A Cold Day In Hell. Stella Cameron
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paused again. Cool didn’t have anything to do with his face now. Emotions, none of which Eileen wanted to explore, passed over his features. She could see a white line around his compressed lips. Below his rolled-up sleeves, the muscles and tendons in his arms stood out. He squeezed the door frame.
That’s enough. Where does he think I am? Or maybe that should be, who does he think I’m with? She hated the thought because playing the field wasn’t her style.
She arrived in front of him and they stared eye-to-eye through the glass. He wore his dark blond hair short and at the moment it stuck up as if he’d pushed at it. He had thicker, darker eyelashes than a man should have and he lowered them to half-mast so he could fix his gaze on her face.
Before she could find her keys, he swept open the door and stood back.
Eileen walked inside and he locked up behind her.
“You’re early,” she said.
“So you thought you had more time to get back before I found out you’d left?”
“Hey, buddy.” She walked to the back of the store where a soft red velvet couch stood, and threw down her purse. “You’re out of line. I’m not having a wonderful evening and I don’t need you to make it worse. I had to step out and deal with something. That’s all, and I don’t have to explain every move I make to you. Can I get you an espresso or a glass of wine—or a beer?”
“No.”
She turned toward him and found that in his naturally uncanny manner, he’d closed the space between them soundlessly. Although she was a tall woman, she was forced to look up at him. “A woman doesn’t belong out there alone, in the dark,” he told her. When he narrowed his gray eyes they became almost black. “It probably used to be that folks didn’t have to lock their doors around here, or worry about crime. Times have changed.”
“I walked to my van. Then I walked back from my van when I’d finished my business. Really, I do appreciate your concern.” She tried a smile, but his expression didn’t change. “As I said, thanks, but I’m a big girl.”
“That depends on what you mean by big girl.”
There would be no discussion about what he thought it meant.
Angel rubbed his face. “I tried to check on Sonny but his cell’s off. You know it bothers me when he does that.”
She sympathized with his worry about his nephew. Sonny had come to Pointe Judah because he needed a strong hand if he wasn’t going to end up in jail. “He and Aaron were out riding bikes,” she said. “You know how that goes. They always go farther than they say they will.”
“That’s fine for Aaron,” Angel said. “Sonny’s got limits. He’s got to be where I can reach him at all times.”
She took out her phone again and placed a call.
Angel moved closer, so close she could feel him. “You calling Aaron?”
She nodded. Pick up the phone, Aaron.
“So Aaron’s gone dark, too?”
“Don’t put it like that,” Eileen said. “They’ll check in just as soon as they’re close to home. You’ve got them scared stiff.”
He tapped his chest with spread fingertips. “Me? Crap, I’m a pussycat. I care, is all.”
She believed the last bit, but he was no pussycat. “Sonny’s likely to stop by my place before he goes home. He likes the food. I’ll make sure he gets back in one piece.”
The following silence unnerved Eileen. She took a deep breath and put the phone away.
“Eileen,” Angel said, his voice softening, a little raspy. “I’m sorry I came on too strong. I was worried.”
She avoided looking at him. “Forget it.”
“I will when you do. You’re mad.”
“No. Edgy is all.”
He put a hand beneath her hair and held the back of her neck. “You said you weren’t worried.”
Eileen held quite still. Her scalp tightened and she felt as if a subtle breeze lifted her hair. They might be trying to pretend they had no physical effect on each other, but it was a lie.
If she told Angel about Chuck, how would he react? He’d never understand that she couldn’t just brush it off. “I’m not worried,” she told Angel. He rubbed her neck and she shivered. When she glanced at him, he was frowning.
“Is there anything you’re not telling me?” he said.
She looked at the floor.
“Eileen?”
“Leave it. When I can talk about it, I will.”
He took her by the hand and led her into the stockroom. Once there, he turned her to face him and held her shoulders. “Not good enough. What is it?”
She kept her gaze on his chest.
“C’mon,” he said quietly. “Don’t do this to me.” He kissed her cheek, pushed her hair away from her left ear and stroked his thumb across it.
“Stop it,” Eileen said, without conviction. He had bad timing, choosing tonight to make moves on her.
“I’d rather not stop.” He pulled her against him. “I’ve already waited too long.”
“Christian, don’t.” He was a big man. If he decided to hold you, you were held.
“Sorry—I think we both need a little warmth sometimes.” He stepped back at once, but still held her arms and made it uncomfortable to look at him. It would be more uncomfortable to look away. “You’ve got a gun in your pocket,” he said.
She felt her face heat up. “Yes, I have.”
“I didn’t know you owned one.”
“You’re the one who’s always saying that even people in quiet places like Pointe Judah should take precautions.”
His fingers tightened on her arms. “Do you carry all the time?”
This was the problem when you hung around with a man who had interrogated people for a living. “No.”
“You keep a gun in the shop?”
She tried to wrench away but he didn’t let her go. “Yes. Are we done now?”
“And tonight you decided you needed to be armed when you went out to do this business in your van you talk about?”
Eileen looked him in the eye. She felt the prickle of tears and blinked several times. “This conversation is over.”
“I don’t think so.”
“Leave it, okay? Just leave it.” Chuck had driven away. What if he’d come back and was skulking around outside, hoping she’d leave on her own?
“I’m sorry I’m so snappy,” she said.
“Me, too.” He looked at her mouth. “Do you want me to leave?”
She shook her head. He was sending her messages he’d kept under wraps before. Or perhaps she subconsciously wanted that to be true.
“You sure you don’t want to tell me what’s on your mind?” he said.
She wasn’t sure, but she’d wait anyway.
“Eileen, would this be a bad time to talk about us, too?”
He’d done a great job of behaving like Aaron’s strong, benevolent uncle and her friend. And he’d done the things a woman wished for when she wanted to know a man.
He dropped his hands.
“No it’s not a bad time,” she told him, lying. She