Hard to Hold

by Nicole Edwards

  “Sorry, sweet thang,” the man who’d asked for the beers said. “Hard to keep my hands from wanderin’ to somethin’ that fine.”

  “Well, you better find a way to keep ’em to yourself before I rip them from your fucking body.”

  The rough rumble of Wolfe’s voice from behind her had Amy taking one step back from the group.

  “Ah, hell, Caine. Why didn’t you say somethin’? If I’d known you were sweet on the girl, I wouldn’t’ve touched.”

  “Shouldn’t be touchin’ anyway,” Reagan called from the table next to them, where she was grabbing two empties. “Why do you dumb cowboys think we want your filthy hands all up on us?”

  Reagan sounded as though she was teasing, but Amy had to wonder.

  “Keep your fuckin’ hands off my girl,” Wolfe demanded, then steered Amy back to the bar.

  His girl?

  For whatever reason, there was a churning in her belly. The sweet kind. The kind that made her want to jump on Wolfe, to kiss him right there in front of everyone. She’d never thought she’d feel that way about anyone who wanted to claim her. But when Wolfe said it…

  “My girl,” he declared again. “And the whole fucking bar should know that.”

  Amy let out a squeal when Wolfe pulled her into his arms and crushed his mouth to hers. She tried to resist him at first, but she gave in quickly. The man’s mouth could do wicked things to her, make her forget her manners or where she was.

  When he finally pulled back—after a couple of catcalls and whistles—they were both breathing hard.

  “Well,” Amy huffed, stepping back. “I think you effectively staked your claim.”

  “I’d say so,” Reagan said with a laugh.

  “Now, if you don’t mind, I need to get back to work. You can sit right there and watch.”

  “Oh, darlin’, you know how I like to watch.”

  Heat infused her. Yeah, watching was one of the things Wolfe did enjoy. And Amy had to admit, she liked it, too. Especially when…

  She shook off the thought before her mind went directly into the gutter. She was at work and did not need to be thinking about all the deliciously dirty things Rhys and Wolfe had done to her over the past week.

  Feeling slightly guilty for letting her mind wander, Amy peered up at Wolfe. He was watching her. A crooked smile tilted his lips and he winked.

  She sighed.

  What else could she do?

  “Sheriff Trevino, my name is Joanna Tannenbaum. I’m a detective with the Houston Police Department. I’d like to speak to you about a missing person I’ve been personally looking into. When you get this, please give me a call back.”

  Rhys jotted down the phone number the detective rattled off, a nervous tension tightening his gut. After disconnecting from the voice mail, he dialed the number.

  “Joanna Tannenbaum,” the woman greeted, her tone curt, professional.

  “This is Sheriff Rhys Trevino. I’m returnin’ your call.”

  “Thank you for calling me back, Sheriff. I’ve been working a cold case, and I came across some information I thought you could help clarify.”

  Rhys didn’t respond.

  “Anyway,” she continued, “let me start by saying that this case is not official.”

  “Not official?”

  “An actual missing person’s report hasn’t been filed; however, there is a case file,” she clarified. “It’s regarding a Jane Doe, who… You know what? Would it be possible to meet with you in person to discuss this? It’s … well, it’s something I’d rather not talk about over the phone.”

  Inviting the detective to Embers Ridge could pose a problem. Then again, she had contacted him, which meant she knew exactly where to find him if she chose to. Odds of her finding whatever it was she was looking for were about fifty-fifty, regardless of whether he brought her to town or she came on her own.

  “Tomorrow mornin’,” he suggested. “At my office.”

  “What about Sunday? Say, nine o’clock. That’s the only time I’m off for the next week.”

  “All right. Sunday mornin’. Nine a.m.”

  “Thank you, Sheriff. I think this is information you’d be interested in having.”

  He would agree, even though he couldn’t guarantee her unofficial case involved the Jane Doe from a year ago—a.k.a. Amy Smith—but he had a feeling that it did.

  “See you Sunday morning at nine,” she concluded, then disconnected the call.

