Safeguarding the Surrogate

by Delores Fossen

  “Once SAPD pinpoints Marissa’s time of death, they’ll want to question our suspects to see if they have alibis.” Of course, even if they didn’t have them, it still might not lead to an arrest. Everything they had right now was circumstantial.

  “Daniel,” she whispered. Kara said his name like a weary sigh and moved closer, putting her head against his shoulder.

  Even though she’d no doubt done that just for comfort, the closeness set off some alarms inside him. He’d been telling himself to keep his hands off her. Not to let what he was feeling for her interfere with the investigation. But his body didn’t care much about alarms.

  Daniel set the binoculars aside and slid his arms around her.

  She made another of those weary sigh sounds, and the moment crawled by while he just held her. He didn’t pull her closer. Didn’t kiss her. However, it certainly felt as if that was going on.

  And more.

  He got some very clear images of stripping off that robe and taking her to the bed that was only a few yards away. But that would be a mistake. Kara wasn’t in a good state of mind right now and wasn’t ready for something like that.

  Or so he thought.

  But he had to do a mental adjustment when she eased back enough to locate his mouth with hers. He might have planned on resisting a kiss, but he sure didn’t. Her lips felt as if she intended to make this count. To make this ease some of that tension bubbling inside her.

  Daniel was all for relieving tension, all for the pleasure that being with her would give them, but he didn’t deepen the kiss. He just let her take the lead. And she took it all right. Her tongue ran along the seam of his lips, and Kara went in to take this to a whole different level.

  That different level went straight to his groin. Man, her taste got to him and made him want a whole lot more. But more wasn’t necessarily a good thing. It could turn out to be something Kara would regret, and that’s why he had to give her an out.

  “You should probably get some rest,” he managed to say when she finally broke for air.

  She pulled back enough to meet him eye to eye. “Do you really want me to rest?” Kara asked.

  Hell. That was a hard question with an easy answer. No. He wanted her naked and beneath him in the bed. Or on top of him. It didn’t matter. He just wanted her, and when Daniel stared down into her eyes, he knew that want was going to win out.

  He lowered his head and took her mouth.

  * * *

  KARA HAD FELT Daniel’s hesitation. But then she’d also felt that hesitation snap like a twig when the heat took over.

  She was thankful he’d lost that particular battle. They’d have to deal with the consequences of this after. But for now, they could be together, and for a little while they could forget the attacks, the murders. The danger. For now, it could be just the two of them and the pleasure they could give each other.

  And Kara was certain there would indeed be pleasure.

  His scent swirled around her as she sank into his taste. A taste that fueled a wildfire that already had a life of its own. A fire that she was certain would get a whole lot hotter.

  The kiss raged on until her mouth felt slightly bruised, and Daniel’s strong arm wrapped around her waist, hauling her to him. Not that he had to do much of that. Kara was already against him.

  “Kara,” he said, whispering her name as he buried his face into her hair.

  There was so much emotion in that one word. Both the pleasure and the doubts all mixed with the heat and need. He was worried about this. About her. But that wouldn’t stop them. Not with this urgency pushing at them to finish this.

  And Daniel got started on the finishing.

  He took those lethal kisses to the sensitive spots on her neck. She wasn’t sure how he’d known just where to kiss. Where to touch. But he did, and he was very good at it.

  Kara tried to kiss him and touch him as well, but everything started to move too fast, and she had to hold on to him to anchor herself. Without stopping that firestorm of kisses, he walked them to the bed. Not gently. Each step seemed to be a battle to milk out every ounce of pleasure. To make and then take even more. Kara very much wanted that more.

  The moment her back landed on the soft bed, he shoved open the robe. She was only wearing a bra and panties beneath, and she nearly lost her breath when he skimmed his hot gaze, then his hand, down her body. She hadn’t needed anything else to make her want him, but that did it.

