by Zara Chase
“Who?” Farah demanded. “Anyone I know?”
“Uh-huh, I’m no snitch.” Laughing, Aubrey shook her head. “You can put the thumbscrews away, Detective. It’s not my secret to tell.”
“I’ll find out, Aubrey Maxwell, so you might as well save yourself a lot of grief by ’fessing up.”
Aubrey threw up her hands. “Not a chance.”
Farah focused her eyes on Aubrey’s profile. “My reprobate brothers were at the club while this auction was going down, right? And they looked out for you.”
Farah didn’t think it was possible for Aubrey to blush any more deeply, but she proved her wrong. “There were indeed.”
“Did they win the basket and lure you into their love nest with promises of Jessica Rabbit, long-life batteries, and PVC playtime?”
“You can stop looking at me like that, Farah McLean. It’s not like that at the club, and before you ask, what happens in Consensual stays in Consensual.”
“Meanie.” Farah grinned. “Okay, I’ll quit grilling you. I’m just delighted to see you looking so happy. You deserve to be after all the shitty stunts Noah and Riley have pulled on you over the years.”
“And you should know. I’ve cried on your shoulder often enough and you’ve always been there for me.”
“What else are friends for?”
“It doesn’t bother you that we’re a threesome?”
Farah laughed. “I’m not that much of a prude. Besides, there seems to be a lot of that sort of stuff going down in this town. You three and Tatum with her two. They must be putting something in the water supply.”
“I’m glad you’re cool with it. Noah and Riley didn’t want to offend their baby sister’s sensibilities.”
“Ha-ha, I’ve got one up on them for a change!” Farah grinned. “The next time they try telling me what to do I can turn the tables on them.”
Aubrey’s laugh was a combination of relief, happiness, and, if Farah had to guess, sexual contentment. Shit, when had Farah last felt sexually replete?
Never.
Something was missing from her life. She knew precisely what that something, or to be more precise, who that someone was. Unfortunately she couldn’t have him—especially not now—and that was all there was to it. There had to be someone else out there who fit the bill. She just hadn’t met him yet.
Keep telling yourself that, Farah.
Aubrey grinned. “That I’d pay money to see.”
“What’s this club of yours really like then?” Farah asked.
“Honest truth?”
“Of course. I’ve never been inside one. I’ve had to deal with a lot of working girls in the line of duty, but I’ve never visited one of the clubs. I’m curious, just like you were.”
“They aren’t working girls in there. Just ordinary people like you and me, out for a bit of offbeat fun.”
“No pun intended?”
“No, beating’s definitely on the agenda.” Aubrey sounded like an authority on the subject, causing Farah to wonder how long she’d actually been into that lifestyle. “As to the rest, you wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
“Well then, we’ll just have to go and have a look for ourselves.” Farah brightened at the prospect. Being laid up here until her overprotective family decided she was well enough to be a grown-up again suddenly didn’t seem so depressing. If she went out with Aubrey, her brothers were hardly in a position to complain. Ah, the power! “Tatum can’t come over to see how I am, so…”
“That damned feud. When are you McLeans and Baldwins gonna kiss and make up?”
“When hell freezes over, I guess. It’s gone on for so long now that no one can actually remember what started it all.” Farah sighed. “The Montagues and Capulets have nothing on our families.”
“It’s not all bad. You, me, and Tatum have been tight since our school days, even though she is a filthy Baldwin and you’re a McLean.”
“True, but she still can’t come into this house.” Farah flapped a hand, feeling as frustrated and helpless as she always did when her mind dwelt upon the long-running feud. “It’s too ridiculous for words.”
Aubrey flashed a sympathetic smile. “I’ll bet she’s already been on the phone.”
“Yeah, about a million times.”
“And you’ll be able to visit with her once you’re up and about again.”
“I’m not completely out of action. I can walk, with the aid of a stick.” Farah made the admission grudgingly. “The stitches come out in less than a week, and I’ll be able to drive again then.”
