Friction. Part 20

"You drugged her, too?"

Valente just smiled again, a vile light in his eyes. "Yeah, and she was a real party girl when she was stoned."

Logan hauled off to slam him again, but his arm was caught midswing. Sarah's strong grip held him back. She held his gaze with her own, urging him to hold back. To get control. He nodded, expelling a haggard breath, and she turned to Valente.

"You killed her, then?"

"Yeah. So what? One more worthless-"

Sarah let go of Logan's arm and Logan hit him again-hard-before he stood back. Sarah put her hand on his arm, taking over.

"Well, pal, you are going to prison for a very, very long time. You kidnapped, raped and tortured several women, but this one-" she took the picture from Logan. "-happened to be a cop. Just. Like. Me." She accentuated every last word with a jab of her finger into his chest, but held off hitting him herself. She didn't want to get her hands dirty.

Valente paled as they heard voices emerging down at the far end of the pa.s.sageway.

"Your word against mine."

"Oh yeah, there's a problem. But not quite. You just confessed. And we have two witnesses right here, did you forget?"

"So it's the word of a bunch of drugged up party girls against mine."

"Not exactly." Logan chimed in, reaching into his pocket again, pulling out the transmitter. "You gave the nice policemen listening in back home a recorded confession."

Valente's face contorted with rage as Coast Guard officers ran down the hall, and Logan and Sarah backed off, hands up, identifying themselves. The lead man nodded while others hauled Valente away.

"We'd been alerted you were here-got a bit worried when we didn't see you at first, but apparently you were busy netting the big fish."

Valente was still yelling and struggling as they carried him off down the pa.s.sageway. Logan sighed with relief.

"Catch of the day."

15.

"HARRY, I THINK YOU'RE SET THINK YOU'RE SET." Sarah stood up from the terminal where she'd been sitting for several hours, making sure the inn's computer was as secure as it could possibly be. She'd never told him it was Logan who'd been hacking into their connection from upstairs-no need for them to know that. But now no one would be able to mess with their online system, or they would have a heck of a hard time trying.

"We can't thank you enough. Are you sure we can't pay you? I can't imagine what having a private consultant come in here and do all this for us would cost."

Sarah shook her head. She had developed a weakness for Harry; something in his happy eyes reminded her of her grandfather. And Karen made the best pie ever.

"No problem. This is fun for me, really. I'm glad to help."

"We did refund the charges for your vacation stay, at least. You weren't here the full time, even." He sat down at the computer station, checking over his new updates. "You never did say where you disappeared to."

She nodded. "Family emergency."

"That's too bad. I hope everything was all right."

"Don't worry. We had a happy ending, more or less."

"Good to hear. And you are staying for the party later, I take it?"

Sarah nodded. Ian and Sage were finally getting married-the engagement was official, the date set-and they had hired the inn to cater a party to announce their decision to everyone, as well as the news of their impending parenthood. Pretty much everyone already knew, but the party and the announcement would make it official. Sarah had a room for the night, as all guests did, and was looking forward to the celebration. Mostly.

It had been close to a week since they'd taken Valente down, and more than four days since she'd seen or heard from Logan. He'd contacted her before he left-it wasn't like he'd left her high and dry-but the lack of contact, her uncertainty about their future, was bugging her. To say the least.

She couldn't escape the fact that after what had happened on the boat, she'd been hopeful, for the first time in her life, that Logan could lay his past to rest and accept her work. That he would realize she was good at what she did, and that he would see they had something worth sticking around for.

They had both come to the relations.h.i.+p with pain and baggage, and she was ready to deal with hers if he could handle his. They could lend each other a hand and make the burdens lighter together.

She smiled, accepting a slice of pie from Karen before her host fluttered off to attend to some other guests, and she watched Harry mess with the computer, intent on the screen, her presence forgotten. Computer addicts came in all ages, she thought, smiling, before her thoughts returned to Logan.

He'd gone back to face the consequences of his actions on his job. He'd wanted to make sure his partner received honors and a proper service, and he wanted to contact her family. Sarah felt a surge of tenderness nearly overwhelm her, thinking of how important those things were to him, how decent he was. He'd stayed to make sure that the women they'd rescued were put in good treatment programs, and that there weren't any more of them around.

Going through that process with Logan inspired emotions she'd never realized she could feel, but she didn't know what to do now. She was restless, anxious and impatient to have him back so she could see him. Talk to him. Touch him.

Her fingers itched to run themselves over his skin again. But if it was more than l.u.s.t-love, maybe?-she didn't know. She needed him to help her figure it out.

The pie was gone, and Harry was sucked into his spreadsheets. Late afternoon sunlight dappled through the window, and she tried to shake the lonely feeling that suddenly hit her. Maybe she was tired-she had time for a nap before the party.

"I'll see you tonight, Harry."

"Mmm-hmm."

