Harlequin's Deception (The Naked Truth Series Book 1)

by Candi Fox

  Elements of the East, element of air thank you for your presence in this circle. Stay if you will; go if you must, Well Met and Farewell.

  Elements of the North, element of earth thank you for your presence in this circle. Stay if you will; go if you must, Well Met and Farewell.

  Emery extinguished all the candles, while Harley turned on the lights.

  “Harley, come look at this?”

  Harley walked quickly over to the altar looking at the blades. She gasped in surprise. Where there had been rough etchings in the blades, now there was art.

  The raven looked as if it would take flight. She expected the cowslips to give off a delicate smell, and the eyes of the cat looked as if they followed her movements.

  Freya had well and truly blessed the weapons. Harley was in awe. She felt honored beyond belief. She hugged Emery kissing his face.

  “Magic seems to flourish more abundantly when you are around.” She laughed and continued to hug his neck.

  He shook his head. “Nay, this one is all on you. Your Goddess is rewarding you for a job well done. She is also arming you for future service.

  “I’ve always known you had something special to do in this lifetime. Now I’m certain that it will affect many of us.

  “You are special Harley. I hope one day you realize that.”

  He pulled her in closer and held her.

  They made their way upstairs, both exhausted from their time in the lab. Mrs. Reyes shooed them off to their bedrooms and said she would bring food to them.

  Harley had files waiting for her on her bed. She would read them after she took a nice hot bath.

  She checked her texts and phone messages. No message from Luc or Aiden. There were three messages from cowboy. He was going to a rodeo tomorrow and wanted her to go along.

  She could think of nothing better at this moment. Lieutenant Meyers had left a message with Mrs. Reyes after he couldn’t reach her. He just wanted to go over the labs with her.

  Harley texted Cowboy back, letting him know she would be happy to go with him. Emery would stay on for a couple of weeks. He liked visiting the ranch. She wasn’t worried that she would hurt his feelings.

  She went over the file twice before calling Meyers only to get his voicemail. There was no factual information in the file. The bites and claw marks matched the first set of murders.

  Harley decided it could just wait until tomorrow.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  Lieutenant Meyers called her first thing in the morning. Nikolas Perovsky, the leader of the brood in Dallas, was refusing to let anyone come to his house. He wouldn’t come to the police station to answer questions either.

  Meyers was in the process of getting a warrant to go pick him up. There had been no new multiple murders or murders that fit the same M.O. as the others.

  Harley wouldn’t have time for breakfast this morning. The rodeo was an all-day event, complete with a steak cook-off and a chili cook-off.

  When the rodeo was over there would be bands playing, dancing, and plenty of food. She was looking forward to the day.

  Harley pulled her hair into a long single braid. She carefully applied make-up. Getting it just right between a day and night look. After she was done she used a setting spray. It would need to last all day and she didn’t want to be too girlie at the rodeo. She just wanted to have fun.

  Her favorite pair of faded jeans had a rhinestone C on the back of each pocket. The C stood for cowgirl. She put on a chocolate colored scoop necked long sleeve shirt that tucked into her pants. The belt she used was nearly the same color of the shirt and had cut outs. Beneath the cut outs, turquoise leather showed through. The belt buckle was silver with scattered turquoise stones.

  She finished the outfit with a set of matching silver and turquoise earrings, a cowboy hat and her black and turquoise boots with silver toe tips and heels.

  Emery wolf-whistled at her as she came down the stairs. She’d put a small emergency girl repair kit together and would stash it in Cowboy’s truck. Her money was in a small cloth pouch tucked into her bra.

  Mrs. Reyes came out of the kitchen. “Mija is your gentleman coming in to meet us or are we going to him?”

  Shit! She hadn’t thought that part through when she told him to pick her up at the house. “I’ll go get him when he gets here.”

  As it turned out, Harley didn’t have to go and get him. Cowboy came to the door carrying two bouquets of flowers. Hector opened the door and welcomed him inside.

  He greeted Harley with a one-armed hug and a quick kiss. She loved that they were the same height. Nearly, he may have won by a quarter to half an inch.

  He offered a bouquet of wild flowers to Mrs. Reyes. It had mini sunflowers in it. Mrs. Reyes turned pink when she took the flowers. Cowboy was sinfully handsome.

  The other bouquet was deep purple roses. Harley’s favorite flower and favorite color.

  “Thank you.” She blushed as well.

  “Cow… Cash this is Carmella and Hector Reyes, and this is my friend Emery” She had almost introduced him as cowboy. It was what she had called him for the first six months. She had no idea what his real name was.

  She hadn’t wanted to know and he seemed to be just fine leaving it that way. “Mamita, Hector, Emery this is Cash Jennings.”

  Cash extended his hand to everyone. “Pleasure to meet you all.”

  He made polite small talk for a few minutes before turning to Harley. “Are you ready to go? I don’t want to miss the opening drums.” As part of the festivities, there would be a group of fancy dancers, drummers, and singers that would open the rodeo.

  Most of the cowboys participating in the rodeo were Native American. All the proceeds would go to local tribal charities. Cash was full-blooded Pawnee. She would be happy to contribute to the festivities and the nations.

