Feeling her petite curvy body in his arms pushed all thoughts of suds and age differences to the side.

Thoughts of how right she felt underneath him when they were making out on the bed of leaves, how he’d come so close to making love to her and how her mouth tasted like the sweetest candy he had ever savored pushed past any common sense he had. The only thing he could think of was to finish what they had started earlier.

He allowed his lips to plunder and peruse. She opened to him automatically and her tongue met his with matching passion and desire. As he suckled on her soft lips, he couldn’t help but roam her body. Her delicate curves had his mind spinning. Before he knew it, he had picked her up and carried her into the nearest bedroom. As he fell back on the bed, he pulled her on top of him and continued to caress her lips with his own.

He would never get tired of kissing her. Her groans hinted that she might feel a fraction of the same thing he was feeling….

He wanted her. He had to have her.

Now.

GWYNETH BOLTON

became an avid romance fan after sneak-reading her mother’s romance novels. In the nineties, she was introduced to African-American romance novels and her life hasn’t been the same since. She has a B.A. and an M.A. in creative writing and a Ph.D. in English. She teaches writing and women’s studies at the college level. When she is not writing African-American romance novels, she is curled up with a cup of herbal tea, a warm quilt and a good book. She currently lives in Syracuse, New York, with her husband, Cedric. Readers can contact her via e-mail at gwynethbolton@prodigy.net or visit her Web site at www.gwynethbolton.com.

The Law of Desire
Gwyneth Bolton

www.millsandboon.co.uk

To my sands…

Kimmie, Shakira, Antoinette, Edith,

Audrey, Monica, Sherita and Karen.

I will always cherish our sisterhood

and the bond we share.

Yours in Delta…

Dear Reader,

The woman Lawrence Hightower finds himself extremely attracted to could be a criminal, and he makes it his business to find out the real deal, by any means necessary. He is a by-the-book, highly decorated police detective. The last thing he needs is an attraction to a little thug of a girl with more attitude than should be legal!

Minerva Jones needs to keep a low profile until she is sure the person who killed her brother doesn’t come for her next. Having a cop check her out, even in a hey-baby-you’re-fine kind of way, is not something she needs. But things happen…and sometimes what you think you don’t need is exactly the thing that will set you free. Lawrence is a good guy with a bit of an edge or a bad boy who’s well-meaning and good-natured, depending on what day you catch him. Minerva is an innocent pretending to be a ride-or-die chick. They are so right for one another it feels wrong. Neither of them are what they seem. No wonder they set off each other’s radars from the moment they meet! Their journey to love is full of passion, drama, a little intrigue and undeniable heat.

I’m so glad you’ve decided to take the ride with Lawrence and Minerva. Please be on the lookout for the final installment of the Hightower series, Sizzling Seduction. Patrick Hightower has been dodging love long enough, and something tells me he will go down fast and hard. Sizzling Seduction is slated for release in October 2009.

Gwyneth Bolton

Acknowledgments

First I want to thank God for the many blessings in my life, especially the blessing to share my stories. I’d like to thank my family: my mother, Donna, my sisters Jennifer, Cassandra, Michelle and Tashina, my nieces Ashlee and Zaria and my husband, Cedric. And I’d like to thank all the readers who have taken the time to write me and let me know what they thought of my novels. Your words have meant more than you could ever know.

Contents

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Epilogue

Prologue

“Surprise!” The gleeful voices greeted her as soon as she opened the door.

M. Athena Jones—the “M” stood for Minerva, a name she hadn’t willingly gone by since her mom died—clutched her chest as she entered the two-bedroom apartment she used to share with her brother.

It was still a full two weeks before the summer semester was over but she had turned in her last paper and had officially finished her undergraduate degree. As exciting as it was, she certainly wasn’t expecting a surprise party.

“I had to do something special. And I had to make sure your smart behind wouldn’t figure it out.” Her brother, Calvin, picked her up and spun her around. “Did it work?”

Calvin placed her carefully back on the floor and she gazed up at him. He’d taken after their father in the height department and towered over her petite frame by at least a foot. His caramel complexion and the deep waves of his recently cut Caesar made for a dapper combination. He was wearing his usual khakis and Chucks. His handsome face even gleamed with a rare smile.

“Yes! Oh, my God, Calvin. You didn’t have to do this. I thought we were going to do our usual.” Her eyes welled up as she looked at the streamers and balloons that decorated the apartment.

“Oh, we’re still going to have our usual celebration. You know we have to keep up tradition. But this is special, baby girl. It’s not every day that my little sister gets her degree! I’m proud of you, girl.” Calvin hugged her again.

In two weeks she would walk the stage and receive her bachelor’s degree from California State University-Northridge. At twenty-six years old, she had finally managed to work her way through school and get her degree. Two classes here and one class there…it had added up. She had had to work her way through school because her family didn’t have a lot of money when she’d graduated from high school. So she went right into the workforce, taking jobs that she’d hated, but always keeping her eyes on the prize.

One degree down and one to go.

She hoped to have her master’s of social work degree by the time she was thirty—thirty-five the latest.

A girl could dream…

Her voice caught as she greeted everyone. She had almost called her brother to let him know that she couldn’t stop by. But if she had stayed in her own small apartment to fill out grad school applications, she would have missed this.

There weren’t that many people there, only a few in fact. But everyone there held special meaning to the two of them. They’d lost their parents when they were young and even before that her older brother was the one who really raised her.

Valerie Monroe, the social worker who worked with them so that she could remain with her brother after their mother died, was there along with Taj and Pam, two of her closest friends from childhood, and a few other folks from the neighborhood.

She couldn’t believe that because of her quest to finish her degree and “make it” she could scarcely remember the last time she’d seen them. She still called Valerie every couple of weeks just to check in. But she had lost contact with Taj and Pam completely. None of her friends from work or school were there. She didn’t have many at either place. With school and work she didn’t have a lot of time for socializing.

Friends from work and school wouldn’t have fit in at the party, anyway. She remembered reading W. E. B. DuBois’s book The Souls of Black Folk in one of her Africana studies classes and mused that she needed more than the concept of double consciousness to describe the fractured feeling in her life. More like triple consciousness. Sometimes it felt as if she had one face for her work life as office manager in a predominantly white law firm, one face as a college student, and one for her friends in the neighborhood and her brother. One day she would find a way to make all her worlds fit together.

Normally, she and Calvin celebrated all milestones with a night out for dinner. Her brother would let her pick the restaurant and tell her that she could pick the most expensive place in town. She always picked Roscoe’s House of Chicken ’n Waffles. They ate there when she completed middle school, high school, and when she got her job as an office clerk at Henderson, Moore & Moore, the law firm where she still worked.

The banner on the wall read CONGRATULATIONS THENA! That was big for her brother. He was the last remaining holdout when it came to her name. She’d pretty much decided after her mother died that she would go by Thena, the shortened version of her middle name. He had pretty much decided that the name their mother named her Minerva, was just fine.

Minerva Athena Jones didn’t know what had possessed her mother to name her after not one but two goddesses of wisdom. She did know that neither name made her the coolest girl in class growing up. The only thing she hated more than people calling her Minerva was when they called her Minnie. It made her skin crawl. So until she could officially change her name she went by M. Athena Jones. Friends called her Thena.

She took off the cream linen jacket that went with the matching pencil skirt she was wearing. Like most of her clothing, she’d gotten the smart and sassy business suit on sale.

She hugged and greeted the rest of the guests and kept looking back to smile at Calvin. Who knew he was so sentimental? She knew he loved her without a doubt. He was just a guy’s guy and didn’t always express his feelings outwardly.

“So what are you going to do now that you’re done with school?” Valerie was leaning against the wall in the kitchen. She and Thena both watched Calvin taking some heat while he took chicken wings out of the oven.