“You still won’t be ready to go dancing.”
“Says who?” Farah paused, canting her head as she nibbled the end of her index finger and flashed a mischievous smile. “Aubrey, you asked me if there was anything I needed just now. Did you mean it?”
“Sure, honey, anything.”
“Okay then, I need you to round up Tatum and for the three of us to have a girls’ night out at Consensual.”
“You what!” Aubrey eyes bugged out of her head. “I thought you were joking.”
“I never joke about sex.” The idea of taking a look-see in the club had taken root. If Aubrey didn’t agree then Farah would resort to emotional blackmail, if that was what it took. “Pretty please!”
Aubrey laughed. “Oh, why the hell not?”
Chapter Two
Wednesday May 3rd
Farah’s mood improved considerably once she’d talked Aubrey into agreeing with her scheme. And tonight was the night. She, Aubrey, and Tatum would put in an early appearance at the club and then have dinner together in town. As far as her family was concerned, they were having dinner—nothing more. Aubrey hadn’t been happy with the idea, Farah realized, in spite of agreeing to it. Farah figured she was too well known locally and that her appearance at the club could well reach her brothers’ ears, dropping Aubrey right in it, but her feisty friend had still agreed. Hell, she’d missed Aubrey more than she realized.
“No problem,” Farah said to herself now, pulling from her closet a long red wig she’d worn years ago to a Halloween party. “Besides, seems I’ve got several of my brothers right where I want them, thanks to Aubrey and Tatum, and they’re no longer in a position to adopt the moral high ground.”
It was true. She’d never seen her big bad siblings so lovesick before. Farah pretended to be disgusted by the way the mooched around after Aubrey and Tatum, but secretly she was delighted. Everyone deserved to be happy. When would her turn come around?
It was ridiculous really, and one of the reasons why Farah had left Sanctuary. One of them, but not the main one. She adored her family, but they suffocated her. She was twenty-eight years old, a detective with Billings PD. She put her life on the line on a daily basis facing down bad guys and arresting the dregs of the earth, yet her family still treated her like a baby.
Two of her other brothers also had a permanent house guest. Mason and Alex had taken in an attractive lady called Sophie and her twelve-year-old daughter Alice. Don’t tell me she’s a housekeeper, Farah thought, rolling her eyes. She’d only met Sophie briefly and liked her already, but didn’t know her well enough to ask probing questions about the true nature of their living arrangements. It was none of her damned business, just like her life was nothing to do with her brothers, but good luck trying to tell them that.
Farah tucked her long hair into a tight knot at the back of the head and pulled on the wig. She glanced in the mirror and laughed aloud. She looked ridiculous, and completely unrecognizable. It would do. She stuffed the wig in her oversized purse, applied minimal makeup to disguise the dark shadows under her eyes, and stepped into a pair of loose pants that didn’t rub against her injured thigh. A tank top beneath a soft beige leather jacket completed the look. Casual but nothing that said available.
Farah wanted to look but not be touched.
“Are you sure you’re well enough to go into town, honey?” Mary, her mother, asked anxiously when Farah hobbled into t
he eat-in kitchen.
“Sure, Mom, I just need a change of scene for a while and a chance to catch up with Aubrey and Tatum.”
That silenced her mother. Her parents tolerated her friendship with Tatum Baldwin, but her father would still burst a blood vessel if a single Baldwin—even a female—stepped foot over his threshold. It was plain crazy for adults to behave like kindergarteners.
It was the way it was.
“You still look peaky,” her father said, looking up from the island where he was reading a whole load of papers. Farah suppressed a sigh when she saw they were from their lawyers. They clearly weren’t wasting any time running up outrageous fees in the battle over the gold.
“I feel fine, Daddy,” she said. “But, er…this business with the gold. Do you really think it’s cost-effective to involve lawyers?”
“What would you suggest then, darlin’? Just hand it over to those money-grabbing Baldwins and smile politely?” He scowled and shook his head. “I don’t think so.”
