by HELEN HARDT
48
Lacey
The landscape deprived me of breath, it was so gorgeous. And the ride… Holding on to Rock’s strong body while we nearly flew over the road held me captive.
Still, though, the thought of what had occurred this morning didn’t completely leave my mind. I’d nearly been arrested.
As an accessory to a murder I knew nothing about.
In law school, we’d read cases about false arrest and imprisonment. There were even cases where an innocent person had been executed. They were rare, but they did occur. Statistically, they were insignificant.
They no longer seemed so insignificant now that I was starring in one.
Someone wanted me to pay for Derek Wolfe’s murder. Why? I had no idea. All I’d done was draw up his will. I hadn’t handled any of his other trust work. Robert had handed Derek over to me when he stopped practicing less than a year ago. Maybe Robert would know something. I made a mental note to get in touch with him when I returned to Manhattan.
When we finally arrived back at Rock’s cabin, he stared at me.
“What?”
“You look so beautiful. You’re glowing.”
I attempted a smile. “I’m sure I’ve got a bad case of helmet head.”
“You look perfect, Lacey.” He feathered his fingers over my cheek.
My nipples hardened against my bra.
“I wish I could bottle up this moment,” he continued.
I nodded. “Me too.”
“But I can’t. I need to find Hoss. I know where he and Manny hang out at night. If you think he’s the one—
“Only a hunch,” I said. “I can’t make any guarantees. I could be wrong, and he’ll be pissed as hell that you’re asking.”
“Old Hoss won’t be pissed. He’ll respect me for trying.”
“He’ll respect you for bribing him?”
“Well,” he laughed. “Maybe not. But I have to try. I need to find out what’s going on. Someone has been keeping tabs on me, and someone is trying to drag you into this. That means someone knows what you mean to me. I’m beginning to think…”
“What, babe?”
“My father’s had someone watching me this whole time. Here I thought I was alone in this cabin. Away from his vileness. Damn!” He looked up at the light fixture in his kitchen. “You son of a bitch! You were watching me the whole time, weren’t you? You fucked up S.O.B.!”
I stroked his arm. “Rock, that’s just a light.”
He eased away from me. “You don’t get it, Lace. Derek Wolfe could do anything he wanted.”
“Why would he want to have you watched all this time?”
“Hell if I know. Why would he want to fuck me over from his grave?” He let out a sarcastic laugh. “That part I know. Because he was a dickhead. Because he wanted to control me. To punish me.”
“Punish you? For what?”
He clammed up then, riffling his fingers through his short hair.
“What, Rock?” I persisted.
“Nothing. I need to go see Hoss.”
“Where?” I asked, picturing another biker bar in my mind.
“Lucia’s.”
“Is that a bar?”
“Yeah…sort of. I mean, it has a bar.”
“Get to the point, Rock. Where are you going?”
“I don’t need to leave for a few hours. Besides, we haven’t eaten yet. We should shower and get the bike grime off of us, and then I’ll take you out for the best steak you’ll ever eat.”
I had to hand it to him. Rock Wolfe was a master at avoiding the subject. I wasn’t born yesterday, though.
“What is Lucia’s, Rock?”
“Fuck, Lacey. It’s a strip club, okay?”
A brick hit me in the stomach. “Oh.”
“I don’t find any of those women remotely attractive. I never go there myself.”
“Then how do you know about it?”
“Because I’m not a moron. I live here. Well, lived here.”
“So you’ve never been there?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“You did. You said you never go there.”
“Anymore. I never go there anymore. I moved here when I was eighteen, Lace. Give me a break.”
“When’s the last time you went there?” I cringed at my own words. I sounded like a jealous teenager.
“I don’t know. A year ago, maybe?”
“A year ago?”
“Yeah. For a bachelor party. For fuck’s sake, Lace. Are you really upset about this? You?”
