Claremont was the beginning of the worst days of my life."
Thor dropped his head, appearing ashamed, but Liza didn't buy it for one moment. Turning, she snatched her purse from the table and marched toward the door. When she reached it, she undid the lock, then faced Thor one last time. He'd raised his head, still standing where she'd left him, and watched her.
40
APPREHENSION
The tears started burning in her eyes again. She knew that if she didn't leave soon they would spill over. This time not in soul-wrenching passion, but in pain. "You know what, Thor , while your face was buried between me sweet thighs you should have kissed my ass." With that said, she pushed the door open and exited the Dirty Dozen, not looking back as she got into her car and drove off spitting gravel.
* * * *
Thor felt like shit. He knew he'd hurt her. It had been his intention. Being inside of Liza had been an earth-shattering experience. If it had just been great sex, he wouldn't have thought anything about it outside of it being gratifying pleasure.
But, it had been more than that and when he'd looked at her and seen the tears shimmering in her eyes under the lights, he knew she'd experienced something, too.
He had to get his head on straight. Brad Zeller was the last person she'd probably be looking for to have a serious relationship with. Women like Liza Wright married men with more than just a badge pinned to their chest.
Yeah, he'd done the right thing. Keeping the sex that happened between them in perspective was the best for both of them. It had been a long time for him. That was the only reason the world had seemed as if it had tilted when he entered her and the sole reason why his heart felt as if it beat in tune with the pulse leaping at the side of her neck.
Then why did it feel as if a part of you walked out the door with her?
"A long time." He repeated the words aloud hoping to silence his internal voice.
Tidying the area, Thor grabbed the foil wrappers from the floor and collected Liza's white cotton panties. Sliding them in his pocket, he grabbed the pool stick from where it had rolled under a table and placed it back in an empty clamp.
Glancing around the room, he verified that there was no further evidence of what had happened between them.
Reassured, he turned toward the door, switched off the lights and left. Locking up the bar behind him, he got into his car and pulled away.
41
YVETTE HINES
Chapter Five
Two weeks later, Thor sped down Gridston Road. He was trailing a 2006 burgundy Monte Carlo. It was two o'clock in the morning and he'd gotten a tip from the Tallahassee police department that the vehicle had crossed the state line into Georgia. The Florida authorities suspected them of drug running.
Fifteen minutes ago, he'd caught up with the car. He had waited until locating the perpetrators before he switched on his sirens, not wanting to alert them. Calling in to the station, he let them know he was on the suspect's tail. A quarter of a mile down Gridston Road he saw several lights and cars lining the side of the road.
"Damn, a drag race," Thor said, reasoning why all the cars were gathered together.
The Monte Carlo continued on, not slowing down. Spotting his patrol car and hearing the sirens, the teenagers scattered quickly into cars and peeled away. Thor was thankful that no accident had happened. Still in hot pursuit of the burgundy car, he witnessed it taking a bend in the road. Finally, leaving the teen crowd behind, Thor began to exhale a sigh of relief as his car rounded the curve and two other vehicles came careening toward him. Apparently, they had been swerving to miss the Monte Carlo.
Shifting into defensive driving mode, Thor attempted to veer around them, but since both drivers were moving at reckless speeds around the turn, it was impossible to anticipate their moves. Within seconds, he was hit by one car, then the other. His car was shoved in multiple directions and began to spin and