Lost in Bliss

by Lexi Blake

  She tightened her grip on the coffee mug. There was only one real reason to bring the whole crew out here. She was pretty damn sure de Sade wasn’t working here in Colorado.

  “Did they tell Gene if there had been a threat made against me personally?” It would explain a lot.

  “No,” Wolf replied. “But they did ask for directions out to your place. Gene had never heard of you. Strange.”

  She couldn’t help a little snort. The feds were going to find Bliss a bit hard to manage until she’d gotten the word out that she was cooperating.

  Was she cooperating?

  Damn it. She couldn’t think straight. All she could think about was the fact that Rafe and Cam had lied to her. Again.

  The sweet feeling she’d had looking at them together dissipated, replaced with a hole in the pit of her stomach.

  “The minute my momma heard the news that the feds had descended, she and Mel took to the shelter. She’s sending out radio messages that anyone in town who wants protection from the coming invasion should come out to Mel’s place. On the plus side, she made pecan pie. I love pecan pie.”

  Laura turned to Wolf. Her current dilemma was going to have consequences for everyone in town. Just as she had the thought, a Bronco with the logo for the Bliss County Sheriff’s Department rolled into her driveway. Logan Green slid out of his vehicle looking a bit cranky, but then he was always cranky these days. She was pretty sure what he was here about. If she let them, the feds would have everyone in town on edge.

  “I’m sorry. I don’t know how long they’re going to be here. Maybe if I go to DC with them, things can go back to normal,” she said as she walked across the small room to throw open the door for Logan.

  Whatever they wanted to do, they could do in DC. She didn’t have to upend the whole town.

  “Don’t you even think about that.” Wolf stood, his face set in hard lines. “You are not leaving this town. We can’t protect you if you’re off in DC.”

  Logan jogged up the steps, pulling the aviators off his face. “Wolf is right. I read that file this morning. You nearly got killed in DC. No place is safe anymore, but at least here you know everyone will watch out for you.”

  She opened the screen door and allowed Logan in. His big frame filled the doorway. In the last several months he’d gone from lanky boy to muscular man. He’d put away his precious comic books and now spent a lot of time in the gym. And at bars, if the rumors were true.

  “Are you here to bring me in?” Laura asked the deputy.

  Logan settled his hat on his head. “It’s not like that. Nate’s got a whole bunch of men in his office who want to talk to you. He wouldn’t tell them where you live. He sent me out to see if you want to talk or if you would prefer to join Mel and Cassidy. No one is going to look for you there. You could hole up for a week or two, and this should blow over.”

  “It’s not so bad,” Wolf offered. “Mel’s made that place quite comfortable.”

  “I’m not going to hole up in a shelter and hope they go away,” she said with a long sigh.

  She’d dreaded this moment. It was so much worse because, once again, Rafe and Cam were involved in her utter humiliation. “It was far too much to think I could hide forever. I’ll go talk to them. Who’s the agent in charge?”

  “A man named Joseph Stone,” Logan replied.

  Wolf suddenly held up his right hand, making a fist.

  “Is he going to punch someone?” she asked.

  Wolf shushed her and started to move around the table. His voice was low. “Someone’s outside. They’re moving slow and quiet, but they’re not used to rural terrain. He’s making a bunch of noise, and he doesn’t even realize it.”

  Logan’s face had gone stony, and he had his gun in hand. “I thought I was being followed. Damn. Back of the cabin?”

  Her heart rate sped up. The whole world suddenly seemed far too quiet. Every small noise felt like a threat.

  “You protect her,” Wolf said, his voice a mere whisper.

  “You don’t have a gun.” Logan pushed her none too gently to the nearest corner and placed his big body in front of hers.

  “Since when does a SEAL need a gun?” Wolf asked.

  He opened the screen door and disappeared. As far as she could tell, he didn’t make a sound.

  She stood there feeling like a coward for hiding behind Logan, but she didn’t have a gun, and she was out of shape. Bliss had made her feel secure. She’d stopped practicing judo and given up on lifting weights. It was so much nicer to sit with her friends at Stella’s and have pie and think about summer. Laura blinked back tears. She’d gotten too used to Bliss. She’d forgotten how crappy the world could be, but now it was crashing in on her.

