there with her.