His Obsession Next Door (In the Line of Duty) (3 page)

“That’s supposed to comfort me?”

“He only attacks unsavory sorts. You know, those with sordid pasts.” She paused at the foot of her stairs and arched a brow. “Do you still want to meet him? Or is there something I should know?”

“Open the door, Gems.”

Grinning, Gemma climbed the three steps to her front door, slipped her key into the deadbolt and unlocked it. “Hey, Stallone,” she said. As she pushed open the door, her oversized St. Bernard flew past her and headed straight for Cole.

Cole stumbled when her dog went up on his hind legs and put his huge front paws on his shoulders. The big wet lick across Cole’s mouth had him grimacing and groaning out loud, and there was nothing Gemma could do to stop her heart from clenching.

“Jesus,” he cursed. Gemma laughed when he wiped away the saliva with the back of his hand, the tension around them easing slightly.

“Here, boy.” Gemma slapped her leg and Stallone pushed off Cole to rush back up the stairs. She rubbed his ears and teased, “And here I thought you were a good judge of character.”

“Ha ha,” Cole said. “And I don’t know why your mother thinks you need a man to protect you when you have Stallone. He’ll lick any intruder to death.”

“Stallone’s a good boy. Aren’t you, Stallone?” She rubbed his ears harder.

“You call your dog Stallone?”

“He’s a rescue dog.” Cole gave her an odd look, which prompted her to explain. “He’s been through so much, yet every time he gets knocked down he gets up again.”

“If he’s a rescue dog, I’m surprised he’s friendly.”

“That’s just it,” she said, shaking her head. “It’s a huge misconception that neglected animals need to be put down. They only want to please, and once they’re placed in the right homes, with the right people, they become amazing pets. We screen every family at the shelter before we let them adopt and we always do a follow-up.”

Cole got quiet for a long time. “You’ve done well for yourself, Gems. Your brother would be proud.”

Her heart beat a little harder in her chest and when her hand went to the back of her neck, she thought she spotted a glimmer of guilt in his eyes before he quickly blinked it away. “Thank you.”

“You always did love animals,” he said, looking a little distant, like he was remembering something from the past. “You always had a way with them actually.”

“Well I’m no dog whisperer,” she teased, “but I understand their needs. I took care of Stallone after he was brought into the shelter. There was something about him that tugged at my heart. Maybe it was the lost puppy look I saw in his big brown eyes.” Not at all unlike the lost puppy look she saw in Cole’s eyes. “And it made me want to keep him.”

“You and your family always did have a thing for strays,” he said and Gemma knew he was no longer talking about Stallone.

Her heart squeezed in her suddenly too-tight chest when she said, “I brought him home and he’s been the most loyal, loving dog a girl could ever ask for. Which is why it’s important I raise money for my no-kill shelter. It’s overcrowded as it is and if I can’t expand…” She let her words fall off, not wanting to think of the alternative.

When he went quiet like he was mulling that over, she panned his handsome face. “You know, Cole, you’d be the perfect poster boy for my cause.” She somehow knew if he came to the event and shared his stories the benefactors would be tripping over themselves to open their wallets.

They exchanged a long look, unease moving over Cole’s face before he asked, “When is this banquet again?”

“Saturday night. Five days from now.” She was about to ask if he’d changed his mind when her home phone started ringing. She looked inside her condo, then back at Cole, debating what to do.

Making the choice easy for her, he said, “You should probably answer that.” Before he turned from her, he pitched his voice low and said, “Thanks for taking care of Charlie. I’ll come by first thing tomorrow morning to get him.” When the phone stopped ringing, he took two steps, paused, then shot her a long, lingering look. Her pulse leapt, her body aching to drag him inside to spend the rest of the night fulfilling the fantasies that had been plaguing her since her youth. “It was nice seeing you again, Gems.”