“My baby sis is going to get more education. She’s just like our mother. She’s smart and she’s going to live the life Mama should’ve lived.” Calvin answered Valerie’s question before Thena could.

Thena smiled and let her brother bask in his happiness. He’d practically raised her when their mother died. He had just turned eighteen at the time, and she’d been twelve. Things were hard. But they had made it and they’d been able to stay together until she moved out on her own three years ago. He deserved to be proud. It was because of his tough love and firm hand that she was able to do much of what she had done.

If only their mother could see Thena now. She’d sing for joy.

Their mother had a voice that would have put the Queen of Soul to shame. She had come to California from Alabama with stars in her eyes. All hopes of stardom got put on hold, though, when she’d met and soon married a guitarist and gave birth to a son. Six years later she’d given birth to a baby girl and soon after that her husband’s recreational drug use spiraled out of control, making him take risks not only with his own life but with hers, as well. Neither of them made it.

It was Calvin who’d encouraged Thena to further her education. He kept books around for her to read from the time she first learned how. He made sure she did all her homework over the years.

Sure, Calvin was strict and might have been the reason at least two of Thena’s former boyfriends ended up in the hospital badly beaten, but underneath his brash persona lay the man who stayed up all night with her whenever she’d been sick. Complicated didn’t even begin to describe Calvin, or Thena’s feelings for him.

“I hope to get my MSW eventually and go into social work like you, Val. You’ve inspired me so much.”

“You’ll be a great at it.” Valerie offered with a smile as she helped Calvin place the wings on the plastic serving tray.

When Calvin went to answer the door, Thena and Valerie worked together to ready the rest of the food. They carried the platters out to Calvin’s living room, which was filled with royal-blue crushed velvet furniture.

“Yeah, sorry man. I thought I told you about the party. Must have thought I did when I actually hadn’t.” Calvin walked toward the living room with his best friend David Sims following him.

Thena’d been wondering where David was and just assumed that he was off wheeling and dealing somewhere. He was a serial entrepreneur at Langer and Associates, launching, developing and making small businesses profitable. And he was one of Calvin’s only noncriminal, non-gang-banging friends. David and Calvin had grown up together on the South Central streets, but David had gone the school and college route. She looked up to David almost as much as she looked up to her brother.

She ran over and gave David a hug.

“Hey, baby girl. Sorry I almost missed the celebration. Calvin neglected to tell me about it. Good thing I was in the neighborhood and decided to stop by.” David hugged her close before letting her go.

“It’s okay. I’m glad you made it and I hope you can stay. I know you’re busy.”

“Never too busy for you—” David started.

“Hey, sis, get in here and blow out the candles on this cake. I got your favorite, with pineapple filling.” Calvin interrupted David by pulling her away and leading her to the cake.

She frowned and shook her head. Her brother could be so controlling at times. She cast an apologetic glance at David and he just shrugged nonchalantly and winked at her.

She figured if David wasn’t irritated with her brother, then she shouldn’t be, either. When two men were friends as long as they’d been friends, they probably had disagreements and bounced back from them more than times she could count. And that sheet cake with the pineapple filling was calling her name.

After everyone left, Calvin gave her a ride back to her apartment. And she was glad to have the one-on-one time with her brother. Seeing everyone meant a lot to her. She had let too many relationships fall to the wayside, and she needed to reconnect. It was a good thing it wasn’t too late to do so. And as soon as she finished her grad school applications she was going to start working on rebuilding her friendships and her relationship with her brother. Girl from the ’hood makes good.

“Thanks, Calvin. That celebration was so special.”

“You know I had to do something special for this, baby girl. You made it. Mama would be so proud.” He smiled and kept his eyes on the road, as 50 Cent’s “Many Men” started playing. Calvin reached over to turn it up while bouncing his head to the grim lyrics.

“Do you really think Mama would be proud?”

“Hell, yeah…She made me promise her before she passed that I would make sure you got your education and didn’t get caught up with no boys. She wanted to be sure you at least got your high school diploma. Trust me, she’d be proud. You’re all upwardly mobile now! You even dress all fancy.”

“Well…since I’ve clearly exceeded her wishes now…” She flipped from his CD changer to the radio and changed 50 Cent to Maroon Five.

Now that’s more like it! A nice happy tune about love on “Sunday Morning,” not maudlin lyrics about men wishing death on someone…What is it with gang bangers, rappers and death wishes anyway?

“Do you think you can ease up and stop scaring away my boyfriends?”

“First, Minerva, never touch a black man’s radio.” He turned the CD changer back and restarted the 50 Cent song from the beginning. “And second, boyfriends? You got some boyfriends I haven’t scared away yet? Who are they? What’re their names?”

She punched him on the arm, not enough to hurt him but enough to sting, she hoped. “Come on, Calvin. It’s not funny. I’d like to get married and have kids one day. That won’t happen if you don’t stop blocking!”

She couldn’t help feeling a little irritated. When she was in high school, two of the boys she had started dating ended up getting jumped and beaten severely. Calvin always said he hadn’t had anything to do with it. But after the second one, her conscience wouldn’t allow her to date a guy knowing he might get hurt because of her, not to mention that having a crazy gang-banging brother scared a lot of guys away.

“What do you know about blocking?” Calvin teased as he eased the car onto her block.

“Stop laughing. It’s not funny. I’m twenty-six years old. I think it’s time I started living my life.”

“You need protecting. Look at what happened to Mama.” Calvin’s voice took on that serious, brother-knows-best tone. “This world is rough. You wouldn’t survive without me to protect you. I couldn’t protect Mama because I was just a kid. But I’ll protect you with my life, Minerva. And that’s real talk. Trust me, when the right guy comes around, I’ll know and I’ll let you know. For now, just focus on getting those degrees and making your big brother proud.”

She let out an exasperated breath and rolled her eyes. There was no talking to Calvin and certainly no way to get him to see how stifling he was being. In fact, he saw that as his main purpose in life since their mom had passed away. Sometimes she wished she didn’t have a big brother.

“So I’ll see you in a few days for dinner at our spot, right?” He pulled up to her apartment building.

“Yes, Calvin, I’ll be there.” She got out and walked inside.

Where is he?

She glanced at her watch. It was telling her she might have been stood up. Usually when her brother said he would meet her somewhere, he got there before she did. Of the two of them, she was the chronically late one. And today she was running late from work. That’s why when she got to Roscoe’s House of Chicken ’n Waffles and found that she had beaten him there she should have known something was wrong.

After waiting an hour with no sign of Calvin, she decided he must have made good on his threat to leave the next time she kept him waiting. She finished her meal alone and ordered one special to go before getting on the bus heading toward her brother’s apartment.

Standing and brushing the crumbs off her navy-blue-and-white pin-striped suit with wide leg pants and a double-breasted jacket, she shook her head. Calvin was probably mad at her. But the meal would be her peace offering. Although she didn’t know why he wasn’t used to her perpetual lateness by now. He didn’t have to pick tonight to set an example and leave. It was their official graduation celebration, after all.

But his door was open when she got to his apartment.

That wasn’t a good sign.

Given some of Calvin’s unsavory business dealings, a busted open door signaled either a police raid or a rival gang’s hit. She never thought the day would come when she would be hoping for the former.

Feeling like the stereotypical hapless and clueless teen beauty in a horror flick, she pushed open the door and went in.

Things were strewn all over the normally neat living room. Papers covered the floor and Calvin’s coveted Crip-blue crushed-velvet sofa had been turned upside down, the pillows torn to pieces. She didn’t have to walk too far into the room to see her brother.

He lay on the floor with a bullet in the middle of his forehead.

Thena’s legs threatened to give way and she stumbled, dropping the container of food. Somehow she managed not to hit the floor along with the fluffy waffles and crispy chicken.

Her handsome, tall, strong and protective older brother, the only constant in her life, lay dead. Her heart dropped and her knees buckled. She hit the floor with a thud and her hand flew to her mouth. She wanted to scream but no sound came out. The air was as empty as she felt.

