All those out for media attention were getting exactly what they wanted. It was a free-for-all.
Littlemoon Investigations wasn’t safe from scrutiny either. They were having one major issue with all the publicity. If you wanted to hide from the media horde, and still do your job at the same time, it was nearly impossible.
No one was free from the onslaught. It had actually made working at Littlemoon Investigations incredibly difficult.
How were you supposed to tail a cheating husband when you had two reporters tapping on your window with a camera, trying to get an interview? More than once, their cover had been blown, and they’d lost a client.
Frankly, it was irritating the shit out of them.
The smartest couple in the group had been Justin Littlemoon and his new bride. They headed for an island to have the honeymoon Vivian had always dreamed of.
Every day, the team enjoyed the fun pictures which were emailed back. From Justin snorkeling, to Vivian buried in the sand with ginormous sand boobs, the team wasn’t left out from the fun. After all, they were a family.
Yeah, and the office didn't seem the same. Everyone was a little off step in their absence. The team had become incredibly close, but the person suffering the most was definitely Julian. It wasn’t easy to not have his other genetic half nearby. Granted, they spent so many years sporadically apart, but now that they worked together, he missed his twin terribly.
Having his brother around had become one of the things he had come to love. It was fun to tease and torment each other, and in the process, drag their women into the mix. There was nothing like two babes giving the men disapproving looks.
Who were they kidding?
They lived for it.
Fortunately, his brother and brand new sister-in-law would be returning shortly, and he couldn’t wait. Already, he had pranks waiting for them. It was going to be a mêlée of epic proportions. He was talking whipped cream, upside down desk drawers, and booby trapped closets.
It wasn’t the only thing waiting for the team when they came back together.
Julian had made an executive decision regarding their office. When they bought the building, they wanted it mostly for the street location and the upstairs apartment. In between the main floor and the residence space, there was a second level. They had utilized it mostly for storage, and a place to collect dust balls and files in cabinets.
Well, when his brother and Vivian came home, they were in for a surprise. Tori and Julian had the floor cleaned and newly arranged to be set up with offices.
Yeah, his brother and Vivian were about to be given partnership in their business. After all, it was Littlemoon Investigations, and they were part of the family. He couldn’t wait to tell his brother, but his wife wouldn’t let him do it over the phone, no matter how much he begged. News that big had to be done in person, or so she insisted. Nothing he could do would make her change her mind, even the attempt to bribe her with his biggest lure.
Sex.
So, he gave up. He just wasn’t going to win this battle, and it was a waste of energy to try.
After that last case, Julian realized how important his team truly was. Without them, he wouldn’t have been able to solve the case and find the missing women. This was his way of thanking them, especially Vivian, their resident psychic.
Yeah, those thoughts even made him want to snicker. A little part of him was curious why she was given these dreams. The other part of him was a tad bit jealous. Something as special as that was a huge asset to anyone around her.
Being Native, he wasn’t surprised that precognition was a possibility, but still there was a little niggling doubt, festering in his brain.
How did she do it?
Was it a trick?
For now, seeing was believing. Julian was going to have to accept it for what it was. After all, if his brother was putting his faith in Vivian, so would he.
Justin was just as important to their team. While his brother may not be the best of investigators, when push came to shove, he always had your back.
You could always use people like that as your backup, especially in their line of work. An extra set of eyes was always appreciated. Julian related it to his time in the military.
Once a Marine, always a Marine.
Plus, his brother was the social one. He always seemed to know people everywhere they went. Justin was the self-proclaimed king of contacts, and Julian was perfectly fine with using his brother’s connections. After all, Justin was the more extroverted twin.
Then, there was ‘The Giant’, Kane Redwolf. Having him on the team was an asset too. He was incredibly laid back, and when he moved people got out of his way. He was one of those cases of ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’. On the outside, Kane looked mean and scary, but little did they know that he was like a big teddy bear. That was, unless someone looked funny at the little brunette he was crazy about.
Maybe that wasn’t a good word.
Crazy didn't seem to cover it.
She was his one, and apparently only, hair trigger. If you wanted to see a two hundred and fifty pound Native go over the edge, poke his only soft spot. Not long after the case ended, the team was in the bar having a drink. Some man tried to pick Christina up, and it took Julian and Justin to hold Kane back.
It wasn’t pretty. When it came to the giant man, there was one major rule.
Back off his babe.
Oh, where to even begin with her? Christina Hart was somewhat of an enigma. Not so much when it came to her work ability, because she had proven her chops as an investigator. She was a loaner from the FBI, and damn intelligent. Maybe she was too smart for all of their own good. The big puzzle with Christina was if she was in or out.
No one, as of yet, had any clue if she was going to be a permanent fixture in their business or a bird on the wing. They all hoped the little sprite of a woman would stay on, because if she took off to return to the FBI, Kane was likely right behind her.
And that would suck.
It would also mean training someone to replace both of them, and Julian wasn’t looking forward to that.
At all.
No matter how many hints he dropped, or times he questioned Kane, there was still no definitive answer to the looming question. In fact, Julian was pretty damn sure that the big guy was clueless too.
