Page 44 of Tough Justice
Spencer clapped a hand on Duke’s shoulder. “I know this wasn’t how you wanted this to play out but trust me. If she’s a part of this, I’ll bust her and put her in jail where she belongs. You just worry about keeping Suzy safe.”
Duke said goodbye then hurried back to the candy store to get Suzy. He didn’t want to waste a second more on Chrissy, but a nagging feeling in his gut told him this game she played was far from over. And she wouldn’t be satisfied until all the pieces fell.
Suzy avertedher gaze from the pile of charred wood and plastic at the end of Duke’s driveway. There might not be any escaping the horrors making up her days, but she didn’t need a physical reminder of what she was hiding from.
Of who she was hiding from.
Duke hadn’t let go of her hand for the short drive to his house, but he also hadn’t spoke after giving her a run-down of what transpired with Chrissy. Not like she blamed him. The idea of that woman roaming free made jumping beans spring to life in her belly.
She had to trust that Spencer knew what he was doing.
The food they’d picked up sat in her lap, but she wasn’t even sure she could eat. Her nerves were stretched so tight it was hard to imagine being able to digest anything. Let alone a brick of thick, mac and cheese. As good as it was, the heavy meal was the last thing she wanted right now.
Once he parked, Duke hurried around the truck to open her door and grab her bag. He led the way up the porch and into the house, waiting for her to enter before locking up behind her.
She held the takeout bags. “Should I put these in the kitchen?”
“Sure. I’ll set your things in my room then come out and help you find plates and stuff.”
Her heart almost burst from her chest. “Your room?”
He wrinkled his nose and red stained the skin under his five o’clock shadow. “Heather has to stay in the hospital tonight, but her stuff is in the guest room. She’s pretty much taken it over. I’ll set your bags in my room and crash on the couch tonight.”
The idea of sleeping in his bed made her insides do somersaults. The thought of doing it alone brought her right back down to earth.
She offered a small smile and hoped to hide the torrent of emotions she waded through. “I don’t want to make you sleep on the couch. That can’t be comfortable.”
“I don’t mind.”
She did, but she didn’t want to come off too strong by insisting he joined her in his bed. They could make things PG, but she was sure her night would be filled with lots of restless tossing and turning if he didn’t lay beside her. “We’ll talk about it later. The food’s getting cold.”
Dipping into the kitchen, she set dinner on the counter and found plates the same place they’d been the night before. She set out everything they’d need before Duke joined her a few minutes later.
He leaned against the counter and a lazy smile slid up the side of his mouth.
She flipped open the Styrofoam boxes and tried not to squirm under the heat of his gaze. “What’s that look about?”
“I dunno. I guess I like how you look in my kitchen. Making yourself at home. It’s nice.”
“I thought you were just excited to try the mac and cheese.”
He chuckled. “I’m sure it’s great, but not what excites me when it comes to you.”
Awareness trickled through her like a cool rain in the desert. She wanted nothing more than to close her eyes and soak it all in, but before that could happen, she had to settle her nerves regarding Chrissy. When she finally let her guard down and fell back into Duke’s arms, she didn’t want that woman in her mind at all.
“How are you feeling about how things went down earlier?” she asked, scooping food on a plate.
“Not great. It still blows my mind that Spencer let Chrissy walk away. Knowing she’s out there, scheming, is enough to drive me crazy.”
“I get that.” She handed him the filled plate. “There’s one thing that’s tripping me up about the whole thing.”
“Only one?”
She snorted out a quick laugh. “Okay, more than one, but there’s something that’s bugging me at the moment.”
“What’s that?”
“Does Chrissy know how to build a bomb? How to plant it with a trigger and set it off at the right time? I don’t know her—not her background or areas of interest. For all I know she’s a chemist with a lab in her basement. But making something like that takes some skill, or at least an ability to figure it out.”
