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“Where the hell did you disappear off to today?” Braden asked as Tyler sank down onto a barstool later that night.
He barely glanced up as a woman in a skimpy top reached over him to grab her drink.
“Didn’t Liam tell you? Business,” he said, gesturing to the bartender for a beer. He scrubbed a hand across the stubble on his jaw, frowning. After he’d dropped Melissa off at her office, he’d driven around aimlessly for an hour. Which sure as shit wasn’t like him.
Since when did he get all broody over a woman?
He didn’t know what the hell he’d been thinking taking her out to the lake. She wasn’t his girlfriend—she wasn’t his anything.
And hauling her into his lap like that? Stripping off her top so he could see her perfect breasts, all full and creamy with those gorgeous pink nipples?
Holy hell.
He’d been harder than a rock with her sitting astride him. And he’d wanted nothing more than her pleasure—nothing more than for her to come apart in his arms. To cry out his name. He hadn’t even seen her perfect little pussy yet. Hadn’t stripped off her panties and touched her silken folds. Tasted her.
“Yo. Earth to Tyler!” Braden said, chuckling.
Tyler glanced down at the beer the bartender had put in front of him. “Just thinking,” he muttered.
“So what business kept you off base all afternoon? The house thing?”
He nodded, taking a swig of the hoppy brew. “Yep. The sellers accepted my offer, so I had to sign some papers at Melissa’s office. Get the ball rolling, so to speak. I have to be out of my place in a few weeks, so I was glad to find a house that I liked.”
“And that took a few hours?”
“Settlement will. This was just signing the paperwork for the offer I put on the house. I took her down with me to the lake for the afternoon—kind of a bad idea, actually.”
“Wait—you took a woman with you to the lake? When’s the wedding?” he asked, shaking his head in disbelief.
Tyler rolled his shoulders, letting some of the tension ease off of him. “I just wanted to get away for a little bit. I wasn’t planning to take her along, it just—happened. It was a gorgeous afternoon; she’s a gorgeous woman....” He trailed off.
“So what? You fucked her?”
“No,” Tyler growled, anger rising within him. “I didn’t fuck her. Jesus.”
Even if he had claimed Melissa, he sure as shit wouldn’t be telling his buddies about it. He glared at his friend.
“Whoa,” Braden said, holding up his hands. “Easy there. You’re the guy who’s looking for a new woman every week. Who tells the whole damn world about the women you’re with. Why the hell would I think she’s any different?”
“She’s not,” he muttered.
Braden chuckled. “Uh-huh. That’s why you’re so defensive and not telling me all about how many times and ways you had sex with her.”
“I didn’t sleep with her.”
“Exactly,” Braden quipped.
Someone cleared his throat behind them, and Tyler glanced up to see Jason listening in, an amused expression on his face. “It sounds like I got here just in time,” he joked.
“Where’s your better half?” Tyler quipped.
Jason sank onto a barstool, chuckling. “Out with yours.”
Braden guffawed. “I knew something was up. You’ve got a girl; he’s got a girl. Tyler just doesn’t want to admit it yet.”
Tyler shot Jason a look. “So where are they? I dropped Melissa off at her office this afternoon and haven’t heard from her since.”
“Melissa rounded up Amy and their other friends for an emergency girl’s night,” he said. “I don’t know what you did, but I hope it was good. She was pretty wound up when she stopped by Amy’s earlier.”
“Fucking perfect,” Tyler muttered. “Wound up in a good way? Or pissed off?”
“Hell,” Braden said with a chuckle. “Probably pissed off knowing you. But more importantly, does she have any single friends? If Tyler won’t talk about it, you know it must be good.”
“Their closest friends aren’t single,” Jason said, shaking his head. He gestured to the bartender for a beer, smirking. “One is married with twins, and the other is engaged.”
“Well hell,” Braden muttered. “Maybe she has a few hot realtor friends at the office. Think you can set me up, dude?”
“I’m not letting her introduce you to her friends,” Tyler said, clutching his beer bottle as he took a long pull.
“Uh-huh. I’ll just ask Melissa myself then.”
The huge TV above the bar broke into a newsbreak from the game that had been on, and Tyler frowned as he listened to the news anchor.
A woman in neighboring Prince William county is lucky to have escaped after nearly being kidnapped by a man she was showing properties to. Police will be releasing further information on the suspect later tonight. More details at 11:00.
“Fucking hell,” Tyler said, clenching his fist.
“Jesus. That’s probably the same guy as the BOLO we got on base,” Braden said. “Wasn’t another local realtor attacked or something recently?”
“You think it’s the same guy?” Jason asked, raising his eyebrows.
“Why the hell not? Preying on female realtors? It sure sounds suspicious as hell,” Tyler said, his gut churning. Melissa had said she had an open house to prepare for. What if the suspect in these most recent attacks showed up here? Or just walked into her office one day wanting to see some properties?
It wasn’t too far fetched for a criminal to move around within a local area.
To seek out new victims.
Briefly, his mind flashed back to the photographer lurking outside the home from over the weekend. Melissa seemed to trust him, but how well did she actually know him? Did she do some sort of background check on the people just worked with, or just trust them implicitly?
Braden frowned, looking over at them. “Does Melissa have any sort of weapon? And why’d they get a description of the suspect in the first incident and not this one?”
“Maybe he injured the victim, and she couldn’t give a description. The news said she was nearly kidnapped.”
“Fucking hell,” Tyler muttered. “You think he attacked her?”
Jason shot him a pointed look.
Tyler’s blood boiled, and he clenched his jaw. He wanted to race over to Melissa right now. Make sure she was safe, even though logically, he knew she was out with her friends. Surrounded by other people.
He wanted to take her back to his place and wrap her in his arms.
Hold her close where no one else could harm her.
Which was crazy.
She was out with her girlfriends, not alone in some open house. Not showing properties to a strange man. And besides, she wasn’t his. Selling homes was her job. Her passion. She’d resent the hell out of him if he said she shouldn’t do it anymore because it was unsafe.
Not that he had a say in her life anyway.
“Well?” Braden asked, looking at him.
“Well what?”
“Does she carry a weapon? Maybe she needs a conceal carry permit.”
“Hell,” Tyler muttered. “I don’t know if she even owns a gun. And I sure as hell aren’t going to encourage her to carry one unless she’s been probably trained.”
Jason glanced back up at the TV as the game came back on. “I don’t like this. Not for Melissa’s sake or any of the other women. Amy likes to jog alone sometimes—her hours teaching preschool are totally different than mine on base. What if this guy just starts attacking random women?”
Tyler took a swig of his beer, the taste suddenly bitter in his mouth. “I don’t like a damn thing about it either. No one around here is safe until he’s caught.”
