Treacherous Seduction (The Rockford Security Series Book 3)

by Jones, Lee Anne

  Icy dread trickled down her spine. Whoever was doing this was good. Too good.

  She pushed the paper back to Troy with a shaky hand. “I didn’t write those either.”

  “Shelby,” he said, his tone infinitely patient. “We compared these to a sample of your handwriting. Statistically they are a good match.”

  Righteous anger flared alongside her despair. “Dammit, I’m telling you these aren’t from me. I don’t know where you got them, but I didn’t write them, okay?”

  Tiredness, combined with overwhelming stress, finally crumbled her last defenses and she broke down in sobs. “T-those st-tupid n-notes don’t even make sense. Why would I kill my dad if I wanted more time with him, huh?” Nose running and eyes streaming, she looked across at Troy. “Now I’ll never get to spend time with him again. Never.” She hiccupped and took the tissue Troy handed her. “Can’t you people understand? I loved Dad. So, so much. I’d do anything to spend just one more day with him. Anything.”

  Thirteen

  From the guest room on the second floor, Chase heard the ruckus downstairs and his anxiety ratcheted higher. Sure, he hung out with some of the Rockfords at work, but this was different. This was a family get-together and the last thing he wanted to be on that dreary, late-autumn Sunday was an interloper.

  The smell of meat roasting and veggies baking made his stomach rumble and he inched closer to the top of the stairs. Blake had insisted he come down, partake of the food and the camaraderie, but Chase wasn’t so sure. It was one thing to be nice to him because he was an employee. It was another to hang out with an ex-con on the weekends for shits and giggles.

  Henry snuggled in closer to the side of his neck, as if for encouragement, and Chase glanced sideways at the green guy. Blake had taken a real shine to him, but insisted Chase spend as much time with the iguana as he did, saying they’d bonded already or some nonsense. While Chase would deny it until he was blue in the face, he’d missed Henry. “Hey, buddy. What do you think? Should we go get some grub?”

  Henry flicked his tongue out against Chase’s cheek.

  “Okay, then. Let’s do this.” He took a deep breath for courage and descended the steps. Blake saw him before he reached the bottom floor. He raised a hand and waved Chase over to the busy living room.

  Chase waved back and weaved through the crowd of Rockford siblings and cousins and God knew who else. He nodded to people he recognized and kept his head down with those he didn’t.

  Logan Rockford toasted Chase with his beer as he stopped beside Blake, then recoiled once he spotted Henry. “Hey, keep that beast away from me, man.”

  “Seriously, Logan?” Blake said. “After some of the women you’ve dated, Henry’s a vast improvement.”

  “Whatever, man.” He took a long swig of beer and a step back, eyeing the iguana suspiciously. “He’s got that look, like he wants to gnaw my face off.”

  Blake snorted then leaned over and tickled Henry under the chin. “Are you having fun with your Uncle Chase, huh? Who’s Daddy’s good boy, huh? Who? That’s right, Henry. Henry’s Blake’s good boy, aren’t you?”

  Logan gave a disgusted groan. “Ew. You treat that thing like it’s your kid or something, bro. Seriously, ew.”

  “Henry’s a sentient being, just like you.” Blake turned and glared at his younger brother, The Hurt in full force. “Besides, you’re going to hurt his feelings.”

  “Right.” Logan shook his head and backed away, his expression dripping with wary disgust. “I’ll just call and book you a room at the loony bin, bro. Arriving tomorrow okay?”

  “Hey, Chase!” Laura Rockford came up beside him. She had her arm around her new boyfriend—Mike McQuade, maybe—if Chase remembered correctly. Some computer geek turned billionaire. Not exactly his thing, but to each his own. Laura leaned in and smiled at Henry. “So this is the new pet you got for my brother, huh?”

  “Yep. This is Henry.” Chase glanced at Blake and smiled. “More payback than pet.”

  “He seems to be enjoying himself,” Mike said.

  “Yeah, he’s a good boy, aren’t you, my man?” Chase turned and made kissy noises at Henry.

