Laney had donned faded jeans and a green T-shirt that brought out the different hues in her intriguing eyes. With her hair pulled back in a ponytail, she looked fresh and feminine. Delicate, even. “All right. Can I get you some coffee?”
Nate showed his teeth. “That’s kind, but no thank you.”
She gestured toward the chair angling the couch, her concerned gaze flitting from Nate to Matt and back again. “Would you like to sit, Agent?”
“I truly would.” He shoved past Matt and took a seat. “No need for the title. I’m just an FBI consultant—not an agent. Their regular profiler had some sort of hunting accident, and they called me in yesterday.”
Matt cut his brother a look. “The regular guy isn’t dead, is he?”
“Oh no, of course not. Just laid up for a bit.” Nate tilted his head toward the sofa and smiled. “Shall we get started?”
Nathan Dean shoved down anger and concern until the emotions no longer existed inside him. Focus was the key to getting Matt out of the mess he’d created. As the oldest, Matt was usually the cautious one. Not this time. Nate just couldn’t understand it… until the woman had walked into the living room.
Laney Jacobs was beautiful. Not in a fancy, kick-your-ass way, but in a sweet, feminine, intelligent way. No wonder Matt was lost.
Time to get his brother back to earth. “So, you’re a bartender?” Nate asked.
“Yes. I own J’s Bar, which is downstairs,” she said, settling closer to Matt on the sofa.
So far, true statement. Nate nodded. “Why own a bar?” he asked.
“What the hell does that have to do with the recent murders?” Matt growled.
Laney patted his hand, and he relaxed into the cushions, a muscle ticking in his jaw. Nate allowed enough of a sneer to cross his lips to piss Matt off more. Yeah, the woman had him leashed. “My brother wanted to own a bar, so we went in as partners.”
Lie. Definite lie. “I see,” Nate said. “I’m asking questions to get a feel for you, for the life you live.” In order to understand what the hell Matt is thinking. “I need to get a handle on the guy sending you notes. Knowing you will help me to profile him.”
“Okay.” Laney drew circles across Matt’s knuckles. “I like owning the bar. People come in to celebrate, to commiserate, to just relax. I get to be a part of their day.”
Without being too involved. Interesting. God, Nate would love to understand why she’d become a surgeon. He purposefully moved in an unnatural way, so she wouldn’t draw a comparison between his mannerisms and Matt’s. “Do you think our professions are driven by needs or wants?”
She shrugged. “Both, I guess. Like you being a profiler. You must need to find the truth.”
“I do.” Nate switched his gaze to Matt’s smoldering one. “The truth is often veiled, and once we get emotional, we lose all perception.” He had to get his brother the hell out of town. Matt was spiraling, whether he admitted it or not. “Don’t you agree, Matt?”
“I agree we need to get all important facts together before making snap decisions… and mistakes.” Matt’s tone couldn’t be any more threatening.
Laney paused, her head turning in jerky movements to view Matt’s face. Concern furrowed her brow. “Are you all right?”
“Fine. I don’t like my morning interrupted by people asking stupid questions,” Matt said.
Nate leaned forward, his ears heating. “You don’t seem like you’re in control right now, Mr. Dean. As a profiler, I have to wonder why.”
Laney twitched, her hands fluttering. “Um, maybe we should do this later.”
Nate waited until Matt realized he was scaring the woman next to him, and when Matt held his gaze, the truth hit. Matt didn’t give a shit if Laney caught the undercurrents between them. Nate shook his head. “This is unbelievable.”
Laney swiveled toward him. “What is?”
“A killer murdering people in quaint towns.” Nate slid his most reassuring smile into place.
By the rapid fluttering of Laney’s pulse, she wasn’t appeased. “I agree,” she said.
“Just a few more questions,” Nate said. He ran her through her history with the notes, her thoughts, her feelings about the attack the previous night. While Nate didn’t care about her responses, he cared how Matt reacted to every emotion or thought from the woman. They were in tune… too much so. Way too much so. Finally, Nate wound down. “I appreciate your answering my questions.” He stood. “I’ll be in touch.”
Matt stretched to his feet. “I’ll show you out.”
