***
“No!” Ivy snapped at him and, if it had been brighter, Bennett was sure that Ivy’s brown eyes would be spitting fury at him. “I’m the one who saw the attack! You don’t get to just—just shove me into the back of a car and send me off in the night!”
Sighing, Bennett kept his hold on the patrol car door. “I’m afraid that’s exactly what I get to do.” Blue police lights flashed around the scene. Reinforcements had come running at his call. Unfortunately, they hadn’t come in time to help the victim.
“I saw—”
“You said that you saw a man in a white mask. A guy wearing a tux. You couldn’t tell me his hair color, his eye color—”
“I told you he was tall,” she cut in, her words shooting out fast. “About your height, with broad shoulders. He was fit. Strong.”
Since he’d dragged a dead woman into an abandoned building without anyone noticing, it stood to reason that the guy was fairly strong. And as far as being around Bennett’s height…we’re looking for a perp who is close to six foot three.
“I can help!” Ivy told him. “Let me stay.”
No way. “The crime scene techs need to work.” He inclined his head toward her. “I got your statement, and I’ll follow-up with you tomorrow if I have any other questions.”
Her jaw dropped. “That’s it? I see a murder and you just let me go?”
“What do you want me to do?” He eased closer to her. He had always been drawn to Ivy. “Keep you?” The words hung in the air between them, and he thought about just what he would do if he ever did get to keep the lovely Ivy.
She’d been his first crush, though he doubted she realized it. But then, most of the guys in their class had been drawn to the gorgeous Ivy. It was hard not to look at Ivy and want.
Wide, dark eyes. Full lips. Creamy skin. If Snow White were real and strolling around town, causing trouble, he figured she’d look just like Ivy.
Ivy had high cheek bones, a delicate jaw, and a body that had obviously been built for sin. He’d imagined that body—them together—too many times.
But what he’d never imagined, that would be Ivy, tangled up in a murder scene. He should have, though. Especially with all the drama that her family liked to cause.
DuLane Investigations. That particular PI business had been in operation since Ivy’s grandfather opened it up back in 1970. It was a business known for attracting scandal and raising serious hell.
“Officer East will escort you home,” Bennett told her, aware that his voice had roughened. Ivy could look for trouble elsewhere. This case was his. “He’ll make sure that you arrive safely.”
“It’s not my safety that we need to worry about,” Ivy argued quickly. “I can take care of myself. There’s a killer out there! We need to focus on stopping him.”
Because he didn’t realize that. His hands curled around her shoulders and he pushed her into the back of that car. “You saw the killer,” he told her bluntly. “Did you ever stop to think…maybe he saw you, too?”
Bennett heard the quick hitch in her breathing.
That’s right. “So, yes, I believe you can protect yourself.” He’d seen her at a shooting range before, and he knew she’d gotten her black belt in Tae Kwon Do by the time she was fourteen. “But you’re getting a police escort home. It makes me feel better, all right?” He eased away from the car.
Her hand flew out and caught his wrist. Her touch was soft, oddly sensual. “I had my mask on, too,” Ivy said quickly. “He won’t know who I am.”
He will if he lingered. If he watched…Bennett shook his head. “If he was standing in that building while you and the cop were outside before, he could’ve heard you talking.” She needed to understand what she faced. “He could have followed you and watched until you took off your mask or until you gave the cop your name.” With that information, it would be too easy to track her down. “You’re getting a police escort home. Lock your doors. Set your alarm. And I will be seeing you tomorrow.”
Her hand began to slide away from his. Bennett’s hand twisted and he caught her fingers in his. “If you need me, call me.”
“I-I don’t have your number.”
What? Bennett shook his head. Sometimes he forgot…despite the tangled web between them, plenty had changed over the years. He gave her the number, then, just to be safe, he scribbled it down on a piece of paper and tucked it into her hand. “Call me.” Anytime. “I’ll come to you.”
Then he made himself pull back. Officer East stood just a few feet away, watching him with wide eyes. He wondered if this was the guy’s first murder scene.
If the fellow planned to make a career out of law enforcement, it wouldn’t be his last.
Bennett had seen too many scenes to count, but those scenes—they often replayed through his nightmares.