Erin was on the verge of crying as she pulled into the parking lot of the small apartment complex where she lived. That was something she never did, especially when it came to a man. Regret was a dark, aching wound in her chest. The bitter, painful feeling refused to be pushed away. Realization hounded her, lashed at her emotions.
She was falling in love with Turk. She’d been aware of it, and though she knew she should have fought it, still, that hunger for him, the need for something far more than physical, had grown inside her.
Because she’d believed she had a chance at his heart.
She’d fooled herself into thinking that if she hungered this deeply, then surely he did as well.
Moving from the elevator and walking slowly to her apartment, she still marveled at how easily that hope had blown apart in her face. How quickly the need had lashed back to strike at a heart she hadn’t realized was so vulnerable.
But that was no excuse for losing the wariness that had been ingrained inside her since she was a child and she and her mother had endured her father’s rages. In the years before J.D. had come into their lives, there had been very little security in it.
It was no excuse for not being aware of the dangers she knew existed in the world though.
It was no excuse for what came next. The second Erin pushed the key in the door of her apartment to unlock it, she knew she made a mistake.
The door was already unlocked and someone was waiting on the other side.
Dragged into the apartment, the force exerted on her arm was excruciating. She let out a scream worthy of a horror heroine.
“Bitch!” The furious hiss accompanied a hard blow to her head, dazing her for a second. But it didn’t hurt her lungs. And it seemed screaming could actually be instinct, because she kept screaming.
Pain exploded through her head. Harsh fingers gripped her hair, jerking her head back forcefully a second before they tried to ram her face into the wall. Fighting, jerking against the hold, another cry left her lips as her shoulder took the impact instead, the sting not nearly as painful as a full-face kiss to the dry wall would have been.
She was beginning to think no one was going to hear her. That her screams were being ignored or everyone was just gone. It wasn’t that late, surely someone could hear her screaming.
The grip in her hair tightened as she reached back, her nails digging into skin as her assailant cursed and tried to ram her into the wall again. Turning quickly, the pain to her scalp enraging her, Erin kicked, scratched, her cries more guttural now than loud. She fought each attempt to disable her as she twisted, trying to claw at his face, knee him in the groin. She refused to stay still, refused to give in to the pain or allow the son of a bitch enough of a grip to actually succeed in quietening her.
“Erin!” The sound of her name being called, the voice harsh, power resonating in it, was followed by the heavy thump of something crashing into her door.
“Turk!” Screaming out his name, powerless to stop the coming crash as she was thrown to the floor, Erin rolled with it instead.
Coming against the wall as her door was kicked in, Turk’s large, powerful silhouette rushed the room. His entrance was followed by the sound of glass shattering.
“Oh, hell no.” Scrambling to her knees Erin turned, staring at the hole in her living room wall where a large, picturesque window now lay shattered.
She couldn’t believe it. Wasn’t this just the perfect ending to this night?
“That was my window,” she whispered, shocked as Turk rushed past her, the weapon in his hand held ready as he braced himself against the side of the wall before quickly looking out.
The sound of a motor gunning and racing away could be heard, followed by another. John D. or his partner, possibly both, would be following the bastard. If anyone could catch the assailants it would be them. Scrambling across the floor she jerked her cell phone from where it had fallen to the floor, flipped it open and hit her stepfather’s number.
“Get out of there!” J.D. barked into the phone. “John D.’s trailing them with backup en route. Get to Turk’s place now, Erin. I’ll be there later.”
The line disconnected.
Collapsing against the wall behind her, she braced her arms on bent knees before looking up at Turk as he reentered the kitchen from the short hall that led to her bedroom.
Moving to her he reached for her wrists, pulling her to her feet and quickly into his arms. He wrapped her in that sense of security she’d always sensed her mother felt with J.D.
* * *
God help him. Seconds before, he was shaking like a kid facing the bogeyman! Or a man facing the loss of a woman who meant far too much to him.
That couldn’t be the case, Turk assured himself. It wasn’t terror.
So, why was he holding her in his arms, tight to his chest, his head bent protectively over hers as he kept his own back to the door? Why was he protecting her before his own security?
“I’m okay,” she whispered, her tone more hesitant than the delicate fingers gripping the sides of his back.
Forcing himself to move back, Turk stared down at her pale face, the sea-green eyes darker now with distress.
“Let’s get you the hell out of here before anyone realizes anything happened.” Gripping her wrist to keep her behind him Turk moved quickly for the door.
