CHAPTER FIVE

      FRIENDS? FRIENDS? WHY the hell did she have to label it like that? She had regretted the words as soon as they came out of her mouth, and David’s willingness to agree had hit her like a sucker punch to the gut. She was fooling herself if she thought she could ever be “just friends” with David. She’d always cared for him, from the time she thought boys didn’t have cooties anymore until she was old enough to realize her true feelings: that she loved him.

      She ran her eyes over his frame. Towering over her at a whopping six foot six, with muscles that put most of the male population to shame, he was quite literally tall, dark and handsome, sporting the bad-boy look to boot in his leather Harley gear. His deep brown eyes were so close to black she could almost drown in their darkness, and the feel of his large masculine hands holding her moments earlier was as divine as it had ever been. Heat rushed between her legs as she thought of all the things he could do with those hands.

      No. She shook her head to shove the thoughts away as the handshake ended. She didn’t love him, not anymore. She had moved on from that chapter in her life, left all the memories, both the good and the bad, behind her. She did not love David. She didn’t even know David anymore. Until they’d recently met again, it had been years since they’d last seen each other for any extended period of time, much less spoken to one another. Her gaze traced over his sharply defined features, his prominent cheekbones and jawline. She was forced to admit to herself that David was like a fine bottle of top shelf whiskey that only got better and better with age.

      A sudden feeling of self-conscious awareness hit her hard. She doubted he was thinking the same thing about her. She glanced down at herself, unable to ignore her appearance. A hospital gown wasn’t flattering on anyone, and from the lovely breeze she was getting back there, she was certain that her behind was bared for anyone’s viewing pleasure. And her curls probably hadn’t been combed through in ages.

      But there she was, standing in front of David looking like something one of her cats had digested and then hacked up all over her brand new carpet. She knew she shouldn’t care, but somewhere a part of her still hoped that David was the same man she’d once planned to marry. The one who would take care of her when she had the flu or comfort her when she was sick, and tell her she was beautiful all the same. He thought he’d been seeing her at her worst then, but damn if she wasn’t vain enough to have put on just a touch of makeup every time before he’d come over.

      Pulling his cell phone from his pocket, David began to text a message. “Let’s get you to my place and cleaned up as soon as possible.”

      “Who are you texting?” she asked.

      “Jace. He’s been blowing up my phone with calls for the last twenty minutes, probably wondering why you weren’t at the hospital when he showed up, and someone needs to watch over you while I finish up here. He can take you back to my apartment.”

      “Wait a second. I agreed to stay with you, not to be kept under lock and key.”

      “I don’t want you to get another look at what’s down in that basement.”

      She rolled her eyes. She wasn’t some fragile china doll that was easily broken, and he knew that. “It’s dead bodies, David. I’ve seen them before.”

      “You didn’t see what was around the other corner, and believe me, Allie, you don’t want to see it.”

      She crossed her arms. “I’ve seen some pretty gruesome things over the years, David, and you know it. I doubt there could be anything down there that I haven’t seen worse. Remember when that Imp decided to prey on teenage girls?”

      A grim look crossed his face. “It’s worse than that.”

      Allsún’s eyes widened. She wasn’t certain she could imagine anything worse. She wasn’t weak, but she couldn’t detach herself from the victims the way David could. She had spent hours crying once that case was over with. It didn’t matter that they’d earned justice for the victims. The pain of the victims’ loved ones and their horribly unfair deaths was still with her.

      “David, whatever it is, after everything with Robert, I’m sure I can handle it.” No matter her feelings, she wasn’t about to let him baby her. The sooner she could prove to him that she was strong, fully recovered both mentally and physically, the better. She needed to get the hell out of there as soon as possible.

      David shook his head. “Allie, I know you, and believe me when I say you can’t handle this one. We both know you’re one tough chick, so you don’t need to prove it to me. Not this time.”

      “Fine. If you’re not going to let me help and just plan to keep me...keep me prisoner, then I’m leaving.”

      She needed to get out of here and away from him anyway. She shifted to move past him, but he grabbed hold of her wrist. Another wave of electric power shot through her, straight to her heart and the growing warmth between her legs. The energy that flew between them just from his touch was mind-blowing and sexy and a massive reminder of everything they’d once shared. She could have sworn that from the brief look of shock in David’s eyes that he felt it, too.

      She forced herself to pull her wrist away and fixed him with a stern glare—the same stern look that had always let him know that he was pushing the envelope with her, and if he kept it up, he would regret it when her anger peaked.

      They both knew that hell hath no fury like a pixie pissed off. The last thing she needed was the heartache he still brought her, even all these years later.

      David let out a long sigh and tried to renegotiate. “The point is that you shouldn’t be here. You need to be resting. You need to be healing.”

      “I’ve been healing for a month, David. I feel fine now that the drugs are wearing off. All my injuries from Robert are gone.” She cringed a little as she said his name. The thought of what Robert had done to her still haunted her. “Besides, I want to get to the bottom of all this, too. I want to know why I was drawn here.”

      The pain in his face pierced through her. She saw the guilt he felt written all over him.

      He pressed his lips together until they formed a thin line before he sighed. “If you want to stay, then fine, but you’re not leaving my sight. I’m not letting anything happen to you. Not again.”

      * * *

      DAVID STARED DOWN at Allsún with resolve in his eyes. He had agreed to let her stay with him, but he still didn’t want her to see the atrocities in the basement. After all she’d been through, she didn’t need something like that seared into her memory.

      The buzz of his phone interrupted