The Leah Ryan Thrillers Box Set: Three Chiller Thrillers (Repo Chick Blues #1, Finding Chloe #2, Dirty Business #3) (Leah Ryan Thrillers Box Set, Books 1-3)

by Tracy Sharp

  I slipped my tongue between his lips. His tongue lightly darted against mine and I melted into him. We kissed long and slow, a hot, dreamy kiss that left me weak in the knees and feeling positively sublime. We kissed like that for a long time, then his mouth moved to my jaw and then to my neck. I let my head tilt back and moaned. Everything this man did felt so good.

  He kissed my mouth again and began moving to the back of the truck. We moved like that together, kissing and moving our feet, me following him, wondering where he was going.

  He dropped the tailgate and lifted me until I was sitting on it. That he could so easily lift me surprised me. He looks strong but I’m no willowy, dainty flower. I was impressed.

  So impressed, in fact, that I just had to wrap my legs around his waist and draw him in again, greedy for his kisses. His hands moved over my back, caressing my skin. I’d forgotten how nice it felt to be caressed. He leaned into me and pushed me back so that I was lying on the truck bed. He pushed my top up and I closed my eyes as his lips touched my belly. I moved my hands over his thick hair, lifting my hips to bring my belly closer to him, needing to feel his mouth on me.

  I felt heat move through me. At that moment all I wanted was him. I needed to feel his skin against mine. I reached down and pulled his shirt up and over his head, and tossed it behind me. Vaguely I heard a car pass, but I didn’t care. Mitch didn’t seem to be concerned either. He’d moved up to my bra, and with one quick movement of his fingers he’d opened the front closure. I arched my back, moving toward his mouth, his breath against my skin was maddening.

  It started to rain. Slowly at first. Large, fat droplets hit my face and arms. But within moments it was coming down hard and fast. If I stayed lying on my back I’d drown, so I reluctantly sat up. Mitch moved back and stood, staring up at the sky through squinted eyes. His black hair plastered to his face. He looked wonderful.

  He grabbed me by the waist and lifted me down. “Come on, let’s get inside.”

  “I could’ve gotten down on my own, you know.”

  “Yeah, but I like having my hands around your waist.”

  We ran to the house and he unlocked the door. We were both soaked, dripping puddles onto his floor.

  Without turning on the light, he pulled me to him and moved his mouth over mine. My body responded instantly, heat racing through me again. I moved my hands over his skin, slippery with rainwater. His tongue probed my mouth and he pressed his body against mine as I leaned against the door. I tasted rainwater on his lips. Our breathing quickened. “God, you taste good,” I breathed against his mouth.

  He made a slight growling sound deep in his throat, and pulled my jacket off. He pressed his lips against my throat.

  His hands came down and found both of mine, and he gently pulled me backward.

  “Where are you taking me, sir?”

  It was dark in his kitchen so I couldn’t see his face, but I could hear the smile in his voice. “Right here.”

  He gently moved me so that the cool edge of his counter was pressed up against my butt. “Oh, my. A place to sit.”

  “I thought you should have a seat. Relax. But first…” His fingers came up and undid the button of my jeans, pulled my zipper down and tugged the denim down my legs.

  I stepped out of them and moved them to the side with my foot.

  He hesitated when he saw the knife strapped to my leg. “Wow.”

  I leaned down and unstrapped it, letting it fall to the floor, kicking it aside too. “It’s nothing. Just a little reassurance.”

  “You’re not like all the other girls.”

  “Forget it.”

  “Consider it forgotten.” His hands came around my waist and he hoisted me up onto the counter.

  He leaned forward and his mouth found my breast bone. His lips were warm and soft and a shiver went through me.

  “Cold?”

  “Uh uh,” I breathed, leaning back against the cupboard behind me. My fingers tangled in his wet hair as his tongue trailed down over my breast. Both of my legs curled around his. Little quivers of need unfurled from me, and I heard myself moan, a sound part frustration and part desire.

  His hands moved slowly up and down over my thighs, a feeling so sexy and intimate that I could barely stand it.

  “Jesus,” I breathed. “What are you doing to me?”

  “Making you like me,” he said as his kisses traveled down my belly.