Easing it open and checking the hall quickly, Turk tucked his weapon at the small of his back before motioning Erin to stay in place, just out of sight. Crossing the short distance to his own apartment and opening the door, he gave the kitchen and living room a thorough scan before returning to Erin.
She’d managed to find her purse and the smaller-size baby Glock she now held firmly close to the side of her thigh.
Keeping her covered with his own body Turk rushed her into his own place. Closing the door, still silent, he went quickly through the rooms just to be certain, before returning to the kitchen.
“I’m going to lock your place up.…”
“I did that while you were in the other rooms,” she cut him off mid-sentence as he strode to the door. “The security auto engages as soon as the door closes.” Laying her purse on the center bar and tucking her weapon inside of it, she faced him calmly.
Calmly, as though she hadn’t just been attacked inside her own home.
His jaw clenched, the terror that washed through him moments before morphing into anger.
“John D.’s trailing my attacker until backup catches up with them. They’ll have him in custody soon, if he’s not already.”
Moving to the sink as she spoke she tore several paper towels from a roll, wet them, then applied the cool compress to her lip before turning back to him.
“I should fucking paddle your ass!” he snarled, his hands plowing through his hair as he stared back at her in bemused fury. “Do you think I dragged you over here first so you could just sash-the-fuck-shay across that damned hall without me?”
“Sash-the-fuck-shay?” A single fiery brow arched as she lifted the compress she fashioned to reveal a swelling lip and the bruising at the side of her face.
A fist slammed into his gut, pure jagged rage at the sight of her perfect creamy flesh so abused.
“God, you’ll be the death of me!” Swinging away from her he stomped to the other side of the room before turning back with a glare.
“What’s your problem anyway?” Frustration flashed across her face but beneath the irritation was a hesitant wariness.
“These fucking bruises on your face? The fact that some bastard just tried to kill you? For God’s sake, Erin!” Pure rage ran through his senses. And there she stood, her head tipped to one side, the once-neat disarray of the tumbling curls now torn from the clasp and falling to her shoulders. The white shirt was ripped, her little vest missing a button, her hose were all but shredded, and she was barefoot. And she was staring back at him as though she really didn’t know why he was so pissed off.
She propped one hand on her curvy hip and glared back at him.
“How would you feel if you had to accept Iron’s help if a gang jumped you, then had to listen to him bitch because your poor little face was bruised?”
His eyes narrowed. “I’d cut the smart-assed remarks.”
A mocking little roll of her eyes had him forcibly restraining the need to spank her tight little ass. The problem was, if he got her panties over that cute little ass then he’d end up doing far more.
“You know, Turk, you seriously need to do something about that double standard of yours. Now tell me what you intend to do about slipping back over there for my clothes? Since I forgot and I’m fairly certain you don’t intend to let me go back.”
His arms went across his chest as he simply stared at her silently, darkly.
“Didn’t think you did.” She sighed.
“You called J.D.” Dropping his arms he moved toward her once again.
Predatory male grace and determined sexuality nearly stole not just her mind, but her breath as well.
“Yes, I called him.” She stepped back warily as he stepped to the refrigerator, opened it, and pulled free a bottle of water.
“Did he tell you to get to my apartment and stay put?”
She frowned at that. “How did you know?”
“Standard procedure for female agents,” he growled. “Why weren’t you aware of that?”
“Maybe I’m not your standard female agent,” she suggested softly as he twisted the lid from the bottle. “I could be so much more.” A sexy little wink shot his blood pressure sky high and had the room feeling way too damned hot.
“He’ll be here soon.” Turning from her and lifting the bottle to his lips he took a deep drink.
“Yeah,” she murmured. “We wouldn’t want J.D. to catch you fucking his favorite agent. That would be bad.”
The water shot down the wrong side of his throat as the sudden memory of the effects of fucking her shot to his brain. Hunger pulsed in his dick as he suddenly wheezed, while his balls tightened in lust.
Turning to her he glimpsed her satisfied smile a heartbeat before he took that first step to have a second taste of her. At the same second a short imperious knock sounded at the door.
“Mmm.” Her satisfied little murmur came with a wicked glance in his direction. “Talk about timing.”
Narrowing his eyes he let her enjoy the moment. For now.
Erin almost laughed. He’d nearly spit that nice mouthful of water clear across the room. Who knew he’d be so damned easily unsettled.
The urge to laugh died a quick death as her stepbrother entered the room behind Cooper and J.D. And John D., like his father, didn’t look happy.