How could this be happening?

She reached out and touched his caramel face. His eyes were still open and she moved her hand over them to shut the lids.

Her heart felt as if it had exploded in her chest the pain was so deep. Tears fell, feeling hot and scorching against her skin. She grabbed her chest and gasped before she realized she wasn’t alone.

Someone was in the back room throwing things around, obviously looking for something. Whoever it was must have heard her because the shuffling stopped.

Somehow, even with the ever-expanding hole in her heart, the pronounced lack of air and the absence of any rational thought, she was able to pull herself up from her brother’s side and run. She dashed out of the apartment building and ran as if her life depended on it.

The burning tears cooled somewhat with her sprint, but they kept falling. She ran for blocks and blocks before she had to stop. The vision of her brother with a hole in his head stuck in her mind until the food she’d eaten at Roscoe’s would no longer sit in her stomach. Everything came barreling back up and out, projecting forward and hitting the cement before she could even come to a full stop. She fell to her knees and sobbed as she vomited. The navy-blue headband that held back her shoulder-length natural curls popped off her head and landed in the mess.

She had never felt so empty in all her life.

Realizing that whoever was in the apartment hadn’t followed her, she didn’t know what to do. She thought about going back to his place and calling the cops, but decided to go home and get cleaned up first. She could call the cops once she got rid of the tears and the sour taste in her mouth.

The emptiness, the guilt, the loss, all threatened to consume her, to eat her alive. What was she supposed to do without Calvin?

When she got home she saw, David Sims sitting in front of her building in his luxury car waiting for her. The tall, golden, honey-complexioned man stepped out of his car and walked up to her. She couldn’t think of anyone better to be waiting for her at this time.

“David.” She ran right into his arms. “Oh, my God, David…Calvin is…Calvin…I just came from his house and…” She took a deep breath. She couldn’t say it. She couldn’t say the words; her brother was dead.

“I know. It’s bad. He was into some serious stuff this time. I tried to bail him out, but I got there too late.” He took a short step away, placed his hand under her chin and tilted her head so that he was looking right into her eyes. “Did you see anything?”

She gazed up at him. “There was someone there looking for something when I walked in. I heard noises in the back of the apartment and I ran. I ran and I haven’t even called the police yet. I have to call the police and—”

“I must have gotten there after you. Because there was no one there when I got there. I did make an anonymous call from a phone booth to the police.” He shook his head. “The thing is, baby girl, according to your brother, the people he got on the wrong side of are not the kind of people you want thinking you know anything or saw something. And they have folks in the LAPD on their payroll. If they thought you knew anything they would have no problem killing you, too.” The warning in his voice and the stern expression on his face made her heart stop.

“I didn’t see anyone. I don’t know anything.”

“You can tell me if you do. Did Calvin give you anything recently? Did he tell you anything?”

Besides the surprise party, he hadn’t given her anything. And besides his typical warnings—about staying away from guys and making sure to run anyone interested in her past him because too many people might see her as an easy mark to get back at him—he hadn’t told her anything.

“No, he didn’t and I don’t know anything.”

“Okay. We still can’t risk the cops questioning you and those folks thinking you might know something. Some of the things Calvin told me about them…” He shook his head. “Trust me, you don’t want to mess with them. You have to get out of L.A. It wouldn’t be good for them to find out you spoke to the cops, especially if they saw you leaving Calvin’s place.” David rubbed his chin, while keeping a careful eye on her.

She tried to hold it together, because she didn’t want to appear like some weak-willed woman who couldn’t deal. She gulped in an attempt to swallow the fast-growing lump in her throat.

“I can’t just up and leave. I don’t have anywhere to go. And what about Calvin? I have to bury my brother! I can’t just leave.”

“You don’t have a choice.” His face went hard and serious before he softened slightly. “You were the most important person in the world to Calvin. The only family he had. He wouldn’t even let a straight-laced guy like me try and kick it to you because he felt I wasn’t good enough for you.” David gave a rueful smile at the memory. “And I was his best friend. So I feel obligated to look out for you and make sure the cops don’t unwittingly put you in danger. I have some folks in Jersey you could stay with until the danger passes. You remember my twin cousins, Timmy and Tommy McKnight?”

She remembered the twins who used to hang out with Calvin and David before moving back East. They had been members of the same gang as her brother. She nodded.

“Well, they’re probably the only people besides me that would feel strongly about protecting Calvin’s little sister.” He ran his thumb across her cheek, wiping away endless tears.

She willed herself to be stronger. “Why would they feel obligated? I doubt they even remember me.”

“Because Calvin, Timmy and Tommy all started banging around the same time. They share a bond.” He glanced down the street, no longer looking her in the eye, as he finished. “And even though I never went there with them, I know how seriously they took their affiliation.”

“Are they still banging?”

“I have no idea. I doubt it.” He turned and glanced at her briefly. “We need to get you out of here before the cops start questioning you. Come on.”

“But don’t I need to pack or—”

“No. You don’t have time. I’ll give you enough cash to get some things when you get there. We need to leave here now.” He glanced away again. “I also have something for you to give to my cousins. It’s just a jacket…a family heirloom of sorts…It used to belong to my dad…their uncle. But I need you to give me the keys to your place and Calvin’s.”

She bit back a sob. This couldn’t be happening. This was supposed to be the happiest time in her life. She was going to finally get that nice pretty diploma to hang on her wall. She was going to show her brother that all the sacrifices he had made for her and everything he’d done to raise her when their parents died was worth it. And now he was dead and she had to go on the run.

“When the coast is clear, I’ll be able to send you your things and get into his place and see if they left anything you might want. I’m so sorry this happened, baby girl. But I’m going to help you. Because I know Calvin would’ve wanted me to help you. And don’t worry. I’ll be coming for you when it’s safe.”

He opened up his car door as he spoke and guided her in.

She took one last look at her apartment complex as she got in the vehicle. She had no idea how her life could have taken such a drastic turn in a matter of hours, but she did know things would never be the same again. She just felt lucky to have Calvin’s best friend looking out for her. And she hoped Timmy and Tommy McKnight had her back the way their cousin David did. My life depends on it.

Chapter 1

One month later…

“Now, you’re looking like a real down-ass chick.” Timmy McKnight reached out and touched the bright auburn extensions that had been placed in Minerva’s—no more M. Athena for a woman on the run—hair at the Dominican beauty salon.

The beautician at Esmerelda’s Beauty Salon had glued the auburn weave tracks in layered spots of Minerva’s dark-brown hair. The extensions mixed in and gave her a two-toned look without her having to dye it. And the amount of spray, mousse and gel piled on her hair made her normally soft curls hard and cardboard straight. She looked like a mix between Cruella De Vil remixed with Remy Ma and lots of auburn hair color.

I hate it.

Between the outlandish hairstyle and the Baby Phat outfit she had purchased in downtown Paterson, she felt like a different person. Just a little over a month ago she wouldn’t have been caught dead looking like a hoochie mama. Now her life depended on being able to blend in and appear to be the type of girl who would actually hang out with Timmy and Tommy McKnight.

She had no choice.

She had spent the majority of the money David had given her to get lots of things she would have never worn before. Lots of Apple Bottom, Rocawear and other hip-hop brand names made up her wardrobe now. No more Michael by Michael Kors or Bitten by Sarah Jessica Parker—even if it was on sale—for a while.

David had been really generous when it came to giving her the funds she’d needed to relocate. She vowed to make it up to him one day. Her brother’s life of crime had put David in the awkward position of having to lie to the police about her whereabouts and who knew what he had to promise his cousins to get them to help her.

“Yeah, you’re looking real ride-or-die, baby girl. You can roll with us now,” Tommy nodded in approval. As he moved his head, his shoulder-length dreadlocks bounced.