Her heart fell into her stomach as she watched him retreat, his leather-clad back holding her attention until he disappeared around the corner. Once he was gone, she stepped inside, locked her door and hurried to the phone, which had started ringing again. She checked the display before answering, even though she already knew who it was, since the call came in at around the exact same time every night.

“Hello, Mother.”

“Gemma,” she rushed out, her voice frantic. “What took you so long to get the phone? I was sure you were being mugged.”

Gemma rubbed her temples with her thumb and index finger. “I’m fine. I had an emergency at the clinic, that’s all.”

“An emergency?”

“Yes, but everything is fine now.”

A pause and then, “I can tell it’s not, Gemma.” Her mother covered the phone and Gemma listened to the muffled words. When she came back on she said, “I’m coming over there right now.”

“No,” she hurried out, then worked to put her mother at ease before she showed up on her doorstep. “Everything is fine. It’s just…”

“Just what?”

“Cole is back in town.”

Silence met her words, and then her mother whispered, “I’ve heard.”

“Oh, I didn’t realize you knew.” Not wanting her mother to feel hurt that he hadn’t been by to visit her yet she hurried to add, “He hasn’t been back for long.”

“And he went to see you right away?” she said. “Interesting.”

“Why is that interesting?” Gemma asked, but quickly decided she didn’t want to hear the answer, or talk about Cole anymore. She put a bit of cheer into her tone and redirected the conversation. “I’ll see you Saturday night, then? We should have a great turnout.”

“Yes, that’s why I was calling.” There was a hitch in her mother’s voice and it had Gemma concerned.

“Is everything okay?”

“Do you remember Mr. and Mrs. Washington? They were at our last charity event.”

“Yes, why?”

“Well their son Douglas is back in town. He’s a surgeon, you know. Highly respected in his field.” Never one to beat around the bush, she added, “He’d make great marriage material, Gemma.”

Gemma couldn’t care less what Douglas Washington did for a living. Heck, even if he won a Noble Peace Prize or could spin a web and climb the tallest building, she still didn’t want to go on a blind date with him, especially if it was set up by her mother. “I told you, I don’t need you to find a man for me.”

“But, Gemma, you know I don’t like you living alone in that downtown condo. The city is dangerous.” Gemma’s thoughts drifted to Cole and all the times he’d seen to her safety. She got the distinct impression he was eager to step back into the role of bodyguard. She frowned, wondering what it would take for him to see that while she might always have an impetuous side to her, she was an adult now. She made good decisions and was quite capable of taking care of herself.

Her mother’s voice pulled her back. “Well, you do need an escort to the banquet, don’t you? And it would put my mind at ease to know someone was seeing you home safely.”

“I was planning to ask Victoria to come along.”

“Oh dear, now how would that look? Last time you showed up without a male escort it had the whole town talking. Imagine if you showed up with a girl.”

Gemma could feel a headache brewing. She plunked herself down on her sofa and stared at the vacant condo directly across from hers. “Victoria is my assistant, Mother. And since these events go until the wee hours of the morning I decided to get a room this time and crash at the hotel. So you see, you don’t need to worry about me going home to an empty condo in the middle of the night.”

“Well you should at least let Douglas escort you there. You know these benefactors are conservative and traditional and are more likely to fund your project if your conduct and morals mesh with theirs.”

“In other words, I have to show up on the arms of a respected suitor.”

“Exactly,” she said and, in a sheepish voice, continued, “Besides, I already told him you’d be delighted to attend the event with him.”

“You did what?” Gemma rushed out, shocked that her mother had gone so far as to actually set up a date. In the past she’d been pushy, but never had she spoken on Gemma’s behalf before.

“Well you have to go now, dear. The Washingtons are huge benefactors and we wouldn’t want to—”

“I know, I know,” Gemma said, biting the inside of her mouth to stop from saying what she really thought. “We wouldn’t want to offend anyone.” Even though her mother was far too forceful for Gemma’s liking, she had a kind, caring heart and deep down she meant well. She worried about her only daughter, and wanted what was best for her. After her mother lost a son, in such a tragic way, Gemma couldn’t bring herself to say no, or do anything to hurt her. Stallone came up to her. Sensing her distress he plunked himself down between the sofa and coffee table and let loose a whimper.