Farah’s mom sent her a look that said don’t go there. She needn’t have bothered. Farah knew better than to waste her breath and wondered why she’d even tried being the voice of reason. Perhaps it was the family’s continued refusal to talk to her about everything that had been going on. How many times had she heard her mother telling her brothers in an undertone not to say anything to upset Farah?
“Here’s Aubrey now.” Farah peered out the window and saw her friend’s car pull up outside, Tatum in the passenger seat.
Farah leaned on her stick with one hand and bent over her father to kiss him. When it came to being stubborn, Caleb McLean could teach a mule a thing or two, but she loved him to heck and back anyway. He and her mom were just so damned good together that Farah sometimes wondered how they’d managed to share their lives with six kids. Seven if you counted Farah’s cousin Josh, who lived here and was treated like another son. Would Farah ever be lucky enough to find her soul mate?
Her dad smiled up at her. He still had a full head of hair, even if it was now more silver than dark, and the rugged good looks that blessed all the McLean men. But there were new lines on his weathered face, she noticed, probably brought on by the gold find and the prospect of having to either welcome a Baldwin into the family or risk losing Will and Josh.
End the dispute, Daddy, and get on with enjoying life.
In spite of additional problems it would cause for the families, Farah was just so pleased for Tatum and couldn’t wait to see her and tell her so in person. She’d had a crush on Will and Josh since high school, although Farah probably wasn’t supposed to know that. Tatum had been very tight-lipped about her feelings back then, but to someone who knew her as well as Farah did, it had been as clear as day.
“Take care, sweetheart,” he said, squeezing her free hand. “And try having some fun for a change.”
“Count on it, Daddy.”
Her mother walked with her to the door.
“You take it easy on that leg, now. No salsa dancing.”
“Mom, when are you going to talk to me about what’s going on around here? I might be able to help.”
“You just concentrate on getting well, honey.”
“My body’s a bit bashed up but there’s nothing wrong with my cognitive powers.” She grasped her mother’s hand. “Surrounded by all these alpha males, don’t you sometimes feel the need for a little feminine support?”
Her mom sighed. “If you want to know the truth, your dad’s more upset about Will and Josh being with Tatum when they found that gold than he is about the dispute over the gold itself.”
“That figures.” Farah sent her mom a sympathetic smile. “And you’re stuck right in the middle, just like always.”
“I’m strong and your dad needs me.”
“I know that, but isn’t he happy that Will and Josh are…well, happy?”
Her mother’s expression was world-weary. “You know way better than that.”
“What started this stupid feud, Mom?”
Her mother shrugged. “Depends who you ask.”
“Well, I want you to promise me that if anything kicks off again you’ll let me know. I want to be there for you for a change.”
“Okay.” Her mom kissed Farah’s cheek. “It’s a deal. Now go have some fun.”
Farah hugged her mom and opened the front door. The moment she emerged onto the wraparound porch, Tatum jumped out of the car and ran to hug her. She then broke the hug and stepped back to give Farah a long, probing look.
“How are you?” she asked, narrowing her eyes like she agreed with Aubrey that Farah wasn’t in any condition to go to sex clubs. I’m only gonna look!
“Doing better,” Farah replied, returning Tatum’s hug.
“You sure?”
“Positive. And there’s no need to ask how you are. You look radiant. What’s caused that, I wonder.” Farah grinned as she teased her friend. “It has to be more than the satisfaction you get out of teaching high school, rewarding though that must be.”
“Thanks.” Tatum grimaced. “I am happy, but I’m also stressed to bits. I feel like I’m being pulled in several directions at once.”
“It can’t be easy, but the path of true love isn’t supposed to be.” Farah shrugged. “Wouldn’t know myself.”
“Your turn will come,” Tatum said as she helped Farah to clamber, not very elegantly, into the backseat of Aubrey’s car.
