Were Brad’s words coming back to haunt her? Was he serving his revenge up cold for her turning him down? No, she thought and gave a mental shake. Brad didn’t do this because of her. She was just a side benefit. Whatever he was into just happened to give him an opportunity for payback. Max and she had thrown the fake engagement in his face at every turn. She squeezed her eyelids tight. Had their little scheme backfired? Did it somehow instigate Brad into a more violent person?
Wrapping her arms over her stomach, she felt sick at the thought of someone taking pleasure at beating her father because of something she did. Maybe Brad had done the dirty work. All because she turned down his proposal? She shivered, her shoulders shook.
“Look.”
Sam glanced up and into Max’s warm smile. She knew he had a violent streak, but somehow she did not fear him. He gave her a sense of evenness. Strong, intelligent, committed, he could be ruthless. At the same time, she felt his tenderness, saw his capacity to care for injured animals, and stood up for a stranger. Max was an avenging angel.
He reached out, clasped her hands in his, and tugged her to her feet. “Come on. I can see your mind churning,” he said, touching her temple with a finger. “I need to get cleaned up and you need to give it a break before you get a headache.”
She smiled at Max’s concern, gave his appearance the once over. Yeah, he was a mess. Dog hair, spittle, and blood pretty much covered his shirt. She sniffed and wrinkled her nose. He smelled like a dog caught in a hot summer rain.
“What’s wrong? You don’t like smelling like Rover?”
“That depends.”
“On what?” she asked.
Max pulled her against his dog hair chest, wrapped his arms around her waist. “On whether or not the smell turns you on,” he answered, and snuggled her neck.
“Ew.” She pinched her nose, pushed off his chest with the other hand, and took off up the stairs. “Last one naked gets the cold water,” Sam yelled over her shoulder.
Max laughed. “So the smell does turn you on!”
She giggled, pulling her shirt over her head as she made her way down the hall. “Nah. It’s the wolf inside the man that makes me quiver.”
Before she stepped into the tub, Max scooped her up and carried her into the spray of warm water. “We’ll just see how much I make you quiver,” he murmured against her lips.
* * * *
Sated, lying with Samantha curled up naked beside him, Max started to doze.
“Mmm.” She purred and stretched, rubbing against him. Immediately, he popped to attention.
“Lay still, woman,” he growled.
“Huh? Oh, sorry.”
Sam lifted her head from his shoulder, blew a wayward strand of hair from her face, and the smile she gave him with flirty little eyelashes batting told Max she had no remorse for stirring him up again.
“I’ve been thinking.”
Uh-oh. “Already?” he grumbled. “I guess I didn’t do a good enough job.”
“Yes, you did.” She planted a lip-smacking kiss on him then scooted away before he could pull her down and go for round two. Brow arched, he eyed her retreating naked figure with suspicion.
“I have an idea.”
In defense, Max groaned and folded his arms over his eyes.
“Oh, stop. Just listen.”
“My ears aren’t covered. Go ahead.” Not like he could stop her.
When he heard her sigh, he peeked through his arms. Sam stood at the end of the bed, hand on hip. If she weren’t already so damn cute.
She stepped into a skimpy, ass-bearing, pink g-string. Don’t look, don’t look, he chanted silently. Why bother with underwear if it didn’t cover anything? He knew why. Because the barely-there undies had the right effect. Damn woman.
“Why don’t I go find Brad on the mountain?”
His heart jumped, his blood boiled, but he chose to ignore her.
“Max? Are you listening? Did you hear what I said?”
“Mmm.” She had to be kidding.
“I think I should go find Brad.”
“For the purpose of?”
“To confront him about the diamond switch.”
He lifted his arms from his face, glared at her. “Are you nuts?” he asked in a practiced calm tone.
“Last time I went for a government required psych eval the doctors found me to be sane. Thank you for asking. “
Standing at the foot of the bed in her pink g-string, hands fisted on hips, Samantha’s tone sobered. Max almost believed she was serious. But having experienced the bite of her sarcasm, he wasn’t certain. Maybe she was just goading him, trying to get a rise. Her idea pretty much flattened him.