  Her mouth was so hungry, and she was starved for him when she kissed him. When she got open the buttons on his shirt and touched his chest, she let her fingers trail through the thick mat of dark hair that he had there. Then she kept trailing until she reached his stomach where the muscles tightened under her touch.

  His body was perfect, of course. She’d known it would be. She kept touching, kept her hand sliding lower until she pressed her palm over the front of his jeans. He was huge, hard and ready. That, in turn, made her ready as well, and she felt her own heat pool in the center of her body.

  He made a husky sound of pleasure that nearly caused her to melt. That sound, the look he gave her, was a potent weapon in his sexual arsenal.

  “Now,” she insisted.

  But Daniel didn’t listen. Apparently, he wasn’t done with the kissing and touching because he lowered the cups of her bra, and with the lightest touch, he flicked his tongue over her nipples. First one, then the other. He might as well have doused her with carnal fire because that now became a lot more urgent.

  “Now,” she repeated.

  He must have taken her at her word because he went after her panties. He kissed her along the way as he pushed them down. Down. Down. Kissing her right between her legs.

  Kara heard her own sound of pleasure, and for a moment she nearly gave in to the pleasure he was creating with his mouth and tongue. But she didn’t want to do this solo. She wanted Daniel with her when she climaxed.

  With her hands shaking from the need, Kara unhooked his belt and would have freed him from his boxers, but he eased her hand away. “Condom,” he said.

  He might as well have asked for the moon because she lay there, burning. Needing. And knowing that she didn’t have a condom. Thankfully, though, Daniel did. He fished out his wallet from his back pocket and took out the foil wrapper.

  Clamping the edge of the wrapper between his teeth, he shoved his jeans and boxers past his hips. The moment he had on the condom, he was back on top of her.

  And inside her.

  This was many steps past mere pleasure with that first thrust. Her breath went wild. Her heart pounded. And she wanted him with every fiber of her being.

  He moved. Slowly. So slowly. Which only made the need more frantic. Kara pulled at his hips, thrusting hers up to meet him. She didn’t even try to make this last. She couldn’t. The fire was way too hot for that, and her body wasn’t going to settle for anything less than the fast orgasm that only Daniel could give her.

  Finally, the heat must have gotten to him, too, because he started to move faster. Deeper. Thrust after thrust. With her lifting her hips to meet each one.

  Until she could take no more.

  The climax slammed through her, clamping onto his erection and causing Daniel to slide right over that peak with her. She felt his body give way. Heard the hitch of his breath. As his muscles went slack.

  She rode out the pleasure from the aftershocks, keeping her arms wrapped around Daniel. The emotions hit her all at once. The incredible sensations of his weight on her. The way his skin felt against hers. His mouth when he sought out her lips for a lazy, sated kiss.

  But what hit her most were the feelings that seemed to pour from her heart.

  Feelings that Daniel probably didn’t want her to have, but there was no way Kara could stop them. Not now. Not after she’d been with him like this.

  She was in love wi
th him.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Daniel lay in the darkness, staring up at the ceiling while he wondered just how much he’d screwed things up.

  The sex with Kara had been great. But then that was no surprise. A scalding heat made for scalding hot sex. However, there could be a huge price to pay for it. Kara knew that, too, and he figured she was having as many doubts as he was.

  Well, maybe she was.

  Maybe she had such deep feelings for him that this would end up hurting her. Daniel hated that, but he wasn’t sure there was a way to avoid it. It didn’t feel as if his heart was his to give, that he might not be able to forget Maryanne and move on with his life.

  He mentally shook his head, though, rethinking that. The fact that he was here in bed with a naked Kara snuggled against him was perhaps proof that he had moved on. He wasn’t sure if that bothered him, but he was certainly having some pangs of guilt over not feeling, well, guilty.

  “You can’t sleep?” Kara whispered, letting him know that she was well aware he was awake.