Nate nodded and headed out the door and down the steps. Then he turned around to take the punch.
But Matt didn’t swing. Instead, he gripped Nate’s shirt and slammed him against the wall. Hard. Pain ricocheted down Nate’s spine, and the roar of breaking wood echoed throughout the empty bar.
Matt leaned in, fury etched into his face. “What the fuck are you doing?”
“Saving you,” Nate said simply. He’d kill for his brother, and he planned on dying for him. He’d willingly take the pain of a good beating if it’d help Matt get perspective. “Wanna hit me? Go ahead. But when you’re done, we’re leaving town.”
Matt released him with a hard shove against the damaged wall. “I don’t want to hit you. Much.” He turned and dragged a hand through his hair. “I know she worked for the commander, Nate, but it’s not like our hands are clean. While she repaired soldiers and even helped with the drug regimen, she didn’t mean to hurt anybody—even if the procedures might someday. And she sure as hell didn’t implant any chips in spines. She said no, and the commander is after her.”
“So?” Nate asked.
Matt stilled. “So?”
“Yeah.” Nate straightened his leather jacket. “Who the fuck cares if she’s innocent or guilty? We have six weeks to live. Get the truth from her, get the codes from her, and let’s get back to the mission.” Why in the hell did he have to spell this out? He swallowed. Wait a minute. No. “You’re not thinking—”
“No,” Matt said savagely. “This is temporary.”
Nate sagged back against the wall, his breath heating. Impossible. “You just lied to me.”
Matt’s jaw snapped shut. “No, I didn’t.”
“Shit, Mattie. You just lied to yourself.” Nate shook his head. “I tried loving somebody from our past… somebody who the commander had gotten to. You know that. It almost killed me.” Nothing could happen to Matt. Not Matt. He was invincible, and he had to stay that way. “You can’t do this. Can’t be lost.”
“I know.” Matt frowned. “I’m fine.”
But he wasn’t. Nate’s gut clenched hard. “Shane is bad enough. I love Josie, I really do. But Shane doesn’t sleep… He barely eats. He’s consumed with the thought of the commander getting to Josie if we die. Shit, even if we don’t die.” Nate needed very little in life, but Matt being strong and whole was a must.
“I know.” Matt’s voice dropped to a tortured tone Nate had never heard before. “My focus is on the chips and on finding out what happened to Jory.” Guilt and so much pain filled Matt’s eyes that Nate’s lungs quit working.
Nate shook his head. “Jory wasn’t your fault—”
“Bullshit,” Matt said savagely, his face contorting. “I promised him he’d never be alone, and he died without us there. Without—”
“We promised him that,” Nate said quietly, his eyes filling. Shame and devastation made his voice hoarse. “I raised him as much as you did. We failed him.”
Matt’s chin dropped, and his eyes closed, the agonizing sound he gave defying description.
Nate reacted the only way he could and stepped into his brother, engulfing him in a hug. Matt reacted instantly, his broad hands clapping across Nate’s back. For a moment in time, two of the deadliest soldiers ever created tried to offer comfort amid a whirlwind of pain.
“I’m sorry I haven’t been able to grieve him. To help you grieve.” Nate forced the words out, his voice cracking. “I’ve
been clinging to the idea that he’s still alive.” Even now, a kernel of hope lived inside him. The second it died, he might, too.
“I know.” Matt released him and levered back. “I try not to hope, but I can’t help it. We need to find him, no matter what.”
Nate inhaled and stepped back while nodding. “I agree.” He took several deep breaths, calming himself. Time was running out. “Now, about Laney.”
Raw emotion crossed Matt’s face.
Reality hit Nate in the center of the head harder than any punch he’d ever taken. Heat filled his lungs, making them ache. “It’s too late, isn’t it.”
Matt blinked. Twice.
Nate sighed, his brain rapidly calculating scenarios. “Even if you leave her, it’s too late.” His big brother had fallen in love, and hard. Completely. He shook his head. “God, Matt—”
“Shut up, Nate.” Matt rolled his shoulders, using an old trick he’d taught them all to relax. From the look of his hard jaw, it wasn’t working. “I’ve known the woman too short of a time.” Desperation filled his eyes.
