“Addy, wait.” He nabbed her by the arm before she could go inside. “There are things that need to be said, no matter how much water has gone under the bridge. And it damned sure isn’t irrelevant.”
“Fine.” She turned her face up to his. “Then say what you have to say. If that’s what it takes to put this behind us, just get it over with so we can focus on the case.”
He wasn’t sure saying the words would ever be enough for him. “I was wrong.” His chest cramped. “What I did was wrong. I’ve had a long time to consider what I should have done. And I should have backed you up.”
“Yeah.” She nodded. “That’s what you should’ve done. But you didn’t. Okay.” She reached for the door again. “I’m glad we had this little talk.”
He didn’t let go, pulled her back around and manacled her other arm to keep her from jerking out of his hold. “So you’re never going to forgive me?” The feel of her hair draped over his hands almost undid him. He wanted to release her and thread his fingers through that sexy mane.
“I’m done talking, Wyatt.” She flattened her palms against his chest and gave him a push to get him out of her personal space. He didn’t budge.
“Maybe I don’t deserve your forgiveness,” he went on, fury pulsing through him. “But I don’t want you to think I haven’t paid a price.”
“Oh, gee, that’s too bad.” She tried to shake off his hold. “I hate to think you’ve suffered all this time. Let’s see.” Her lips pinched in fury. “My own family threatened to kill me if I didn’t leave. Only because my boss, the damned sheriff, had plotted to have me killed and it didn’t work out. I had to move away from everything I’d ever known.” Fury blazed in those blue eyes. “Oh, and let’s not forget how the man I loved kept his mouth shut when he knew the truth. I think maybe I paid a little more than you, wouldn’t you say?”
Her lips trembled and he lost any hold whatsoever on his sanity. His mouth covered hers. It was a mistake, he knew. But he had to kiss her. She fought him at first, but then she gave in and kissed him back. So many times he’d dreamed of kissing her again. Had awakened with his heart pounding after dreaming of touching her.
His fingers released her arms, plunged into her hair the way he’d longed to do all night. He cradled her head, kept her mouth fixed firmly against his when she tried to pull away. Then her body relaxed and shesurrendered to the kiss. No more thinking. He reached out with one hand and opened the door. They stumbled into the room. He kicked the door shut behind him.
Her fingers were fumbling with the buttons of his shirt. He carried her to the bed. They fell onto the mattress together.
“What the hell?”
He froze. “What?”
She lifted a handful of garments. “What’s this?”
The light on the bedside table was dim, but there was sufficient illumination for him to see that the garments she held were ragged—no, torn or cut.
Wyatt pushed up onto his hands, stared at the jumble on the bedspread beneath and around her. Her clothes, jeans, T-shirts, underthings, were scattered over the bed. Not just scattered ... ripped apart and then scattered.
Addy scooted away from him and off the bed. She reached down, picked up a bra. The straps had been torn off. The cups were shredded. “What is this shit?”
Wyatt backed off the bed. “Don’t touch anything else,” he warned. “I’ll be right back.”
He raced out to his SUV and dug through the console for a couple of pairs of latex gloves. Closing the door with his hip, he put in a call to Rich Baggett. He’d gone to school with Rich. Trusted him. He was the best forensics tech in this part of the state.
Addy waited for Wyatt at the door. He thrust a pair of gloves at her. “You called a tech?” she asked.
Wyatt nodded, then followed her back inside. “Rich Baggett, you remember him?”
“Yeah.” She turned back to her room. “He still one of the good guys?”
Anger lit deep in Wyatt’s gut, obliterating the other lingering heat. “Yeah, he’s one of many good guys in my department.” How did he get it through her head that things weren’t the way they used to be?
Cyrus Cooper didn’t run Wyatt’s department or him.
She picked through her damaged clothes, held up a Bon Jovi tee. “Damn. This was my favorite.” She dropped it back onto the bed. “I got it at his last concert in Nashville.”
Wyatt checked the lock on the door for evidence of forced entry. Maybe if he lingered long enough Rich would arrive and provide a much needed buffer. Right now, Wyatt just needed an excuse not to have to look at her.
They’d almost had sex.
What the hell had he been thinking?
Focus, dumbass.The lock. Of course there was evidence of forced entry. Lots of it. There likely wasn’t a single room at the Shady Oaks that hadn’t been broken into at least once. For someone with the know-how it wouldn’t be that difficult. A damned credit card would no doubt do the trick.
“Shit. The Def Leppard shirt got it, too.” She stared down at the scraps of fabric on the bed.