Hair was the one thing that allowed her to tell the two identical, mocha-complexioned twins apart. Timmy wore his hair low-cut with brush-waves. They were each the same medium height. Timmy was a little bulkier than Tommy in size.

As nice as they had been to her, Minerva didn’t want to roll with them. She just wanted to stay home. But they didn’t like the idea of leaving her alone just yet.

The three of them ended up at a nice bar downtown. It was packed and bustling with energy.

From what she could tell about the city of Paterson, it seemed like a fairly segregated place. The neighborhood where she lived with the McKnights was predominantly black and poor. She thought she’d seen ghettos growing up in South Central, but nothing could have prepared her for what she saw living on Governor Street in Paterson. There were always people out and about, but no one ever saw anything when something went down. The run-down tenements didn’t seem habitable; but they were overflowing with tenants. Some of the dilapidated buildings made where she grew up in South Central look like the suburbs. At least they had trees and houses back in Cali.

Thena, now Minerva, needed the semi-makeover to be able to walk down the street and not get robbed or otherwise victimized. Her little “Cali office girl” style was not going cut it here so she had to adapt.

“Have you heard from David?” Tommy gave her a probing stare and interrupted her reverie about her ’hood status and staying alive in Paterson.

“Not in a couple of weeks,” Minerva answered. “He said he’d slack off calling until things cooled down. They still haven’t figured out who killed my brother.” She felt her voice choke but she willed herself to keep it together.

She had cried the entire bus trip from California to New Jersey. But she refused to turn into a babbling brook in front of Timmy and Tommy. She knew she had to be tough, even though she was walking around with this gaping hole in her chest. More like in my heart.

Putting on a brave face didn’t stop her heart from pounding. She understood that she had to be strong. But how could she when the pain sometimes went so deep that she felt she could barely breathe?

She had left without burying her brother.

And she could just see her parents and Calvin in heaven looking down on her with disappointment. They were supposed to always take care of one another. He’d been the overprotective big brother and she did what she could by learning to cook and take care of their dayto-day living. He had always come through for her and she had let him down when it really counted.

The guilt she felt threatened to overwhelm her. She felt like it would suffocate her.

“Well, well, well…if it isn’t Timothy and Thomas McKnight. What are you two doing here? I hope you’re not scoping out the place as a spot for illegal drug distribution.”

Minerva looked up and into the most intense brown eyes she’d ever seen. The man who had pulled up a chair, straddled it backwards and interrupted their conversation had a perfectly chiseled face with bold and strong features. In addition to the seriously penetrating stare, he had a five-o’clock shadow that gave him a rough and rugged appearance. His full lips didn’t seem like they ever smiled, ever. But that didn’t take away from the fact he was fine. Fine with a capital F.

Fine and he has cop written all over him. Minerva looked him up and down.

“Detective.” Tommy nodded and focused on the drink in front of him.

“Wow…if it isn’t my favorite narc, Detective Hightower. I would ask if you’d like to join us. But seeing as you already have…What can we do for you this fine evening?” Timmy, the older twin didn’t seem like he was one to hold back.

The cop turned his direction toward her.

Great, was all she could think as the detective hit her with his x-ray-vision stare. The last thing she needed was for some cop to get her on his radar.

“And who’re you?” Detective Hightower was looking at her so closely she wanted to bolt.

Damn, his deep voice is sexy.

Instead, she pursed her lips before rolling her eyes and letting out a deep, overly dramatic breath. “Who wants to know and why?”

His eyes narrowed slightly.

She narrowed her eyes right back at him. She never liked bullies and this “detective” had bullying down to an art form. He had some nerve just inviting himself to their table and grilling everyone as if he didn’t need a reason.

And then there was the stir in the pit of her stomach that seem to kick up to a fevered pitch when he looked at her. It wasn’t fear, no, that would have been too much like right. No, the things she felt just staring in his eyes and having him so close caused her to feel things like want and need.

“This is Minnie Samuels, Detective Hightower. She’s a good friend visiting us from California.” Tommy offered the information a little too freely for her taste. And apparently Timmy’s, too, because his twin brother turned and glared at him at the same time she did.

The three of them had decided to just change her last name and have her go by her childhood nickname, Minnie—which she hated more than she did her actual name—in order to keep things simple. But they’d also decided that her “name” would only be divulged on a need-to-know basis. She and Timmy clearly had different ideas about who needed to know.

She gritted her teeth in irritation. The cop annoyed her and caused her heart to flutter at the same time, and she had just met the man. “I’ll be back. I need to powder my nose.”

She stood and went looking for the ladies’ room without so much as a second glance back. She did take the liberty of cursing the smug cop out in her head as she walked away, imagining all the ways she could read him up, down and sideways if he was still there when she got back. While she had never developed the unhealthy, hateful and distrusting relationship to cops that her brother and others in her neighborhood had, she could see herself heading in that direction fairly quickly if she had to deal with Detective Hightower much longer.

She really hadn’t had to use the rest room or fix her makeup. She wasn’t even wearing that much makeup. Just a little foundation, eyeliner, mascara, lipstick and lip gloss. It was a lot more than she normally wore, though. Typically, she couldn’t be bothered with more than a little lip gloss. But she figured a girl who wore hip-hop designer clothing like the hot-pink, skin-tight Baby Phat denim minidress she was sporting and rocking two-toned hair would have on foundation and lipstick at the very least. She drew the line at eye shadow and blush, though. And there was no way she would get any long fake acrylic nails. There was only so much she was willing to do for appearances.

She looked in the mirror, surveyed her outfit and cringed.

This is so-oo not me…

Hoping the cop was gone, she decided to head back out to their table and try to talk the McKnight twins into calling it an evening. The sooner she was out of the flashy clothes and into some sweats the better.

She walked out of the ladies’ room and right into the nosy detective. He must have been standing in the narrow hallway waiting for her. He pretty much blocked the way back into the bar so she decided to lean against the wall and wait for him to be a gentleman and get out of her way. Heart thumping and pulse racing, she folded her arms across her chest and twisted her lips to the side.

A full minute must have passed with him just standing there staring at her like he was trying to figure out one of the great mysteries of the world. She huffed and moved to go around him. He grabbed her forearm and moved her back.

A tingle raced across her arm and landed smack-dab in her heart. At such close proximity, the masculine scent of him assaulted her nose and sparked a keening need in her gut. She took a deep, calming breath that she hoped looked like she had an attitude and not like she had been shaken to her core.

“Can I help you with anything, Detective? I couldn’t imagine what. But you must have some reason for making yourself a nuisance this evening, especially since you don’t know me and have no reasonable cause to harass me.” She tilted her head to the side partly for appearance’s sake but mostly because it helped with the sudden feeling of vertigo this man had her experiencing.

He looked puzzled for a moment before his lips formed a slight snarl. “You hanging with the McKnight twins is all the cause I need to keep an eye on you, Miss…Samuels.”

“So the whole ‘innocent until proven guilty’ thing is just a cute idea for a fairy tale or are you really an officer of the law?” She folded her arms across her chest and swallowed. She had no idea what had come over her, but she knew she refused to back down and let some cop punk her.

“Oh, so you’re a little smart-ass? You should ask your friend Timmy McKnight what happens to smart-asses in jail. ’Cause that’s where you’re headed if you keep moving in the wrong circles. I don’t know you but I know plenty of dumb little girls like you who get caught up, carrying weight across state lines, holding things they shouldn’t be holding in their purses…” He glanced at the small leather handbag she was carrying.

“Tell me something, what do you think I’d find if I took a look through that bag of yours? Maybe something you used to powder your nose? Would that be foundation or coke?” He leaned forward and she instinctively leaned forward, as well.

The nerve of this man! The amount of incredulity coursing through her only hinted at how shocking she found his entire demeanor.

They were standing so close to each other in the small hallway that it was impossible for her not to imagine his lips swooping down and covering hers. She licked her lips and swallowed. What might that kiss be like, taste like, feel like.

