Save Yourself (6 page)

Chapter Ten

** Kester **

“Za-a-ack,” I whined, my head flopping back on my neck in exasperation. The clouds swirling across the sky above were the colour of gravel, promising rain. With my luck, I’d get caught in the downpour.

We were walking down the street, side by side, heading for the garage where Zack had taken his car for a fresh paintjob. Apparently, some girl he’d slept with had gotten pissed when he didn’t return her calls and had keyed his precious car. Zack claimed he was traumatised. He treated the car as if it was his baby. If it made a funny noise, needed its oil changed, or got so much as a scratch, he was all over it with the overprotective concern of a mother for her first newborn.

  He grinned at me, hooking his arm through mine. In broad daylight, he was even more striking than usual. His blue hair was a bright and wild tangle, his guy-liner made his baby blues pop, and the ring in his lip glinted as he spoke.

“Oh, come on, you know you want to!” he prodded, jabbing me in the ribs with his elbow.

I sighed heavily, trying to hide the fact that he was right. I wanted to go back to Grimshade, and not because of the badass music or the friendly atmosphere. It had been a week since my fling with Brogan, and I’d dreamt about him every single damn night. Twice, I’d been caught day-dreaming at work, caught up in remembering that mind-blowing night. I couldn’t stop thinking about it. About him. His hands, his mouth, his…everything. It was driving me nuts. The thought of going back to the club, of possibly seeing Brogan again…it had me practically thrumming with excitement. Which was stupid, of course. Brogan didn’t seem like the kind of guy to do repeats, but I was just desperate enough to believe he might make an exception for me.

Yeah. I was totally
not
obsessed.

Sensing my hesitation, Zack crowed a laugh. “Ha! That’s it. We’re going. Tonight. Will Evie be interested?”

Giving in, I shook my head. “She’s got plans with James.”\

Zack rolled his eyes. “Her loss. While she’s off bumping and grinding with her boy-toy, you and me can grab our own hotties. Who knows? Maybe we’ll even see that sexy bad boy again, the one who so obviously revved your engines.” He winked.

I grinned, because that was exactly what I was hoping for.

The garage smelled strongly of metal and oil, and as we walked in, there was a guy in grease-stained jeans and a t-shirt bent over under the open hood of an Audi. Behind the Audi, Zack’s silver Peugeot was parked, shiny and sparkly with the new paintjob.

Zack’s face lit up at the sight of it. “Ah, my baby,” he crooned, running his hands over the hood.

I raised my eyebrow at him, and he cleared his throat, blushing slightly.

“Eh, wait here a sec while I go find Dylan,” he said gruffly.

Dylan was a friend of Zack’s, and the only guy he trusted to work on his car.

I rolled my eyes as Zack wandered off toward the office in the back of the garage. Folding my arms, I leaned my ass against the Peugeot to wait. Even through the sleeves of my hoodie, I could feel the chill in the air of the garage, and goosebumps tickled my arms. I shivered, tucking my chin and nose into the collar to keep warm.

“If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were stalking me.”

My heart dropped and my chin jerked up at the sound of a familiar voice.
Oh, God
, I thought, squeezing my eyes closed. The last time I’d heard that voice, it had been groaning my name in ecstasy in the darkness of a spotless bedroom.

I bit back a curse, and tried to look calm as I raised my eyes and found Brogan leaning against the car next to me. He was dressed sloppy-casual, in loose-hanging, stained jeans and a smudged grey t-shirt stretched over his chest. I realised he must’ve been the guy bent over the Audi as we came in. Just my damn luck that Zack took his car to the same garage where Brogan happened to work. What were the odds?

As close as he was standing, I had to tilt my head back to see Brogan’s eyes. He smirked at me wickedly, his eyes dark indigo under the tousled waves of his obsidian hair. The silver bar over his left eye glinted as he raised his eyebrow at me.

“Well? Not going to deny it?” he teased.

Realising I was staring, I looked away and said in my most bored tone, “I’m just here with my friend for his car. Didn’t know you worked here. Guess it’s a small world, huh?”

“Hmm,” he mumbled in vague agreement. “Miniscule, really. You know, I was surprised you were gone when I woke up the other morning. Did you have plans?”

Actually, I’d wanted to stay longer—and had been so tempted to wake him up and suggest another round. So I’d gotten myself out of there as fast as possible, before I did something stupid.

I shrugged casually, still not looking at him. “I got what I wanted, so I left.”

Brogan chuckled. “Indeed? Normally, the day after, I’ve got to get Jet to toss the girl out while she begs for more from me.”

