Page 6 of Ice Cold Liar (Ice Breaker Cold Case #14)

“ Why the hell not?” Ivan exploded. But the explosion of words was apparently not enough for the man. He barreled straight at Naomi.

The dog growled.

So did Eb. “Because I have other plans. Now, get the fuck away from her.” He put his body between Naomi and the dog…and the pissed-off Russian.

Ivan’s furious gaze dropped to the gun in Eb’s hand. “Our friend Hudson would be so disappointed in you. Choosing her…bad decision.” His lips pursed. “Or is it that you are fucking her? Is that what happened? Perhaps you were involved all along and when Hudson was shoved into the ground?—”

“I came for the damn dog,” Eb said. “Don’t steal someone’s dog. That’s a real shit move.” He tucked the gun in the back waistband of his jeans. “Now we’re going to leave. You’re going to keep breathing, Ivan. And that will be the end of things.”

“That’s not the end for me,” Ivan told him flatly.

“Fine. Then come after me. I’ll probably shoot you. Or maybe I’ll?—”

“I’ll tell your gang buddies that you’re an informant,” Naomi chimed. “Do not test me.”

Ivan peered around Eb so he could see Naomi.

“Hudson told me to take the dog. A week before he died, he said the dog had to go. Like the good friend I am, I simply followed orders.” His attention shifted back to Eb.

“Are you a good friend? Or are you the kind of friend who fucks a dead partner’s wife? ”

Eb smiled at him.

Ivan blinked. Then looked nervous. Good. He should be nervous.

“I’m the kind of person you don’t want as an enemy,” Eb informed him. But those words were for Naomi, too. You don’t want me as an enemy, but that’s exactly what I am. “Stay out of my way. And stay away from Naomi.” Because Ivan would just screw up Eb’s plans if he interfered.

“There’s a back door to the bar,” Naomi said softly. She grabbed Eb’s hand. “Come with me.”

He went with her, and, sure enough, there was another door inside that back office. One that led directly outside, to the rear of the bar. The dog stayed at her side, and Ivan followed them out. But he didn’t shout for backup. Didn’t say anything at all until?—

“It will be your funeral next,” he warned Eb.

Then Ivan retreated and slammed the rear door shut.

Hell. Eb sucked in a long breath. “We need to haul ass, now.” Because that sure had sounded like a threat to him.

Her truck waited about twenty feet away.

The tricky woman had circled behind the bar and crept inside while he distracted the gang.

Damn cold of her to use him that way. Sneaky and cold.

She ran for the truck. Hauled open the driver’s side. The Golden Retriever shot in before her. She jumped into the seat, then turned her head toward Eb.

“Go!” he snarled at her.

“Get in! Jump in the back!”

No, his business was not finished. But with the truck’s driver side door open, he did lean in close to her. “Don’t lie to me again.”

“Will you get in the truck? His men could come storming out any minute!”

His gaze fell to her mouth. That delectable mouth. The mouth that had teased and tormented him. And he?—

Fuck.

He kissed her.

His lips slammed down on hers in a fast, frantic kiss. One that he had not intended. This was not the place. The grimy alley behind a Russian gang leader’s rundown bar was not the place for a first kiss. This was not the time.

And he should never, ever be kissing her.

But he was.

She tastes as good as she smells.

He wanted to taste her everywhere. Hell .

Eb pulled back before he could give in to the absolutely savage need that knifed through him.

“Wh-what was that for?”

“For the audience that’s watching.” He was sure Ivan had eyes on them. But, no, the kiss actually hadn’t been for that bullshit reason. The kiss had been because he’d walked a knife’s edge of desire for Naomi for far too long. “Now get the hell out of here. I will see you at your place.”

“Don’t you dare get shot.” She touched her lips. Then caught herself and let her hand fall. “Or bruised. Or damaged—or beat up by a gang?—”

“Really? Now you care about what happens to me? Where was the concern when I was being used as your distraction?”

“ Would you just get in the damn truck?”

“Drive away, Naomi. Follow that order. And I’ll see you at the house.”

“I told you already, I have a character flaw when it comes to following orders.” But she shifted into drive. “Dammit!”

And she drove away.

He watched her go. Just as he’d watched previously. He wondered if she’d stop a bit down the road. Then circle back as she’d done before.

He waited a beat longer and then…

Then he returned to the back door of the rundown bar. He hauled it open and came face-to-face with Ivan. He’d figured the other man was waiting for him.

“If shooting her isn’t part of your plan…” Ivan’s head cocked to the side. “Then what is?” His arms were crossed over his chest.

“I don’t kill women. But I have no qualms about sending a murderer to prison for the rest of her life.”

“Huh. You’re playing a game with the pretty woman.”

“I don’t play games. What I am doing is dead serious.”

Ivan pursed his lips. “You pulled a gun on me.”