“Maybe the shrink needs to have his head examined.”
“Maybe, but that’s not the point.”
“What is the point?” Dreading her answer, Max squeezed his eyes shut hoping to block out her voice.
The bed sank. Pillowing his head with his arms crossed behind, he watched Sam crawl up the bed. She stopped and sat cross-legged next to his chest. If she wanted to be close to him, that meant he would hate her scheme. This ought to be good.
“If I confront Brad then we’ll know for certain if he’s the one involved.”
“You think he’ll just offer to tell you the truth?” He snorted. “Get for real.”
“No. I’ve known Brad practically forever. We had a relationship. I’ll be able to read his response, his body language, and tell if he’s lying.”
Did he dare press for an explanation of that relationship? “What if Brad decides you’re a threat to him or whatever scam he’s involved in?”
“Brad wouldn’t hurt me.”
His brows shot up. “Why is that, Samantha? Tell me why you think the man you believe beat your father within an inch of his life wouldn’t hurt you.”
“I…I just don’t think he would.”
He waited. Sam had to do better than that.
“Stop glaring at me,” she complained, shoving at his chest. “Because Brad wanted to marry me.”
The icy breath he sucked in constricted his heart, causing the hairs on the back of his neck to prickle. “And?”
“I turned him down.”
Max’s heart slid back into place, but his stomach still knotted. There was something more. “And?” he asked in a gentle whisper.
Sam’s bare shoulders lifted and dropped. “Brad didn’t take my refusal very well.” She blew out a short breath. “Actually, he took it horribly. He got up in my face and told me that one day I would regret rejecting him.”
His hand fisted. In his opinion, a man who couldn’t handle being told no was no man at all. He watched the top of her head, the cinnamon hair swish back and forth, as she shook it, looking down at her hands. Sliding a finger under her chin, Max lifted Sam’s face. Her green eyes pools of tears, but her stubbornness refused to let them fall. His mouth quirked up on one side. Such a tough woman. “You think you’re partially to blame for what he did to your father?”
Sam nodded.
“You’re not.”
“All I can think is that maybe, if we hadn’t flaunted this ring and fake engagement in front of him, maybe my father wouldn’t…”
“Don’t,” he soothed, caressing her face, taking her hand in his.
“Rejection isn’t what turns a man. It’s in him all along, and he uses that as an excuse.” Max finally realized that and had to accept it in Lucy’s death. It wasn’t her love for him and rejection of another that had gotten her killed, it was the evil that already dwelled inside the other man. He just used Lucy as an excuse.
“If a guy would shoot a dog…”
Her gasp and look of surprise told Max she hadn’t put it together yet.
“Yeah, I believe Brad shot the dog as a distraction. A very effective way to get us out of the house and do another search. If we hadn’t showed up when we did we’d never have known he had been in the house because he had a key.”
“Had?”
<
br /> “Had,” he answered Sam’s disbelieving, wide-eyed, green gaze.
Sam jumped at the trill of his cell phone ringing, startling both of them.
TWENTY-SEVEN
Noting the caller ID, Max answered the phone. “Hello, Sweetcheeks.” He grinned at the chuckled response and Samantha’s raised brow.
“Are you home and safe?”
“Yup. I am, but Michael is in DC.”
“Hm. Did he leave your bodyguard on duty?”
“As a matter of fact, I’m expecting Jake any minute. At least they’ve learned not to hide the surveillance from me. This time,” Ruby grumbled.
Max coughed to cover up a laugh. “Better safe than sorry.” The last time Jake had acted as bodyguard for Ruby, Michael made the mistake of not telling Ruby. Not only did Jake get an eyeful of a beautiful naked woman, he damned near had his balls kicked up inside of him. Of course, that was nothing compared to the tongue-lashing Ruby gave Michael afterwards. Max shivered just thinking about it.
“Enough about me. Any word on Kevin?”
