I used the brush in the bag, along with the toothbrush and toothpaste. Everything I needed to make me feel alive again. I even took my time to use the neutral shades of makeup Ruby had supplied.
I stepped out of the room to find the bed remade with new linens and comforter. Harlon was standing by the window, staring down at the grounds below.
“I feel human again.”
Harlon turned at my voice. His gaze raked me from head to toe before settling on my face.
“Thank you for sending Ruby to get me this stuff.”
Harlon’s heated gaze smoldered in the blink of an eye. “Quinton and Milton are checking three addresses. I have to check the other one on our way home.”
“Of course,” I said. “I’m no hero. I can wait in the car while you do your thing.”
He gestured to the door and grabbed my things. “Actually, I was thinking I could drop you off with a friend who lives nearby. That way, I keep you out of danger.”
“I don’t need a babysitter, Harlon. I can just wait in your car.”
He turned and crowded me in the hallway. Cupping my cheek, he kissed me, making the protest die on my lips.
Ignoring the shame of hardly knowing the man, I kissed him back.
His hand slid up my arm, bringing us closer. A warm shiver traveled through my body at the warm touch. His tongue explored the recesses of my mouth and he swallowed my moan. I wanted this man for reasons I couldn’t explain. Just as quickly as it had started, he pulled away, leaving me tingling and wanting more.
“Humor me.”
What was the question? I pushed the sexual haze away and remembered; he didn’t want me to sit in the car.
I shivered beneath his touch, beneath his look, trying hard not to imagine him pinning me against the wall like a lumberjack might.
“What if you get into trouble? What if you need me?”
What if he did?
“I’ll be fine.” He winked.
He took my hand and led me through the house. We shared an unexplainable connection that sizzled and energized, like ten extra shots of espresso to my coffee. A bolt of lightning would have been less impressive.
The car ride through the streets of Manhattan was quiet as Dean drove. He stopped in front of a brownstone, only it wasn’t the same one that I had drawn with his sister sitting on the steps.
Harlon climbed out and offered me his hand. “Dean, give me minute while I get her situated.”
Dean nodded, and Harlon guided me up the stairs to the front door.
His hand squeezed mine. “You’ll be safe here.”
“Are you sure I can’t go with you?”
Harlon had opened his mouth as if to answer when the door squeaked open.
“Essie, this is Nina, the woman you told me about.”
Essie looked like she could be Harlon’s mother. Her white hair hung in ringlets just past a shawl that covered her shoulders. A basket with flowers was clutched in her hand.
“I remember, search and rescue,” Essie said and opened her door further. “Come in.”
“Nina Bennett, this is Esmeralda Cook, or Essie as we called her growing up,” Harlon said as he led me through a foyer and into a living room.
“I’m glad he found you, Nina,” Essie said and gestured to the oversized couch. “Why don’t you sit and keep me company while Harlon goes to look for Suzie?”