  “Neither can you?” he countered, looking down at her. And thanks to the night-light coming from the bathroom, he got an eyeful. One that made him want her all over again.

  The sheet had dipped down a couple of inches, exposing her left breast, and she had one leg on top of the covers. Her face was as beautiful as it always was. Then there was her mouth. It looked a little swollen from all the kissing they’d done, which only reminded him that kissing her had been darn pleasurable and that he wouldn’t mind doing more of it again.

  Like now, for instance.

  Despite the guilt lecture he’d just given himself, Daniel found himself leaning in to brush a kiss over her lips. She moved closer, sliding right into the kiss, which would have no doubt led to more sex.

  If his phone hadn’t rung.

  Daniel quickly disentangled himself from Kara and snatched up his cell from the nightstand. He saw Barrett’s name on the screen and checked the time. Since it was nearly midnight, this couldn’t be good news.

  Sadie.

  That was his first thought, and Daniel blurted out his daughter’s name the moment he answered. He added a quick, “Is Sadie okay?”

  “She’s fine,” Barrett assured him, but Daniel could tell from his brother’s tone that not all was well.

  “What happened?” Daniel snapped. He got up and started to get dressed. Kara did the same.

  “One of Rizzo’s ranch hands just called,” Barrett explained. “Rizzo was supposed to be staying in a guesthouse on the ranch grounds since the main house had some fire damage. The hand heard what he thought might be a gunshot coming from the guesthouse so he went to check it out. Rizzo didn’t answer when the hand knocked at the door. When he went in, he said there are signs of a struggle, and that Rizzo’s nowhere around.”

  Daniel released the breath he’d been holding. This didn’t sound good for Rizzo, but this didn’t have anything to do with Sadie or the rest of his family. At least he hoped it didn’t.

  “So, Rizzo’s missing,” Daniel concluded.

  “That’s what the ranch hand believes. He insists he’s checked all around the ranch, and he can’t find his boss. He says Rizzo’s phone is still in the guesthouse. His wallet, too.”

  Daniel thought about that for a moment. The phone and wallet weren’t good. People didn’t normally leave those things behind if they went out.

  “Signs of a struggle,” Daniel repeated. “Maybe the sound of a gunshot. But no blood?”

  “No, but I’m heading out there now to have a look,” Barrett answered. “I was at my place so I’m not that far from Rizzo’s ranch. I told the hand to get out of the guesthouse in case it’s a crime scene. I don’t want him mucking up any possible evidence.”

  Daniel didn’t like that at all. This could be some kind of trap to lure Barrett into danger. “Do you have backup?”

  “Yeah, Esther’s meeting me there. She was off duty, but I called her back in to help with this.”

  Barrett had had to do that because there weren’t many options, not with Leo, Daniel and Cybil all tied up with protection details. The night deputy, Jake Mendoza, would be at the sheriff’s office, but he would have to stay in town to be able to respond to any emergencies.

  “There’s more,” Barrett continued several moments later. “The ranch hand said that Rizzo’s truck is also missing. If someone kidnapped him, then they might be in the truck.”

  True. But there was another option. If Rizzo had faked an attack to draw Barrett and other lawmen away from town, then Rizzo could be using his truck to come to the inn. Or escape if he truly believed he was about to be arrested.

  “FYI, I just tried to contact Eldon,” Barrett said. “I was going to ask him if he knew anything about Rizzo, but mainly I wanted to see if he had an alibi. The call went straight to voice mail.”

  Since it was late, that wasn’t unusual. Some people did turn off their phones at night. But nothing about this felt right. Apparently, his brother felt the same way, and that’s why he’d called.

  “I just want you to make sure your security system is still activated and that no one set it off,” Barrett insisted.

  “I’ll check that now.”

  Daniel put on his holster and drew his gun. With Kara doing the same thing and following right behind him, they hurried downstairs. The light on the security monitor was engaged, and there weren’t any red lights to indicate an open window or door. Still, they went through the bottom floor to check each one.