I shook my head. “Poor Jet, getting him to take out the rubbish like that.”

At that, Brogan’s expression shifted into a frown. “Are you calling yourself trash for having slept with me? I’m not sure who should be more offended…me or you.”

Startled by the serious tone to his voice, I glanced up at him and rolled my eyes. “I didn’t get thrown out, remember? I left. So no, I’m not calling myself trash.”

His eyes narrowed. “So you’re just insulting me?” he grumbled.

I wondered if he was actually offended and shrugged again. That wasn’t really what I’d been aiming for, but whatever. Suddenly, he was in front of me. So close, I jerked back against the car, and he towered over me. I couldn’t read his expression very well, but I thought it was part anger, part amusement.

“If I remember correctly,” he purred, placing his hands on either side of my hips, trapping me against the car door, “you didn’t seem so judgemental of me when you had your legs—”

My head snapped up, and I glared at him, even though, that close, my body was aching for him to touch me. “Like I said, I got what I wanted. Doesn’t mean I feel good about it.”

His lips twitched, and my gut tightened. He bent his head close to mine, and I could smell metal and grease on him, as well as his usual musky scent. It made me want to inhale breath after breath of him, to slide my fingers into his hair, to taste his mouth again.
Fuck.

He lifted his hand and tugged at the hem of my t-shirt before slipping his hands underneath, and I gasped. He was so warm. My stomach crashed, and my heart floated into my throat. His violet eyes smouldered as his fingertips stroked a burning line from my navel to the waistband of my jeans. Distantly, I remembered what Zack had said about Brogan revving my engines. Well, those pistons were pumping now. The fuel in my gut combusting. My whole body growling with the urge to take the brakes off and slam the accelerator.
Vroom vroom.

His voice was a low rumble as his lips skimmed my ear, setting parts of my body on fire. “You felt pretty damn good about it at the time,” he whispered. “Actually, you felt really good when I was inside you. So hot, so needy.”

My muscles clenched and my toes curled, my breath coming faster as he talked. I tilted my head to the side as his mouth trailed down my neck, his hot breath fanning across my skin. I didn’t feel chilly anymore.

In fact, I was burning all over. He nibbled on my collarbone, and I whimpered, my knees going weak. He was hardly touching me, and I was gasping like a fish out of water. I grabbed his shoulders to steady myself, and he laughed huskily in my ear.

“Mmm…you taste so good. I think I’d like another bite. What do you say we have seconds?”

“Not a chance,” I breathed, though my body was screaming, “Hell yes!”

“Liar,” Brogan growled. “I could take you right here, on the hood of this car, and you would let me in a heartbeat.”

Oh, please, yes
. “Never.”

Distantly, I heard footsteps approach, and then Zack’s startled voice. “Whoa, Kez, who is this?”

My eyes popped open, and Brogan backed off, his mouth compressed into a line that said he was trying not to laugh.
Cocky son of a bitch.

Behind him, Zack was wide-eyed, his attention focused on Brogan. “Oh, it’s you. The one from the club,” he purred, a smile tugging his mouth. Then he glanced at me meaningfully. “Kez, you didn’t tell me you were hooking up with this delightful specimen.”

Brogan raised his eyebrow at Zack curiously, and I blushed. “I’m not hooking up with him,” I muttered. Mentally, I added,
Except in my dreams every night
.

“Oh? So last Friday night was, what, a hallucination? ‘Cause I distinctly remember—”

I turned on Brogan and hissed, “Shut up!”

Zack snorted with laughter as I turned red, but his laughter and my embarrassment were short-lived as we were interrupted. A vaguely familiar man in a black police uniform strolled into the garage, followed by a young female deputy, both of whom looked grim. Brogan stiffened at their entrance and cursed under his breath.

I glanced at him curiously. His jaw was set, his fists clenched as if he was ready for a fight.
Uh-oh
, I thought, feeling a sense of foreboding set in as the police approached our little group.

The policeman’s hard gaze immediately fixed on Brogan, who had swiftly regained his easy grin. “Hey, can I help you guys with something?” he asked casually, sliding his eyes past the man to the deputy.

She was almost pretty, with big dark eyes and neat brown hair knotted in a bun at the back of her head. Her attention was fixed on Brogan too, but the look on her face was more awed than angry. She blushed when she realised he was looking at her, and I felt a twinge of irritation. She could at least pretend to be professional.

Scowling and ignoring his partner’s inappropriate reaction to Brogan’s stare, the policeman said gruffly, “I’m Officer Hartley. This is my partner, Officer Leslie. Are you Brogan Adrian MacDowell?”