  Rhys hung up the phone and stared down at it. Although the woman hadn’t mentioned anything about Amy, Rhys had a strong suspicion that her past had just caught up with her.

  By the time Rhys was off shift, he was exhausted. Rather than go over to Reagan’s and get shit from the local hotheads, he opted to go home. He hadn’t spent a whole lot of time there lately, and it seemed like a good night to sit back and relax by himself.

  He hadn’t been in the front door three minutes when his cell phone rang.

  “What’s up, Sheriff?” Wolfe questioned, his tone steely.

  “Nada. Just got home.”

  A heavy pause hung between them for a second, and Rhys started to wonder if Wolfe had expected Rhys to simply spend all his time at his place. As much as he enjoyed the time he’d spent with Wolfe and Amy, Rhys still needed time to himself. Plus, he had a million things on his mind. The least of which was not the fact that he had a meeting with a Houston detective on Sunday morning, and sure as shit, if he had to face Wolfe, Rhys would give himself away. Until he knew exactly what it was about, he didn’t want to share the news with anyone.

  “Okay then. I’ll let you go.”

  “Wait,” Rhys blurted. “What’s up?”

  “Nothin’. Just thought you’d stop by the bar on your way home. That’s all.”

  “Sorry. Got a lot of shit on my mind right now.”

  “No worries. I’m gonna take Amy home tonight. She said she really wants to sleep in her own bed.”

  Rhys didn’t know what to say to that. He understood Amy’s need to go home. She’d spent a significant amount of time with both of them, and things had been steadily intensifying between them from the get-go. The woman was probably in need of some alone time, too.

  “Is Reagan gonna be there?” Rhys asked.

  “Yep.”

  “Tell ’em to call if they need anything.”

  “Sure. Later.”

  The call disconnected abruptly and Rhys leaned against the counter with a heavy sigh. It was evident Wolfe did not like when things didn’t go as he’d planned. Not that Rhys was privy to the man’s plan. They’d taken things one minute at a time for the past couple of weeks, and truthfully, Rhys was having difficulty trying to figure out what he should do next. This thing between them—as hot as it might be—was moving a little fast.

  Rhys was all for the sex. No arguments from him on that front. However, the rest was new for him. Rhys hadn’t had a relationship since his early twenties, and that one hadn’t been nearly as time-consuming as this one was.

  Truth was, Rhys didn’t know how to do relationships. Especially not with two people, although that was what he wanted in the long run. He just hadn’t expected things to escalate so quickly. He knew a big part of that was due to Amy and her past, but someone had to put the brakes on, and Rhys figured it might as well be him.

  Plus, it would do Wolfe good to see that Rhys wasn’t going to jump through hoops for him. He’d never been that guy, and no matter how hard or how fast he was falling for Wolfe and Amy, he refused to ever be that guy.

  Now he just needed to figure out how to balance it all out.

  If that was even possible.

  “Sir?”

  Kelly Jackson peered up from his desk, his eyes scanning the man who’d rudely interrupted him. “What is it?”

  “Remember how you told me to let you know if that Jane Doe file was ever opened?”

  An icy tremor raced down Kelly’s spine as he sat up straight. “Yes.”

  “Looks as
though someone’s been checking into it.”

  Kelly masked his expression, not wanting to let on that this was possibly the worst news he could’ve received.

  “Do you know who?” he asked, keeping his tone casual.

  “Detective Joanna Tannenbaum.”

  Son of a bitch.

  He should’ve known that woman was going to be trouble. She’d only asked him about Amy at least half a dozen times since he’d concocted the story of Amy going to take care of her sick grandmother. He had no idea why Jo was so interested, and he didn’t like the fact that she was so fucking nosy.

  “Did she say what she was looking into?”

  “No, sir. She actually claimed she hadn’t looked into it, but her IP address was used to access it.”

  “Thank you, James.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  When James turned and left the doorway, Kelly leaned back in his chair, his chest burning. He knew he shouldn’t have let this go on this long. He should’ve taken care of her long before now. But after he’d been promoted to Houston police chief, Kelly had gotten a little lax. He had more to worry about than the stupid woman who should’ve been six feet under.