  “Let me put these in a vase.”

  Mrs. Reyes stepped forward. “No need, Mija. I will put them in a vase for you. Go enjoy your day.”

  She took the flowers as Cash escorted Harley out the door. He went around to the passenger door of the truck and opened it for her. Making sure she was tucked inside before closing the door.

  “It was nice to meet your family Harley. I know that Mr. and Mrs. Reyes think very highly of you.”

  Harley smiled at him. “I’m glad you met them too. I’m happy you invited me to go today. This is our first public outing.”

  She immediately wanted to take back the words. Shit!

  “We should have done it sooner. I just didn’t want to push a relationship on you, if you didn’t want one. Harley, do you know what polyamorous is?”

  “Yes, I do. It’s having more than one relationship concurrently. It’s about connection and love. It’s about more than sex, which would be an open relationship.”

  “Exactly. Have you ever been in a poly relationship?”

  “No, I haven’t. To be honest I really haven’t been in any relationship since David died.”

  He did his best imitation of a “girlfriend” voice. “Oh, girl. You are due.”

  Harley couldn’t help herself. She busted out laughing and it took her several minutes to get it back under control.

  “In all seriousness, I’d like to date you, Harley. We always enjoy the time we spend together, even when it’s not sex.”

  Harley’s first thought was she didn’t want to ruin what they had going. As if he read her mind. “I’ll understand if you want to keep things the way they are. I also want you to know that I don’t plan on letting you out of my life. If we date and it doesn’t work out, I honestly feel like we can go back to being friends with benefits.

  “I know a lot of guys say that. I have done it in the past.” He smiled broadly. “I will even give you a reference or two if you want.”

  Oh, my god! He was serious. This gorgeous, successful man wanted to date her. In truth, she had been studying poly for years, it was something she had felt drawn too. She just hadn’t taken the step to enact th
e thoughts.

  She’d be a fool if she didn’t at least give him a chance. He had been amazing the last couple of years. There was no reason to believe that would suddenly change because they started dating.

  He put his hand over hers. “Why don’t you think about it today and give me an answer at the end of the evening. Just enjoy the day.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  They arrived at the festival grounds about thirty minutes before the opening ceremonies. They were sitting in reserved seating, so cutting it close didn’t really matter.

  After parking, he came around and opened the door for her. He held her hand as they walked into the stands and down to their front row seats.

  He bought them both a beer from one of the walking vendors and they settled down in the seats. Harley could see the dancers coming into the circle.

  She had never been to a Native American dance before and was in awe of the regalia. Cash had told her along the way it was called regalia and not costuming or garb.

  He had explained the dance and the purpose behind it. He’d also told her that he would take her to pow-wows if she wanted to go. She was excited to see the dance.

  At the first beat of the drums, Harley was in love. Once the drumming and singing started, the dancers began. She felt like she was one with the earth. The drums were like the heartbeat of the earth.

  Each step, each note that was sung, seemed to be in sync with the very breath she took. Harley entered into a light trance as she watched and listened.

  Everything around her began to fade. The only thing she saw was the bright colors of the regalia. Her world narrowed down to nothing else.

  The dance ended. She felt someone touch her shoulder and she came back to the present.

  “Are you okay?”

  “Yes, sorry. It was just so beautiful. I found myself lost in it.”

  “I hoped you would feel that way.”

  The rest of the opening ceremonies took place and the rodeo began. Harley enjoyed watching the bronc riders. She cheered and held her breath with the rest of the crowd as each bronc tried to throw its rider in the dirt.

  The rest of the events went by in a blur. Harley felt like a jack in the box by the end of the day. She was always jumping out of her seat to cheer someone on. A tired, yet exhilarated jack in the box.

  They had mostly just nibbled on food the vendors brought around. By the end of the rodeo, they were both starving.

  The smell of the food was intoxicating as they walked out of the stand and into the rest of the festival grounds. It was an inner-tribal affair. There were so many types of foods to choose from. They settled on splitting an Indian taco, corn pudding, roast venison and wohanpi. Wohanpi was a traditional soup made with wild onions and elk. It was simmered for hours. The modern version also included potatoes, which would stretch a meal and make it more family affordable.

  They settled at one of the long tables nearby. The tables and long benches had been kind of thrown together for the occasion. They looked sturdy enough.

  The table was mostly filled. Harley enjoyed interacting with other festival goers. Cash seemed to be relaxed and at ease with the crowd. It was a side of him she had not seen before.

  “Are you enjoying yourself, Harley?”

  She laughed, “Yes, very much.”

  He leaned closer to her, using his thumb to wipe the corner of her mouth. “Just a little soup there.” The action was incredibly intimate. Looking into his eyes she felt closer to him than she ever had before.

  She really wanted to kiss him. She didn’t have to wait long. Cash leaned in, brushing his lips briefly against hers, before drawing her closer for a deeper kiss.

  When they eventually pulled apart the crowd around them started clapping and cheering. Harley blushed to her roots. Okay, that was a little embarrassing. The kiss was totally worth it.