Smiling widely, Brogan wiped his hands on his stained jeans and held one out, not toward Hartley, but toward the female. “Yes, that’s me. It’s nice to meet you, Officer.”

Leslie blushed deeper, reaching absently for Brogan’s hand as though she just couldn’t help herself. I knew that feeling. He wasn’t even looking at me, and I felt like swooning into his arms. The guy had mad skills. Every look, every smile, every word—he just emanated sex. It was ridiculous and irresistible.

Hartley made a disgusted noise and grabbed Brogan’s outstretched hand. In a flash, he clamped a metal cuff around his wrist. Brogan lost his smile but didn’t resist as the cop pulled his arms behind his back and cuffed his other hand with a definitive click.

“Brogan MacDowell, you are under arrest in connection with the murder of your uncle, Brent MacDowell. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be held against you in a court of law…”

As the cop rattled off his rights, Brogan stood still, his face carved from stone. I watched with incredulity as Hartley and Leslie hauled Brogan out of the garage in handcuffs.

“Wait!” I called, hurrying after them. Zack grabbed my arm to stop me, but I tugged free. “Hey, wait!”

The cops ignored me as they stuffed Brogan into the back of a cruiser. Hartley slammed the door and got into the driver’s seat. I bit my lip, frustrated. They were arresting Brogan for murder. The murder of family member, no less. I hardly knew the guy, but I couldn’t believe he was a killer. I’d slept with him for Christ’s sake. He may have been an arrogant asshole, and he might have been on the dangerous side, but
murder
? I refused to believe it if for no other reason than I didn’t want to believe I’d slept with a murderer and hadn’t had a clue.

Behind me, Zack whistled long and low. He sidled up beside me, hands shoved in his pockets. “Well. I knew you liked the bad boys, Kez, but…” He shook his head, frowning.

I glared at him. “He’s not a murderer,” I said, startled by my own vehemence.

Zack stared at me. “How do you know? I thought you guys weren’t even hooking up.”

I just shook my head. “I just know, okay? Look, can you give me a lift to the station?”

“What are you going to do, bust him out? C’mon, Kez, you barely know the guy, and if he’s dangerous—”

I planted my hands on my hips and gave him my hardest stare. The one that made even Evie back off. “Give me a lift, or I tell the cute guy you’re currently seeing that you’ve got an STD.”

“Whoa!” Zack raised his hands in surrender. “No need to go lying to my man. I’ll give you a ride. Christ, Kez, I swear you’re getting meaner lately.”

I smiled thinly. “Get the keys and shut up.”

Chapter Eleven

** Brogan **

“Where were you last Saturday around noon? Your boss said you had the day off, so where did you go? What did you do?” Hartley pestered at me, while another officer—not his pretty partner, unfortunately—stood by the door, arms crossed, and looked bored. I thought he’d called himself Officer Leighton, but I’d been a little distracted by Hartley cuffing me to the metal table in the interrogation room.

The room looked like any interrogation room I’d ever been in—and I’d been in a few. White walls, long one-way mirror, and a steel table and chair. No clock. I didn’t know how long I’d been in there, with Hartley asking me the same stupid questions over and over again.

This wasn’t my first rodeo, and I wasn’t an idiot, so I kept my mouth shut. Didn’t ask for a lawyer. That would only make me look guiltier. I knew they didn’t have any real evidence. They could only hold me for seventy-two hours, unless they decided to actually charge me, but they’d need evidence to do that. I knew there was none—none that would hold up in court anyway. All circumstantial. The best they had was probably some of my DNA in the hotel room, which could be explained by me taking a simple visit to see my uncle—before he had been brutally sliced open.

They couldn’t pin it on me. I knew it, and so did they, but they would sure as hell try. I smirked and thought,
Bring it on
.

Hartley was getting angrier and angrier the longer I didn’t say anything, his face slowly turning purple. He slammed his meaty palms down on the table abruptly, and I looked up into his cold grey eyes. He had close-cropped brownish hair, a weak chin, and greasy skin.

“You think is funny, you little brat? We’ll see how funny it is when you’re locked in a cell with a guy who doesn’t like the look of your pretty face. My guess is you won’t be so pretty for long.”

I couldn’t help myself. I tilted my head back and grinned. “You think I’m pretty? Well, Officer, if you wanted me in cuffs, you could have just asked for a date.” I winked, and Hartley’s face turned the colour of strawberries. I thought for a second his head might explode.