“So what?” Nate shook his head, pain for his brother washing down his back. “We don’t live in the real world, in picket-fence places. We live the way we live—fast, hard, and bloody. Life is fast, and death is faster.” He took a deep breath of lemon cleanser and gin. Jory was likely dead, Shane was consumed, and now Matt was lost. How the fuck was he going to fix everything? “If you love her, leaving won’t help. Believe me, I know.”
Matt eyed him, his pain palpable. “You still love Audrey?”
“No.” The woman had tricked him and then betrayed him. “But I plan on meeting up with her again, if we survive the next six weeks. Just to settle the score.” Just to prove he didn’t still love her. He couldn’t, right? “Do you love Laney, Mattie?”
Matt drew in air. “Feelings are irrelevant. Let’s get to the plan.”
“Actually, your brother asked you a question, Mattie,” Laney said quietly from the stairwell. “Do you love me?”
Nate pivoted to face the stairwell along with Matt. Shit. They’d been so engrossed with their conversation, they hadn’t heard her coming down the stairs. Instant fury ripped through him. “See why this is a bad idea? If she’d had a gun, we’d both be dead.”
“I do have a gun.” She yanked a nine-millimeter from her waist. “See?”
Chapter 23
The instant roaring through Matt’s head didn’t bode well for any of them. The woman pointed the gun at Nate, her gaze confused, her hand trembling.
“Put down the gun.” Matt kept his voice calm and controlled to cut through her panic.
“No.” She widened her stance. “I think it’s time you introduced us.”
Matt edged to the right and subtly shook his head when Nate moved the other way. His brother paused, one eyebrow raised. “I’ve got this,” Matt said.
“Do you, now?” Laney changed her aim to him. “You let me sit through an entire interview with your brother without letting me know who he was.”
Okay. So she had a right to be pissed. Kind of. “I said to put down the gun.”
Nate chuckled and leaned against the wall, giving the impression he was relaxing. “Remember when Josie pointed a gun at us?”
“Yeah.” Matt angled closer to Laney, his eye on the weapon.
Laney swallowed. “Who’s Josie and what happened to her?”
“She’s our sister-in-law, and she married our brother, Shane,” Matt said. Nate appeared calm, but he could strike without warning, and Matt didn’t want him shot… or Laney hurt. “Nate? I need to you go to the sheriff’s office and get a picture of me off his computer.” The sooner Matt got Nate out of the bar, the better.
Nate frowned. “You let the sheriff take a picture?”
“Yes, and I hope it’s on his work computer. Now that you’re working with the FBI, you can get access to it.” Actually, the situation was ideal.
Laney’s nostrils flared. “Then what?”
“Then we’re leaving town,” Matt said. He was close enough to lunge and take the weapon, but he didn’t want to frighten her. Too much. “All of us.”
Nate let loose with a low growl and pushed off the wall. “We’re not finished with our talk.” Without looking back, he strode around the pool table toward the front door. Once close, he glanced over his shoulder. “By the way, Eleanor, I’m Nate. The brother who isn’t going to let you take Matt down.” He turned and shoved the door open before disappearing into the morning storm.
Laney cleared her throat. “I can tell he likes me a lot.”
Matt eyed her. “Pointing a gun at somebody you don’t intend to shoot is unacceptable and has consequences. Drop the gun, now.” The bite of command echoed in his voice along with an anger he failed to mask.
She widened her stance. “I think you should answer your brother’s question first.”
Whether he loved her or not? Now wasn’t the time for emotion. “Laney, you’re two seconds from having an incredibly rough moment. I’m happy to deliver, but I feel it only fair to warn you. If I have to take the gun from you, I will, but I’m giving you one chance to choose your own result here.”
Her eyes widened, and her pupils dilated. “I don’t like threats.”
“Consider it a promise.” He eyed the gun. Yep. She’d released the safety. “What’s the first lesson I taught you about guns?”
“Not to point one unless you intend to shoot, and not to shoot unless you intend to kill.” Her voice cracked on the end.
“And?”
She sighed and lowered her hand. “If it helps, for a few moments, I considered shooting.”
He snagged the gun. “Believe it or not, that doesn’t help a bit.”