  And maybe lax wasn’t the right word. Kelly had to admit he could’ve taken care of her long before now. He’d tracked her from the day she left the hospital near Embers Ridge. He’d kept tabs on her when she stayed with that nurse, then when she hopped from motel to motel. There for a while, he thought she was going to leave the state, but she never had. Instead, Amy backtracked to that damn small town. She bought a house and settled in not too long ago. He figured he had time to deal with her. After all, a year had passed and no one had tied the Jane Doe back to him.

  So, he had backed off these past couple of weeks. He wanted to let her get comfortable, to think he wasn’t going to come after her. There’d been some masochistic pleasure in knowing that he could get his hands on her whenever and wherever he wanted. She couldn’t run from him, and she damn sure couldn’t outsmart him.

  But the fact of the matter was, she should be dead.

  It was true, from the second he’d laid eyes on her way back then, Kelly had wanted her fiercely. He’d been excited to take her virginity, to ride her hard, to make her submit to him. Only that damn uncle of hers had caused problems from the beginning. And after he’d had to take care of them, Amy had changed. She’d become a headache over the years, and he had no idea why he’d kept her as long as he had.

  And then she’d thought she could just leave him.

  He could still feel the rage burning just under his skin. It had never gone away completely since the day he’d sat at his desk and watched as she moved through the house and packed her things. But she had hesitated. Kelly knew she wouldn’t leave him. She didn’t have the gumption. She was too stupid to make a decision like that on her own. But he’d been tired of waiting for it. Admittedly, she’d gotten braver. So, he’d followed his instinct that morning when he had hightailed it back to the house.

  And that was when the rage won out. He’d been blinded by fury to the point he hadn’t been able to stop beating her. But she just wouldn’t die. It was as though she had something to live for, but he knew better.

  When she had finally stopped fighting back, Kelly had knocked her unconscious. She’d suffered so many broken bones, and he figured the broken ribs had punctured her lungs. Hell, he’d figured if her injuries didn’t kill her, the elements alone would have. That was the only damn reason he’d dumped her out in the middle of fucking nowhere. He knew she didn’t have any family, no friends. No one would be looking for her. And when he’d been asked about her, he’d fabricated a story about her moving up to Pennsylvania to take care of her ailing grandmother. It had been hard to let her go, he’d explained, but necessary.

  At least the last part had been true.

  “Shit,” he grumbled, glancing out the window.

  Looked as though he was going to have to put a plan in place. He’d known it would come to this one day, and he’d actually looked forward to it. However, he wasn’t a man to react. He had to have a plan. He might not be able to get his hands on her right away, but it would be soon.

  And this time he would make sure she was dead before he dumped her body.

  Hell, he’d bury her himself just to make sure.

  And if he needed to take care of Joanna Tannenbaum, he’d take care of her, too.

  No woman was going to alter his course. Not now. Not ever.

  22

  __________

  Wolfe spent the majority of his Saturday working. With Amy at home doing girl shit with Reagan and Rhys being standoffish, Wolfe had figured some time alone would do him some good, too. Seemed to be what everyone else was aiming for, so why the hell not.

  Didn’t matter that it was his fucking birthday.

  The day had gone by fast and he’d finally managed to get some shit accomplished. Amazing how a little time without interruptions could get things back on the right path. And now, the only thing he wanted to do was head home, grab a shower, then maybe head over to Reagan’s for a beer with his cousin and hopefully his old man.

  After cleaning and locking up, Wolfe headed home, calling Calvin on his way.

  “’Yello.”

  “Hey, old man. You up for a beer in a bit?” Wolfe asked.

  “Uh. Shit. What time?”

  “Coupla hours, maybe? I’m headin’ home to clean up. Then I thought I’d head over.”

  “Okay. I’ve got some shit to do, but I’ll try to make it by there.”

  “See you if I see you.” Wolfe disconnected and then dialed Lynx’s number.

  “Wassup, hoss?”

  “You wanna meet for a beer at Reagan’s?”