“Nothing.” His tone had gone flat with frustration. Sam either heard the question or understood because she laid a comforting hand on his arm. “Were you able to break the encryption on the file?”
“I’m going to pretend you didn’t just insult me and my computer.”
He smiled. “Yes, dear. Well?”
Waiting for Ruby to tell him what she found, Max watched as Sam bit into her lower lip. She hoped for answers just as much as he did, and mentally crossed his fingers.
Ruby cleared her throat. “It’s a short letter addressed to you.”
So it was his brother’s file. No wonder Samantha hadn’t been able to crack the internal code.
“Want me to read the letter or email it to you?”
“Both,” he snapped out. “Please.”
Covering the mouthpiece, he asked Sam, “Can you get the laptop?” She nodded and left the room, pulling on a T-shirt as she went.
“Go ahead, Ruby.”
“Well, big brother, if you’re reading this the shit has hit the fan. Sorry for the hoops to get into the file, but I couldn’t risk anyone but you accessing the information.” Max’s lips lifted. Little did Kevin know he hadn’t been the one to get into the file. “I have no doubt that if I didn’t succeed in my mission, you will. Don’t give me that crap about not helping the FBI. You’re helping me. Don’t let my …” Ruby gasped on the other end of the line. “Don’t let my death be in vain.”
Max’s heart slammed against his rib cage, his eyes squeezed shut. Kevin left the note in case of his demise. Damn, him! Kevin was not dead yet, and if Max had any say, he would not be dead anytime soon. At the sound of Ruby’s voice, he lifted his eyelids, his gaze focusing on Samantha and the laptop she held. No, he would not lose his brother. Kevin had to be the best man at his wedding.
“Can you repeat what you just read, Ruby? I missed it.”
“There are two things I need you to remember, Max. You suck at Fantasy Football and falcon view.” Falcon view? What the hell was that? A bird sanctuary? “To help you out, I’ve attached my copy of the football picks for this season. Guarantee you won’t lose. Oh, and one more thing, big brother, Lucy was the greatest, we both know it, but she would not want you to be alone. Lucy would want what I want for you. Be happy and love again.” If Kevin only knew. “Love you, Kev.”
Max swallowed the golf ball sized lump in his throat, fought the pain and tears that swelled. “Is that it?”
“Yeah, that’s it except for the Fantasy Football pick spreadsheet. You’ll have that in the email I sent you.”
Was Kevin crazy? Why the hell would he give a damn about some stupid football game? Raking a hand through his hair, he thought of his little brother, and how he wasn’t so little. Kevin was almost the same size as him. The only difference between them besides a couple of years was the blue eyes Kevin had inherited from their mother.
“I encrypted the file back to you. You know the password.” Max’s lips curved up to one side. Yeah, he knew the password. WYS1WYG. Ruby honestly thought that acronym, “what-you-see-is-what-you-get,” described her. He tried telling her that in his opinion she should use “paradox.” In his opinion, any woman worth her high-maintenance was a paradox. Otherwise, why bother? Half the fun was finding out the nuances underneath the surface level.
He had only begun to explore Sam’s nuances and he looked forward to spending the rest of his life discovering her depths.
“There’s an email, Max.”
He gazed up at Sam, then slid his eyes to the monitor, saw the message in his mailbox, and cleared his throat. “We’ve got the message, Ruby.”
“Call if you need any more help. Remember, we’re only about an hour or so away.”
“Thanks, Ruby. You’re the best.”
Max disconnected, set the cell phone next to the computer then opened the message. Sure enough, a Fantasy Football pick sheet stared out at him. Puzzled, he scratched his head. It didn’t make any sense.
“What is it?”
“Apparently, football numbers.” He gestured to the screen giving Samantha the okay to examine it.
“Did Ruby, or should I say Sweetcheeks have any ideas?” Did he hear a trace of jealousy in her voice?
“No. She read Kevin’s letter and forwarded that.”
“Didn’t Kevin give any clue?”
