He followed her gaze, jaw clenched tight. Giving her a quick nod, he grabbed some cash from his wallet and placed it on the table. She rose, following Liam to the door.
“Everything all right, hun?” Ellen stood by the exit, gaze full of concern.
She patted the sweet woman on the arm. “Everything is fine. I just got some bad news from work. That’s all.”
Liam’s hands curled into fists at her words, but remained silent.
Worry, fear, and disappointment warred within her. The scrumptious breakfast churned in her tummy, threatening to paint the sidewalk as they left the diner.
How had this day gone from amazing to total shit storm?
Chapter 20
The sugary smell hit his nostrils the moment Jason stepped into Cupcakes Above the Clouds. The cloying, sweet scent made him gag. He hated cake of any kind, but it didn’t matter, he wasn’t here to buy diabetes in a box. He came here because there had been a box on Julie Ryder’s counter with this shop’s logo on it, and it was his best lead to finding the bitch.
A small chime sounded from the bell above the door he just passed through. The place was so low tech. No security cameras anywhere, no alarm. He cracked his knuckles, a grin splitting his face. Made his job a lot easier if this backwater town had easy accessibility like this all over.
“Welcome to Cupcakes Above the Clouds. May I help you?”
He glanced at the counter where a young kid—barely past drinking age by the looks of him—stood behind an ancient looking register. Row after row of colorfully decorated cupcakes sat in the display case next to the guy. Jason took his time looking, letting his gaze wander over the nasty desserts he had no intention of eating.
“What do you recommend?” He gave the Hispanic guy what he hoped was a pleasant smile. Judging by the way the employee’s dark brown eyes narrowed, he’d say he failed.
So what? He didn’t need the guy to like him, just to talk to him.
“Everything we make is delicious. You can’t go wrong with any choice.”
“’S’that right?” He pretended to glance over the case again. Disgusting! Just looking at them made him sick. “Just give me half a dozen. Your pick.”
The young guy hesitated, his gaze full of suspicion. After a moment, he moved, grabbing a cardboard box and filling it with various cupcakes. He plopped the box on the counter, punching a few keys on the old-ass register.
“Fifteen seventy-five.” The hint of Mexican accent held all the enthusiasm of a robot.
So much for service with a smile. He needed to get information, find out if Julie Ryder was hiding out in this one horse town. Pulling out the smile he used to get people to trust his every word—too bad it hadn’t worked on that damn jury—he leaned against the counter in an open, friendly posture.
“Hey, I was wondering if you could help me out. See, I’m up here to visit my friend. She doesn’t know I’m coming—it’s like a surprise—and I was wondering if you could tell me where to find her…” He glanced at the nametag the guy wore. “Tony.”
Jaw working back and forth, he shrugged. “Who are you looking for?”
“Julie Ryder.”
Tony froze, eyes widening ever so slightly. Jason had always been a good liar, but it looked like he wasn’t good enough to fool this guy.
“I do not know any Julie Ryder.”
Bullshit! This was the kind of town where everyone knew everyone, and there were no secrets. He’d grown up in a shithole like this one. The guy knew something; he just didn’t want to tell Jason.
Fine. If that’s how he wants to play it.
Stepping closer, he placed his hand down on either side of the register. The boy towered over him by a few inches, but Jason knew size wasn’t everything. Attitude counted for a lot in intimidation. Affecting his hard-ass prison gaze, he eyed the kid. Hitting people with what they feared was the only way to get what you wanted. Sometimes it took fists, other times simply threats.
Judging from the weird way he talked and his darker skin tone, Jason would bet Tony was an immigrant. Legal or not, didn’t matter, he could still use it. “So, how long have you been in this country?”
Tony visibly stiffened.
“Is there a problem here?”
The firm, polite feminine voice made him glance away from Tony. A tiny woman with dark hair and bright green eyes came up to the front from around a back wall. His gaze roamed over her tight, little body. Now, here was a woman he could spend all night doing nasty thing to. The small ones were always fun; you could toss them around so easily.
“No problem. I’m just looking for my friend. She’s supposed to be in town.” He turned on his most charming grin—the panty dropper. “She told me the women in Peak Town were nice, but she didn’t say how beautiful they were.”
One dark brow rose, calling him on his bullshit.
What the hell was wrong with the people in this town? Didn’t they know you were supposed to be polite to customers?
“Who did you say you were looking for?”
“Julie Ryder.”
Her expression didn’t change except for a slight tightening around her eyes. Oh yeah, the hoity-toity bitch knew Julie. Probably knew where to find her, too.
“Julie Ryder.” She glanced at Tony before bringing her gaze back to him. “Yes, I know Julie, but I’m not sure if she’s still in town. Her brother, the sheriff, might know.”
Yeah, yeah, he knew her brother was the sheriff. Figured. Family of damn goody-two-shoes. Didn’t matter. He was here already, no way he would turn tail and run just because some hillbilly sheriff happened to be the lawyer bitch’s brother.
“Sounds good. Maybe I’ll take a stroll over to the police station and ask him.” When hell freezes over. Tossing down a twenty he smiled. “Keep the change.” Grabbing the box, he turned and headed out the door, all the while feeling their gazes on him.
