All I've Ever Wanted - Adrianne Byrd [38]
The door slammed shut behind him and Kennedy jerked in response. She closed her eyes during the ensuing silence.
“Free to go,” she whispered. But she didn’t move—couldn’t move. She didn’t know what waited for her outside that door. She opened her eyes, wondering how he’d managed to suck the oxygen out of the room when he left.
As minutes passed, she questioned why she still sat there, staring at the door. But, in her heart, she knew the answer. She wanted Collier to come back.
Slowly, she forced herself to stand and retrieve her purse. She had no idea where she was going, but there was no sense in staying there.
She put her hand on the doorknob, took a deep breath before pulling the door open.
Det. Collier waited with his arms crossed on the other side. “Are you ready to go to my place?” he asked.
She stared at him for a moment, and then nodded.
Keenan clenched his teeth as he paced the floor in long, angry strides. Tonight’s screwup would cost him plenty, and bring unwanted scrutiny from the men in blue. That, in turn, would bring heat from his boss.
He swore under his breath and resisted the urge to throw something—anything. Nothing had gone right in the past week. The last thing he needed to do was to shoot a cop—in front of hundreds of witnesses. He cursed his foolish actions.
“You’re slipping, ole boy,” he mumbled under his breath. As he waited to hear the word on the officer—a Detective Dossman, according to the news reports—he tried to plan his next move. He definitely needed to lie low, perhaps even skip town until everything died down.
He shook his head. He didn’t like the thought of leaving town with unfinished business. Kennedy St. James.
He stopped pacing.
The woman either had an angel on her shoulder, or she was just lucky as hell. Twice she had slipped through his grasp. That wasn’t an easy feat to pull off. He should have killed her at the park when he’d had the chance.
He paced again.
If he was going to take care of her, he needed to do it quick. Getting out of town would be easy, finding Ms. St. James would be a challenge. And one thing he loved was a challenge.
He smiled.
Chapter 18
Det. Collier opened his apartment door and gestured for Kennedy to enter. “Ladies first,” he said with a smile.
With an unexplained nervousness, she crossed the threshold and immediately heard the click of a light switch behind her.
Bright lights bathed his spacious living room that was decorated with black leather furniture and little else.
“Forgive the mess, the maid is on vacation,” he joked as he closed the door behind them.
She glanced around again, and saw a few empty beer bottles on the coffee table, along with a stack of paper. Other than that, the place appeared immaculate. If he considered this a mess, she wondered what he thought of her apartment.
The awkward silence between them grew as they stood near the front door. Then Collier remembered his manners. “Ah, I guess I should show you my bedroom.”
She jerked around to meet his gaze.
“I’ll take the couch,” he added.
She nodded, suddenly embarrassed by the direction her thoughts had gone in response to such an innocent remark.
“Of course,” she said. Then she followed him across the living room and down the hallway. Still glancing around, Kennedy thought it was odd that there weren’t any knickknacks on the shelves.
“Just moved in?” she asked, absently.
“Yeah, about a year ago.” He entered a room and switched on the lights.
She peeked in and saw only a king-size bed. Again, there weren’t any pictures; heck there wasn’t even a headboard or a bedside table.
“Are you sure you live here?”
“Did the last time I checked.” He smiled. “If you’ll hold on for a moment, I’ll get you some clean sheets.”
She nodded, then moved farther into the room. While he was gone, she noticed an adjoining bathroom and a closed door to what she assumed was the closet. Overall, the room was less than homey—way less.
Collier returned, carrying a set of folded white sheets.
“I’m starting to feel like