She noticed him swallowing too. Is he imagining the same thing?

She looked him up and down taking in every inch of his muscular physique. She’d never found herself so attracted to a man before. The lean, hard frame in front of her, wearing jeans, sneakers and a white T-shirt was just too sexy and too aggravating for words…And certainly too fine to be a cop…

Why was the first adult male to make her pulse quicken and her heart race a member of the police force?

“Don’t you have anything better to do than to harass people who aren’t doing anything wrong? Or is that what cops are getting paid for these days?”

“You need to—”

“Hey, bro, we’ve been looking all over for you. You need to get back over there so we can finish celebrating. You know I’m going to be heading out to make it home to my wife and Joel can barely wait to get back to his new fiancée…” The voice of the man who interrupted them trailed off when he noticed her standing there. He was a younger version of the detective and she got a cop vibe from him, as well.

“You need some help here, bro?” The younger one gave her the once-over. He had that penetrating gaze thing down and she wondered if it was a cop thing or a family trait.

They were certainly related. She could tell because they both shared the same ruggedly handsome looks and tall, fine, muscular frames. If that wasn’t enough, they had the same bold brown eyes. But the younger one had a light in his eyes that hinted at immense happiness whereas her detective…

My detective? Oh, brother…The annoying, mean and irritating detective had a hard, impenetrable glare in his eyes. She couldn’t see any happiness there.

“I’m cool, Jason. I was just trying to warn Miss Samuels here about the company she keeps. But you know what they say…you can’t save ’em if they don’t want to be saved.” He shrugged in a nonchalant manner. “So, I’ll just leave you with this. Stay out of trouble or it will be my pleasure to show you what cops get paid for.” He turned and walked away.

The younger one stared at her for a moment and shrugged. “I suggest you take heed and watch the company you keep. We’re not soft on crime around here. And the fact that my brother warned you gives you a lot more than most folks get. Consider yourself lucky.” The younger one spouted off his added warning with a slight smirk and headed off behind his brother.

Lucky? Yeah, right!

She leaned back against the wall to steady herself. Because no matter how cool and calm she might have appeared, just two interactions with Detective Hightower had her heart pounding in her chest and her knees weak. She had to catch her breath as she replayed the exchange. But most important, she had to get out of there and as far away from Detective Hightower as she possibly could.

The man screamed loud and clear without having to say a word: he could be her undoing…

“Why the hell, did you tell him her name?” Timmy glared at his twin in disgust.

“Because…Damn…It’s not like it’s her real name anyway. And you know what a pain in the ass Hightower can be. The man is like a bad penny. He just keeps showing up. And since we’re trying to go straight now, we don’t need to give him any reason to keep sniffing around.”

“He doesn’t need a reason. That’s just his annoying way. And since we’re going straight, he wouldn’t find anything. And we are going straight.” Timmy kept the threatening edge in his voice because he knew his brother had a weak will.

“I know that. But there is the issue of that jacket baby girl brought with her…” Tommy hedged.

“I got rid of it.”

“You did what? Are you out of your mind? Aww dayyum.”

“Now is not the time or the place. Baby girl shouldn’t have been traveling with that stuff—no way. Calvin would have…man I don’t even want to think about what Calvin would do if he was alive right now.”

“Well, she brought it…I mean…” Tommy shrugged.

“She had no idea what she was holding.”

As far as Timmy was concerned, she was still the same innocent kid he remembered from their days in California. One look at her told him that. He considered himself to be a pretty good judge of character.

“How do you know that? We haven’t seen baby girl in a long time. She could have changed a lot from the kid we knew.” Even though his twin argued the point, he could tell that Tommy didn’t believe it, either.

Timmy shook his head. “She’s still innocent and gullible and without Calvin, she’s gonna need a whole lot more than us to protect her.”

Tommy laughed. “Oh, I don’t know. She seemed to handle Detective Hightower pretty well.”

“Quiet. She’s coming back.” Timmy didn’t say anything else because if what he suspected was true, they had a lot of trouble on their hands.

Tommy nodded. They both turned to her when she walked up. It was hard to believe the petite bombshell with the flashing, doelike brown eyes, flirty pouting smile and dimples was the same nerdy kid sister of their best friend from their youth in South Central. It was even harder to believe that Calvin was dead. Timmy knew they would do the best they could to protect her or they’d die trying. Some bonds, like the ones they shared with a friend and Crip brother like Calvin, went beyond the grave.

Lawrence returned to the table where two of his brothers, Joel and Patrick were waiting. All Hightower men shared the same trademark, Hightower good looks. They were tall, had skin in varying shades of mahogany, and rugged good looks that had been known to drive women wild.

“Dang, bro. You look like you’re just waiting for one of the McKnights to so much as drop a piece of paper on the floor,” Joel said, chuckling.

Lawrence glared at Joel.

Joel was the joker in the family. And he had finally regained his sense of humor after suffering a career-ending back injury, meeting and getting the love of his life to agree to marry him, and starting a new career in the family business, Hightower Security.

Lawrence tried to decide if he liked his brother better when he had lost his annoying I’ve-got-jokes personality. Between Joel and his woman Samantha, who also had a tendency to come up with the witty, smart-mouthed commentary, the family now had two wise-crackers in the mix.

“Just jokes, man. Lighten up. You’re off duty and the McKnight twins look like they’re on their best behavior tonight.” Joel smiled and Lawrence knew without a doubt that his brother had been much more bearable when he had been sulking.

“What’s up with the girl?” Patrick took a sip of his brew and then tilted his glass toward the table where the McKnight twins were sitting. Since his bitter divorce, Patrick was the lone member and president of the He-Man-Woman-Haters-Club. Catching his ex-wife in bed with another man had made him pretty much distrustful of the female population in general. The breakup of his marriage and an ugly divorce had left Patrick cold.

Lawrence shrugged. He didn’t know. He had no clue why he couldn’t take his eyes off her, either. She had a sassy mouth and looked like trouble waiting to happen. She also had the cutest face with darling dimples and a sweet, petite, and sexy body that gave her an aura of the perfect mix of innocence and sin. And she smelled like fresh-cut flowers. He wondered if it was a perfume or her natural scent.

He felt the overwhelming need to save her by getting her away from the McKnights and to lock her up and throw away the key.

She was hardly the type of woman he normally went for. He liked them tall, shapely and pliable. So why couldn’t he stop staring?

His younger brother, Jason, came back and Lawrence wondered what had taken him so long. Had he gotten any more information about Minnie Samuels?

Jason’s face seemed to be on constant grin since he’d reunited with his high school sweetheart, former video dancer, Penny Keys. Marriage must really agree with him.

“Okay, you’re scaring me, bro. What’s the deal? Before when I found you back by the rest room, you looked like you had the girl hemmed in back there. Since when did you start giving criminals advice and helpful hints?” Jason’s inquisitive gaze was all cop as he slid into the booth.

He couldn’t even pretend his behavior wasn’t odd. He had no idea why he’d followed her to the rest room, waited for her to come out and tried to talk some sense into her. And then for a brief moment he had thought of what it might be like to kiss her. Hell, he’d had to restrain himself from halting her mouthy retorts with his lips, his tongue and his teeth.

Lawrence shrugged, shaking off his thoughts of placing his mouth on hers. “Can we change the subject?”

“Hell, no, not now.” Patrick leaned back and gave him the once-over. “You’ve been staring at that girl ever since they walked in. And now baby bro says she’s a criminal? What’s the deal?”

“I don’t know what the deal is. All I know is she’s setting off my alarms. And I’m going to keep my eyes on her. And for the record, we don’t know if she’s a criminal. The only thing we know is she’s from California and she’s currently here with a couple of ex-con, gang-banger, suspected drug dealers.”

“Birds of a feather, bro, birds of a feather.” Jason took a swig of his beer.