I inhaled and let the air slowly out of my lungs. I was being a complete child. “I’m sorry. This isn’t me. I’ve just… I’ve never felt this way about anyone, Rock. I’m not quite sure I’m ready to deal with it.”
“The first thing is trust, Lace.”
“I know. I know.”
But did I know? I’d had two significant relationships in my life, and both had ended with infidelity on their parts. I didn’t talk about it. I didn’t have any close friends. Instead, I threw myself into my work.
“Do you trust me?”
Did I? He could have run off with Nieves easily. She made me look like liverwurst. “We don’t know each other very well yet.”
“So you’re saying you don’t trust me?” He raked his fingers through his hair once more.
“That’s not what I’m saying. But this all happened so quickly.”
“Yeah, it did, but that doesn’t make it any less real.” He grabbed me and pulled me against his body. “I’m hard for you even now.”
“That’s physical, Rock. What about—”
He crushed his mouth to mine before I could finish my sentence. I opened instantly, giving him my tongue and then sucking on his. He tasted of the ride today, of the wild prairie, of the big Montana blue sky. Of wildflowers and leather. Of sunshine and cinnamon.
Of trust.
Silly, I knew. What did I know of trust? I’d been betrayed twice, and though I hadn’t physically betrayed my previous lovers, I had in my mind.
He consumed me with the kiss, and soon I couldn’t think at all. Only emotion bubbled through me.
Love, passion, desire.
Everything and nothing. All at once, from the pit of my belly to the tips of my fingers and toes. I knew nothing except this moment. This kiss.
This man.
He swept me into his arms, not breaking our kiss, and walked into the bedroom. There he finally broke the kiss with a loud smack.
“We’re sweaty and dirty from riding all day, but I can’t wait for a shower.” He pushed my leather jacket over my shoulders, and it fell to the floor. Then he met my gaze with his searing green eyes. “I burn for you, Lacey. I fucking burn for you. I was hard all day just from having you hold on to me as we rode. I’ve never burned this way for a woman before.”
I scraped my fingers across his stubbly cheek, letting my thumb fall over his full lower lip. He kissed it gently.
“Trust me,” he said, his voice low and husky. “Trust me, Lacey.”
In that moment I’d have promised him anything, if he’d only kiss me again.
Instead, he stared at me, heating me, nearly melting my clothes away. Even the leather chaps I wore seemed to melt under his gaze.
“I never imagined I could feel the way I feel about you. You’ve awakened something in me, Lacey. Something I thought was dead forever.”
He pressed his lips to mine once more before I had a chance to consider his words.
Instead I melted into his kiss. His lips and tongue stayed occupied with my mouth while his hands deftly removed my leather chaps and riding boots. They plopped to the floor next to my jacket. My T-shirt and jeans went next, and soon I stood in only my bra and panties.
Scratch that.
Only my panties.
Rock made quick work of my bra.
He breathed in. “I smell you. Apples and roses. Nothing on earth smells as good as you do when you’re ripe.” He thrust one hand beneat
h my panties and through my slick folds. “So wet. So wet for me. Damn.”
I moved my hips in a slow rhythm against his fingers, moaning and closing my eyes. My hard nipples poked out, aching and yearning for Rock’s lips. As if he’d read my mind, he lowered his head and kissed one and then the other. One finger, and then two, slipped into my wet channel, and I rode him while he nibbled at my hard nipples.
“God, Rock. Oh my—”
A knock on the door startled me.
“Damn it.” Rock removed his fingers from my pussy. “Not fucking now!”
“Seems we lost the moment.” I attempted a smile. “You might as well see who it is. Meet me in the shower.”
49
Rock
My fingers were still slick with Lacey’s sweet cream. When the shower water whooshed, all I could think about was Lacey’s gorgeous wet body…and I had to answer the damned door.
“Yeah, what is—” I opened the door and dropped my mouth open.
My brother Roy stood on the other side of the door. “Hi, Rock.”
