she’d have at least five minutes. Had she been longer than five minutes? After what she’d discovered, time had blurred, then stood still. For all she knew, an hour had passed as she stood there, staring disbelievingly at Hogan’s black book of debts.
She hadn’t wanted it to be true. Didn’t see how it was possible. But there it had been in black and white.
Her brother, Colin, had been taking payouts from Hogan.
Later. She would think about it later.
Right now, she had to get away from Bowen. She might have taken her chances fighting him off as she’d been trained, but she was unarmed and didn’t know if Bowen carried his gun. As her foot came down on the bottom step, she cringed over the anticipation of a bullet entering her back. Please don’t shoot.
She chanted it over and over, calling on Saint Michael for protection, even knowing it would do her no good. He wouldn’t let her leave alive after catching her snooping.
An arm snagged her around the waist and yanked her backward. One second she was free-falling, the next she came up hard against Bowen’s chest. Without hesitation, she began to fight like hell, attempting to bring her foot down on his instep, but he anticipated the move and shifted his foot. Her elbow managed to connect with his gut, although besides a grunt, he didn’t react.
“Stop struggling.” His voice sounded pained, confusing her. “Please, just stop.”
Sera gathered her strength to renew her struggles, but went still when his mouth nuzzled her ear. “Let me go.”
“I wish I could.”
Tears gathered in her throat. This was it. Her uncle had been right. She wasn’t cut out to be a cop, and it all ended now.
And after what she’d just discovered, it had all been for nothing. Colin, how could you?
As quickly as the thoughts came, she grew angry with herself. How could she lose faith in her brother so easily? Not to mention herself. There had to be an explanation for Colin’s deception. She simply wouldn’t believe otherwise.
With a burst of renewed energy, she twisted from Bowen’s grip, throwing her elbow as hard as she could into his sternum. To her relief, his grip loosened momentarily and she scrambled up the stairs. She’d almost reached the top when a hand circled her ankle, halting her progress.
“Goddammit, Sera.” His hand gripped the waistband of her skirt to gain leverage, his bigger body covering hers in seconds, keeping her pinned on her side. Her breath sounded like a windstorm in her ears as one calloused hand slipped around the back of her neck. “I’m not going to hurt you,” he grated. “How could you think I would?”
His words partially broke through the fogbank of fear. It didn’t seem possible that he could have accepted her cell phone explanation. He was too smart for that, wasn’t he? “I know…I’m not supposed to be down here. I thought you might tell Hogan.”
“No.” He shifted their position, so that her bottom rested on a stair, his hips wedged between her thighs. His forearm supported her back, cushioning her against the hardness of the stairs. Her worries dimmed when his closeness registered. Bowen became aware of it at the same time, because the pace of his breathing increased. “Look at me. You have nothing to fear from me. Ever. Do you understand?”
The moment was so honest, his voice so full of passion, she couldn’t stop her own truth from escaping. “I don’t know who you are.”
He shook his head slowly. “Baby, I don’t know either.”
She shifted beneath him and he groaned. The raw sound sent blazing heat spiraling through her. After what she’d just learned, how it had ripped her beliefs to shreds, followed by the possibility of being caught, maybe killed, the emotions crashing around inside her needed an outlet. Now. His hard body between her thighs, his mouth so close, promised a distraction. A distraction she’d been wanting since they’d met, if she was honest with herself. Even in the dim light of the basement, his base, hungry sex appeal radiated from him, dragging her under.
Of their own accord, her knees rose on either side of his hips, ankles locking at the small of his back.
“Oh, God, don’t do that.” His hand slid down from her neck to hitch her leg higher around his waist, contradicting his words. Rough fingers stroked down the outside of her thigh, his hips rolling once on a choked curse. “You just ran from me. Forced me to catch you. I don’t know if I can say no after being challenged like that.”
“Don’t say no.”