“Mace’s sister was murdered while Mace was forced to watch. Got her head blown off. Shot to the temple.” It was my turn to go total y stil while I felt my blood run cold.

Eddie went on, “Probably not fun to relive and probably worth a kiss from you when the ending was different.” I couldn’t help it, it was the flashbacks that kept entering my head, it was the ugly knowledge of why Mace was pissed off al the time, I burst into tears.

Eddie stroked my back and spoke softly to me in Spanish until, final y, I stopped crying and the adrenalin subsided. I started to get drowsy and snuggled deeper into him.

Right before I fel asleep, he said quietly, “Tomorrow, we need to have a chat.”

“I thought we were chatting,” I mumbled, half-asleep.

“This isn’t a lyin’-in-bed-naked-after-getting-a-gunshot-wound-to-the-head kind of chat. This is a wide-awake-and-listen-to-Eddie kind of chat.”

Dear Lord.

Not another one of those.

I suppose if I could survive being held at gunpoint, I could survive a listen-to-Eddie chat.

On that thought, I fel asleep.

Chapter Twenty-One

The G-word Turns into the W-word

(Um...Eek!)

The alarm went off, Eddie touched a button and rol ed into me.

I tensed, waiting for him to throw back the covers and drag me out of bed.

Instead he pul ed my back to his front and asked softly,

“How’s your head?”

I did a ful -body scan. My knees hurt, my head hurt and my entire body felt stiff. On the other hand, I was breathing and not locked in a scary, sideways refrigerator at the morgue so I figured I was feeling pretty good.

In answer I said, “I cannot believe I have to get shot for you to hit the snooze button.”

His body went stil .

“Can we make a deal?” he asked, his voice stil quiet.

I wasn’t awake enough to make a deal with Eddie but was also not feeling like arguing.

“Maybe,” I said, thinking that was a good compromise.

“The deal is that was the last joke we’l make about you gettin’ shot.”

My breath caught and I held it.

His lips came to my neck.

“Deal?” he asked.

“Okay,” I agreed on a big exhale.

I had to admit, his words and the meaning behind them shook me straight to my soul. I didn’t have time to focus on my shaken soul, Eddie’s lips started roaming, gliding up my shoulder.

“Are we going to take a shower?” I asked.

He careful y turned me around so we were face to face and his hands slid down my back to my bottom. I tilted my head up to look at him and his eyes were on my temple.

“I figure it’s best we do this lyin’ down.” I nodded, because he was probably right. I’d survived a shooting, I didn’t need to die a tragic death while being given an orgasm in the shower.

Then he kissed me and I wasn’t thinking about tragic anything.

Then he made love to me.

It wasn’t hot, fast or rough like it seemed both Eddie and I liked it.

It was about a slow burn; it was gentle and it was sweet.

It was so slow, gentle and sweet that, in the end, it garnered an “ohmigod, ohmigod” neck arching orgasm, which was good since after, my body didn’t feel stiff anymore.

* * * * *

“We’re going to be late for work,” I said to Eddie’s throat when we were done and I was lying in his arms. His arms got tighter indicating we weren’t going anywhere. “Indy doesn’t care when you show up and everyone knows my girlfriend got shot last night. I don’t think they’l be expecting us first thing.”

There it was again, the g-word.

“Everyone knows?” What I meant was, everyone knew I was his… g-word.

“Cops talk. You’ve been the main topic of conversation since I got pul ed in after the bachelor party brawl.” Oh… dear… Lord.

I went up on my elbow, he rol ed to his back and I looked down on him.

“What do you mean, pul ed in after the bachelor party brawl?”

He was wearing his satisfied look and my bel y curled.

He tucked my hair behind my ear and then cupped my jaw, running his thumb across my bottom lip.

My bel y curl turned into a twist.

“They’re not exactly gonna give me a commendation for starting a fight and breakin’ some guy’s nose a few days before his wedding.”

I blinked, then I stared.

“You got in trouble?”

“Relax Chiquita,” he grinned and pul ed me down to him,

“nothing came of it. The groom wasn’t fired up to tel his bride he’d got his nose broke because he put his hand down the shirt of a cocktail waitress at a strip joint. And Smithie didn’t push it, likely because of you.” I thought about Bachelor Number One, or The Bachelor, getting married with a big old swol en nose. That would be a serious bummer for the wedding photos.

I had to admit, I liked the thought, mainly because he was a jerk, even if I felt sorry for his bride (for a variety of reasons).

I couldn’t help it, a wedding photo appeared in my head and it made me smile. As my face was against Eddie’s chest, he felt it and kissed the top of my head.

Then I lost my smile as my thoughts drifted.

Eddie got into trouble at work for me. Eddie also paid for my car, which had to cost at least a thousand bucks, not to mention the coffee maker. Eddie was a cop. I figured cops probably did al right, money-wise, say, in comparison to bums like my Dad. They weren’t known to be bazil ionaires. And, last night, Eddie was supposed to be somewhere where something was “going down” but instead he was at the hospital with me.

Seriously, this could not go on.

I figured it was time to have a Jet Chat.

“Eddie?” I started.

“Shit, I thought I had your ‘Eddies’ down but that sounds like a new one,” he teased.

I ignored him.

I ignored him.

“I thought you had something going on last night.”

“I did.”

“Did it ‘go down’?” I asked.

His hand slid up my back and started to play with my hair.

“Heard the cal go over the radio, Indy’s got her own code, which shouldn’t surprise you. I knew you were with her so I blew out.”

I closed my eyes.

“I am a pain in the ass,” I whispered.

He pul ed gently on my hair and I looked up at him. He had his chin dipped, looking down at me. His face was mel ow yet serious. It was a new look and, just like any of his looks, I liked it.