A few people were standing around talking, but Sarah just wanted to retire to her room to think and recharge her batteries. As she reached the stairs, she was surprised to see Ivy through the screen door, lost in a hot clinch with...Jim. Jim? Jim? Sarah turned her head. She had tried her best to warn Ivy, but everyone was ent.i.tled to their own mistakes. But before her foot hit the first step, she heard the door close, and Ivy's cheerful voice called after her. Sarah turned her head. She had tried her best to warn Ivy, but everyone was ent.i.tled to their own mistakes. But before her foot hit the first step, she heard the door close, and Ivy's cheerful voice called after her.

"Sarah-wait. I've been looking for you for days! Where have you been?"

"Oh, I had to get back home for a few days."

"Oh, um," Ivy blushed prettily, and Sarah waited for her to continue. "I guess you saw me kissing Jim. You must wonder what that was about."

"No, it's none of my business, Ivy. In fact, I was kind of hoping I might see you, I wanted to apologize for being so hard on you the other day-"

Ivy was shaking her head vehemently. "No, really, you were right. But more than that, you made me get a grip and stop moping around." She laughed, putting her hand on Sarah's arm in a friendly gesture that seemed very adult. "You made me see that I didn't have to take that kind of treatment from any guy."

Okay, now Sarah was really confused. "But, you were just..."

"Right! I was so angry I went and confronted him, and really let him know how I felt, that no one was going to use me. And then we got talking-it turned out that girl was an old girlfriend, she came back to make a play for him, and that was what I saw. But he swore he was only interested in me. Really."

Sarah felt the old cynicism rear its head, and squelched it. It wasn't her place to rain on Ivy's parade. "Well, I hope that's true and it works out for you, Ivy. I really do."

"Thanks. He's taking me to meet his family this weekend-I'm so nervous. He's never taken anyone to meet them before. And he said he knows he flirts a lot in his job, but he won't do it anymore because I don't like it."

Ivy was literally glowing with happiness. It was hard to resist her excitement, and Sarah didn't try, smiling back and reaching over to hug her.

"That is great news. But just remember to take care of you first, okay?"

"Absolutely-I'm so glad I met you, Sarah. I never would have been brave enough to talk to Jim or stand up for myself if it hadn't been for you." She blushed again, leaning in close. "And Jim says he thinks strong women are s.e.xy, can you believe it? He thinks I'm a strong woman."

"You are."

Sarah smiled again, wis.h.i.+ng Ivy luck and excusing herself. Finally she made it upstairs, feeling more worn-out than she had been before, for some reason. She was happy for Ivy, but even though many of her own scars had healed and the pain from her past had faded, new pains had taken their place. Feeling even more tired, she thought of Mel, of the hard road to recovery the two women they had rescued faced, and of Logan's obvious doubts about their relations.h.i.+p. She wasn't convinced of happy endings just yet.

Stepping into the room, she was struck immediately by a strong, sweet scent that made her mouth water. At the foot of the bed was a large, white wicker basket overflowing with large, ripe peaches. They hadn't been there earlier....

Her heart hammered in her chest as the memory of telling Logan about her peaches and s.e.x fantasy rose to her mind. Just then, he stepped out from the bathroom as if she'd wished him into existence. He was wearing only his jeans, the rest of him bare and freshly showered. He met her surprised gaze, grinned in a slanted, s.e.xy way and threw his damp towel on the chair.

"Hi. I hope you don't mind me using your shower. I just got in a few minutes ago. You looked busy, so Karen let me in." His eyes communicated a bit of doubt, and he looked down, then back at her again. "I told her not to say anything-I wanted to surprise you. I hope that's okay."

She didn't say anything-she didn't know what to say-and just stood in place like an idiot, staring at his gorgeous torso, trying not to race across the room and jump him. What was it about a guy dressed only in jeans that could erase any coherent thoughts from a woman's mind?

He solved the problem by pulling her into a deep embrace, swallowing her thoughts with a kiss so hot she was sure that her bones melted. His breath warmed her skin as he spoke against her mouth, barely lifting his lips from hers.

"I missed you."

She smiled a little, unable to repress the happy flutterings his words brought forth.

"I missed you, too."

She knew they had to talk, there had been so much left unsaid between them when he'd had to leave, but she was far too aware of the hot skin of his chest pressed up against her hungry, aroused body.

Leaning forward, she pressed a tender kiss to his jaw, and then his shoulder. She darted her tongue out to taste him and moved her fingers lightly over his back. He groaned and found her mouth again, his hands everywhere. Spinning her around, he kicked the door shut with his foot and eyed the basket of peaches with intent.

Her breath came a little faster at the thought of licking the sweet, sticky juice of the ripe fruit from his skin, and thinking about him doing the same for her, but she took a deep breath, getting her hormones under control.

"What happened in Baltimore?"

He sighed, resting his forehead against hers. "There's nothing keeping me there now."

"They fired you? Even though you solved the case?" She was indignant for him and he chuckled softly, running his fingers over her hair tenderly.

"We solved the case, and the bust went to your department. That's fine with me-I couldn't have done it without you." solved the case, and the bust went to your department. That's fine with me-I couldn't have done it without you."