All they really knew was that Christina’s leave of absence was over in ten days. At that time, she was expected to tell Ethan Blackhawk if she was returning, or they were shit out of luck.
Honestly, as much as he loved his Fed friends, he didn't want her to go. The FBI’s loss had been their gain. At first, he was skeptical that she could pull it off as an investigator, but while they saw things one way, Christina put a new spin on everything. Her take on a case was from a more scientific angle.
It was enlightening.
Plus, she made the big Native content. When Kane was happy, there wasn’t a big sulky puppy dog moping around.
That was simply depressing to watch.
Since Tori was a romantic at heart, she had been trying to get a feel for what was coming. Even she was having no luck. Whenever he asked Tori what she knew, her reply was always ‘nothing’.
The whole team was waiting on baited breath.
Speaking of his wife, there was something between them that was a little off. When Julian had found the pregnancy test in the garbage can of the conference room a few weeks ago, he wanted to ask her desperately if it was hers. As each day went on, hope began to waver that she was having his child.
In his mind, he rationalized that she was afraid to tell him, simply based on her irrational fear of being a mother. Now, he only hoped that if she was the owner of the positive pregnancy test, that this wouldn’t damage their relationship.
When they got married, they promised no secrets. If she was keeping one, this particular surprise was a bad one to hide. He’d rather find out that she was a clothes hoarder, or a closet binger than to be told she regretted becoming the m
other of his child.
Julian was well aware that he was pressuring her into a family, but he couldn’t help it. In his heart, he always wanted a child of his own, and to be a father was a precious thing for him. Growing up without one, he knew that he wanted the chance to teach a son or daughter to track, hunt, and run wild on the Rez.
There was terrible guilt that Tori wasn’t ready for what was probably his deepest desire in life. Each day, it ate a little more of his heart away and made him feel like that chasm would never be bridged. He loved his wife more than anything, and he only wished that he could reassure her that she would be an amazing mother.
Once she held their child, there would be no doubt.
His babe was amazing.
The sound of laughter from the outer office signaled that his wife had arrived downstairs. Their receptionist liked nothing more than to hit on both his, and his brother’s babe. Deep down, he knew that he shouldn’t worry about it, but it still bugged the hell out of him. He was territorial and didn't really like anyone checking out his wife, even if that person was a woman herself.
As far as he was concerned, Tori was taken.
Leaning back in his chair, he waited for her to find him. If anything, she was a creature of habit. First, she would greet the staff and offer up idle chitchat, and then she would head to him and the coffee maker.
Waiting, he returned to obsessing about the pregnancy test, and all the scenarios of why he didn't just grow a set and ask her about it outright.
Eventually, he had to do it.
Especially, since she wasn’t being all that forthcoming about it on her own. Then again, that test could have been anyone else’s. Like Vivian, Christina, and even their secretary, Lena. Okay, maybe not Lena’s. She was the only one who didn't have a snowball’s chance in hell of getting knocked up.
There he went again, fixating on something that may not have the outcome that he wanted or needed. Julian was seriously making himself bat shit insane.
Closing his eyes, he tried to refocus and find some peace before he had to face the woman who could be keeping secrets from him.
Tori found him in his office and from the look on his face, her husband was battling some inner demon. The last couple of weeks, they seemed to be out of sync. Something had happened, and she wasn’t quite sure what was going on. One minute they were fine, and the next they weren’t.
The cop instinct in her told her that he was hiding something. The wife part of her was freaked the hell out. Her biggest fear in life was that one day Julian would realize that what they had was more work than of value. Lately, she had been having a few nightmares, and Tori was afraid that they were chipping away at the foundation of their marriage.
Who in their right mind wanted to wake every few nights to terror filled screams or sobs? Tori could only imagine what she was saying in her sleep, and as of late, she prayed Julian wasn’t fed up with her. There was no secret that the dreams centered around a man whom she was once going to marry. Tori only prayed she wasn’t telling the deceased fiancé that she loved him, while the husband was forced to listen.
It wasn’t like it was true.
What she felt for Julian was untouchable. He was her everything and the reason she woke every morning. She needed him more than he needed her. The second their paths crossed, he had become the only love of her life.
Let’s face it. Out of the two of them, she was the needier one by far. The dreams, the worries, the broken past, and everything else weighed on her poor husband’s shoulders. In her eyes, the man was a saint. From the minute he wouldn’t take no for an answer, to the day he found her in the VA and brought her home to nurse back to health, she had loved him to death.
Tori had nothing but the utmost love and respect for her husband. In fact, he was turning into an amazing partner and businessman too. She may have funded his endeavor, but he was building it, brick by brick, from the ground up.
There wasn’t a prouder woman than she.
Now, watching him sit there with that tortured look on his face, there was fear brewing in her gut. If she lost Julian, there was no hope for her. He was her redemption in a life filled with pain and death.
Salvation had a name, and it was Julian Littlemoon.
Her gut twisted in anguish that she may be hurting him, and ultimately, what she expected him to do about it.