In the corner of the room, the other cop coughed into his fist, but I saw the smile he was trying to fight. He turned his head away so Hartley wouldn’t see it. Right as I was sure Hartley was going to blow an aneurysm, there was a sudden racket outside the interrogation room, and someone knocked hard on the door. Hartley and Leighton exchanged glances, and Hartley glared at me as if it was somehow my fault someone was interrupting.

I waved a hand imperiously. “Go on. Answer it. I’ll wait.”

He growled and stomped across the room, throwing the door open. Someone on the other side muttered to him in a low voice while a girl shrieked angrily.
Probably some mental drunk chick.
She sounded familiar—maybe I’d done her once. The odds were good on that.

More muttering and the shrieking subsided. Hartley came back into the room, clenching his jaw so hard he was likely to bust a tooth. He mumbled something unhappily to Leighton, and the other cop raised his eyebrows before flashing me a strangely wry smile, as if he knew something I didn’t.

That couldn’t be a good thing.

He muttered something back to Hartley before slipping out of the room and closing the door behind him, locking me in alone with Hartley.
Ah, shit
.

I tensed, ready for the thumbscrews, but Hartley just crossed his arms and glared murder at me until Leighton came back into the room, looking like he was repressing a grin. He looked at Hartley and jerked his chin toward me.

“Uncuff him. He’s free to go. He’s got an alibi for the time of the murder.”

Hartley’s eyes bugged in rage. “What? You’ve got to be shitting me—”

“Boss’s orders.” Leighton shrugged, as if he didn’t know what else to say about it, but he gave me that same wry smile again.

I frowned, confused. What had just happened? Why were they letting me go now? Where did they get me an alibi from? Grudgingly, with lots of muttering and cursing, Hartley unlocked my cuffs, and I beamed at him as I rubbed my chafed wrists.

“Thanks. And feel free to give me a call next time you want to slap the cuffs on me. Saves time if you just ask for it.” I winked again, and Hartley snarled.

Leighton shuffled me hurriedly out of the room and shut the door before bursting into laughter and clapping me on the back good-naturedly. “Well, kid, you certainly got old Hartley rattled. Never seen him so angry before. You know just how to push a guy’s buttons, don’t you?”

I shook my head, smirking. “Nah, I’m not into guys actually. Don’t tell
him
that, though. I’d hate to disappoint him.”

Leighton laughed again as he led me out of the station office and into reception, where he put a hand on my shoulder and turned me toward him. He’d sobered a little, but there was still a faint smile clinging about his mouth. “You got lucky this time, kid, but Hartley’s like a pitbull. He’ll keep coming after your ass until you’re behind bars, especially now that you’ve pissed him off. I suggest you keep low for a while, at least until we catch whoever killed your uncle.” He paused. “Any chance you’ve got any clue who did it?”

I shrugged. “Nope, not a clue.”

The gleam in his keen eyes told me he didn’t buy that, but weirdly, he didn’t push. I got the feeling he knew more than he was letting on.

He nodded. “Okay then. You’re free to go. But remember, low profile, got it?”

“Yeah, sure,” I muttered. As he started to turn away, I called, “Hey, wait! Why am I free to go? Who gave me an alibi?”

Leighton grinned at me and pointed over my shoulder. “Your girlfriend did.”

I glanced back and was startled when a small mass of gold hair and black clothing threw itself at me, wrapping thin arms around my waist. “Oh, Brogan, I was so worried about you! Baby, are you okay? What did they say?”

I recognised the voice immediately and realised this was the girl who’d been shrieking earlier. “Kester?” I asked, my eyebrows reaching for my hairline.

She stepped back, looking as if she’d been crying, and reached up to stroke my face softly. “Oh, baby,” she crooned. “It’s okay. You’re out now.”

I blinked hard and looked back at Officer Leighton, who was watching us with an amused expression. “Go on, kid. Hey, Kez?”

She looked up at Leighton and smiled way too innocently. “Yes, Henry?”

The cop gave her a suspicious-but-amused look and said, “I trust you’ll keep your new boyfriend out of trouble, right?”

She nodded eagerly, blonde hair flying. “Of course, Officer Leighton.”

He rolled his eyes and sighed, then retreated back toward the offices. I turned to Kez and opened my mouth to ask what the hell was going on, but I closed it when she grabbed my hand and dug her nails into my skin—a fairly obvious warning to shut up.

So I kept my mouth shut until she’d dragged me out of the police station. Once we were on the street, she let go of my hand and wiped at the dampness under her eyes —somehow, without even smudging her extreme eyeliner.

