Dangerous to Her by Virna Depaul Read Free Book Online Page B

hit on him? But then why show so much concern for her arm? And what about the desire that had darkened his blue eyes?
    Shaking her head, she closed her own eyes and took a deep breath. The man was as confusing as ever. And, she reminded herself, opening her eyes, she had better things to do than let him play with her emotions again. She’d fallen for that white knight, your-soul-calls-to-mine act before only to be dumped. Hard.
    She needed to stay on course—protect herself and stay away from him.
    Biting her lip, she retrieved her cell phone from her pocket and dialed Ty Martinez’s number. “Hey, Ty. This is Mattie. I just wanted to say hello and tell you how much I’m looking forward to our date tonight.”

    “Idiot,” Dom muttered as he made his way back to the in-custody holding cell. What had he been thinking? He should have known that with Mattie, even the slightest touch would send him over the edge. Now he couldn’t get the dazed, heated look in her eyes out of his head. Despite their past, despite her believing he’d forgotten her, she’d responded just as violently to his closeness as he had. When she’d whispered his name, it had taken all his self-discipline to leave her rather than fall to his knees and confess everything—how much he’d missed her and still wanted her.
    Only one thing had stopped him. As much as he wanted her, he wanted her safe most of all. To insure that, he needed to stay objective. He also needed to find out if Dusty had any connection to Guapo.
    Reaching his destination, he paused, took a deep breath, and went inside. Pete was gone. He thanked the remaining deputy, then shut the door. The room was quiet except for Dusty’s rough breathing. Deliberately, Dom remained silent for several more minutes before he turned and strode to the opposite side of the room. Grabbing an empty chair, he twirled it around and lowered himself into it. Straddling the chair and resting his chin on his folded arms, Dom stared at Dusty, noting how the usually easygoing inmate couldn’t quite look him in the eye.
    Minutes ticked by, but still Dom waited. When Dusty wasn’t looking at the floor, he cast apprehensive glances at the door that led to the jail transport bay. The more time that passed, the more jittery Dusty became. He bounced his knee. Swiped his nose against his shoulder. Tossed his head like he had a permanent crick in his neck that he couldn’t get rid of.
    Despite the fact that the guy had been incarcerated for several weeks, his glassy, dilated eyes told Dom he was on something, most likely meth. That posed three immediate questions. Where’d he get it? Did he get it in exchange for making an attempt on Judge Butler? And was his ensuing assault upon Mattie coincidence?
    Of course, it appeared coincidental. After all, if Dusty had arrived at the courthouse twenty minutes earlier, he would have been locked down well before Mattie ever stepped into the courtroom. But Dom didn’t take anything at face value. Everything—the tardiness of the jail bus, Pete Littlefield’s uncharacteristic carelessness, even Mattie herself—was immediately suspect.
    It was another five minutes before Dusty snapped.
    “Come on, man. You taking me into court or back to jail?”
    Dom let him sweat another thirty seconds before answering. “Maybe neither.”
    The quiet words brought Dusty’s gaze zooming directly to his. “Whad’ya mean?”
    Straightening, he casually moved the chair he’d been sitting on against one wall and stepped closer. He loomed over Dusty, forcing him to crane his neck up at him. “I mean, you made a mistake trying to hurt a woman on my watch, Dusty. Before, you were just a two-bit thief with a drug habit and a big mouth. Now, you’re an attempted murderer.”
    Eyeballs practically popping out of their sockets, Dusty once more swiped his nose on the shoulder of his jumpsuit. “Murder? Yeah, right. I barely touched her.”
    “And exactly what were you planning on doing