  “Everything’s secure,” Daniel relayed. He checked the security app on his phone. “And none of the exterior cameras have been triggered.”

  Of course, if any of the cameras had been, he would have gotten a signal. Still, Daniel went to the front window and peered out to verify no one was there. He didn’t see anyone.

  But he saw something.

  “There’s a dark blue truck parked just up the street. I can’t make out the license plate, but I think it could be Rizzo’s. It’s parked just out of range of the security cameras.”

  Barrett muttered some profanity. “Sit tight, and I’ll call Jake to have him check it out.”

  Since Deputy Mendoza was less than two blocks away, it wouldn’t take him long to do that. However, that didn’t ease the tight ball of tension that settled in Daniel’s gut.

  Something was wrong.

  And Daniel got confirmation of that just seconds later.

  His phone beeped, the sound piercing right through him. Because someone had just triggered one of the security cameras.

  * * *

  KARA TRIED TO steel herself up for the jolt of fear and adrenaline that came. From the moment she’d heard the concerned tone of Barrett’s voice, she had thought there might be trouble. She just hadn’t considered that trouble might already be waiting for them outside.

  “What’s wrong?” Barrett asked.

  Daniel didn’t answer his brother until he’d gone through each of the various screens of the cameras. “I don’t see anything, but something or someone tripped the alarm.”

  Maybe the same someone who’d left Rizzo’s truck up the street. Of course, it might not actually be Rizzo. If the ranch hand had indeed heard a shot and Rizzo had been taken by force, then his kidnapper could have brought the truck here and come close enough to set off the sensor on the camera.

  “I need to go back upstairs and view the camera feed on the laptop,” Daniel told his brother. “If I see anyone, I’ll call you back.” He ended the call and shoved his phone back in his pocket.

  There was only a small light on the reception desk, but Daniel turned it off before they rushed back up the stairs. Kara tried to listen for any indications of someone breaking in. Or another camera alarm triggering. But there was nothing like that. She could only hear the sounds of Daniel’s and her hurried footsteps and her own
gusting breath.

  Just minutes ago, Daniel and she had been in bed. And while she couldn’t say they hadn’t had a care in the world, the sex had soothed her raw nerves. So had Daniel. Well, there was no soothing now, not until they were certain that they weren’t about to be attacked.

  Once they were back in the bedroom, Daniel raced to the computer, but Kara went straight to the window. Daniel had warned her enough to stay out of anyone’s possible line of sight so she peered out the side of the blinds. She looked past the cruiser parked there, past the sliver of a backyard and into the area that the cameras wouldn’t cover.

  Still nothing.

  Mercy Ridge had very little nightlife so there wasn’t anyone out strolling around, but she looked to make sure a cat or some other animal hadn’t inadvertently set off the sensor.

  “According to the security log, the camera in the eastside yard was the one that went off,” Daniel relayed to her.

  He motioned for her to follow him, and while balancing his laptop on his forearm, they rushed down the hall to what was called the east room. It was a large suite and had not one but two large windows that faced that particular part of the yard. Kara went to one. Daniel, the other. But just like the back, Kara couldn’t see anything that would have tripped it.

  “Maybe someone’s playing games,” she murmured.

  A sick game.

  The person could have thrown a rock or something at the camera so they’d get the alarm and go into a scramble. But why? If this was the killer, certainly he knew that Daniel and she wouldn’t just go running outside to see if there was a threat. Plus, anyone who knew Daniel would also know that he would tell his brother the sheriff about this.

  Then again, Barrett wasn’t nearby.

  He was out at Rizzo’s.

  Maybe that ploy had been part of this. Something that caused Kara’s heart to pound even harder. But she forced herself to remember that there was a deputy at the sheriff’s office. They would have backup if needed. And it wasn’t as if Daniel and she were defenseless. They were both armed and wouldn’t just stand by while someone attacked them.