  “It’s working.”

  Mitch spent several long moments making me like him.

  “Wow,” was all I could think of to say.

  “That about sums it up, yeah.”

  My cell phone trilled.

  We both groaned.

  “Don’t get it,” he said, his voice husky. “I’m not done with you yet.”

  I considered not getting it. “Shit. I have to.”

  I pushed him a little and he reluctantly stepped back. I jumped down from the counter as he sighed. “Sorry.”

  “Yeah, yeah. I feel so used.”

  “Oh, I’m sure you do. How positively awful for you.”

  “Dreadful.”

  “Putz.” I found my jacket on the floor and fished my cell out of one of the pockets.

  “Hello. This better be good.”

  “Did I interrupt something?”

  “In a manner of speaking, yes. What is it, Jack?”

  “Thanks to your brother’s hacking savvy, we have the names and backgrounds of all the Johns belonging to the license plates on the list.”

  “Holy shit.”

  “That’s not all. One of them is a level three sex offender. Did a nickel for raping a twelve-year-old boy.”

  Excitement raced up my spine. “It has to be him, Jack. He’s got to be the one who killed Tyler Pine.”

  “Was this call worth interrupting you for?”

  “I’m not answering that. I’ll be there in a few.”

  “Okay, Kicks. Take it easy on the road, it’s bad out there.”

  I dressed quickly, brushed my lips against Mitch’s cheek and mumbled an apology before I headed out the door into the driving rain.

  Chapter Ten

  The rain came down in diagonal sheets. It felt like I was running through a car wash to get to the Jeep. The wind was unkind, and used its power to lean on my back and push me like an enormous man shoving me forward. Yet it fought me, making it difficult to open the door of the Wrangler, slamming it shut again each time I was able to pull it open.

  My already wet clothes were soaked through by the time I got the door open and climbed into the Jeep. Water poured off me onto the waterproof seats and I was thankful that I had a Jeep instead of some luxury car. I turned the wipers on full blast, but they didn’t seem to be helping much. The smart thing to do would be to sit there and wait for the rain to let up, but I’m not known for doing the smart thing. I couldn’t wait to hear more about what Jack had found out about the sex offender. It made perfect sense that he would’ve killed Tyler. These guys go to prison, end up gravitating toward their own type while they’re there, and share stories. They hone their methods within the prison walls and decide that next time they won’t leave any witnesses to send them back to prison.

  I was trying to take it slow on the road, but my anxiousness kept making me put more pressure on the gas pedal. If I didn’t want to become a statistic I’d have to take it easy. I could take a short cut, but it would mean driving down a long, lonely, rarely traveled road. Walnut Road. I looked in my rearview and side mirrors for Mr. Pick-up truck following. There were a few sedans and an S.U.V, but I didn’t see the silver pick-up. I decided to take a chance and when the turn came up for Walnut Road I took it.

  I took a few deep breaths and punched radio buttons until I found a song I liked. The DJ had a sense of humor. Eddie Rabbit’s I Love a Rainy Night was playing, and I turned it up. I love that song.

  I sang along to calm my jumping nerves.

  Before I could begin the next chorus with Eddie, the rumbling soun
d and uneven ride let me know that my left back tire had gone flat.

  “Oh, this is not good.” I pulled over to the side of the road and parked, watching my mirrors for the pick-up. My tires had been fine. I check them on a daily basis. They hadn’t been slashed because I’d have known it when I started the car to leave Mitch’s house. Somebody had let enough air out of my tire that it would go flat within fifteen or twenty minutes of driving on it. Somebody who’d been following me and known that I was at Mitch’s house.

  The thought of them parked somewhere, watching our heated activities in the bed of Mitch’s truck brought heat to my face and pissed me off. What pissed me off even more is what a dumb-ass I was to take this quiet road. I was acting just like every dumb-ass in a horror movie doing stupid things that I always say I wouldn’t do. The things that make you yell at the screen, frustrated, “Don’t go there, you idiot! Don’t you know the killer is in there?” and then shake your head, telling the idiot they deserve what they get for being such a dumb-ass.