She wondered what saying that had cost him, and raised her hand to his face as he continued. "They let me quit, giving me my retirement funds and even paying me for lost sick and vacation time. It was the right thing for everyone. I did what I needed to do. Made sure Mel's reputation was cleared, and that she was memorialized with honors."

"It must be so hard for her family, for you and everyone, just having her disappear like that. You know, we made sure none of those pictures of her will appear ever again, anywhere. And if they do, we'll know."

He nodded. "Thanks for that. It will be difficult for her family for a while. I plan to stay in touch, to help them out if I can."

Sarah's heart swelled, and she pushed back tears. Enough was enough-she wasn't going to go all girly just because she had feelings for Logan.

"So what are you going to do now?"

He ran the back of his fingers down her bare arm, eliciting s.h.i.+vers of the best kind.

"Right now, I am exactly where I want to be." He kissed her softly. "I know we have some things to talk about, but I want to look for work down here. To be with you, near you."

"So my job doesn't bother you anymore?"

He traced his finger along the light line on her cheek that still showed a very faint bruise and cut from where she'd been clipped in battle just the week before. His eyes darkened, and he sighed. "It bothers me. It will always bother me to see you hurt, to know you're in danger."

He felt her stiffen a little in his arms, and smiled, ma.s.saging her shoulders, adding, "But I'm pretty sure that I'm crazy in love with you, too, and I'm willing to work on dealing with my anxiety about your work. You're not only good at your job and capable of handling things yourself-you're amazing at it. That makes me worry a lot less."

The smile that stole over her face filled her eyes and, by extension, his heart. She whispered, "I think I'm crazy in love with you, too. Fighting with you-and being away from you-has really sucked."

He laughed-he couldn't have said it better himself. His heart hadn't felt this full, this alive, for as long as he could remember. Loving Sarah breathed new life into him, and that was enough to combat the fear he felt about the risks she took in her job. He didn't want to change anything about her, he realized, even that.

"And what about you? What are you going to do?"

He stepped back, walking to the window across from the end of the bed.

"I thought I might open my own business. I've saved a lot of money over the years. I'm not sure doing what yet-building boats, maybe, or some kind of construction. I went into law enforcement mostly to have some kind of connection with my dad, I think. And besides, if things go the way I hope, and we have a family someday-"

"Whoa, hold on there-"

He just laughed again. "I said someday, sweetheart, not right now. Relax. I'm just saying, having one of us in a dangerous profession is enough. I don't need to be a cop anymore. One in the family will be plenty."

She crossed to where he stood, shaking her head in wonder. "I guess I just never really thought about having all that-family, I mean. It just blows my mind-h.e.l.l, I never even thought about having this, someone like you, in my life. Let's just take it one step at a time."

"Sounds good."

"So what's the next step?"

He kissed her, walking her back toward the bed. "How much time do we have before the party starts?" he asked, reaching for a peach.

THERE WAS no threat of rain as the party went into full swing, and E.J. was in high spirits. He was thrilled for his friends, watching Ian standing protectively by Sage's side. She hid her irritation at his hovering well, E.J. thought with a smile. Love could make you tolerant of a lot of things that normally would drive you crazy. At least that's what his mother had always claimed about his father-usually when he was driving her crazy. The memory was bittersweet. His dad had been gone several years now, but he still thought of him every day. no threat of rain as the party went into full swing, and E.J. was in high spirits. He was thrilled for his friends, watching Ian standing protectively by Sage's side. She hid her irritation at his hovering well, E.J. thought with a smile. Love could make you tolerant of a lot of things that normally would drive you crazy. At least that's what his mother had always claimed about his father-usually when he was driving her crazy. The memory was bittersweet. His dad had been gone several years now, but he still thought of him every day.

His eyes caught Logan and Sarah as they emerged from the building, two hours late and looking well and freshly loved-it wasn't exactly a secret what had detained them. Sarah's expression was luminous, s.h.i.+ning with just the kind of happiness he'd wished for her.

He felt soft fingers at his nape and smiled, turning to his date. Grabbing Lori's hand, he lifted it to his mouth, looking into her pretty blue eyes, and drew his tongue over her palm-delicious. He'd met her the day before, when he was registering a new car at the DMV. He'd always wanted a convertible, and so finally he'd gone out and bought the sweetest little BMW 6-series you could imagine. Later on, he'd gone back by the office when Lori got off s.h.i.+ft and had taken her to dinner to celebrate his new purchase, right on the s.h.i.+ny, curvy hood.

Life was good. He was happy for his friends, and enjoyed social occasions, but the look in this woman's eyes told him she wanted to be alone. Who was he to argue?

Sarah's sardonic, teasing whisper in his ear broke the spell. "They do have rooms here, Beaumont."

He could swear she smelled like fresh Georgia peaches, and raised an eyebrow as he turned to see her and Logan hand in hand.

"I know-I booked the one over yours." He grinned wickedly. "It's good to see you. I wondered if you were going to make it down here." He raised his eyebrows teasingly at Sarah and almost laughed when her cheeks turned bright pink.