“Hello!”
Connor frowned when Austin stayed silent. Seconds ticked by before he finally spoke. “N-nice to meet you.” His Texas accent had slipped slightly, making Derek’s head fall forward. Something had thrown Austin off in there. The kid? “I, uh…just remembered I’m needed back at the K-Worth site. We’ll pick this up tomorrow.”
Two chairs rolled back. “That’s not necessary. They were just leaving.” Stark’s voice had gone smooth once more. Maybe even with a hint of suspicion. “I usually only have her on the weekends, so this doesn’t happen often.”
“No need to explain. I have to, um…” Heavier footsteps sounded on the floor. Austin’s phony accent was back in place, but he sounded almost desperate to get out of there. “I’ll call to reschedule.”
“Fucking hell,” Derek muttered. “We had him.”
They heard a ding and realized Austin must have been entering an elevator. A second later, a door rolled and silence reigned. “I’m a bastard, but I won’t have him arrested in front of his daughter,” Austin said, his cultured tone clipped. “Not going to happen.”
Static rushed in Connor’s ears, telling him Austin must have ripped off the wire he’d been wearing. Derek removed his headphones and let them drop to the van floor.
“This is what I get for putting together a group of wild cards.”
“You don’t sound too upset,” Connor observed, slinging his own headphones around his neck.
Derek said nothing, just removed his wallet from his back pocket. He took out a picture of a little girl who looked to be about two years old, holding a kitten close to her chest. He’d only met Ginger briefly, but this child was the image of her, even if she had a touch of Derek’s shrewdness in her eyes.
“Some things are sacred,” Derek said, before climbing into the driver’s seat and pulling away from the curb. “Drop you off at the courthouse?”
“You’re not coming to the wedding?”
“Jesus, no. Can’t give you assholes the impression that I give a shit.”
A smile tugged at Connor’s mouth. “Fair enough.”
Chapter Seventeen
Erin paced the lobby of the courthouse, waiting for Connor to show. The security guard operating the metal detector kept sending Erin nervous glances over her shoulder. Although she couldn’t figure out why since the woman had confiscated both of her knives. Knives she would be getting back as soon as Sera and Bowen exchanged their vows upstairs.
This morning, she’d been wary of Sera’s request to accompany her to the courthouse. What did she want from her? Was she going to make her hold flowers or some shit? But hanging out with Sera had turned out to be surprisingly…easy. She didn’t force Erin to make conversation, nor had she looked at her weird when she asked to take the bus. After her first stint in Dade, she’d spent a lot of time sitting in the back row of a Catholic church down the street from where she was staying. There’d been no expectation for her to participate in the masses. She could just sit and watch, inhale the incense, make use of the air-conditioning. That’s what being with Sera felt like. Cool comfort. It didn’t surprise Erin that Bowen didn’t want to wait another second to marry her. When they’d shown up to the courthouse, Sera in a white sundress, he’d looked like he’d just been granted eternal life.
There had been a moment where she’d felt a tinge of jealousy. Not over the couple. Not because she wanted to be the one getting married. No, it had come when they touched. She wanted that. Wanted Connor to be able to touch her without thinking. Just a natural slide of his hands along her skin without fear or pain. She wanted so badly to give that to him.
As if her thoughts had made him appear? Connor strode into the courthouse. Her pulse started beating double time, her stomach muscles tightening. Good Lord, the man was a fucking panty dropper. She’d only been away from him for a few hours and it felt like years since she’d experienced his presence. In jeans and a fitted gray T-shirt that molded to his muscles like her hands itched to do, he personified confidence and authority. Hot, rugged male. His gaze connected with hers immediately and darkened. She thought back to that morning when he’d dressed in the early morning light, his abs flexing as he pulled the shirt over his head. His erection barely contained by his boxers. She’d never been one to beg for anything, but she’d been seconds from offering him her mouth. Pleading for the privilege of sucking him off.