  Suddenly, the door to her bedroom opened and Cam stepped out, a gun in his hand. He wore his boxer shorts and nothing else.

  “Put it down,” Cam growled at Logan. The Glock in his hands was perfectly aimed at the deputy’s head.

  “You put it down, motherfucker. I don’t see a badge on your chest.” Logan didn’t move an inch to put down his gun, and she could feel the tension tighten in the room. “I’m giving you to the count of three before I blow your fucking head off. You understand me?”

  “Logan, please, he’s not here to hurt me.” She needed to defuse the situation.

  “I don’t give a damn,” Logan replied. “He’s threatening an officer of the law. I don’t have to take that.”

  She looked to Cam, hoping he would be the reasonable one. “Cam, please.”

  Cam’s gun didn’t waver. “Not on your life, baby. Someone is moving around outside. Rafe is taking care of it. I’m taking care of you.”

  “Everyone can stand down.” Rafe showed up in the doorway. He had put on some pants, but he was barefoot and bare-chested. He pushed someone through the doorway. All Laura could see was a man’s dark suit and his head covered in one of her pillowcases. Rafe had a gun to the back of the man’s head, and Wolf followed after them.

  “He didn’t need a gun, either,” Wolf said with a smirk on his face. “It was actually pretty cool. I was edging around the house to catch this guy when the fed here managed to get out that tiny window of yours, jump him, take the asshole’s gun, and get a damn bag over his head.”

  Rafe tightened his grip on the pillowcase. Logan finally stood down, but she could feel the tension pouring off of him.

  “Can you vouch for these guys, Wolf? This one pulled a gun on me.” Logan practically snarled the words.

  The man Rafe was holding had his hands up, and he seemed to be trying to shout something through the case on his head.

  “They’re law enforcement,” Wolf explained. “The sheriff should have warned you they were in town.”

  Logan holstered his weapon. “He didn’t warn me that they would come at me with guns and their dicks hanging out.”

  Cam looked down and readjusted his shorts. “I’m sorry about the hard-on. It’s the adrenaline. I’ll put on some pants as soon as we figure out if we need to bury this asshole.”

  Rafe gave his partner a stern glare. “We’re not burying anyone. We’ll take him into custody.”

  Wolf pointed to Cam. “I like that one, Laura. He’s the one you should keep. Sorry. I’m really good at burying bodies. I was looking forward to it.”

  “No one’s burying anyone. Cam, get the hood, and let’s see what we caught.” Rafe forced his prisoner into the kitchen chair and took a step back.

  Cam pulled the hood off, and the man suddenly had two guns pointed at his head, and he had a pair of her socks stuffed halfway down his throat.

  “Well, if it isn’t Brad,” Cam said, shaking his head. “I should have guessed you would show up like a jealous girlfriend.”

  Rafe lowered his gun. “Brad? What the fuck?” He pulled the gag out of the man’s mouth.

  Laura studied the newcomer. She hadn’t met him before, but she knew a fed when she saw one. He wore the uniform, dark suit—not too expensive, not too che
ap—comfortable loafers, white shirt, and bland tie. He was built, but there was something about his face that reminded her of a weasel.

  “You nearly killed me, asshole.” Brad spit the words out along with no small amount of phlegm.

  “What the hell were you doing sneaking around like that?” Rafe asked. The guns had all been lowered. The tension notched down.

  “I was trying to figure out where our target was,” Brad replied. “No one around here seemed willing to help. The whole damn town seems intent on interfering with a federal investigation.”

  “He followed me from the station house. I remember you,” Logan said. “You were the jerk who wanted us to haul in an innocent citizen. He argued with Nate that we should put out an APB and treat Laura like a criminal.”

  The man named Brad’s face twisted. “She can’t be too innocent. She’s done a hell of a lot to cover her tracks. I’ve found innocent women don’t walk away from their lives and go off the grid. Innocent women don’t get the locals to cover for them. This whole damn town has made sure no one can find this bitch.”

