ADDISON

I believe him. It shocks the hell out of me, but I do.

When I took the freelance job with SKB Productions to do the photography for the precinct documentary, I never thought about the reasons why I accepted the assignment, other than the money. But, now, feeling the heat and softness of Dominic’s lips and hearing his promise of safety, I wonder if I subconsciously sought out the protection of the police department, even just for a few days.

I’m not sure if that’s what was really so appealing about the job, but I do know one thing for certain.

I never planned on falling for Chief Dominic Kerr. Especially not so damn fast.

“Where are we going?” I ask again. My heart is pounding in my chest, and not just from the vivid memory of his lips on mine. I fear he may be expecting me to make a formal statement at the station.

“My place.”

I didn’t expect that. “Dominic, I can’t—”

“Don’t argue with me. There’s a man watching you at your apartment. He’s hunting you down, Addison, with the intention of doing you harm. Do you honestly think I’m going to just drop you off and bid you goodnight? Not a fucking chance. You hear me?” He weaves through traffic with the expert precision of a race car driver.

He’s got a point. “I can handle this myself.”

The SUV skids to a stop at a red light, and he turns to face me with a steely glare. “Seriously, Addison? Because, to me, there’s a man stalking you like a wild animal, and you aren’t exactly doing a bang-up job of keeping yourself safe.” His eyes narrow. “Have you even involved the police?”

“It seems I just did,” I snap.

“Don’t get smart with me.” His jaw clenches, and I can hear the edge in his voice. “In New Hampshire. Did you?”

“No, all right? Is that what you want to hear? That I’m a stupid woman for not handling this properly? That part of me wants to believe this will all just fucking go away?” I’m yelling, bursting at the seams with frustration, but I can’t stop. “I don’t need you and your white goddamn horse to swoop in and save me, Dominic! If my father is going to kill me next, it’ll be because I let him. Not because you failed. So, don’t insert yourself into this mess, okay? I don’t need you to end up blaming yourself if something happens.”

His brows rise just as the streetlight turns green. “No, I suppose you don’t. Sounds like you’re harboring enough blame for the both of us.”

* * *

We’re both quiet as Dominic pulls the SUV into a parking spot outside a tall apartment building on the other side of the city. He had ignored my protests only moments before, and used the radio hidden under the dashboard to call in a couple armed cops in unmarked cruisers to stand guard outside the perimeter of the building. He gave only a vague description of my father based on the information I provided him—the description of the man I’d known years before—as I haven’t seen him since the trial.

And I don’t want to.

Dominic doesn’t give the dispatch operator or the officers an explanation, and I guess when he’s the chief, he doesn’t really have to.

He leads me inside, his eyes constantly scanning his surroundings for anything amiss, and the gun is still tucked inside his jacket, at the ready. We take the elevator to the twenty-seventh floor, and I’m not sure I’ve ever been in any building that high.

I’m not prepared for the view of his apartment. It seems like it’s out of a movie. The entire far wall is a mass of windows, a clear frame for the bright, blinking lights of the city below. From this height, the traffic and movement along the sidewalks resemble the scurrying of ants.

An outside world that I’m not a part of.

Because I’m up here. In this glass-walled palace.

With him.

I hear the click of the lock, then another. I turn to see exactly how many locks he has installed on his door, just as his arm comes around me and tugs me to him. His mouth finds mine, and it’s enough to make me melt against his chest. His tongue gently nudges past my lips, caressing my own with the gentle familiarity of a long-lost lover. His body seems to already know mine, and mine responds with the same physical recognition.

My camera bags slide down my arm as my strength weakens from his touch, and I gasp, not wanting them to fall to the floor, no matter how padded the bag is. It’s enough to break the moment, and Dominic pulls away slightly.

His callused finger brushes gently against my bottom lip. “I’m sorry I snapped at you in the SUV.”

If this is how he apologizes, I’m going to have to come up with a few ways to keep pissing him off from time to time. “There are other parts of the night in the SUV that are fresher in my memory,” I say with a soft grin.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

Silence ensues, but his thumb stays on my lip, and it keeps me rooted in place and breathing in shallow pants.

“Are you really okay with staying here tonight?” Dominic whispers.

“Does it really matter if I am?” The corner of my mouth twitches upward.

“No, but I’d like to think I’m not forcing you to stay here against your will.”

I playfully nip at his thumb. “You’re not.”

“That’s my—” He pauses, clearing his throat. “That’s what I like to hear.”

My eyes widen a bit. Was he about to say what I think he was? The air seems thick with the tension between us. “Got anything to drink?”

“Water, and bourbon.”

I scrunch up my nose. “No in-between, huh?”

“No, ma’am.”

His politeness makes me grin. “Better get me some bourbon, then.”

“That’s what I like to hear, too.”