Cherise Sinclair - Edge of the Enforcer

“DeVries, I can’t let Abby—”

“Not what I asked.” He waited, his gaze holding hers.

“Jeez.” Her clipped voice almost disguised her accent. “The place came furnished. My furniture is still in storage.”

“There’s a relief.” He spoke into the phone. “Hear that? No movers needed. We’ll pack what’s here and meet you at the duplex.”

“Good.” Xavier’s voice hardened. “Now that I know she can’t be trusted to look out for herself, I’ll keep a closer eye. As will Simon.”

You won’t be the only ones.

In the waning sunlight, Lindsey followed deVries’s SUV across San Francisco to Mill Valley. He hadn’t thought she should drive, but she’d won the argument. Like she wanted to be dependent on him for anything as basic as transportation?

Maybe he’d been right—she was still shaky. Hell would freeze over before she admitted it to him.

Nonetheless, she felt for him. He’d risked his life to serve his country and his wife—sheesh, someone ought to smack her into the next state. Lindsey knew how unbearable it was to be betrayed by a spouse.

Nonetheless, rescue or not, nice guy or not, he wasn’t a risk she could take. When it came to him, somehow she was just plain too vulnerable. She should never have taken him back to the condo, should have continued playing lightly at Dark Haven, should never have slept with him.

She was alone, and she needed to stay alone.

When deVries pulled over to the curb, Lindsey shook off the depressing thoughts and parked behind him.

She slid out of her car—carefully. Her right wrist and hip ached, and the left side of her face really hurt. And she had one mother of a headache. Anything on her body not screaming in pain was aching. She was a mess.

Taking a minute to be sure her face didn’t show her misery, she checked out the area. The Mill Valley neighborhood was an attractive, older residential street with two-story clapboard houses. The tiered yard held easy-care bushes, trees, and ground cover. It looked as if the house had been divided in half, each side having an upstairs and downstairs. Two front doors opened onto the small porch entrance.

She’d never visited Abby’s duplex before. By the time they’d become friends, Abby had already moved into Xavier’s home. And now Abby was stuck renting her duplex—to me . Guilt washed over her. Poor Abby hadn’t had a chance to refuse. Dammit, this wasn’t the way she treated friends. Precious friends.

“Let’s move, Tex.” DeVries opened the back of his SUV.

“Right.” Lindsey kicked a rock off the sidewalk, winced at the pull on her sore butt, and reached in to grab a box.

“Wrong one.” He tugged the heavy box from her, put it back in the vehicle, and handed her one so lightweight as to be pitiful. When she frowned at him, amusement lit his eyes again. Still, without saying anything else, he picked up her two suitcases.

As they reached the porch and saw the two doors, Lindsey hesitated.

From an upstairs window, Abby’s call came. “Door on the right. It’s open.”

The living room was empty of furniture. Delicate floral wallpaper covered the walls, a gilded mirror hung over the white brick fireplace. Abby had left behind a worn needlepoint carpet in the center of the hardwood floor. Pretty and feminine.

A wide arch divided the space between the living area and dining area. There, a dining room table and chairs remained, which Abby probably hadn’t needed in Xavier’s already furnished house.

“Lindsey!” Followed by Xavier, Abby trotted down the stairs, saying, “Now, my girl, you can explain exactly why you insisted you had a great place and you didn’t need—” She reached the bottom step and stared. “Oh my God, what happened to you?”

Xavier snagged his wife with a long arm. “Easy, fluff, she’s not at fighting weight.” With Abby pinned to his side, he put a finger under Lindsey’s chin to tilt her face up. His black gaze lingered on her cheek before he glanced at deVries and lifted his eyebrows.

“Happened when Tex had a face-off with a gang,” deVries stated.

“DeVries rescued me,” Lindsey said reluctantly. She certainly didn’t begrudge praising him. Harder to swallow was admitting to her friends that she’d been in trouble.

“How’d you anger a gang?” Xavier asked, his deep voice carrying the hint of a growl.

DeVries put an arm around her and drew her back. “They wanted to beat up a boy.” He held his free hand at his ribs to show Dakota’s height. “Lindsey and her pepper spray had them stymied for a few minutes. When I got there, they’d gotten brave enough to charge.”

Did he actually sound proud of her? She leaned on his warm, hard body for a second, until common sense returned. You’re wanted for murder. Lovers are not in any plan in any foreseeable future.

She stepped out of his reach. Good thing he couldn’t get all bossy with Xavier watching.

On second thought, this was deVries. He might anyway.

“What the hell!” Dixon’s horrified shout came from the front entrance.

With a groan, she grabbed her forehead. Holy heck, her head was going to fall right off—and would probably bounce along the floor and trip someone. Oops, sorry, did I just kick Lindsey’s head? Considering the way her day had gone, she wouldn’t be surprised.

Dixon charged across the room. DeVries’s snarl made him skid to a halt.

“She’s bruised up, boy,” deVries snapped. “Keep it down and take it easy, clear?”

“Yes, Sir,” the young submissive whispered and held his arms out. “Linnie?”

She stepped into Dixon’s embrace. His gentle sympathy was a balm for frazzled nerves. “Pretty, pretty Linnie. It’s okay, girlfriend.”

God, she loved her friends. After a minute of sheer self-indulgence, she stepped back. “Thanks, Dixon. I needed that.”

“Anytime, sweet thing.” He smirked at Abby. “I told you she’d want to see me.”

Abby rolled her eyes at Lindsey. “We were coordinating schedules at Dark Haven when Xavier called. Dix wanted to be sure you were all right.”

Lindsey bit her lip. Xavier hadn’t even talked to Abby before offering the duplex. “I’m really sorry Xavier just kind of dumped me on you. But I’ll pay rent starting today and—”

“Oh hush. My liege has laid down a decree. Do you want to get me in trouble?”

“I—”

“Seriously, I agree with him. My liege won’t let me pay for anything these days, so I’m not hurting financially. Take the duplex for a month, and we’ll talk, okay?”

Charity. It rubbed on a person like a wool saddle blanket. And yet, she did need to get away from her other apartment. “Thank you.”

“Now, you’d better sit down before you fall down.” Abby tugged out a chair at the dining room table and motioned for her to sit. “We’ll play helpless females and let the guys unload the car.”

“Forget the female stuff. We’ll let the Doms unload.” Dixon sat as well, bouncing once in glee. “You two missed the fun last weekend. Like HurtMe pitching a hissy fit at johnboy. He thinks johnboy trespassed on his personal territory when he—”

Drowning out Dix’s voice, Xavier and deVries clumped into the house, carrying another load. Only half listening to the gossip, Lindsey slouched in the chair and watched the men work.

On the next trip, Rona followed them in and walked through the archway to the dining area. Hands on hips, she gave Lindsey a thoughtful perusal. “The way you’re moving your head says you have a headache.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be in administration?”

“Nurses never stop being nurses. Did you take anything?”