Shit!
He thought he could get into town, ask around, find Julie, and kill her before anyone caught on to him. It didn’t appear to be the case. Based on the dagger that cold bitch was shooting him in the shop, he’d aroused suspicion. He needed to find Julie…fast.
A weaker man would cut his losses and head for the border. Sun, sand, freedom, and women wearing next to nothing sounded a hell of a lot better than hanging around this shithole. But Jason Kline was not a weak man. When he set out to do something, he finished it.
Julie Ryder needed to be put in her place, and he promised to do it. A devilish grin curled his lips. He never broke a promise.
Passing by a trashcan, he tossed in the box of vomit cakes. How anyone could eat that shit was beyond him. What he really wanted was a bottle of whiskey and a woman. Both, unfortunately, would have to wait until he found Julie. His time was quickly running out; he needed to find her now.
Glancing down the street, he saw a small salon. His fingers rubbed together as anticipation filled him. No one liked gossip more than the ladies at a beauty salon. His charm might not have worked on cupcake bitch—probably a lesbian or something—but he could work a room full of vain women like nobody’s business. He’d have those chicks eating out of the palm of his hand. He’d find out where Julie was hiding, and after that…
A dark rush of intoxication filled his body, making him shiver with anticipation.
Chapter 21
The truck cab filled with a tense silence on the way back home. Though Liam was upset with her, she couldn’t focus her mind on that right now. She swallowed past the lump of fear in her throat.
Jason killed Carrie.
The thought kept turning over in her brain, refusing to let her go. The poor woman. She’d only been doing her job. A stenographer didn’t even have any say in the ruling. They just kept the record. Why did he have to kill her? Tears welled as she imagined how much hate the man must hold in his heart for everyone and everything,
They pulled up to the house, Liam still silent, refusing to talk to her. She couldn’t decide if she was grateful o
r nervous. Her thoughts and emotions were scattered about like grains of dirt in a dust storm. The pounding of her heart in her ears was loud enough to drown out any noise. She had enough on her plate to deal with right now, and yet, she wanted Liam to talk to her, tell her what he was feeling, thinking. She wanted their connection back, the close bond of earlier this morning.
With the truck parked, he turned off the ignition and shifted toward her. “What the hell, Julie?”
Hunching in on herself at his outburst, she rethought her desire to have him speak. “Let’s get inside, and I’ll tell you everything.”
He grumbled something under his breath, which sounded suspiciously like, Damn right you will. She knew he was worried for her, and that’s where his frustration was coming from, but his attitude was not helping.
Wind Chaser whinnied as they passed her pen. Julie would’ve loved to brush everything aside, hop on the back of the horse and go for a long ride. Riding always soothed her soul, and it was in need of some serious calming right now. But one look at Liam’s face and she knew she wasn’t going anywhere until he had the full story.
They barely made it past the front door before he turned to her, arms crossed, voice demanding, “Spill it.”
She knew he was angry and worried, but that didn’t give him the right to be such a jerk. Furrowing her brow, she matched his stance. “Would you like to cuff me for this interrogation, Agent, or maybe shine a big bright light in my eyes to get me to talk?”
“What I’d like to do”—he advanced on her until only inches separated them—“is take you over my knee for not telling me you were in danger, and then find the safest most remote safe house I can and stick you there until this Kline guy is caught.”
There he went again, thinking he knew better than her. “That’s why I didn’t tell you!” She threw her hands up, turning and heading into the living room.
The house felt cold for this time of year, but maybe that was just her. All the warm fuzzy feelings from this morning were shattered and gone with one ill-timed message.
“I knew if I told you, you’d tell Ryder, and you guys would band together against me and force me into WITSEC. But I don’t need to go in—”
“You haven’t told your brother?”
His shout rattled the small candy dish on the coffee table. She winced, knowing he would never hurt her—no matter how angry he got—but surprised by his show of emotions. Liam was usually the calm, collected one. The man had nerves of steel; he had to for his occupation. Never had she seen him so…raw.
It should not turn her on, but the sharp stab of heat low in her belly disagreed.
“I knew Jake would overreact, just like you.”
Liam tugged his hands through his short hair before letting them drop to his side. “This isn’t overacting. Overacting would be if I called in a few favors and had your butt hauled into protective custody whether you liked it or not.”
She knew he was just trying to protect her, but nobody threatened to take her choices away, no matter how sexy and sweet he was. “You listen here, Liam Graham. I know I should have told you about Jason earlier, but just because we slept together does not give you the right to start dictating my life. You don’t get to control me.”
“I’m not trying to control you. I’m trying to keep you safe.”
“I am safe here with you.”
His shoulders dropped, a frustrated breath leaving him “How am I supposed to protect you if I don’t know there’s a threat?”
He had a good point there. “I didn’t think Jason would stay around. I figured the guy would head to the border first chance he got.”
“When have the bad guys ever done what we thought they would?”
True. In their careers, they’d both seen people do astoundingly stupid things. Had she really thought Kline would skip town or had she just hoped?
