Double the Heat by Deirdre Martin, Lori Foster, Elizabeth Bevarly, Christie Ridgway

Tyler Stevens, the same man they’d seen in the bar.
    Adrenaline still rushed through Hart. He swiped a forearm over his face, realized his Windbreaker was ripped, and took it off to toss it toward his car. Caroline still sat there, wide-eyed and distressed, watching him.
    He could almost feel sorry for her, except that she’d helped to set this up.
    Dex walked up with a video camera. “Good job, Hart,” he said without faltering in his recording. “I got it all.”
    Caroline started to wail.
    “What do we do with her?” Hart asked.
    Lisa stepped out from behind Dex. She wore a trench coat tied at the waist and with the collar up, and held a matching umbrella over her head.
    “You definitely don’t let her go, or show her any sympathy, Hart Winston. Not if you know what’s good for you.”
    Rain dripped down Hart’s back and off the end of his nose, and all he could do was stare. “Lisa?”
    Dex shrugged. “She insisted on coming along. Even crouched in the mud with me without complaining.”
    Hart looked at her feet and saw mud staining her boots and the bottom of her jeans, almost to her knees. She twirled the umbrella as if the wet conditions didn’t bother her at all. Her gaze took in everything with fascination.
    “I didn’t expect you to be here.” In fact, Hart could barely believe it. Why wasn’t she at her apartment, warm and dry?
    “I didn’t want to miss anything.” After scowling at Caroline, she smiled at Hart. “You looked incredible.”
    Pride swelled inside him. He always enjoyed the applause of the crowd, but praise from Lisa meant so much more.
    “You’re okay?” She looked him over, saw he was soaked, and shook her head. “You hit the ground really hard.”
    “I’m fine.” Hell, he was better than fine. Lisa had come to him out of concern. That had to mean something, right? Then it occurred to him . . . had she seen Caroline kissing him again?
    A police car screeched onto the scene. Dragging Tyler along, Joe greeted the officers, and to Hart it appeared he knew the men, or at least had already introduced himself.
    Dex showed them some footage, and the cops wasted no time putting the men—and Caroline—in handcuffs.
    Knowing his window of opportunity was limited, Hart moved closer to Lisa. “How long have you been here?”
    With one disgusted look at Caroline, she said, “Long enough to know that you have deplorable taste in women.”
    “Not true.” Looping his hands around her neck, he kissed her nose and hoped some blunt honesty would win her over. “I fell for you, didn’t I?”
    She froze for a heartbeat. Through the rain-sprinkled lenses of her glasses, her eyes widened. “You did?”
    He couldn’t blame her for being surprised. Until tonight, when he’d spent more time thinking of her than of the task at hand, he hadn’t fully understood either.
    Joe and Dex had known, though, the buttheads. “Oh, yeah, I did. Big time.”
    “Oh.” She smiled and, without reciprocating, collected herself. “I suppose now the police are here, you’ll have to answer questions and all that?”
    Had he spooked her with that declaration? Damn it, didn’t she feel the same? Floundering, Hart frowned at her. She’d once accused him of being insecure. Well, screw that. Tonight, when he had her alone, he’d find out exactly how she felt.
    “The cops will want to talk to me, yeah. And I need to call Drew.”
    Holding the umbrella over his head, she touched his chest. “When I saw it was raining, I grabbed you a dry shirt. It’s in Dex’s car.”
    So thoughtful. “Thanks.”
    She bit her lip. “Do you think they’ll mind if I come along?”
    Tugging her closer, Hart borrowed her warmth, inhaled her scent. “It might take a while. Wouldn’t you rather go home and get comfortable?”
    She shook her head as she reached for his mouth, using her thumb to swipe over his bottom lip. When Hart realized she was wiping away Caroline’s lipstick—again—he groaned. Until Lisa said,