All Messed Up: Windy City Kink, Book 2 Read Online Free PDF Page B

doubtful.”
    “There were other planes taking off. I could see them. Why couldn’t they get to our plane?”
    “That is a mystery. Or maybe, it’s just fate.”
    She tilted her head to look up at him. “What do you mean?”
    “I mean, maybe this is the way we were meant to meet.”
    “Oh my God.” She caught the glint in his eye and the twitch of his lips. “You’re bullshitting me.”
    “Hey. It could be true.”
    “Well. Sometimes I do think things happen for a reason. Like, what happened to this guy at work. He was rushing to get home to his family from a business trip in New York but he missed his flight. He was all pissed off, but then the plane that he was supposed to be on crashed.”
    “Wow.” Joe shook his head. “Stuff like that can freak you out.”
    “He totally was. He got all choked up when he was telling the story. So maybe it’s a good thing if our plane doesn’t leave. For some reason. Or…” She sighed. “Maybe it’s fate trying to piss me off, not save my life.”
    He chuckled and smoothed back her hair. Oh, that felt so good, tiny shivers working their way from her scalp down her spine.
    “You sound like fate’s been pissing you off a lot lately.”
    “Yeah. I guess.” She gave a heartfelt sigh. “But the thing is, I’m not sure I believe in fate. I like to think I’m in control of my life.”
    “And you hate it when you’re not. Like right now, when you can’t get that plane up in the air.”
    She pursed her lips. “You’re good.”
    “Thank you.”
    She narrowed her eyes at him. “Don’t you like to be in control?”
    His lips curved into a sexy smirk. “In bed, yeah.”
    “Not otherwise?”
    “Sure I like to be in control. But I’m not a control freak. And I’m a cop. I had to learn how to take orders.”
    “Interesting.” She shifted more to look at him. “Tell me about your job. What do you like about it?”
    “I get to play with cool toys.”
    She rolled her eyes. “Such a guy.”
    “Yes, ma’am. Glad you noticed.”
    “Seriously.”
    He didn’t answer for a long moment. “I like helping people,” he finally said. “I guess that’s why I went into the profession. I’m actually a lieutenant in the SWAT unit.”
    She blinked. “Whoa. You didn’t mention that earlier. SWAT team, huh? That’s impressive. Isn’t that an elite team? Like a Navy SEAL or something?”
    “You bet. I am elite.”
    He sounded confident, but she sensed cockiness that hinted at an underlying sense that maybe he didn’t actually believe he was the best.
    “But that can be dangerous. Right?”
    He shrugged. “It can be. There’s a lot of training that goes into it though. We all know exactly what we’re doing.”
    “Kicking down doors, using machine guns.”
    “Throwing flash bangs. We have all the good toys.”
    “Lieutenant. Aren’t you pretty young to be a lieutenant?”
    He grinned as she repeated his words to him. “I’ve worked hard too. But you have to put in your time. I started as an officer after I got my degree in criminal justice and worked my way up. I actually just got promoted a few months ago.”
    “Congratulations.”
    “Thanks.”
    She tipped her head. “You don’t seem too happy about it.”
    “Sure, I’m happy. Like I said, I worked my ass off. But it’s just a job.”
    Just a job. His casual dismissal rang false and once again, she sensed something else lurking beneath the surface. “Are your brothers police officers too?”
    “Nah. Jamie’s a doctor. Mitch is a computer geek. He works for Microsoft.”
    “What do your parents think of your career choice? Do they worry about you?”
    “I think my mom does, yeah. But she’s good with it.”
    The lack of mention of his dad, and the odd comments he’d made earlier about visiting his dad yet his parents weren’t separated, triggered her intuition and even more, she sensed there was a lot that Joe didn’t want to talk about. But since they barely knew each other, and he seemed so