Hot Winter Nights Read online

  “For our family Christmas party next weekend.”

  “Mom—”

  “Everyone will be there, Lucas. Even my ex-husband.”

  “You mean my dad?” he asked wryly. His parents had been divorced for closing in on two decades now and were friends. Well, mostly. In any case, they’d co-parented to the best of their abilities, including co-holiday-celebrating when feasible.

  “Yes,” his mom said on a sigh. “And if you don’t show up, people are going to ask me why my son doesn’t come visit.”

  Now both eyes were twitching. “Yes, fine. The Christmas party. I’ll be there.”

  “And Christmas Eve two weeks after that. And Christmas morning too, because—”

  “Mom—”

  “Don’t tell me you’re going to be working. If you tell me that, I’m going to call your boss myself. Don’t think I won’t.”

  He pictured his mom calling Archer to bitch him out and actually smiled. “I’ll be there.”

  “Okay then.” Her voice softened and warmed, as well it should since she just got what she wanted in the first place. “And bring a date to the party—”

  “Sorry,” he said. “Can’t hear you, bad connection—”

  “Lucas!”

  “Going through a tunnel . . .” He made a staticky sound in his throat before disconnecting.

  “Need a little more phlegm in that static,” Molly said, clearly amused. “Do you always lie to your mom?”

  “Whenever I can get away with it.” He pushed his laptop away and met her gaze. “You telling me you never give either of your parents a little fib here and there to keep your sanity?”

  “That’s what I’m telling you.”

  “Come on,” he said in disbelief. “Never?”

  “Well, my dad isn’t someone you lie to. He’s got one of those top-notch inner lie detectors,” she said, tapping her temple. “And my mom . . . she passed away a long time ago.”

  He stilled and then shook his head at his own stupidity. “I’m an idiot. I’m sorry.”

  “You didn’t know.”

  “I didn’t. But I’m still sorry.”

  She shrugged and turned to go.

  “Molly—”

  “Turn off the lights when you’re done in here,” she said. “I’m shutting down for the night soon.”

  “Molly.”

  She turned to him.

  “Did the elves come to you?” he asked.

  She hesitated. “Yes.”

  “And you told them what?”

  “That I’d help,” she said as if he was very dense.

  She walked out of the room and he took a deep breath. His mom might be nosy, bossy, manipulative, and couldn’t seem to help herself from butting into his life, but she was also loving and protective and would fight to the death for any of the people she considered hers. He couldn’t imagine his world without her in it.

  But Molly didn’t have any of that because her mom was gone.

  Not for the first time, he cursed the fact that Joe, as good of a friend as he was, rarely opened up and never talked about his family life. In any case, Lucas wished he could take back the last few minutes. Hell, as long as he was rewinding, he’d like to go back a few days to before mixing a shot of bourbon with his pain meds and then sleeping with Molly.

  Although if he could remember the sleeping with Molly part, he definitely wouldn’t want to take away the memory . . .

  He shut off the lights and headed down the hall.

  Archer was perched on the edge of Molly’s desk going through a file. Joe and Reyes stood near the front door talking.

  “You out?” Archer asked Lucas.

  “Not yet. Going to finish the report.”

  Reyes looked at Lucas. “You never did say which chick you ended up with the other night.”

  Lucas froze. There’d been a lot of times where living or dying had depended on his next move and yet in that instant, all skills deserted him.

  “Let me guess,” Reyes said. “The stacked brunette at the end of the bar, right? She’s new, never seen her before.”

  Lucas had to strain to remember the brunette. The brunette who hadn’t been Molly. He glanced at her and found her staring at him like the cat with a canary.

  “It could’ve been the hot redhead at the pool table,” Joe said.

  It was a predicament. For one thing, Lucas’s alibi was sitting right there, not that he’d point the finger at her. He’d never do that, and not just because it would mean his certain death, but because it was no one’s business who she slept with. “Yeah,” Lucas said. “Sure.”

  “Sure to which?” Reyes asked. “Bar brunette or pool babe?”

  Molly propped her chin in her hands like she was watching the most fascinating show ever.

  “Both?” Joe asked hopefully.

  “Pig,” Molly said to her brother, who shrugged.

  “He’s single,” Joe said. “Gotta live vicariously through him now.”

  “I’ll be sure to let Kylie know you think so,” Molly said. “Also, that ‘hot redhead’ at the pool table has a name. It’s Ivy and she’s pretty great.”

  “Right,” Reyes said, pointing at Molly. “Ivy’s the taco truck chick—you know that new taco truck parked on the corner now? She makes amazing food.”

  No one answered because everyone was looking at Lucas, waiting on his answer.

  “None of your fucking business,” he told the room.

  Archer let out a rare laugh and pushed off of Molly’s desk, heading back to his office. “Elle’s vote was that you ended up with no one.”

  Lucas opened his mouth, caught Molly’s gaze, and then shut it. Elle was going to have to think he was a loser who made women up in his mind, and it wasn’t because Joe and Archer would kill him. It was because he wouldn’t rat out Molly for anything.

  Joe and Reyes said their goodbyes and left, and Molly immediately stood up and grabbed her purse, looking to be suddenly in a hurry.

  In a hurry to avoid him, he bet.

  “’Night,” she said.

  “You can run but you can’t hide,” he said quietly.

  She laughed, but still left. When the door closed behind her, Lucas took a step to follow her and then realized someone was watching him.

  Archer was back, leaning against the doorjamb. “So . . . how did things really go?”

  Lucas knew he wasn’t asking about today’s job, but it was worth pretending. “Felt good to be out. I’m more than ready.”

  “Good to know,” Archer said. “Now answer the question I asked.”

  Lucas blew out a breath and gave it to him straight. “I’m not sure Molly can be deterred from taking the bad Santa case. The old ladies hit her pretty hard for a sympathy vote.”

  “Are you telling me that a couple of old ladies are better at the game than you?”

  “Hell no.”

  “Good,” Archer said. “Cuz I’ve got a new job for you.”

  “Why am I not feeling excited about this,” Lucas muttered.

  “If she dives in to help the elves without asking me or Joe for help—”

  “Are you kidding me?” Lucas asked. “She’s not going to ask you for help. She’ll never ask anyone for help and you know it.”

  “I do,” Archer said. “So you’re going to offer to help her, and keep her safe while you’re at it. And since I value my life, you’re not going to tell her I put you on the case.”

  “So . . . if she finds out, I’m the only one who’s going to die?”

  “Correct,” Archer said.

  Good to know everyone’s six was being protected except his own. He went back to his office. Not feeling all that great about the state of affairs of his life at the moment, he leaned back in his chair and studied his ceiling. Things had been much less complicated before he’d gotten shot. Before he’d slept with the woman who he was supposed to be protecting and keeping safe—without her knowing about it.

  Most days after work, he hit the gym or