  Rafe’s fist came out and made sharp contact with Brad’s nose. She stepped aside the minute she saw Rafe draw back. Rafe knew how to punch. Brad’s head snapped back, and his nose crunched, a splatter of blood flying out.

  “You broke my nose,” Brad said, though it sounded more like “nobe” instead of nose.

  “I’ll break more than that if you refer to her that way again,” Rafe said.

  “I’ll do worse than break your nose,” Cam threatened.

  “I’m your partner,” Brad said, looking up at Rafe.

  So the asshole was Rafe’s new partner. That was interesting news. Cam was staring at him like he couldn’t stand the man. She walked into her kitchen and grabbed a kitchen towel. She grabbed some ice and wrapped it up before she handed it to Brad.

  He put it to his nose. “You need to think about why we’re here, man. The whole team is holed up at that shithole sheriff’s office waiting around with their dicks in their hands because you won’t answer your damn phone.”

  The words kicked Laura squarely in the gut. So Rafe had known they were coming. Well, she’d pretty much figured that out. Hearing it hurt, though.

  “The team was supposed to wait for us to call back,” Rafe said. He was looking at Brad. His eyes seemed to be avoiding hers.

  “We have some new information. I’m not talking about it here,” Brad said, his mouth setting in mulish lines. “Now, maybe you can do your job, partner, and bring this…lovely woman in where we can talk to her.”

  “That’s up to Laura,” Logan said.

  “What new information?” Cam asked.

  “Rafe didn’t share that news with you?” Brad asked, smirking. “Joe called and talked to him yesterday. I guess he decided to withhold that nugget. I would have done the same. Rafe is a Bureau man in the end. Now you need to step back, Mr. Private Investigator, and let the real men take over.”

  Cam’s face flushed. She knew that look. Asshole McSmartypants was about to get a fistful of Cam. She’d had enough testosterone for the morning.

  “I’ll ride with you, Logan.” Laura walked past Cam. “You should get dressed. Both of you. Wolf, can you give my boss a call and explain why I’m not going to be at work?”

  He nodded. “Sure thing. I’ll find someone to take your shift. Everyone is going to want to help out. You be sure to take care of her, Logan. Call me if you and Nate need some backup.”

  Brad stood up. He still held the icepack to his nose. “You are not going to interfere with an official investigation.”

  Cam moved into Laura’s space. “You’re not going anywhere without me.”

  “Everyone stop,” Rafe ordered. Even dressed in nothing but his slacks, there was an indefinable air of authority about the man. “Laura can ride with us. We’ll get dressed and get to the station house. We will sort this out.”

  She nodded. It wouldn’t do any good to argue with him. It was far better to let him believe that she would be reasonable. Of course, she was being reasonable. Last night she’d been naïve, thinking that they could try again.

  Rafe tried to lean over and kiss her, but she pulled away.

  Rafe’s eyes narrowed. “We’ll talk about that, too, bella.”

  Cam stared at her for a moment before they both walked back into the bedroom to get dressed.

  She grabbed her purse the minute the door closed behind them. “I’m ready, Logan.”

  “Hey,” Brad muttered before Wolf put a hand on his shoulder.

  “I would keep my mouth shut, G-Man,” Wolf said. “I wouldn’t want my fist to slip and take you out.”

  Brad sat his ass back down.

  “I promise, I’m going to be a good girl and talk to the SAC.” It shouldn’t be hard. Apparently the special agent in charge was her old boss, Joseph Stone.

  She stared at her cabin as Logan pulled away. She wondered how long it would be before she could sleep there without feeling their arms around her.

  * * * *

  Cam heard the car pull away and cursed as he zipped up his slacks from the night before. He shoved the feminine curtains aside and watched the deputy’s Bronco pull out of the drive and fly down the road. He wasn’t stupid. He knew the deputy wasn’t alone in that car. Laura was gone, and it was Rafe’s fault.

  “You knew the unit was coming in?” Cam finished getting dressed in a hurry, his hands closing buttons in angry, impatient motions. Rafe had known all along and he hadn’t bothered to tell him.