She nodded. “So, Nate, huh? Those must’ve been colored contacts.”
“Yes. We all have the gray eyes. It’s a genetic marker used by the scientists.” He slipped the safety back into place and slipped the gun in his waistband. “That was your one chance to hold a gun on me and still be able to sit for the next week. Don’t do it again.”
Her chin lifted. “Unless I intend to shoot, you mean.”
He couldn’t stop his grin. The woman had guts. “Yes. Unless you plan to shoot me.”
“Your brother doesn’t like me.” Odd, but she sounded hurt by that fact, as if he’d taken her home to meet his family, and they’d disapproved.
Matt sighed. “Nate doesn’t like doctors, women, or, well, people. Don’t take it personally.” Nate wouldn’t like anybody who messed with Matt’s focus, which Laney certainly did. Whether she realized it or not. “You need to pack. Once Nate has my picture, we need to get out of town.”
“Won’t the FBI follow us?” she asked.
He shrugged. “Yes, but we have better trackers after us, so the FBI is the least of our worries.” His phone rang, and he lifted it to his ear. “What?”
“Nate said you’re in over your head for this woman, and you’re going to get yourself killed,” Shane said. “He wants the full background on her sent to his phone.”
Yeah, that sounded like Nate. He’d dig into Laney’s past until he knew everything and how to get her out of Matt’s life. “Send him the full package.” Matt eyed the little brunette. She’d told him the truth about the commander, and Nate would have to reach that conclusion on his own. They’d all done things in life they regretted. He’d figure it all out later. “I know what I’m doing. Prepare for us to arrive sometime tomorrow after Nate fetches what I need.”
Silence echoed across the line for several beats. “You’re bringing her here, Mattie?” Shane asked.
“Yes.”
“No.”
Matt drew deep for patience. “Trust me, Shane. She’s coming with me because we need her.”
“We need her, or you need her?” Shane asked quietly.
Matt kept his focus on Laney as she tried to listen to his conversation. “Both,” he said. Panic and fear swirled around his gut, making it hurt. His entire bo
dy ached. But he went with his instincts and solidified all emotion into a plan he could pursue. God, he hoped he was making the right decision. If trusting Laney harmed his brothers, he’d never survive the guilt.
Nate cataloged the number of weapons in the main hub of the sheriff station. Three deputies stood in the room, and each had a holstered gun. At least one of the guys walked like he had another weapon secured to his ankle.
The gun at Nate’s back provided safety for him.
With a nod at the men, he maneuvered past the desks to the sheriff’s office. “I spoke with Laney Jacobs and her boyfriend,” Nate said, striding inside and dropping into one of two wooden guest chairs.
The sheriff snorted. “I don’t like the boyfriend.” A beautiful picture window made up the entire wall behind him and showcased an abundant forest. A mounted trout took up another wall, and diplomas and awards the third.
Nate tapped his fingers on his pants. “The boyfriend seemed okay to me. Former soldier, trying to find himself. I’d say he’s common.” Yeah. Matt was anything but common.
The sheriff pushed back from his desk. “I don’t know. He arrives in town, and women are attacked. Seems suspicious.”
“My professional opinion is that he’s not our killer.” Nate slid on a charming smile. “Plus, he’s stayed in town knowing you suspect him. That counts for something.”
“Perhaps he’s an arrogant son of a bitch who doesn’t think we’ll catch him. Or maybe he can’t leave until he kills Miss Jacobs, considering he’s been sending her notes.” The sheriff revealed sharp teeth. “Besides, I took his picture and told him I’d send his mug to every law enforcement agency and every news outlet in the world if he skipped town.”
“How?” Nate asked. Just how long had his brother been distracted?
“I interviewed him right after Claire was murdered and snapped a shot before he left.”
Nate chuckled. “Good move. Have you sent the picture anywhere?”
“No. It’s on my computer.” The sheriff patted his protruding belly.
A whisper of cotton sounded at the door, and a woman rushed in. “Oh my God. I received a letter, Todd.” Dressed in surgical scrubs, the woman waved a piece of notebook paper as she hitched across the room before dropping it on the desk.
Sweet Revenge Page 23