“It’s okay, boy,” she whispered. “Everything is fine.”

“You’ll do it then?”

“Just this once,” she conceded. “But please don’t set me up again.”

“You’re a good girl, Gemma.”

“I’ll let him escort me, but don’t expect me to marry him,” Gemma warned.

“We’ll see, dear,” her mother said.

Fearing she was fighting a losing battle and deciding to change the subject she asked, “How’s Dad?”

“He’s still in Europe at one of his conventions. He’ll be home at the end of the month. But enough about your father,” she said. “Let’s talk about Cole.”

Leaving Gemma standing on her doorstep, Cole worked to get her out from under his skin, knowing she was a girl with the right ammunition to rock his world. He hurried back to his motorcycle and walked past her now-closed clinic. As he worried for his dog, it had him considering all the great work Gemma was doing and the importance of her cause.

He wondered how he could help her—outside of attending one of her events. The thoughts of donning a suit, mingling with the rich and famous and talking about his life had him breaking out in a rash. He climbed on his bike, started the ignition and pulled into traffic. A few minutes later he parked beside his old pickup truck at the back of the closed motorcycle shop, and made his way in through the side entrance.

Tired after a long day, all he wanted to do was flop down on his cot and forget about the way Gemma had made him feel tonight. He didn’t want to think about how all he wanted to do was drag her into his arms and fuck her long and hard until he got her out of his system once and for all. Although, when it came to Gemma, he feared one taste, one sweet touch of her body, would simply draw him in deeper to a place he had no intention of going.

He opened the shop door to find Jack and two other ex-soldiers playing cards. As they roused each other, the camaraderie making Cole smile, the three shared shots of dark rum and tried to “one up” each other with their stories. Cole looked at the motley crew. They weren’t just his friends, mere comrades in the field, they were a brotherhood. Men who had each other’s backs in the good times and the bad. Deciding to join them for a round, hoping the alcohol would numb the memories of Gemma and put him fast to sleep so the morning would come quicker, he peeled off his coat and tossed it over a chair.

“You been in battle, buddy?” ex-security specialist Garrett Andersen asked. He gestured toward Cole’s bloodstained coat as he unconsciously rubbed the purple scar on his face, a habit he couldn’t seem to break, Cole noticed.

Jack arched a brow and slid an empty shot glass across the table as Colby, a former working shepherd, sat at his feet. “Anything we can do?” Jack asked, always ready to stand on the front line with his comrades, whether in the field or in the streets.

“It’s Charlie’s blood.”

The three men instantly sobered, and all eyes focused on him. “What happened to Charlie?” they asked in unison.

He watched the men relax as he explained the whole situation. “He’s going to be okay. I’ll be picking him up in the morning.”

Cole flipped his chair around to straddle it, and his gaze went from Jack, to Garrett, to fellow bomb expert Josh Mansfield. These three guys, these military dog handlers, had all loved and lost animals in the field. He considered the work Charlie had done with him overseas. Then, as he thought about the work his Lab would be doing with him here on American soil, an idea formulated.

Deciding to get right to the point, he poured himself a shot and asked, “What do you guys know about the no-kill shelter Gemma Matthews is running?” Christ, saying Gemma’s name out loud triggered a reaction in his body and had his blood flowing thick and heavy. He clenched his teeth hard enough to break bone, cursing his cock for betraying him once again.

“Gemma Matthews as in Brandon Matthews’s kid sister?” Jack angled his head and toyed with the dog tags around his neck, something they all continued to wear for their own personal reasons. For Cole, it was so he’d never forget the vow he made to Brandon, never forget how important it was to his childhood friend that he watch over his younger sister and keep her out of harm’s way.