  “No, damn it,” Rafe replied. “I got a call from Joe yesterday, but you can’t get decent cell service here. All I knew was that there was some new information. I didn’t know that he was coming here.”

  Cam sat down on the bed he’d shared with Laura last night. Rafe had been there, too, but he didn’t want to think about that right now. “You told me we were coming out here to talk to her, to make sure she was safe.”

  Rafe didn’t look up from tying his loafers. “Yes, that’s what we came out here to do.”

  “You’re not telling me everything.” He could hear the hesitation in Rafe’s voice. There was something the bastard was keeping from him. Maybe he would have seen it before if he hadn’t been thinking with his dick.

  “I was supposed to bring her back to DC for questioning and, if the SAC deemed it necessary, protective custody.”

  Cam got up, clenching his fists at his sides. “And you didn’t bother to tell me that we might have to drag her kicking and screaming back to the city where she was nearly killed? There’s a reason she was hiding. You know I didn’t want to tell the Bureau at all. I didn’t see that we had any reason to. She didn’t do anything wrong. If she feels safer in this tiny town, then what’s wrong with that?”

  Rafe stood, his shoulders set for a fight. “What’s wrong with it? First, she is not safe here. That lock on her door wouldn’t keep out a toddler. Second, as long as that asshole is out there killing and torturing women, there’s the possibility that he finds her. Do you think he’s happy that she got away? This killer is obsessive. He won’t be happy that she’s still alive. He’ll feel the need to tie up that loose end.”

  Cam was sick of it. It was an excuse. An ugly suspicion was forming in the back of his mind. “Don’t feed me that profile crap. This is about getting Laura back to DC where you think you have the advantage. If she goes into protective custody, where does that leave me? I’m not on the payroll anymore. I guess it gives you a lot of time alone with her.”

  Rafe’s eyes narrowed. “What exactly are you accusing me of?”

  “I think you know.”

  “Are they going to hit each other?” A feminine voice spoke from outside the bedroom door. Holly stood there in the kitchen with Wolf. There was a small loaf of bread in her hand and a worried look in her eyes.

  He wasn’t sure when the bedroom door had come open, but it was obvious those two had heard more than he wanted them to. “I don’t have time to beat h
im up right now.”

  “Like you could,” Rafe growled under his breath.

  “Maybe you should put the fight on hold for a second. We have another problem,” Wolf said. “Holly had a woman knock on her cabin door a few minutes ago.”

  Holly’s hair was up in a messy ponytail, and she gestured toward her own cabin as she spoke. “She said she was with a news station in Washington. I thought she was talking about the state and maybe they had heard how great our coffee was here. It’s really good. Everyone says so. There’s something about the way Stella…”

  “Holly, stay on task, darlin’,” Wolf urged her.

  “Oh, well, I started talking about how nice Bliss is, and how very few tourists have met grisly deaths. That part is totally exaggerated, but then she started asking about Laura. She said she’d heard I was her best friend and how did I feel about potentially being the target of a serial killer.”

  Fuck. There was only one person that could be. “Skinny? Long, flat blonde hair?”

  Holly frowned. “I’m ashamed to say I barely got past her boobs. I’m not interested in females, but those boobs were…well, I couldn’t take my eyes off of them.”

  Cam shuddered. “They’re fake. Yours are better.”

  Holly’s smile lit up the room. “Thank you.”

  Rafe’s mouth was a flat slash as he brushed by Wolf and Holly and walked straight to his partner. Brad still had the ice pack on his nose. What had he been thinking, sneaking around the side of the cabin?

  Rafe’s hands came down on either side of the table, and he looked at Brad the same way Cam had seen him look at a suspect. “What the hell is Jana Evans doing here? Who gave her the tip-off?”

  Eyes wide, Brad leaned back in his chair. “Now, Rafe, you know I can’t stand that bitch. She’s always on us, calling us incompetent fools. Why the hell would I give her a tip-off?”

  Rafe pressed on. “Someone is tipping her off. This was supposed to be a secret.”