  I could change my own tire. That wasn’t a problem. The issue was whether I’d be horror-movie-character stupid if I left the relative safety of my car to change the tire. I peered in my mirrors again. No headlights. No lights of any kind. It would only take a minute to change the tire. I could be done with it and out of there before I or anyone else knew it.

  But then I’d be a dumb-ass again. Somebody had set this situation up beautifully and I was falling for it. I sighed and dug my cell out of my pocket. I could’ve called Mitch because he was closest, but I thought about Lilly. If anything serious happened to him, she’d be left without a father. I called Jack.

  “Aw, hell. Kicks don’t you move a muscle. Do not get out of the Jeep. Do you hear me? Do not change that tire.”

  I sighed. “Fine. Just get here, will you?”

  “I’m already out the door. Sit tight. If anyone approaches, honk the hell out of your horn.”

  “I know what to do, Jack. Just get your ass over here. Please.” I hung up and sat rigid in the seat.

  “This bites the fat one.” I hated the nervous edge in my voice. I hated sitting there, drenched through and feeling helpless. Having to call Jack to rescue me.

  There was an audible click as the back door to the Jeep opened. I turned in time to see a shadowy figure pull and lift the back window up.

  Oh, shit. He’d had his lights off. I hadn’t seen him creep up on me in the dark and the pouring rain.

  In a split second I was out of the car. If I ran I’d get tired and he’d get me anyway. I stood my ground and crouched, reaching for the knife strapped to my leg.

  But in a blur of motion he was in front of me. I saw his arm swing out and I tried to avoid his fist but he got me on the side of my head. My eardrum felt as if it were exploding. I fell sideways, my left hand catching my fall. I tried to scramble forward, gain purchase to get to my feet but then he was on top of me, knocking me to the ground with his weight. The air left my lungs as he pinned me down. He pushed my face into a puddle. My cheek tore against sharp pebbles and dirt. I tried not to breathe in, but my lungs were exploding and instinct took over. I inhaled the dirty water and coughed, sending bubbles into the puddle.

  His hand grabbed at my hair and yanked my head up. I felt his lips close to my ear. “You don’t take hints very well, do you, little girl?”

  I gulped for air, barely able to breathe with his weight on me. The only thing that mattered in that moment was getting air into my lungs. The thought skittered across my panicked mind that it was amazing how your life could be reduced to one need, and I wondered how many breaths I’d taken for granted in my life.

  Then he shoved my face into the water again.

  Another thought occurred to me. I’m going to die. Face down in a puddle with a man on my back. I’m going to drown in two inches of water in the pissing rain. No. No way. Not like this.

  I reached out in front of me, feeling for anything that I could grab on to. My grappling fingers found the sharp, uneven edges of a small fallen tree branch. The wind must have cracked it off and whipped it to the ground. I curled my fingers around it, my lungs on fire, and brought arm up, jabbing blindly behind me.

  The branch hit something and the pressure on my back eased. Suddenly the fingers were gone from my hair, and I heaved myself up and forward, scrambling on all fours away from the man. I grabbed the knife from its sheath tied to my leg and gripped it tightly, the blade facing downward. I was ready to jab it into whatever I had to, and bring it back to slice if need be.

  The man howled, pain and rage ripping from his throat.

  I tried to blink water and sand from my eyes. I squinted, barely able to see in front of me. He was kneeling on the road, one hand held over his left eye. I saw his other hand move. He held his arm straight out toward me. The only reason anyone would do that is if they were pointing at me. Like with a gun.

  I grinned. Started to giggle. My strange habit of giggling when I’m scared out of my wits, knowing I’m in a shitload of trouble.

  “BITCH!”

  “Oh,” I began, but it came out as a raspy croak. I began again and found my voice. “Stick and stones.”

  “I’ll kill you!”

  I coughed, my chest burning. “What are you waiting for?”

  He wasn’t supposed to kill me. He was supposed to scare me. This had gone too far, and he knew it. The problem was that I’d injured him. Humiliated him. He wanted to finish it. To save face. He didn’t want this lousy bitch to get away with besting him. But he had somebody to answer to. Somebody paying him a large sum of money.

  I wondered which would win over.

  A half second later I found out.