“I’m real pleased for you, honey, although I’ll have a few choice words to address to that skunk of a brother of mine. He lectured me worse than anyone about giving up my job, not taking risks, and here he is breaking family ranks by colluding with a Baldwin and not bothering to even mention it. If you hadn’t called me, I’d never have known.”
Tatum giggled. “I think he was a little embarrassed.”
“So he damned well should be. Talk about double standards.”
“Cut him some slack, babe. Besides, he only lectured you because we’re all so worried about you.”
“Maybe so, but he doesn’t get away that easily.” Farah settled into her seat and flashed a smile at Aubrey. “Hey, Aubrey.”
“Hey yourself. How you doing?”
“This feels like breaking out of prison.”
“Some prison.” Aubrey lifted her brows as she glanced at the huge, rambling ranch house that had always been Farah’s home, even though she hadn’t lived there for a while.
“I didn’t say it wasn’t a five-star prison,” Farah replied, realizing how petulant she must have sounded.
“I hear you, babe.” Aubrey flipped her indicator as she reached the end of the long McLean driveway and headed out onto the highway. “That disguise won’t get you far, though. It’s dark in the club, but even so.”
“Ah-ha!” Farah produced her red wig, plonked it on her head, and poked her face between the two front seats. “Now what do you think?”
They laughed so hard that Aubrey almost drove off the road.
“You trying to copy my style?” she asked.
“Not a chance. I’m a trained professional so know only to take on competition I’m likely to beat.” Farah winked at Tatum.
“That oughta do it then. You might want to straighten it up, though.”
Farah reached toward the rearview mirror and used it to adjust her crowning glory. “Okay, now I’m good to go, except the damned thing itches like crazy.”
“We all have to suffer for our art. And, er, talking of suffering, do you think you can manage without the stick? People will notice. It’s a small town and, well…”
“Sure, if I don’t have to walk far or move too fast.”
“No problem. Tatum and I will carry you if necessary.”
“It won’t be necessary.”
Aubrey indicated again and pulled into the parking lot outside Consensual. Farah had passed the place many times and was always surprised by the small, discreet sign with just the name of the club on it. Nothing else. It could have been a high-end gym,
a social club, or just about anything. Presumably those who frequented the place knew what to expect, and the owners didn’t want to upset Sanctuary’s residents by spelling it out. The parking lot was half full, even at this early hour. Way more locals than she’d realized frequented the place anyway, so Farah figured there weren’t too many left to offend.
Seemed like she was behind the trend and had lost time to make up for. Not that she intended to get involved. Even if she’d wanted to, her injuries would prevent it. She was simply curious. It was apparent that her brothers had gotten their kicks here before they found their happy-ever-afters. Perhaps Mr. Right was here, waiting in the wings for her to claim him. Farah rolled her eyes. All this downtime was making her fanciful.
“Far, there’s something we need to tell you before we go in,” Aubrey said, sounding nervous.
“Something else?” Farah raised her brows. “Okay, shoot.” Farah winced, thinking she could have chosen her words better. “I mean, go right ahead.”
“This damned feud,” Tatum said in a frustrated tone. “Even before we found the gold, Aubrey and I, having interests in common—”
“Those interests being my brothers?”
“Your brothers, right. Anyway, Far, we thought we ought to do something about this ridiculous feud.”
Farah rolled her eyes. “Like what?”
“Well, funny you should ask, but it just so happens that I knew someone who’s good at that sort of thing.”
“Yeah, who?”
“Her name’s is Dr. Jocelyn Richards. We go way back.” Tatum’s voice was edgy. “She’s kind of a genealogical detective.”
“A what!”
“I know it sounds weird, but she’s good at what she does, and she gets results.”
“How does she do that?”
“She looks into family histories.” Tatum sent Farah a pleading look. “Face it, Far, we don’t really know what started this stupid feud, but I do know it’s split the entire town into two camps. Far as the older generation of Baldwins is concerned, if you’re not for us then you must be against us.”
“I know, it’s the same way with my folks.”