“I care about you, Julie.” Reaching out, he snagged her waist and pulled her to him. “Did you know what it did to me when I heard the things David did to you? It haunted me, damn near gutted me until I could get to you, make sure you were okay with my own eyes.”
The raw emotion in his voice hit her right in the heart. She hadn’t realized her ordeal affected him so much.
One strong hand came up to cup her face. She gazed into beautiful, golden eyes full of so many different emotions. She knew Liam cared, but the strong alpha man never revealed his feelings to her before. Now, she could see them clearly. He was opening himself to her, letting her in.
She placed her hand over his on her cheek. “I’m okay, Liam.”
He nodded, pressing a hard and fast kiss to her lips. “And you’re going to stay that way.”
Before she could ask what he meant by that, a knock tapped on the door. They both froze.
Julie’s heart jumped into her throat as she squeezed Liam’s hand tightly. The rational part of her brain knew it wasn’t Jason at the door. A killer wouldn’t knock, he’d burst in, guns blazing. Criminals very rarely knocked politely on their victim’s doors.
“Julie? Are you there?”
A relieved gush of air left her lungs. “It’s Maggie.”
Liam didn’t answer, his face hard as stone. Reaching down, he pulled a small handgun from a holster strapped to his ankle.
Of course he had a gun on him. She wondered if he ever went without one. With the things he’d seen as an FBI agent, she doubted it.
Motioning for her to stay behind him, he silently approached the door. She wanted to roll her eyes at his overly cautious attitude. It was just Maggie, what was the tiny baker going to do, hit them over the head with her mixing bowls? She chuckled with the thought of sweet Maggie intending harm to anyone. Liam glared at her over his shoulder, which just made her giggle harder. With the situation facing her at the moment, it was either laugh or cry.
The knock came again, stronger this time. “Julie? Hello?”
“For heaven’s sake, Liam. It’s just Maggie.” Raising her voice, she called out, “Coming, Maggie.”
He let out a deep sigh, rolling his eyes upward as if praying for strength. “I realize it’s Maggie, but she might not be here alone.” His hushed voice sounded unreasonably loud in the quiet house. “Or of her own free will.”
A cold chill snaked up her spine, heartbeat racing out of control as an image of Jason holding Maggie at gunpoint entered her mind. She hadn’t thought of that possibility, but they didn’t even know if the convict was in Peak Town. Just because he was spotted in Aspen, didn’t mean he followed her here. How would he even know where she was anyway?
Liam held up a hand. “Let me check it out before you go opening the door to God knows what.”
Biting her lip, she nodded, unable to form words past the fear in her chest.
He crept toward the door on silent footsteps. Gun at the ready in his steady grasp, he leaned over to glance out the peephole. His body relaxed slightly, but he still hesitated opening the door. He cracked it open just enough to glance outside, his big body blocking her view.
“Maggie.”
“Oh, hi, Liam. Is Julie here? I really need to talk to her.”
His head swiveled left and right before he opened the door fully, allowing the small woman to enter.
“Julie!” The cupcake maker raced to her side the moment she spotted her.
“Maggie, what’s wrong?” Because from the worried look on the woman’s face, something was up.
“I don’t know, maybe nothing, but maybe something.”
The sound of the deadbolt sliding closed made them jump. Maggie turned her head, eyes widening when she saw Liam securing the door, gun still in hand.
“Um, did I miss something? What’s with the gun?”
“Maggie,” Julie spoke in a soft, controlled voice; it tended to help people to focus. Her brother called it her lawyer voice. “Why did you come to see me?”
The woman tore her gaze away from Liam and his gun. “Right, there’s someone looking for you in town.”
“Who?” Liam demanded, coming to stand next to her.
“I don’t know.” Maggie glanced between them. “Some guy came into the shop asking about you. He said he was an old friend, but Tony and I got a weird vibe from him. He looked…unsafe.”
Grasping the other woman’s arms, she tried not to let her fear show, but her limbs shook from the tips of her fingers to her pinky toes. “What did he look like? Can you describe him? Did he give you a name?”
“No name.” Small wisps of brown hair fell from her braid as she shook her head. “He was very average looking. About five ten or so, short brown hair, dark eyes, I think. He just really creeped me out.”
Liam pulled out his cell, fingers flying over the screen. “Did he look like this?” He held out the phone. A picture of Jason Kline filled the screen. His mug shot, not hard to find these days with the internet.
Maggie’s face paled. “Yes. That’s him. Who is he? Is he dangerous?”
“Very.” Liam put his phone back in his pocket. “Maggie, you need to get back to the shop, call your husband and have him stay with you until you close.”
“Colt is already on his way. I called him before heading here. I didn’t want to leave Tony by himself.”
Julie knew the young man was more than capable of taking care of himself, but Maggie and Lizzy worried over him like mother hens. This time, though, they had good reason. Jason Kline was a monster who would take out anyone that got in the way of his mission.
She swallowed past a hard lump in her throat. Oh shit! Jason was in town, after her. What was she going to do?
The short, raspy pants of a person on the verge of hyperventilation reached her ears, and she realized it was coming from her. She tried to take a deep breath, but her lungs would not cooperate.
Love on the Forbidden Side Page 13