“What are you doing here, Roy?”
He stood silently for a couple seconds. Then, “May I come in?”
“Oh. Yeah. Sure.” I closed the door behind him.
“Sorry to bust up your weekend.”
“I’m not here alone, Roy.”
“I figured as much. I won’t keep you.”
“What do you mean you won’t keep me? You just flew two thousand miles, Roy. You obviously have something important to say or do here.”
“Yeah.” He looked down at his feet. “I’m just not sure how to begin.”
Yeah. I’d known he was hiding something. So much for that shower with Lacey. “Always best to begin at the beginning. Have a seat.” I motioned toward the couch. “Want a drink?”
“No thanks.”
“Do I need one?”
“I don’t know. Maybe.”
Okay. Whatever was bothering my brother, I was going to have to pull it out of him with pliers.
Roy and I had never been close. Hell, I wasn’t close to any of them, but Roy was by far the most of a stranger. I hadn’t had hardly any contact with either him or Riley since I’d left New York in the first place. I wasn’t even sure he had my Montana address, but he could have easily gotten it from Reid.
“Who’s here with you?” Roy asked.
“None of your damned business.” Who was I kidding? Lacey would walk out as soon as she was clean and dressed. I couldn’t hide it. “Lacey Ward.”
“Dad’s lawyer? I’m not surprised, the way you were glaring at her date at the tavern the other night.”
“Yeah, well, she’s here, and she’ll be done showering soon, so you want to get on with it?”
He stood. “You know? This was a mistake.”
“For God’s sake, Roy. Sit down.”
He plopped back down in an almost obedient manner.
“What is it?” I asked again.
“Give me a minute or two, okay?” Roy’s face had whitened, and his eyes were sunken and sad.
“What happened?” I said.
“Nothing. Well, not nothing.”
“Which is it?” I asked, rapidly losing patience.
“I… I…”
I sighed. My brother and I had exchanged more words in the last week and a half than we had in our entire lives. A sad state of affairs, one I’d perpetuated myself.
“Roy,” I said, “what do you need? I’ll help if I can.”
“I needed your help a long time ago,” he said with indignation, “but you weren’t there.”
I lifted my brow. “What exactly are you talking about?”
“Nothing.” He clammed up again. “Forget it.”
“You drop that bomb on me and tell me to forget it? No dice.”
“I think I’ll take that drink now.”
I stood. “I’ll do you one better. Lacey and I are going to dinner. Let’s all go. After that, you need to relax and unwind a little.”
“I won’t deny that.”
“I know the perfect place. We’ll go after dinner.”
Taking a younger brother to a strip club was something most guys did well before my age. I’d missed out on a lot by leaving my siblings behind when I finally got out of military school. Roy was such an introvert. I honestly didn’t know if he’d ever even had sex. He hadn’t said much during our dinner with Lacey, and she looked relieved when I dropped her off and gave her a quick peck on the lips.
“Behave yourself,” was all she said.
She didn’t have to worry. Even if I had an inclination to misbehave, which I didn’t, my shy and reclusive brother would have put an end to it. I couldn’t abandon him.
I looked around briefly when we arrived. No Hoss yet. Roy and I found a table close to the stage. Two dancers were already in a clench. My brother’s eyes went wide.
“Have you never been to a strip club?” I asked.
“No, actually.”
“Ever watch girl-on-girl porn?”
“Well…no.”
“Regular porn.”
“Occasionally.”
Damn. I really had neglected him. “What do you do for fun, then?”
“I paint. I read. I have a drink with a few friends every now and then, but not often. I watch movies sometimes. Work out. My building has a great gym.”
My brother looked to be in tip-top shape. The Wolfe genes were good, but I could also tell he’d worked at it. “Do you date?”
“On occasion. Not a lot. Women don’t seem to dig me.”
“I can’t believe that.”
“It’s true. I scare them or something. Every time I get interested in someone, she decides to end it.”
