Running into Love
Page 6
“Aren’t we supposed to get a phone call?” Mac asks, and I scoot even lower, swearing I feel his eyes burning into the side of my head as I study the top of the table like it’s the most fascinating thing I’ve ever seen in my entire life.
“Fawn?” Pretending I have no idea who Fawn is, I tuck my chin closer to my chest.
“How do you know my sister?” Libby asks, blowing my cover and leaving me with no choice but to lift my head and look at him.
“Oh, hi, Levi.” I wave like the idiot I am, and his brows pull together tightly over his beautiful golden eyes in confusion. “These are my sisters, Libby and Mac,” I introduce them, and his gaze narrows.
“What the fuck are you doing here?”
“It’s a long story.” I smile, then watch him turn back toward the door and stick his head out.
“Jinks, come in here,” he shouts, then turns back to face me, crossing his arms over his chest.
“What’s up?” one of the officers who brought us in asks, poking his head in through the crack in the door before coming into the room completely.
“I thought you and Van said you brought in three prostitutes.”
“We did. We picked them up two blocks over from the murder.”
“These women are not prostitutes.”
“They looked like prostitutes and were in a known area for prostitution,” Jinks says.
Glaring at him, I grit out, “I told you we were walking to the train to go home.”
“You also had no IDs.” He shrugs his broad shoulders, and my hands ball in my lap.
“This is my neighbor,” Levi states with a shake of his head at Jinks before looking at me once more. “What were you doing over there? And why the hell are you dressed like that?” he questions, raking his eyes over me, causing my skin to tingle and heat the same way it did last time I was around him.
“We were at a bar—”
“You were at a bar dressed like that?” he cuts me off, and there is no mistaking that he’s angry, judging by the tick of his jaw and the growl in his tone. I just don’t get why. It’s Halloween. Most women I know use Halloween as an excuse to dress like they are streetwalkers. Okay, some go as zombies, but even then, they are typically slutty zombies.
“It was a pimps and hoes party,” Libby says unhelpfully, and I shove my elbow in her side, only to have her do the same back to me, making me wince and cover the abused spot with my hand.
“Pimps and hoes,” he repeats, looking directly at me, and I shift in my seat.
“Yes, a pimps and hoes party at Jack’s. You know, the bar near the stadium,” Mac tosses in, and I close my eyes briefly, wishing my sisters would just be quiet.
“So why were you three walking in the cold without coats?” Jinks asks.
“Like we told you on the ride to the station, our coats were stolen from the bar, but I still had my MetroCard in my bra, so we were walking to the train, which now I realize was a giant damn mistake,” Libby grumbles, glaring at Officer Jinks.
“Ya think?” Jinks asks with a grin, and we all glare at him—including Levi. “Just sayin’.” He holds out a hand in front of himself. “You could have called a cab and paid the fare when you got to your place.”
God, we are seriously so damn stupid, because not one of us thought of that.
“I’ll take you home,” Levi mutters, and my stomach drops to my toes as panic fills my chest.
“That’s not necessary. You’re working—we can take a cab, you know, and pay him when we reach my apartment,” I say hopefully, wringing my hands together in my lap, but he shakes his head, not uncrossing his arms.
“I’m heading home anyways, so I’ll take you.”
“Perfect.” Mac stands along with Libby, leaving me no choice but to do the same, since it would look really strange if I refused to go with them. Silently cursing myself for being such a pushover with my sisters, I stand and attempt to pull my dress down enough to cover my ass. After a few seconds of tugging and pulling, I give up the fight and start toward the door, watching Levi’s jaw clench the closer I get to him.
“Here.” He slips off his suit jacket and swings it around my shoulders before I have a chance to refuse. I feel the weight and warmth settle around my body and the scent of soap and musk seep into my lungs. My gaze locks with his, and my head gets dizzy while my legs feel weak, and it takes everything in me to keep standing.
“Thanks,” I murmur, getting lost in his eyes.
“What about us? Do we get jackets?” Libby asks, breaking into the moment, and Levi’s hand that had been resting lightly on my shoulder drops away, making me want to growl from the loss. Jealousy fills my chest as his eyes go to her, and I wait for the inevitable to happen. I know men think Libby is beautiful—because she is—and I know she can get pretty much any man she wants, so I expect to see some kind of flare of desire when he looks at her. But there is nothing, not even a hint of something. Which is surprising, since every guy I’ve ever been even a little interested in has looked at her with interest, even if they try to hide it.
“Sorry, only got one,” he says with a shrug, holding the door open for us. When we step into the hall, my stomach knots as we wait for him to move ahead of us. I don’t know what just happened, but my heart is pounding so hard I can feel its relentless thump, thump, thump in my throat.