  By the time, she could look at him again she saw that he found it completely humorous. “It looks like you have a fan club.”

  “They were just applauding that amazing lip lock. Who could blame them?”

  He seemed to be speechless. That surprised Harley, a great deal. She smiled at him and got up from the bench, disposing of their plates and waiting for him.

  Walking hand in hand they started exploring the festival grounds. A few games had been set up. Cash won her a large teddy bear. It was so big in fact that they had to take it back to the truck. He strapped it in the back seat and they started browsing the tents selling jewelry.

  Harley purchased a few matching pieces. The handcrafted jewelry was exquisite. While Cash was busy, she purchased him a Navajo crafted silver bracelet. An American eagle had been carved into the cuff. She would give it to him later as a present.

  She found a beautiful silver domed hair barrette with a wolf paw set in turquoise. It would look amazing set against her dark hair. Harley also purchased several of the raffle tickets.

  The bands were due to begin soon. Harley was looking forward to the music and dancing. It had been a long time since she enjoyed a date so much.

  As the night drew on the families disappeared, leaving just the adults. The crowd was getting a little wild, and some were more than a little drunk.

  As some point, a big redneck bumped into Cash. “Watch where you’re going injun.” He pushed Cash. Cash was light on his feet and easily regained his balance.

  “You’re drunk, so I’m going to give you a free pass.”

  “I don’t need no free pass, boy.” This said loud enough, that a few more good ole boys stepped forward. They must have been loud mouth’s friends.

  One of them was 6’7” and must have weighed over 350lbs. Four against one. But she wasn’t really worried about Cash, he was a werewolf.

  She didn’t want the fight to get out of hand, though. She would take on one of them. She figured the big guy would be the slowest one of them, therefore he might be the easiest for her to distract.

  She caught Cash’s eyes and then looked at the big guy. He nodded his head no, she nodded yes very vigorously. He gave her a “we will see” look. They only had about thirty seconds to silently communicate before the fight broke out.

  All four of the big beefy guys went for Cash. He ducked their punches, then side stepped. He kicked the knee out from underneath one of them.

  While he was doing, that Harley decided she would go after the big guy, just like she planned. She kicked up tagging the guy in the back of the head before moving back.

  The mountain swung around looking at her menacingly. The other three were paying attention to Cash. “Did you just hit me, lady?”

  “Kicked you actually.”

  “Being a woman won’t save you.”

  “I don’t need to be saved, mountain man.”

  Harley stepped closer to him and kicked straight up, it was more of a dance maneuver than a martial art maneuver; however, it worked. She had bloodied his nose.

  He came after her. His big beefy arms were easily as big around as her head. He was quicker than she thought he would be, but she was quicker still.

  She ducked under his first swing and delivered a kidney punch. He staggered back. She was surprised at the strength of her own punch.

  She had forgotten about the sword, or rather the fact that the sword was not only imbued but so was she. Faster reflexes came in handy as she ducked a blow at the last second.

  Harley didn’t have time to hit the guy because she wasn’t expecting the blow. She hurriedly took a few steps back to have time to regroup.

  One of the problems was the height difference. Harley needed a little more space to be able to kick his face, so she went for his ribs instead.

  Roundhouse kicks had a lot of power, but they were also flashy and took a bit more time. Instead, Harley simply kicked from where she stood, connecting with his meaty ribs. She had to travel through fat and muscle to get to the bone.

  After landing one kick, she realized it would take a few more. This guy was a little more solid than sh
e realized. The mountain landed a lucky shot and grabbed Harley by the hair.

  He tried to drag her back towards him. Harley had other ideas. She kicked backward and up landing a blow to his groin. It was a glancing blow, yet it was enough for her to get loose.

  Harley tried to draw on her new-found power. She had to end this thing before he connected a blow. While he was still holding his family jewels, she focused the energy on one last kick. She chose the roundhouse kick because it would do a lot of damage and she had the extra seconds to perform it.

  The mountains’ head snapped back. Harley had no idea how much damage she had done, but he was on the ground. She looked around for Cash and saw him deliver a final blow to the last guy that was standing.

  By the time the man hit the ground the entire group was surrounded by police. The four men were taken away by ambulance while the officers took their statements. They asked for identification. Harley thought it wouldn’t hurt to show them her credentials.

  She wasn’t an officer. She did work with the police, though, so she had official credentials she showed when she arrived at crime scenes.

  The credentials did indeed help, that, and the fact that each one of the guys that attacked Cash had a record. Each one had previously been arrested for assault.

  No charges were pressed against Harley or Cash. The festival was long over by the time the police were finished questioning them.

  Cash escorted Harley back to the truck helping her in. Once she had buckled her seatbelt he placed a light kiss on her lips before closing the door.

  “You hungry?”

  “I could eat.”

  He drove them to one of the local honky-tonks. It was one of the few places that would serve food late. Both detested fast food.

  They found a seat, even though the place was crowded. The waitress came over quickly. She had a bright smile pasted on her face, yet Harley could tell she was exhausted. Cash ordered for them both including a pitcher of beer. She didn’t drink beer that often. Tonight, was a good night for a cold beer.