“That doesn’t make any sense, Roy.”
He shrugged. “Something about me, I guess.”
“Are you…?”
He chuckled. “Gay? No. I mean, I wouldn’t kick Ryan Reynolds out of bed, but I like women.”
“Then what’s the issue?”
He stayed silent.
“Come on, Roy. You flew across the country to talk to me. So talk to me.”
“Not here.” He twirled the light brown bourbon in his glass.
“All right. After, then.” From the corner of my eye, I spied Hoss entering and taking a seat at the bar. “There’s someone I need to talk to.”
“You’re going to leave me here?”
“For fuck’s sake, Roy, enjoy yourself. It’s not that difficult. There are naked ladies here, man.” I stood and walked over to the bar.
“Rock,” Hoss said when I tapped him on his shoulder. “Two times in one day. Good to see you.”
“Yeah, you too. Manny around?”
“Nah. He doesn’t do too well here. Plus, he sees all the pussy he needs to every day at work.”
A little nausea hit me. First, thinking Hoss did “well” at a strip club. But that was nothing compared to the image of Manny salivating at pussy between the stirrups. I’d never be able to unsee that one.
“Just as well.” I signaled the bartender. “I need to talk to you alone.”
“I figured as much.”
“You did?”
“Sure. You need information. You know I have it.”
“I’m that obvious?”
“Pretty much. I can see how you’d think I’d be your better bet. I’m sorry, though. Attorney-client privilege is as sacred as doctor-patient privilege.”
“I’ll make it worth your while. Big time.”
Hoss chuckled. “I know you can. Big Wolfe money now.”
“Does that sway you any?”
“I’d be lying if I said it didn’t, and if my client were some scumbag I’d probably roll over. But we’re talking about Manny here. He’s not just a client. He’s my best friend.”
“Look, Hoss. Someone is playing with fire here. Whoever it is wants to frame me for my father’s murder, but I have an ironclad alibi. So they’re going after Lacey.”
“And d
oes she have an ironclad alibi?”
“She has an alibi, but it’s hardly ironclad. She was alone in her apartment at the time.”
Hoss opened his mouth to reply, but the bartender finally got to us.
“House bourbon on the rocks,” I said, “and another for my friend here.”
The barkeep nodded and got to work.
“She seems like a nice girl. I’ve never known you to be so serious about someone.”
“What makes you think I’m serious?”
“You brought her out here, didn’t you?”
“Good point.” I took a drink of the bourbon the bartender had set in front of me.
“So this one means something to you, huh?”
I cleared my throat. “I didn’t come over here to talk to you about my love life.”
“I’m sure you didn’t. Can’t blame me for trying to change the subject.”
“Guess I can’t.”
“So just how much money are we talking about, Rock?”
“Friend,” I said, “write your own damned tick— Oh, fuck.” I set my drink on the bar and walked swiftly back over to Roy.
My brother was red-faced and stiff as a board as a well-endowed stripper nearly suffocated him with her silicone wonders. He squirmed in his seat.
He pleaded at me with his eyes.
I couldn’t help a chuckle. Poor Roy couldn’t relax and enjoy himself. I tapped the lady on her bare shoulder. “Sweetheart, I think you need to try someone else.”
“But he’s so hot,” she whined. “I never get to lap dance a hot guy like this. Only the slobbering fat ones.
“Did he ask you for a lap dance?”
“No, but he was staring at me.”
I pulled a few bills out of my wallet and handed them to her. “He’s not up for anything tonight. Go on to the next one.”
She sauntered off with a smile. She’d gotten what she wanted. Money.
“Roy, you look like a deer caught in the headlights. Not your type, huh?”
“Her boobs were too big.” He laughed. “Well, not too big. Just too fake.”
“Yeah, I’m not much for the fake ones either. Could have been an easy lay for you, though.”
“A lay? They actually let you fuck these girls?”