“Well, that was easier than I’d expected,” she said, breaking into a smug grin.

I stared at her. “What the hell just happened? One second they were ready to book me for murder, and the next, I’m walking out of there without so much as a slap on the wrist. What did you tell them?”

She shrugged. “I told them that you couldn’t possibly have killed your uncle, because you were with me at the time of the murder. I told them you’d snuck in to see me on my break at work, and…well. We were rather occupied.”

Kez flashed me a saucy smirk that made me suddenly wish we were somewhere private so I could spank her. What the hell had she been thinking, lying to the cops for me? I rubbed my hand across my forehead, pushing my hair back.

“And they bought that? How do you even know what time the murder was?”

“I overheard Leighton talking to another cop after you were brought in. And at first, he didn’t want to believe me. He knows me too well. Once I started giving him details about our, eh, rendezvous…he seemed to change his mind.”

My mind caught on one thing she’d said—probably the least important part of what she’d said, but oddly the most interesting to me right now. “You said Leighton knows you? And you called him by his first name back at the station. How exactly did you two get so friendly?” I fought to keep my tone disinterested, but I think I failed. I was surprised by the twinge of jealousy I felt at the thought of Kez and Officer Leighton getting
familiar
.

Kez blinked at me with those big, green eyes for a second, as if she didn’t understand what I was asking. Then she burst into laughter. “No, nothing like that, you pervert! Christ, Leighton’s married. No, no, he just used to arrest me a lot. I was a pretty bad girl when I was younger. Shoplifting, vandalism, that sort of thing. Last time he picked me up for assault, but in my defence, the other chick started it. I just finished it.”

My eyes widened in surprise. I’d known Kez wasn’t exactly a Catholic schoolgirl, especially after last Friday, but I hadn’t suspected she had a record. Sure, it was mostly petty stuff, but assault? Actually, yeah, I could see that happening. Those boots of hers were vicious.

Damn, what was wrong with me? I could have shrugged it off as being nothing, just ignored it, if I hadn’t been struggling with thoughts of her all week. The amount of times Kester had shown up in my dreams since last Friday. I don’t think there was a single morning I didn’t wake up with a raging hard-on and the delicious smell of her Lust burning in my nose.

The primal Hunger inside me demanded more, more of her Lust, more of her body. It demanded I sink my teeth into her flesh and drink her life into me, demanded I claim her in every way I could.

And that terrified me.

I realised with a start that I didn’t just want her; the Hunger wanted her. That insidious beast inside me wanted her flesh and her blood. Only hers. For whatever reason, my darker side was addicted to her. The strength of that addiction could only lead to danger for us both, but damn, I liked the girl.

“Are you going to thank me for saving your ass, or are you just going to stare at me stupidly?” She smirked, cocking one hip expectantly.

Shaking myself out of it, I regained my composure and gave her a wicked grin. “How about we go back to mine so I can thank you properly?” I purred. It was just a tease, and as much as I wanted her to say no, for her own safety and mine, the Hunger also really wanted her to say yes.

She tilted her head, her eyes narrowed, as if she was trying to figure out if I was joking, and the breeze blew a whiff of her Lust toward me. The Hunger snarled in delight at the scent, the sweet taste dancing over my tongue, and my gut tightened so hard it almost knocked the breath out of me.
Jesus Christ
, I thought, stunned by my own reaction. I hadn’t felt like that last Friday. Sure, I’d wanted her and badly, but it was like the more of her Lust I tasted, the more I craved.

Finally, Kez flashed a bright smile and leaned toward me, the taste of her Lust warm down the back of my throat. Her green eyes blazed at me from under her red curls and gold lashes, the tip of her tongue coming out to tease her rosy lips. She tipped her head back to meet my eyes, exposing the slim column of her neck and the pulse beating under her jaw. She drew up on her toes, so her breath fanned softly across my cheek. The smell of her Lust for me surrounded me, and it was all I could do to stay perfectly still, holding back the beast roaring greedily inside. If she got any closer, she was going to feel how badly I wanted her.  Every inch of my body, inside and out, ached with the desperate need to take her. I’d never felt so out of control. Just as I thought I was about to lose it, Kester whirled away with a tinkling laugh, and I let out a breath I hadn’t realised I’d been holding.

She laughed again at the look on my face, and said, “Maybe another time, Brogan.” She winked at me, and then turned and walked away.

I watched the sway of her hips until she stopped beside a car and got in. The engine revved, and the Peugeot took off down the street, leaving me alone outside the police station with a hard-on and some serious trouble brewing in the back of my mind.