Sooner or later, she suspected that she was done.
As if he sensed that Tori was there watching him, Julian opened his eyes. When they met hers, the gold flecked ones quickly hid the pain that he was feeling. Julian Littlemoon may be good at hiding things, but he sucked at it when it came to his wife. Tori’s fears kicked into overdrive, making her want to beg for forgiveness for being lost and broken.
Immediately, she strapped on her own shuttered façade and headed in to face the music.
“Hey, babe. Do you want some coffee?” she asked, moving toward the coffee station in the corner of his office.
“No, I’m good,” he replied, watching her. If he wasn’t mistaken, his wife looked nervous. No, she looked scared. “Are you okay, Tor?” he asked, hoping she would be honest with him.
“Yes, why?” she replied to the question with one of her own. It was a shitty attempt to buy herself time.
Well, so much for that pipe dream of her sharing what was building a wall between them.
Julian chickened out. “Just wondering.”
She opted to redirect the conversation. “When we move your office upstairs, where will we be putting the coffeepot?” she asked, pouring a cup. Her heart skipped a beat as she sensed him near her. In fact, the scent of his aftershave caused her body to tremor with love and need.
God, she couldn’t lose him.
“We should put it in our office,” he corrected, placing his hand on her hip. Moving closer to her body, he rested his chin on her shoulder and left a chaste kiss on her cheek. God, he hated the void between them.
It was killing him.
“We could do that,” she replied, more than willing to give the man anything he wanted. Since they were moving upstairs to keep the team’s offices together, making more room for possible new hires downstairs, she agreed to share an office with him.
“Tori, honey,” he began, trying to figure out a way to ask her if she was hiding the biggest secret of their lives from him. How exactly did you ask your wife if she was being deceitful, especially when this was your biggest pet peeve in the world? His past betrayals made him overly suspicious, nervous, and paranoid. Right then, he was struggling to not blame Tori, or take it out on her.
Like he once did.
After accusing her of cheating on him, sending his brother to stalk her with a camera, and breaking her heart, Julian didn't want to go there again. Deep in his soul, he knew that if he took that path of suspicion, it would be the end of their journey together.
How magnanimous could his wife be?
“Yes, Jules?” she answered, moving to face him. When her fingers stroked his cheek, he turned his face into her hand to kiss her palm.
“I love you so much.”
Her heart quaked at the simple sentence. “I love you too, Julian, more than eating or breathing. You’re my soul mate,” Tori vowed, hoping it was enough to chase the demons away.
Then, she longed to ask him for how long that love would last. Tori wanted to know if he was going to leave her. In fact, she wanted to beg him to tell her what was tormenting him. She almost wanted to drop to her knees and weep until he opened up like he once had before. There were never secrets between them. Julian was her knight in shining armor. He fought all of her fears head on, but he was holding back, and it was wounding her heart.
“Bosses!” Lena called from the doorway. “Your next client called. She’s running a few minutes late.”
Tori glanced down at her watch, grateful for the client’s tardiness. It would give her time to compose herself.
“Tell Kane and Christina to meet us in the conference room. We m
ight as well get prepped before she arrives,” he replied, dismissing her.
“Gotcha.” Lena bounced away in her spiked platform shoes and beaded goth apparel.
“Are you okay, Jules?” Tori asked, trying to get him to open up to her.
“Yeah, honey. I’m fine.”
Tori saw the lie, and she let it slide. This wasn’t the time or place for a fight. Right now, she was too worked up. Pulling her hair back in a ponytail, she took a deep breath.
“Okay, let’s get this over with. I’m ready to start a new case.”
Julian was too. He needed a distraction in the worst possible way. Maybe while finding what someone had lost, their marriage would knit itself back together.
Then again, maybe it was only a dream.
* * *
Kane Redwolf sat in the conference room, watching the woman he was madly in love with. She was his entire world, including the moon and stars, and he was sure that she was going to leave him and break his heart.
How she wiggled past his defenses and burrowed straight into his heart, he’d never know. Growing up, he swore that he was never going to marry or fall in love with an outsider. He had seen too many failed relationships where the woman became bored and searched elsewhere for a new love.
Outsider women were fickle.
They didn't always like or acclimate to the simple Native life, or the Rez for that matter.
His uncles all tried to marry someone not of their heritage, and it came back to bite them in the ass. At a very young age, he swore that the woman he married, had kids with, and loved forever would be of his ethnicity.
It was carved in granite and his one unshakable truth. You could bet on it, like the rising and setting sun.
Yeah, until fate decided to screw with him and bring him the little tsunami named Christina Hart.
He could still remember the day he first saw her walking around the police station on the Rez. She was tiny compared to him, and absolutely sexy. There was something about the wispy brown hair and the wood sprite green eyes that captivated him. Then, he saw her in action, playing with the slippery skins of the dead victims. It grossed him out and intrigued him all at once. Where he judged her a princess, due to her manicured nails and designer clothes, he had been wrong.
Lost & Broken (LIttlemoon Investigations Book 2) Page 2