“I don’t think she’s a criminal. She looks sort of sweet and maybe a little spicy…But she doesn’t seem like a criminal.” Joel tilted his head in contemplation.

“She may seem sweet and innocent. But she’s a woman and that means she’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing, a barracuda.” Patrick frowned.

Lawrence watched as the McKnights and the woman, Minnie Samuels, left the bar. If he didn’t think his brothers would have given him a serious ribbing, he would have left, too, and followed them. But he knew his brothers. Most of all he knew what he would say to them if the situation were reversed and one of them had become suddenly obsessed with some sexy, sassy-mouthed little hood-girl.

He decided he couldn’t possibly be attracted to her. He just wanted to make sure she was okay. He’d keep an eye on her until he found out more about her and figured her out. Then he’d know if she needed saving…or jailing.

Chapter 2

Detective Lawrence Hightower was a pain in her behind. He irritated her no end and she was halfway tempted to go downtown to the Paterson Police Department and file a complaint. She would have, too, but the Los Angeles Police Department was looking for her for questioning about her brother’s murder. So how could she? That alone kept her from blowing the whistle on Lawrence Hightower.

It had been almost three weeks since her initial encounter with him, and she’d seen him in some capacity almost once a day for the past twenty-one days. It made no sense. He was watching her like a hawk. There had to be a rule, or a law or something…

She thought about it as she watched her clothes spin around and around at the Laundromat.

She’d been in Paterson for almost two months. The McKnight twins had a nice way of being protective and still allowing her to have her space. At first, one of them was constantly at her side. However, it became harder and harder for them to pull that off with their work schedules. The only jobs the twins could get with their records were temporary construction jobs and kitchen jobs washing dishes in restaurants. She could tell they were really trying to turn their lives around. And she felt sad that her brother hadn’t been able to do the same thing before he died.

As much as she adored the McKnight twins, she was glad for the time she had to herself away from their tiny apartment and their big-brothers-always-hovering routine. Even if she had to take the time at the Laundromat, at least she had it.

“Excuse me, you wouldn’t happen to have a cigarette I can borrow, would you?”

Minerva looked up to see a petite, fair-skinned woman with beautiful wavy black hair streaked with strands of gray pulled into a ponytail that hung down her back. A bright red scrunchie held the ponytail and her front tooth was chipped. She looked like she might have had a hard life at one time, but the gleam in her eyes hinted that nothing had stolen her joy. For some reason the woman made Minerva think of her own deceased mother.

“Sorry, ma’am, I don’t smoke.” Minerva smiled at the woman. She seems nice enough.

“Ma’am? Girl, please, I’m too fresh and too cool to be anybody’s ma’am. My name is Carla by the way.” She grinned and sat down next to Minerva. “It’s good you don’t smoke. It’s a nasty habit. I quit smoking myself. But every now and then, I need a cigarette.” She glanced over at a tall, handsome man with salt-and-pepper hair putting clothes in the machine. “This old man I got decided we aren’t smoking any more at all and won’t let me have an occasional cigarette. You believe that?” Carla rolled her eyes playfully and shrugged.

Minerva laughed. “My name is Minnie.” For some reason she couldn’t imagine anyone trying to tell this woman what to do.

“Girl, these men will try your patience for real.” Carla let out an exasperated sigh.

“You gonna just sit over there while I do all the work?” The tall, handsome man called over as he placed the coins in the machine.

“I like watching you work.” Carla winked at her man.

He shook his head as he smiled.

Minerva laughed at the antics between the older couple and again she felt a pang of sadness. She tried to call up the visual image of her own parents. It was getting harder and harder to remember.

“Hello, Carla. Minnie.” A deep voice pulled her away from her memories.

Her heart started beating double time in her chest at the sound of his masculine baritone. She looked up to find Detective Lawrence Hightower walking into the Laundromat. Since he was not carrying any clothes and looked like he was on duty, she had the feeling the good detective wasn’t there to wash a load.

“Hey! If it isn’t my second favorite Hightower cop.” Carla laughed. “Hey, Gerald, you better watch out. The po-po is here.”

“You know him?” Minerva spared a caustic glance at the detective before turning to Carla.

“He’s my son-in-law Jason’s brother. He’s cool people. A little too moody and he-man for my tastes, but he a’right.”

Lawrence frowned as he stared at them and rubbed his jaw in contemplation.

“Awww…don’t be mad, Hightower. You know I’m too much woman for ya anyway.” Carla laughed.

“Do you know this woman, Carla?” Lawrence eyed Minerva suspiciously as he asked the question.

“Who, Minnie? Yes, this is my new girl.” Carla glanced from Lawrence to Minerva. “Why you asking?”

“How well do you know her, Carla?” Lawrence leaned against the washer and folded his arms across his chest.

“Is there a problem over here?” Gerald walked over and stood in front of Lawrence. “How’re you doing, Lawrence?”

Minerva’s dryer stopped and she got up to get her clothes out. No way was she going to sit there and listen while the annoying Hightower cop talked about her as if she wasn’t right there in front of him.

Jerk!

She emptied out her dryer and rolled her laundry cart to the back table to start folding, while mentally calling Lawrence Hightower every kind of idiot she could think of. Was the man so determined to arrest her for something, anything? Was he willing to provoke her until she slapped him upside the head to get her on assaulting a police officer? That must have been his plan.

As she placed her folded laundry in the big red sack she’d purchased for transport, she wished the sheets and blankets would hurry up and finish drying. She didn’t bother going back up front because she could still hear Hightower’s voice. She looked up when she heard him saying goodbye to Carla and Gerald. Rather than head out the door, the detective was making his way to the back.

She leaned against the table and he came and stood right in front of her. He was close enough for her to get a nice whiff of his cologne. It was one of those fresh, clean, masculine scents. The kind that made a woman think of getting swept away on an ocean. It could knock a girl off her feet if she wasn’t careful, that was for sure.

Minerva inhaled and immediately regretted it.

She didn’t bother saying hello. She moved her eyes from his hard-edged handsome face to the rock-solid wall of muscle that made up his chest.

“Why’d you walk away, Minnie? Did my appearance throw a wrench in your plans to try and sell your wares to Carla?”

“Go to hell.”

“She says she knows you and you’re her girl. But she got awfully quiet when I mentioned your relationship with known drug dealers.”

She pursed her lips.

“How long are you planning to stay in Paterson, Minnie?”

“Why? You planning on throwing me a party, Officer?” She slanted her left eye and licked her lips, leaning over slightly so the little bit of cleavage she had made its presence known.

She could tell he was gritting his teeth by the pull in his jaw. His lip twitched and his eyes lost their typical suspicious stare. She licked her lips again before rolling her eyes.

“You need to stop harassing me, Detective Hightower. People might get the wrong idea and think you like me or something.”

There was a pause before his lips curled into a snarl. “Anyone in their right mind would know you are certainly not my type of woman. I like them taller, shapelier and, most important, crime-free.”

She felt a pain slice through her heart. No way should she have felt anything akin to hurt because the idiot cop had basically rejected her. She didn’t want him to want her. She wanted him to leave her the hell alone. She gave him a once-over and noticed the considerable bulge in his pants. She might not have a lot of experience with men, but she’d kissed and made out enough times to know when a guy was getting excited. Between his bulge and his gulping for air like a fish out of water when she licked her lips, she thought maybe, just maybe, the detective was protesting a little too much.

She licked her lips again and watched his Adam’s apple bounce. Looking up, she found his penetrating gaze zeroed in on her lips. And glancing down she found his bulge still prominent.

“Well, since I’m not your type, maybe you might want to send a memo to the rest of your body, because clearly parts of you haven’t been told the news.” With that she cut her eyes and walked back to the front of the Laundromat.

She eyed Carla for a moment to ascertain if the cop had poisoned the woman’s mind against her. The older woman smiled and winked at her. So she retook her seat next to Carla and they both watched as Lawrence gave Gerald a pound before leaving. She had a feeling she hadn’t seen the last of him for the day.