He shrugged tight shoulders. “He said something about falcon view.” Was that something he should have known off the top of his head? From where? Taking the laptop back from Sam, Max Googled the term falcon view.
“The military flight planning software?”
Brow raised, he pulled his intent gaze from the computer to Sam. She answered his question before Google did.
She beamed, green eyes sparkling. “It’s one word.” She shrugged. “What can I say? I pay attention, and remember stuff. Besides, one of the subcontractors working on the latest version of the application is Tybrin. They’re also one of my clients.” She waved a hand and continued. “Anyway, FalconView is a Windows-based mapping application that displays maps and geographical referenced overlays.”
Max leaned back on one elbow and stared at the woman who sat next to him wearing only one of his T-shirts. “Keep going.”
Samantha sat up straight. “It supports many types of maps but what’s the coolest feature is its ability to use overlays. Say you’re a pilot going to enemy territory on a mission.”
She stopped talking. Max realized Sam waited for him to acknowledge her scenario. He nodded.
“Anyway, as a pilot it might be helpful to know the terrain you’re flying over, the elevation, location of known enemies, even location of friendlies. Depending on whom you are, whether you have access to classified information or not, you should or should not have access to all of those maps. The military pilots and a bunch of programmers from Georgia Technical Research Institute crafted overlays so depending on your access you could view a map with certain features, thereby keeping classified data secured, but providing the military with the means to automate flight plans.”
She took a breath. “It’s really quite fascinating.”
Her enthusiasm and animated features made him agree. “You’re telling me Kevin figured out a way to use FalconView to obscure a map in the football spreadsheet? Kevin’s not a pilot. How would he get his hands on the software?”
“It’s free to any military personnel.”
Max picked up his cell and started to dial.
“Who’re you calling?”
“Sweetcheeks. We’re getting a copy of FalconView.”
Samantha gave him a peck on the lips. “While you do that I’ll be in the shower getting cleaned up so I can go meet up with Brad.”
“Excuse me?” He growled as Ruby answered. “No, not you. Hold on.”
Max covered the mouthpiece. “Maybe by the time you get out of the shower your brain will be back where it belongs. There is no way you are going
after Brad. Not without me.”
* * * *
Furious, Sam scrubbed at her shampooed hair in frustration. The man was infuriating! Who did he think he was, talking to her like that? Temper making her hotter than the shower, she wrenched the faucet off and stepped out. He couldn’t tell her what she could and could not do. Towel-dried, she wrapped it around herself, tucking the end between her breasts, continued to seethe as she blew her hair dry. If Max honestly thought she would be the good little woman and listen to him just because he said so, he had another think coming.
Hand on the knob, Sam shut her eyes, took a deep breath, and readied herself for a fight. In control, she lifted her eyelids, and opened the bathroom door.
Instead of finding the enemy, she found Max leaning back against the headboard, hands crossed behind his head, wearing a shit-eating grin. What was up with that? Hands fisted at her towel-covered sides, she narrowed her gaze and glared at him.
“Who made you dictator?” Sam demanded. “What gives you the right to tell me what to do? You are not my keeper. I don’t need one, and haven’t for a very long time.” Max didn’t move, but Sam swore she caught the trace of a faint grin on his face.
“Well?” she challenged.
“You’re right.”
Her jaw dropped. Max’s agreement not only stunned her, but also had the effect of dumping water on a fire. It doused her temper. Brow arched, she eyed him with skepticism. That had been too easy.
“Not even an argument?”
Max shrugged. “Nope. What you suggested made sense. I changed my mind.”
His seeming nonchalance made her wary. What was he up to? Sam asked herself as she walked to the bureau. Part of her wanted to stand here and debate his change of heart, but why look a gift horse in the mouth. She would rather get dressed and get out on the mountain. The sooner she had answers, the sooner she could find out what scheme Max had up his sleeve.
Wait! She stood up from the dresser, slamming the drawer shut. “Did you agree because you’re going to confront Brad with me?”
“No. But I’d feel better if you did surveillance on the guy rather than confront him head on.”
Killer Bunny Hill Page 16