“You did that crap first. I was simply defending myself.”

Those bushy brows beetled again. “You took out three of my men.”

“I took out four of your men.” He waited a beat. “I would have taken them all out if you hadn’t stepped in to rescue them.” Okay, probably not. But so what if he stretched the truth? He would have beat the crap out of as many men as possible.

Ivan sawed a hand over the stubble on his jaw. “Are we going to have a problem, you and I?”

“If you get in my way, damn straight, we will.” He hadn’t jumped into the back of Naomi’s pickup truck because Eb never ran from anyone. So he stepped right up to the Russian. “Get in my way, come at me again, and we will most definitely have a problem.”

Ivan didn’t blink.

“You stay away from Naomi—and her dog—from here on out, got it? I’ll be handling her and any punishments she gets.”

“Because you’re going to send her to prison. And not just save us all time and kill her instantly.”

No one will be killing Naomi. “Because I’m going to make sure that Hudson’s killer gets the punishment that fits the crime.”

“A bullet to the brain would be faster.”

In his mind, Eb could see the jerk raising his gun to fire at Naomi.

And if Eb hadn’t been there, if the Russian had been alone in the small office with Naomi, that was the exact scene that would have played out.

Now he understood exactly what the Russian had been doing.

“You took the dog in order to lure Naomi to you. You wanted her on your turf. Wanted to be able to say she broke into your place. You planned to kill her when she came for her dog.”

The Russian’s hand fell back to his side. “That was one of my options. But you got in my way.”

“I’m still in your way. Hear me again. One final time.” His words were flat. Hard. Brutal. “Naomi is mine. Her punishment is mine.” She is mine.

“You just want to fuck her.”

Yeah, guilty. But he also intended to get justice. “Like I can’t fuck and punish at the same time.” What was this, amateur hour? “You don’t touch her. You try to hurt her again, and maybe you’ll be the featured star at the next funeral.”

Ivan sniffed. “You don’t sound like an agent.”

“Oh, my bad. Didn’t I mention that I’m retired?” Now Eb smiled. “I’m not playing games. Not following orders. I’m doing whatever the hell I want. So there will be no one to stop me from coming after you if you cross the line.”

“She pays for what she did. She pays and that’s all I want.”

“Don’t send your guys after her. Don’t come at her again. Or it will be a fatal mistake for you.” Not a threat. A promise.

Then he turned and walked away. He could feel the Russian’s eyes on him, but Eb didn’t look back. He rounded the building. Headed back to his car and?—

Sure the fuck enough, a pickup truck waited by his ride.

Naomi had turned off her headlights, but the truck’s engine idled.

He went straight to the driver’s side of the truck. Rapped on the window. Prayed for patience with her.

She rolled down the window. “Fancy seeing you here,” Naomi greeted him.

Fancy, his ass. “You can’t follow orders for shit,” he told her.

“Pretty sure I mentioned that character flaw to you before.” She cleared her throat. “I didn’t want to leave until I was sure you weren’t going to die tonight.”

He squinted inside the vehicle. The dog sprawled on the seat beside her. On its back, belly in the air. Eb pulled his gaze from the dog and sent it back to Naomi. “Why would you care if I died?”

“Because you saved my dog. Now that good deed means I owe you.” She pointed to his car. “Get in. Follow me home. You’re spending the night with me.”

Hell, yes, he was.

“Then you’re explaining why you kissed me.” Naomi exhaled on a ragged breath. “Because I know you hate me. I know you think I killed your partner.”

Ex-partner. And most of the town believed she was guilty as sin.

“I don’t see you as the type to be turned on by hate,” Naomi continued.

He leaned closer. “So you want to know what turns me on? Is that what you’re trying to discover? If so, just ask directly, sweetheart.” Eb used the endearment deliberately. Mostly to piss her off. Also to see what reaction it would have on her.

Her hand rose. Slid against his jaw. For some reason, he felt the impact of that small touch explode throughout his whole body.

“Ebenezer…” Naomi sighed his name. The name he’d always hated. But when she said it, he didn’t mind so much. “I don’t have to ask. I already know what turns you on.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“Yeah.” She poked her head through the window. Pressed her lips to his ever so fleetingly. Teasingly. Tormentingly. “I do.”

Fuck. “Yeah, you do.” Grim.

She sucked in a breath. “How about we get the hell out of the Russian gang’s parking lot while we’re both still living, huh?”

Great plan.

But first…

“I think I turn you on, Naomi.” Because she was still touching him. She’d just been the one to kiss him.

“That’s the thing.” She let him go. Put both hands back on the steering wheel. “You do. Now, watch the foot.”

She drove away. Barely, in fact, missing his foot.

You do.

That woman was trying to work a serious mind-fuck on him.

Too bad for her, when it came to mind-fuckery, he excelled.

He was smiling as he drove from the lot.