  “Yup. What time?”

  “Give me an hour or so to shower and I’ll see you there.”

  “Make it around seven and I’ll see you there.”

  “Perfect.”

  At least someone had some time for him today.

  Not to sound like a broken record or anything, but it was his fucking birthday.

  Two hours later, Wolfe was climbing out of his truck in front of Reagan’s. The damn parking lot looked like a ghost town. The only vehicle there was Reagan’s. He knew Amy was working tonight but figured she’d caught a ride with Reagan since she’d been doing so frequently lately.

  As he stepped up to the door, he briefly wondered if someone was playing a trick on him. Sure, it was a little early, but seven o’clock wasn’t too early for a beer in this small town.

  Opening the door, he noticed Reagan standing behind the bar and Amy leaning against it. Both women’s eyes cut to him when he made his way inside.

  “We were startin’ to wonder if no one was gonna show up tonight,” Reagan noted, sounding somewhat relieved that they had a customer.

  “Where’s everybody at?” he asked.

  “Thought maybe you could tell us,” Reagan replied.

  Wolfe glanced over at Amy. He noticed she was trying really hard not to smile.

  “Okay, what’s goin’ on?” No fucking way was this bar completely empty on a Saturday night.

  Amy giggled but tried to mask it. She was too late.

  Wolfe moved toward her. She backed up, still grinning from ear to ear.

  “What’d you do?” he asked her directly.

  “Me? What makes you think I did something?”

  “You’re blushin’, darlin’. I know you’re up to somethin’.”

  He crowded her between his body and the wall. Planting one hand over her head, he leaned down and cupped her jaw. When he went to kiss her, Amy giggled again but was quickly silenced when he slipped his tongue past her lips.

  A soft moan escaped her and Wolfe realized what he wanted for his birthday.

  Her.

  And Rhys.

  Naked.

  Before he could tell her as much, the door opened behind him. He slowly broke the kiss, then turned just in time to see…

  “Hap
py fuckin’ birthday, hoss!” Lynx shouted.

  Holy fuck.

  People started filing into the room one by one, all following Lynx, who was carrying one hell of a cake.

  “You seriously didn’t think we’d forget, did you?” Lynx asked. “I mean, you’re thirty and all. Not an important birthday or nothin’.”

  Wolfe couldn’t help but smile. He put his arm around Amy and pulled her to his side. When he looked down at her, he noticed she was still smiling.

  “Did you have somethin’ to do with this?”

  “Maybe. I noticed the date on the calendar in the break room, so I asked Lynx about it.”

  “You got a keeper there.”

  Wolfe looked up to see his father moving toward him, a huge grin plastered on his face.

  “Yeah?”

  “That girl worked her butt off to get all these people to keep a secret.”

  “Not an easy thing to do in a town this small,” Reagan added.

  “Definitely not,” Rhys said when he joined them.

  “A free round of beers helps when tryin’ to bribe people though,” Lynx added.

  Wolfe glanced around at all the people. Friends he didn’t see that often, his father, his cousin, Rhys, Amy. Shit. Everyone who meant anything to him was there.

  Hell, he hadn’t had a birthday celebration like this one since he turned twenty-one.

  Peering down at Amy, Wolfe tilted her chin up, then leaned closer. “Remind me to thank you properly later on.”

  “Okay. I’ll remind you.”

  He just bet she would.

  It really was hard to keep secrets in a small town. Amy had learned that firsthand over the past week.

  The day she realized Wolfe’s birthday was coming up, she had recruited Calvin, Lynx, Rhys, and Reagan to help her surprise him. She hadn’t thought it would work, but she’d figured they could give it a shot anyway.

  Turned out better than she thought it would, actually. Seeing Wolfe walk into Reagan’s, completely confused over why there was no one there, had proven to her that people were willing to go the distance for someone they cared about. The people in this town were top notch in her book.

  And now, everyone was drinking beer, laughing, joking, and telling stories about Wolfe. Amy was technically working, but Wolfe continued to pull her into his lap, refusing to let her go, so she wasn’t getting much done.