Bring the Heat by Jo Davis Page B

his gaze to the spot Chandler indicated. Instead of Laura, a voluptuous blonde bombshell a few tables away flashed him a welcoming smile and a generous amount of cleavage in her low-cut black dress.
    Her smile deepened, revealing an alluring dimple at one corner of her generous mouth. Eyes never leaving his, she tilted a glass of white wine, wrapping it in slender fingers tipped with bloodred nails. She took a small sip, then licked an imaginary drop from her bottom lip, flicking it with a quick dart of her pink tongue. Message sent and received. His for the asking, and the bold invitation failed to stir his desire.
    Christ, really? Compared with Laura, the woman was about as appealing as a wilted salad would be next to a filet mignon.
    Because it seemed rude not to acknowledge the lady, he gave her a tight, polite smile—one clearly communicating,
No, thanks
—before turning around again.
    As he did, he suddenly had the strangest feeling he was being watched. His gaze slid to a shadowy corner, but there was only Chandler clearing empty glasses offa table. The man barely glanced at him, then went back to his task. Still, a shiver danced along Austin’s skin.
    Must’ve been his imagination. The murders and what he’d been through had shifted his world slightly off its axis. Knocked him out of his groove. Everything would fall back into place tomorrow, after a good night’s sleep. Dismissing the strange feeling, he turned his attention back to the bar as a startling realization punched him in the gut.
    Finding the blonde, instead of Laura, smiling at him had sent his spirits plummeting. He was more than ready to leave.
    Chandler returned, took away his empty glass. “So? You gonna get a piece of that or what?”
    â€œNah. Too expensive. She’s a Mercedes, I’m a Ford. Wouldn’t work.”
    Chandler rolled his eyes. “Whatever.”
    â€œI’m a Mustang,” a flirtatious voice said from next to Austin. “Plenty of speed and more bang for your buck. Will that rev your engine?”
    Austin turned to see a twentysomething man with dark hair and big brown eyes grinning at him. The man was shorter than Austin, and slender. Something about the guy seemed familiar, but he couldn’t place him. “Sorry, pal, but you’re barking up the wrong tree. Or shopping at the wrong dealership, so to speak.”
    â€œDamn. All the good ones are taken or straight.” The man actually pouted.
    Just then Austin figured out where he knew him from. “Hey, I know you.”
    â€œYou do?” The guy peered at him curiously, thengrinned. “Hey! I hooked up your cable in your house! You’re a cop or something, right?”
    â€œYeah, Sugarland PD.” He held out his hand. “Austin Rainey. Good to see you again.”
    â€œFrankie Blair. You, too.” They shook and Frankie eyed him closely. Austin could almost see the wheels turning in the man’s head, and thought he saw a spark of something else in the man’s eyes. But if Frankie recognized him from the recent tragic events that had made the news, the younger man was classy enough not to mention it.
    â€œSo, how’s the cable business?” Austin asked. He didn’t really care, but wanted to be polite.
    The other man made a face. “That’s not really what I’m going to do with the rest of my life. I’m in school for graphic design.”
    â€œOh?”
    â€œYeah,” Frankie said with enthusiasm. “I graduate at the end of May. Got a line on a job already from a friend of a friend.”
    â€œHey, that’s great. Congrats.” He smiled, and Frankie returned it. Frankie was a likable guy, and Austin didn’t mind the company.
    â€œThanks.”
    Frankie started to say something else, but a hand on Austin’s shoulder interrupted their conversation. He swung his head around to find himself looking directly into the blonde’s smoldering