  * * *

  I knew Callahan was in the room before I even opened my eyes. I didn’t know how, but I knew. I felt him there. I heard Jack’s voice first. Whiskey over gravel. But the words seemed jumbled at first, like I was hearing them from under water. Slowly I was able to make them out. Jack was talking again.

  “Bastard was gone by the time I got there. Lucky for him. He’d better hope I never find him.”

  Then Jesse’s voice. “Guy’s a lousy shot. Thank God.”

  “It’s a good thing it was raining so hard. He couldn’t see her to hit her where he wanted to,” Jack said.

  “Jesus. I wish she hadn’t taken off so fast,” Mitch said. “She never would’ve gotten hurt if I’d have just stopped her.”

  “But you should see the other guy,” I said, still groggy. I opened my eyes a little, my lashes still shading them from the harsh light of the hospital room.

  All four of them stood around my bed. Jesse and Callahan on my left. Mitch on my right. Jack at the foot of the bed, watching over me. He’d been my guardian angel since the first day I’d met him in juvenile detention, but his brows were furrowed. He was frowning.

  “Don’t,” I said to him.

  “I should’ve gotten there faster, Kicks. I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t,” I said again. “Are you hard of hearing? This is in no way, shape or form your fault. Don’t make it your fault.”

  His jaw set and he looked away.

  “I should’ve stopped you,” Mitch said, regret thick in his voice.

  “Oh, stop already. Jesus. Like any of you have any control what-so-ever over what I do.”

  They were all silent for a moment, grinning at each other.

  Callahan chuckled. “Good point.”

  “So what the hell happened? Am I gonna live?”

  “He shot you through the shoulder,” Jack said. “They got the bullet out. There isn’t any real damage. Either he didn’t want to kill you or the rain obscured his vision and he was way off.”

  “What obscured his vision was a tree branch jammed in his eye. I think I might’ve taken his eye out.”

  Callahan winced. “Ouch.”

  I grimaced, the pain in my shoulder suddenly awake. “That’s why he shot me.”

  “Wow, sis.” Jesse looked at me in awe. “Y
ou took his eye out? I can see why he’s pissed about that.”

  I reached for the water glass beside my bed. Callahan handed it to me. “He’s a bit perturbed, yes.”

  Jack stood with his arms crossed over his chest. He was in defense mode. “So you think he wouldn’t have shot you if you hadn’t gouged his eye out?”

  “No. I think he was sent to scare me, but it just went too far.”

  “Shit,” Mitch said. “You know this isn’t the end of it.”

  Callahan was getting agitated. He started pacing around the room. “Jesus, Leah.”

  It was so good to see Callahan. And seeing him caused a dull ache in my chest that hurt more than the burning bullet hole did. But he has a way of pissing me off like no one else ever has. He was worried about me, but his worrying made me feel like he had no faith in me. I didn’t need to be taken care of. Also, he’d dumped me, damn it. He had no right to be concerned about me.

  “Cal. Thanks for coming. But I really don’t need you getting all jittery and making me nervous. I can’t afford to be nervous.”

  He swung around and faced me, his eyes wide, disbelieving. “You can’t afford not to be nervous.”

  I glared at him.

  He shook his head and stared at me for a moment. “I’m glad you’re not dead. I hope you’re as lucky next time.”

  “Oh, thanks, Callahan. Now if you wouldn’t mind getting the hell out, I’d appreciate it.”

  Without another word he stalked out of the room.

  Everyone stood around for a moment in awkward silence. I glowered at each person, daring them to say anything about how I’d treated Callahan. When I looked at Mitch my anger fell away from me instantly. His eyes met mine with a steady gaze that told me he knew what was behind my hostility toward Cal. He’s a reporter. He knows a lot about people and their reasons for reacting the way they do. He knew.

  I dropped my gaze, ashamed.

  Then I hardened my face and lifted my chin. “Jesse, find a nurse for me, would you? I wanna know when I can get the hell out of here.”

  I was in the hospital for five days before Jack drove me home. He and Jesse were adamant about staying at my house again. Jesse took his old room upstairs and Jack slept on the couch as before. I was as safe as I could be in my house, with two men, one a skilled fighter, and my rottweiler sleeping on his bed in the corner of my room.