“Surprised?” Lucky’s brow turned inward with a frown. “Why?”
“Seriously? I mean, it’s not like Ellie’s…aversionto you is a secret.”
“Aversion” was putting it nicely. From everything Lucky had witnessed, the feisty woman couldn’t stand him.
Not that he cared.
No? Then why did you check your hair six times in the visor mirror on the drive here?
“Just because the woman turned me down when I asked her out doesn’t mean I want to see her get hurt.”
Sure, he could be as big an asshole as much as the next guy, but damn. He didn’t think he wasthatbad.
Archer scowled. “Of course, you’d never want to see Ellie get hurt. Or any other innocent woman, for that matter. I just meant it’s like oil and water when you two get together, that’s all.”
Oil and water. Fire and ice. No matter which comparison Arch wanted to make, the man’s point was crystal clear.
He and Ellie couldn’t be more opposite if they tried. But that didn’t diminish the insatiable need he felt for the woman every time she was near.
“Ellie’s important to you and Cass.” A fact the other man couldn’t deny. “That makes her important to me, too.”
That sounded reasonable enough, right? Any friend of Archer’s and all that.
“You sure that’s all it is?” Archer challenged.
Apparently “reasonable” and “believable” weren’t as mutually exclusive as he’d hoped.
“What else would it be?” Lucky avoided committing to a direct answer.
You avoid commitment? Imagine that.
Archer turned his body, so he was facing Lucky directly. “You want me to spell it out for you? Fine. I thought maybe, given your impressive yet futile efforts in the past to convince Ellie to go out with you, it stands to reason you could possibly see Ellie’s…situation…as an opportunity to smooth-talk your way into her p—”
“Seriously?” Lucky shot his friend a look. “Jesus, Arch. I just told you why I’m here. And, contrary to popular belief, I don’t constantly walk around thinking with my dick.”
Only when she was around. Only with…
Ellie.
Three elderly women standing nearby heard his sharp retort and, right on cue, all three swung their appalled gazes in his direction. Gripped tightly in their aged and wrinkled hands were signs bearing printed bible verses about the Second Coming.
From the looks on their faces, Lucky half-expected them to start lifting their hands in the air and praying for his poor soul.
Sorry, ladies. Pretty sure this is one soul God doesn’t want.
“You’re right.” Archer’s chagrined voice broke through the depressing but realistic thought. “That was a low blow. Sorry.”
“You’re good.” Lucky waved the other man’s concern away. After all, wasn’t he the one who kept putting fuel on the fire that was his playboy reputation?
If you can’t beat them…
“That’s all we’re able to share with you at this time.” Special Agent Strauss’s firm voice filled the speakers, pulling his and Archer’s focus back to center stage as she brought the press briefing to a close. “My office is working in conjunction with Chief Kelton’s, as well as with Sheriff Drummond’s, and we will bring you more details about this investigation when they become availa—”
A shot rang out from somewhere in the distance. Someone screamed. Several dropped to the ground where they stood. A beat later, the mob around them started to panic.
What the—
A second shot pierced the afternoon air. With half the crowd already lying on the ground, the other half took off blindly, running every which way in search of cover. As for Lucky…