“I can’t believe you never mentioned living next to a hottie who knows how to use a set of cuffs,” Libby whispers loudly, leaning into me as we follow Levi and Officer Jinks down a long hall while they talk quietly.
“Shut up, Libby,” I hiss, trying to keep up with Levi’s mile-long legs in my heels that are now killing me.
“Just saying, I totally understand now why you didn’t want me to hook you up with anyone.”
“Libby,” I warn, watching Levi’s shoulders tense as my sister continues talking.
“What? I’m just saying, if I had a guy like him living next door to me, I wouldn’t look elsewhere, either.”
“Please.” I look at her and jerk my chin toward Levi’s back, hoping she will realize he can totally hear every single word she’s saying.
“Oh yeah, sorry,” she mumbles, having the audacity to look contrite. “You probably don’t want him to know that you want him.” My teeth snap together, and I glare at her, letting her know silently that if we weren’t in the middle of a police station I would take her to the ground and force her to be quiet like I’ve been doing my whole life.
“Libby, stop being a pain.” Mac laughs, tucking Libby into her side, forcing her to walk next to her a few feet ahead of me. Thankful for the reprieve, I drop my eyes to the ground and wrap my arms around my middle as I walk behind them.
“Fawn,” Levi calls, and I stop walking and lift my eyes to his staring back at me.
“Levi?” I prompt when he does nothing more than scan my face.
“I’ll be right back.”
“Uh, sure.” I nod, gaining his chin lift in reply before he and Jinks disappear behind a closed door at the entrance of the station.
Feeling Mac and Libby get close, I pull my eyes from the door to look at them. “Someone’s been holding out on us,” Mac says, and I shrug.
“He’s my new neighbor. I don’t really know him.” Her eyes search mine, and a slow smile spreads across her face like she knows something I don’t. “I’ve only talked to him once before today,” I continue, and her smile broadens.
“Sure,” she says, like she doesn’t believe me, and I bite my tongue, refusing to let her bait me into an argument, which is something she does often.
“Ready?” Levi asks a few minutes later, and I let out the breath I’ve been holding.
“Yep.” I start for the door behind my sisters, who have already stepped outside ahead of us.
“Hold up.” His voice slides over me as his long, warm fingers wrap around my wrist and tighten when I try to tug free.
“What?” I look up at him, hating how breathless I sound.
“Paper.”
“Fawn?” Pretending I have no idea who Fawn is, I tuck my chin closer to my chest.
“How do you know my sister?” Libby asks, blowing my cover and leaving me with no choice but to lift my head and look at him.
“Oh, hi, Levi.” I wave like the idiot I am, and his brows pull together tightly over his beautiful golden eyes in confusion. “These are my sisters, Libby and Mac,” I introduce them, and his gaze narrows.
“What the fuck are you doing here?”
“It’s a long story.” I smile, then watch him turn back toward the door and stick his head out.
“Jinks, come in here,” he shouts, then turns back to face me, crossing his arms over his chest.
“What’s up?” one of the officers who brought us in asks, poking his head in through the crack in the door before coming into the room completely.
“I thought you and Van said you brought in three prostitutes.”
“We did. We picked them up two blocks over from the murder.”
“These women are not prostitutes.”
“They looked like prostitutes and were in a known area for prostitution,” Jinks says.
Glaring at him, I grit out, “I told you we were walking to the train to go home.”
“You also had no IDs.” He shrugs his broad shoulders, and my hands ball in my lap.
“This is my neighbor,” Levi states with a shake of his head at Jinks before looking at me once more. “What were you doing over there? And why the hell are you dressed like that?” he questions, raking his eyes over me, causing my skin to tingle and heat the same way it did last time I was around him.
“We were at a bar—”
“You were at a bar dressed like that?” he cuts me off, and there is no mistaking that he’s angry, judging by the tick of his jaw and the growl in his tone. I just don’t get why. It’s Halloween. Most women I know use Halloween as an excuse to dress like they are streetwalkers. Okay, some go as zombies, but even then, they are typically slutty zombies.
“It was a pimps and hoes party,” Libby says unhelpfully, and I shove my elbow in her side, only to have her do the same back to me, making me wince and cover the abused spot with my hand.
“Pimps and hoes,” he repeats, looking directly at me, and I shift in my seat.
“Yes, a pimps and hoes party at Jack’s. You know, the bar near the stadium,” Mac tosses in, and I close my eyes briefly, wishing my sisters would just be quiet.
“So why were you three walking in the cold without coats?” Jinks asks.