“You’re not really a drug dealer, are you?” Carla asked.

“No.”

Carla smiled. “I didn’t think so. An old recovering addict like me can spot a dealer a mile away. And you didn’t give off a dealer vibe.”

“My father was a heroin addict. He died of a drug overdose, but not before infecting my mother with HIV/AIDS.” Minerva had no idea why she shared that with the older woman. She didn’t go around telling the world. But she felt sort of close to Carla and like she needed to say it, even if it brought home just how truly alone she was in the world at the moment.

Carla pursed her lips in contemplation. “My goodness, I’m so sorry. Well, Lawrence is right even though he is being a jackass to you. You need to watch the company you keep. A lot of messed-up stuff can happen to a young girl on these streets if she’s not careful. You couldn’t have told me when I was your age that I would end up addicted to crack and letting some lowlife dealer and pimp use and abuse my body. I’m blessed to have made it out. But not everyone is able to say that. Don’t press your luck.”

Minerva nodded. She could have gone on and on about how she wasn’t going to get caught up. But something about the advice and the way it had been given told her all that wasn’t necessary. She didn’t have to prove herself to Carla. The woman was just being helpful.

“Whew! I’ve done my good deed for the week! That took a lot out of me. Ha! Hey, Gerald I think the clothes stopped. You need to put them in the dryer. I don’t want to be here all day.”

Gerald shook his head and went over to remove the clothes from the washer and transfer them to the dryer.

“You’re off the chain, Carla!”

Carla winked. “You got to keep these dudes in check. You’ll learn. So, you new to the neighborhood?”

“Yeah, I’m visiting a couple of childhood friends. I’m not sure how long I’ll be here.”

“That’s cool.”

The buzzer sounded and her sheets and blankets stopped spinning.

“It was nice meeting you.” Minerva smiled at Carla before getting up.

As she rolled the laundry cart back to the tenement on Governor Street where she was staying with the McKnight twins, she hoped she wouldn’t have the misfortune to run into Hightower again.

Lawrence watched Minnie Samuels struggle to pull the stuffed laundry cart up the stairs to the apartment building. It was all he could do to make himself watch and not rush over to help her with it.

Where were the idiots McKnight anyway? Why did it look like she’d been doing laundry for the entire household? And why did he care?

The hurt expression that flashed across her face when he’d said she wasn’t his type came to his mind and before he knew it he was walking across the street and taking the cart from her hands. He carried it up the front steps and to the door of the McKnights’ second-floor apartment.

Timmy McKnight opened the door. “Hey, girl, I was just about to go looking for you.” He eyed Lawrence before turning and giving Minerva a puzzled stare.

Minerva turned to Lawrence and for a minute she looked so sweet and innocent, he just wanted to wrap her up and take her away from there. What was wrong with him? There was something about this woman that sent his emotions spiraling in all different directions.

He hadn’t expected her to call him on his attraction to her. And he certainly hadn’t expected her to bounce back so quickly when he’d said what he said to throw her off. But she had come back with a smart-ass comment and given him a stare that made sure he knew that she knew he’d been lying.

For her sake and his, he hoped she wasn’t into anything shady. Because while it might hurt to arrest her, he would do it in a heartbeat if she proved to be a criminal.

“Thanks for your help, Detective. I appreciate it.” She brushed a strand of the auburn hair from her cheek.

He couldn’t believe he was finding himself attracted to a woman who had such an outrageous hairstyle.

No, he couldn’t be. He wouldn’t be.

No.

“You’re welcome, Minnie.” He nodded at Timothy. “Keep it clean, people. I’ll be watching.” He walked off just in time to hear Timothy start questioning Minerva.

“What’s he—”

The rest of Timothy’s words were lost to him as he left the building. But he could just imagine the conversation that was ensuing between the two of them. Maybe he should have just let her struggle with the heavy cart. But he wasn’t wired that way. No Hightower worth his salt would stand by and watch a petite little thing like Minnie Samuels struggle and not reach out to help her.

He jumped into his standard-issue, navy-blue Ford Taurus narc-mobile and continued to survey and police the neighborhood. Paterson’s Fourth Ward had a higher crime rate than other parts of the city. It had become so bad that the department even had little two-room trailer police stations on certain corners. He parked in front of the trailer on the corner of Straight Street and Governor and walked in.

His partner had been shot a few months ago and was still out on leave. Since Lawrence refused to work with anyone else, the top brass had essentially stopped trying to match him with a temporary new partner. That was more than fine with him. The last thing he wanted was responsibility for some young kid fresh out of the academy.

“What does it look like out there?” Johnson leaned back in his chair and rested his hands behind his head. The overweight officer took lounging to a new level.

“Same ol’, same ol’. It’s pretty quiet.” Lawrence cut his eyes at the empty doughnut boxes and spilled coffee on the desk Johnson was using.

Cops like Johnson gave the police a bad name. The pudgy, sloppy man was a walking, talking stereotype right down to his barely concealed racism.

“You still keeping an eye on the McKnights?” Johnson brushed his hand across his beard and doughnut crumbs came tumbling off.

“Yep. Them and every other known drug dealer.”

“You find out any more information about that little hottie who’s been staying with them? I sure would like to break off a piece of that.” The leer in Johnson’s voice caused the hair to stand up on the back of Lawrence’s neck.

The blood in his veins ran hot. He never really liked Johnson anyway, and he liked him a whole lot less at that moment. He could feel the area around his neck heating to a slow boil as he tried to talk himself out of giving Johnson a piece of his mind.

The fact of the matter was he had no business caring what anyone said about Minnie Samuels. The only thing he needed to be concerned with was if she was indeed involved in any illegal activities. Barring that, he shouldn’t have had any thoughts about her one way or the other. However, her voice suggesting someone needed to send a memo to the rest of his body came to his mind, and his heart thumped rapidly just thinking about her.

Pushing it to the back of his mind, he shrugged. “Something tells me you’re not her type, Johnson. And I don’t think it would bode well for you to try anything. Now, if you’ll excuse me, some of us have work to do.”

He walked to the back room of the trailer and sat down. Eventually, something would have to give as far as Minnie Samuels was concerned.

After putting away her clothes and making up the beds with the fresh linens, Minerva walked into the small, sparsely furnished living room where Timmy and Tommy were busy playing Grand Theft Auto IV. She reasoned they could have probably purchased a decent living room set with the money they had spent on electronic games, stereos and televisions. But clearly that wasn’t a priority for them. And she didn’t have the right to complain. They had opened up their small apartment to her when they hadn’t seen her in years.

“So what was up with you and Hightower? You have to be careful with him, baby girl. He’s like a pit bull. And he can sniff out crime like McGruff the damn crime dog, you hear me?” Timmy barely glanced at her as he maneuvered the control in his hands, trying to beat his brother at the video game.

“You don’t want to be spending too much time around him, especially if you’re trying to lay low.” Tommy turned and gave her a serious stare before getting right back into the game too late to keep Timmy from scoring.

“I know that. Believe me I know. He just keeps showing up. If I weren’t trying to hide out, I would file a complaint. I’m surprised you guys haven’t filed a complaint yet. He really seems to have it in for you.”

“He’s been on us since we moved here a few years back. He’s like a one-man crusade to clean up the streets of Paterson and get rid of all the dealers. Sucker needs a hobby.” Timmy shouted when he scored.

Tommy scowled at his twin before adding, “The man needs a hug.” He then laughed at his own joke.

“Maybe that’s why he’s sniffing behind you like that, baby girl. For real, if your brother were here, he’d bust a cap in that ass on general principle. Calvin didn’t like nobody tryin’ to holla at his baby sister.” Timmy shook his head at the memory.

“Word. I remember he stepped to David like whoa a couple of times for trying to push up on her.” Tommy let out a shout of glee when he scored.

