She had loved him with every fiber of her being—with all that had made her who she was.
How had she imagined for an instant—even in the throes of passion—that she could have sex with this man and treat the incident like any other one-nighter?
Not possible.
If they hadn’t stopped . . .
But they had. She squared her slumped shoulders. From this point forward their every interaction had to be about the case. No more dancing too close to the flame.
“That your chief again?”
Adeline pushed aside the troubling thoughts. “Yeah. He agreed that I should stay as long as necessary.” Not entirely true. He’d actually wanted her back in Huntsville and Metcalf working this investigation. At the very least he’d wanted Metcalf with her. She’d nixed the former idea right off the bat. Then she’d had to do some serious talking to hold her ground on the latter.
In the end she’d gotten her way. Second thoughts attempted to steal her certainty on the choice.
Why was she doing this to herself? She never doubted her decisions. This man, she stared at the gorgeous hunk of male in front of her, this place ... didthisto her.
Wyatt nodded. “I guess that’s good.”
He guessed. “What the hell does that mean?” She threw her hands up in frustration. Being the subject of everyone’s concern was gettingdamned old. Her mother had called five times. Her chief three. She was a big girl. With a big gun that she knew how to use.
Mainly, she was pissed at herself for being so damned wishy-washy.
“It means,” he moved toward her, putting her senses on guard, “that I care about what happens to you and this investigation is getting intense. Whoever this bastard is, he wants you. Have you forgotten?”
“Now that’s just stupid.” She sliced her hands through the air. “Enough, Wyatt.” Fury pumped up her confidence. “I’m a highly trained major crimes detective. I know what I’m doing and I can take care of myself. This coddling either stops now or I’m out that door.” She stabbed her finger in the direction of his front door. “I’ll stay at my mom’s before I’ll stand for this. You got it?” And that was saying something, by God.
He braced his hands on his hips. “Loud and clear.” He shrugged. “I’ll back off. Give you the breathing room you need.”
But his eyes said otherwise. That was the thing. Wyatt had always worn his feelings right there where anyone who knew him well enough could read exactly what was on his mind. He wasn’t going to back off any more than this freak who addressed her as “princess” intended to.
“You’re lying. You won’t do any such shit. You’ll hover around me like a mother hen and try to—” She shook her head. “Forget it. I don’t want to talk about this anymore.” She glared at him. “Consider yourself warned, though. I’m done tiptoeing around this bullshit. You treat me like you would any other detective or I’m done working with you.”
Uncertainty seeped into her bones. Okay. She’d put it out there on the table. Couldn’t take it back. Brutal, honest. She hiked her chin. And she damned well meant what she said. For the most part anyway.
His expression cleared of emotion. “Understood.”
That was easier than she’d expected. This time there was no indecision glimmering in his eyes. “So.” She stretched her neck—right, then left. “Where are we on the briefing with the folks in Wiggins?”
“Tomorrow. Ten o’clock. We’ll rendezvous at my office with Womack and Sullenger. Detective Lonnie Ferguson from Hattiesburg PD will be joining us. He’s been working the Prescott case from his end.”
That was the first she’d heard about the Hattiesburg detective. “Okay. We can use all the heads on this we can get.” Mainly because they didn’t have one damned thing and those women were going to be dead before the investigation got a break. Not to mention that the bastard wanted her next. She repressed a shudder. Let him come. She wasn’t going to make it easy. Then again, just maybe becoming a victim was the only way to get the break they needed.
She sure as hell wouldn’t share the idea with Wyatt.
Adeline pulled at her tee. “I need to find some clothes.” With nothing open on Christmas, she had no choice but to wear this same getup tomorrow.
“I could call Emma White and have her open her shop.”
Adeline laughed. “Emma finally got her shop?” Owning a boutique was all Emma White had ever talked about in high school. Damn, she’d gotten her wish.
“Yeah.” Wyatt lifted one shoulder and let it fall. “She married some rich guy from Biloxi, then got divorced a year later. Apparently the settlement gave her the stake she needed to make it happen.”
Not an easy thing to do in small-town nowhere. “Good for her.” Adeline hitched her thumb toward the hall. “I think I’m gonna take a shower and hit the sack.” She gave her head a shake. “I don’t want to bother anybody on Christmas night. I’ll just make use of your in-house laundry service.” Maybe she’d give old Emma a buzz tomorrow afternoon. Though they hadn’t exactly been friends in school, at least Emma hadn’t been one of Adeline’s mortal enemies.
“Sure.” He stared at the floor a moment.
What now? If he started that whole “we need to talk” thing again she was going to scream.