“Like we told you on the ride to the station, our coats were stolen from the bar, but I still had my MetroCard in my bra, so we were walking to the train, which now I realize was a giant damn mistake,” Libby grumbles, glaring at Officer Jinks.
“Ya think?” Jinks asks with a grin, and we all glare at him—including Levi. “Just sayin’.” He holds out a hand in front of himself. “You could have called a cab and paid the fare when you got to your place.”
God, we are seriously so damn stupid, because not one of us thought of that.
“I’ll take you home,” Levi mutters, and my stomach drops to my toes as panic fills my chest.
“That’s not necessary. You’re working—we can take a cab, you know, and pay him when we reach my apartment,” I say hopefully, wringing my hands together in my lap, but he shakes his head, not uncrossing his arms.
“I’m heading home anyways, so I’ll take you.”
“Perfect.” Mac stands along with Libby, leaving me no choice but to do the same, since it would look really strange if I refused to go with them. Silently cursing myself for being such a pushover with my sisters, I stand and attempt to pull my dress down enough to cover my ass. After a few seconds of tugging and pulling, I give up the fight and start toward the door, watching Levi’s jaw clench the closer I get to him.
“Here.” He slips off his suit jacket and swings it around my shoulders before I have a chance to refuse. I feel the weight and warmth settle around my body and the scent of soap and musk seep into my lungs. My gaze locks with his, and my head gets dizzy while my legs feel weak, and it takes everything in me to keep standing.
“Thanks,” I murmur, getting lost in his eyes.
“What about us? Do we get jackets?” Libby asks, breaking into the moment, and Levi’s hand that had been resting lightly on my shoulder drops away, making me want to growl from the loss. Jealousy fills my chest as his eyes go to her, and I wait for the inevitable to happen. I know men think Libby is beautiful—because she is—and I know she can get pretty much any man she wants, so I expect to see some kind of flare of desire when he looks at her. But there is nothing, not even a hint of something. Which is surprising, since every guy I’ve ever been even a little interested in has looked at her with interest, even if they try to hide it.
“Sorry, only got one,” he says with a shrug, holding the door open for us. When we step into the hall, my stomach knots as we wait for him to move ahead of us. I don’t know what just happened, but my heart is pounding so hard I can feel its relentless thump, thump, thump in my throat.
“I can’t believe you never mentioned living next to a hottie who knows how to use a set of cuffs,” Libby whispers loudly, leaning into me as we follow Levi and Officer Jinks down a long hall while they talk quietly.
“Shut up, Libby,” I hiss, trying to keep up with Levi’s mile-long legs in my heels that are now killing me.
“Just saying, I totally understand now why you didn’t want me to hook you up with anyone.”
“Libby,” I warn, watching Levi’s shoulders tense as my sister continues talking.
“What? I’m just saying, if I had a guy like him living next door to me, I wouldn’t look elsewhere, either.”
“Please.” I look at her and jerk my chin toward Levi’s back, hoping she will realize he can totally hear every single word she’s saying.
“Oh yeah, sorry,” she mumbles, having the audacity to look contrite. “You probably don’t want him to know that you want him.” My teeth snap together, and I glare at her, letting her know silently that if we weren’t in the middle of a police station I would take her to the ground and force her to be quiet like I’ve been doing my whole life.
“Libby, stop being a pain.” Mac laughs, tucking Libby into her side, forcing her to walk next to her a few feet ahead of me. Thankful for the reprieve, I drop my eyes to the ground and wrap my arms around my middle as I walk behind them.
“Fawn,” Levi calls, and I stop walking and lift my eyes to his staring back at me.
“Levi?” I prompt when he does nothing more than scan my face.
“I’ll be right back.”
“Uh, sure.” I nod, gaining his chin lift in reply before he and Jinks disappear behind a closed door at the entrance of the station.
Feeling Mac and Libby get close, I pull my eyes from the door to look at them. “Someone’s been holding out on us,” Mac says, and I shrug.
“He’s my new neighbor. I don’t really know him.” Her eyes search mine, and a slow smile spreads across her face like she knows something I don’t. “I’ve only talked to him once before today,” I continue, and her smile broadens.
“Sure,” she says, like she doesn’t believe me, and I bite my tongue, refusing to let her bait me into an argument, which is something she does often.
“Ready?” Levi asks a few minutes later, and I let out the breath I’ve been holding.
“Yep.” I start for the door behind my sisters, who have already stepped outside ahead of us.
“Hold up.” His voice slides over me as his long, warm fingers wrap around my wrist and tighten when I try to tug free.
“What?” I look up at him, hating how breathless I sound.
“Paper.”