Timmy gave Tommy a weird look and Tommy started stuttering and backtracking.

“I’m s-s-ay-ing…I mean…well everybody knows David had a thing for her…But Calvin didn’t want his sister—” Tommy cut himself off.

“Man, it wasn’t even all like that. You always running your mouth and not thinking.” Timmy rolled his eyes in disgust.

“I think Timmy is right on this one, Tommy. I don’t think David liked me like that. At least not as far as I could tell…He was always like a second older brother.”

“Yeah. And now you’ve got us. And we aren’t about to let anyone take advantage of you, especially not some sucker cop like Hightower. We have to handle this the way we know our boy Calvin would have wanted it,” Timmy said with a chuckle.

“Y’all are so crazy. I’m gonna go read a book. I’ll fix dinner later. Any requests for the chicken?”

“Baby girl, however you prepare it is fine with me. You can cook your behind off. If I didn’t view you as a little sister, I’d be trying to get you to marry a brother!” Tommy gave one of his smiles that made her think he was as sweet and innocent as he often seemed. It was easy to see he was the tenderhearted twin.

Timmy rolled his eyes at his brother. “Whatever you do is cool. We appreciate all you’ve been doing around here.”

“It’s the least I can do since you’ve let me hide out here. I know it’s an inconvenience. And I—”

“Don’t even say it. Like we said before. We’ve got your back,” Timmy admonished and assured her with a stern words and an earnest look.

Tommy nodded in agreement as he scored the winning point and then stood up to do his own version of a victory dance.

Minerva smiled and went to the back of the apartment where the small room she was sleeping in was located. She really did want to find a way to pay them back for all the help they’d given her. She hoped to be able to do so soon. She picked up the paperback copy of Octavia Butler’s Wild Seed that she’d gotten from the library and started reading. About halfway through she started to doze off with thoughts of the sexy detective in her head.

“I was totally wrong about you and I apologize.” His hand brushed her cheek and his normally suspicious eyes held her in a seductive gaze.

Minerva leaned forward and parted her lips slightly. Lawrence looked so handsome standing there in her immaculate dream bedroom with his shirt off. The ripples of muscles she could only imagine so far reminded her of everything hard and firm and masculine.

She licked her lips and smiled. “It’s okay. You didn’t know any better.”

“But I should have. I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions about you. You’re an amazing, sweet and seductive woman and…”

She swallowed. “And…”

“And…” He covered her mouth with his, scorching her to her soul.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer before letting her fingers trail his skin. The taut and tempting muscles of his chest caused her heart to beat out of control. The teasing pull of his kiss made her nipples tighten and her sex weep. She moaned and tossed and turned trying to feel more of him.

“I should have known you would taste this sweet. You are the most amazing woman in the world and I want you.”

The next moan that escaped her lips was so loud it jolted her from her sleep.

Minerva sat up in the bed shaking her head. Detective Lawrence Hightower admitting he was wrong about her had to be a dream. Him kissing her breath away was truly a fantasy. But she couldn’t help the smile that stole across her face as she thought about becoming one of those people who believed dreams and fantasies could come true.

Chapter 3

“Nothing is going to happen. Nothing has happened. Nothing will happen. I’ll probably be able to go back to California soon.” Minerva mumbled the mantra to herself as she walked back from the corner bodega that was three blocks away from their tenement with some seasonings and spices she had picked up to use with dinner.

I love fall. I’ll miss it when I get back to California. Which will be soon, because nothing has happened and nothing will…

After another week in New Jersey, over two months in all, she was starting to feel like a native. The fall came in with a bang and soon all the leaves on the trees in the neighborhood started turning these vibrant colors. She’d never seen anything like it growing up in Los Angeles. She’d seen pictures of fall foliage, but nothing could take the place of the yellows, oranges, rusts, browns and smatterings of green that transformed the trees. And it wasn’t as if there were a whole lot of trees in the neighborhood where she was hiding out, but what few there were looked magnificent.

She was shocked out of her leaf gazing when a large white van screeched up, driving halfway onto the sidewalk. Two men in masks jumped out and ran toward her.

One grabbed her and, as if she were on automatic pilot, she kicked back with her stiletto-heeled boots getting him first in the shin and then a little further up his leg. She assumed she must have hit her mark by the way he threw her forward and cursed. You can take the girl out of the ’hood but not the ’hood out of the girl.

Dropping her bag, she screamed and turned to run in the other direction, cursing the stupid snug Apple Bottom dress she was wearing and the shoe booties. She got a good sprint on. But she knew in her heart there was no way she was going to be able to escape these men.

Her heart raced and she felt fear setting in. Fear like the kind she felt the night her brother was murdered. Was it her turn now?

I don’t wanna die yet. I can’t die yet.

Minerva turned to look behind her and found the other man that she hadn’t injured with her heel was almost within grabbing distance.

He reached out his hand to get her and she screamed. Her pulse seemed to be running nonstop. The air was starting to disappear and she knew she wasn’t going to be able to outrun them.

Thinking there was no way she could allow herself to go out like this, she picked up the pace, only to run smack-dab into what felt like a wall of steel. A strong arm held her in place and she looked up expecting to see another masked man.

She had never been happier to see Detective Lawrence Hightower in all her life. He held her with one hand and his gun with the other.

The men didn’t hesitate to take off, running back to their van. They jumped in and Lawrence ran after them, but he didn’t catch them.

Her breath came out in sharp pants and no matter how much she wanted to sob, she willed herself not to cry. She stared unblinkingly at the moving van until it turned into a blur.

They must have found her. She had to leave. But where could she go?

Lawrence walked back toward her, putting his gun in his holster.

“What was that about and why were those men after you?”

Minerva’s chest constricted and she tried to remember that she didn’t have asthma, so she couldn’t possibly be having an asthma attack. She also reminded herself there was no way she could tell the detective why the men were after her. She may not know whom she could trust, but history pretty much dictated that she couldn’t trust cops.

“I don’t know. That was so weird. They just came out of nowhere. Oh, my God!”

He frowned as he eyed her suspiciously. “You don’t know? You have no idea? Do I look stupid to you?”

She pursed her lips and narrowed her eye.

The man did just save her life. She figured she should probably hold off on outright insults for at least a day or two. But he didn’t have to make it so easy and tempting. She was only human, so she could barely keep a flip comment from falling out of her mouth.

Her expression must have given away everything she wanted to say, because he really frowned then and took her arm, leading her to his navy-blue Ford Taurus.

“Hey, what are you doing?”

“We’re going to go and file a report at the trailer and you’re going to tell me the truth.”

“I told you I don’t know. Why is it you never believe a word I say? You don’t know me. You have no reason to be so distrustful of me.” She tried to pull away, but he easily guided her into the backseat of the car and shut the door. She didn’t even bother to try to open it because she’d seen enough movies and heard enough stories from her brother and his boys to know that back doors of police cars didn’t open from the inside.

She sat and listened while he called in the details and requested officers to remain on the lookout for the white van. The entire time she listened to him speaking on the radio she tried to figure out what she was going to say. She couldn’t tell him the truth and she wasn’t sure she could just look him in the face and tell an outright lie.

Minerva nibbled her lips. The truth was, although she had some idea that her brother’s killers were after her, she didn’t know who they were. And even though she could assume they wanted her because they thought she knew something about the murder, she had no way of knowing anything with certainty.

“I think you’re wasting your time,” she said. “I saw the same thing you saw—men in masks. I didn’t even have time to try to get the plates.” She swallowed to calm herself. “As soon as they pulled up all crazy, I took off running.”

“They didn’t have any plates on the van. And I don’t think I’m wasting my time by trying to get you to tell me the truth. Something’s up with you. And I plan on finding out what it is. Folks don’t roll up trying to snatch someone in broad daylight in the ’hood for no reason.”

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