  Logan sighed loud. “That’s it. I’m outta here. Gotta find me some sane folks to hang with.”

  “Good luck with that around here,” Laura called to Logan’s retreating back, then turned to run a finger over Henry’s head. “You know Logan’s the one who’s terrified of lizards, not Blake, right?”

  “Yeah, figured that one out a bit too late. Bad planning of my part.” He leaned in a bit closer to Laura, taking advantage of the fact Blake and Mike had gotten into a deep discussion about new emerging technology in the security field, and whispered, “What should I have gotten to scare Blake?”

  Laura glanced up at him and winked. “A committed relationship.”

  “Oh.” Well, damn. He couldn’t handle one of those himself, let alone for someone else. Not for the first time that day, Chase’s thoughts drifted to Shelby. It had been three days since their awful night in the LVPD interrogation room and he hoped she was okay. Leaving her there might’ve been the only option, but it still felt like a shitty thing to do.

  Uncomfortable, he shuffled his feet and focused on his conversation with Laura. “Wasn’t Blake married before?”

  “Yeah, but she died in the line of duty. He’s never gotten over it.”

  Laura squeezed Mike tight around the waist and cuddled into his side while Chase clutched Henry’s leash tighter. God, if something like that ever happened to Shelby, he wasn’t sure what he’d do. They weren’t a couple, sure, but they’d been through a lot together in the past week or so. They’d bonded, as Blake would say.

  Losing her at this point would be like losing a limb.

  A commotion sounded behind him and he turned with the rest of the crowd to see Blake’s mother, Pearl Rockford enter the room from the direction of the kitchen. He’d never actually met either of Blake’s parents, but Blake always talked about them like they were royalty or something. He inched back farther toward the wall behind him, not wanting to interrupt their family reunion, as Pearl made her way around the room, greeting and embracing everyone.

  She stopped in front of Chase—all bright smile and sleek silver hair, still vibrant and attractive despite her age—and smiled broadly. “Finally, I get to meet the illustrious Chase Evans. Blake’s told me so many wonderful things about you over the years. And I see you brought a friend too.”

  Henry jumped from Chase’s should up onto the fireplace mantel beside him as Pearl leaned in and kissed Chase on both cheeks then hugged him tight.

  Stunned, Chase patted her on the back, staring after the woman as she moved on down the line of guests. He’d expected the other Rockfords to be polite, but that was about it. So far, they’d welcomed him with open arms. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt so accepted. It felt good. Better than he wanted to admit.

  The doorbell rang and Chase took ahold of Henry’s leash again, not wanting him to run out the door. Logan answered it then stepped back and scanned the crowd before pointing back in Chase’s general direction.

  “Hey, man. There’s someone here to see you,” Logan called above the din.

  People parted and Chase froze in place as Shelby came into view.

  * * *

  Shelby held her breath while all eyes seemed to turn in her direction.

  Crap. She should’ve remembered what Dino Machiavelli had said the other night at the casino. Today was Blake Rockford’s family dinner. She hadn’t meant to interrupt, but it was too late now. Besides, this was the only day when she had a few hours free from the shelter.

  They had unfinished business to discuss.

  She followed Logan Rockford across the packed living room to where Chase stood near the fireplace, looking both adorable and guilty as hell. And considering the last time they’d seen each other, he should feel guilty. Especially after the way he’d bailed on her at the police station. She’d looked
for him once they’d finally released her shortly after midnight, but was told he’d taken off a few hours earlier with Blake.

  As she got closer to Chase, she noticed Henry perched on the fireplace mantel, basking in a ray of sunlight streaming through the clouds outside. At least one of them felt at ease at the moment.

  “Hey,” she said once Logan left them alone again. Well, if you considered standing in the middle of at least thirty people “alone”. “Uh, I wondered if we could talk.”

  “Sure.” The word emerged as little more than a gruff grunt. Chase coughed and tried again. “Um, sure.”

  Someone nearby called out then toasted someone else. The sound of clanking glass and the smell of spilled alcohol filled the air.

  “Is there someplace more quiet?” she asked, leaning in closer to Chase. His signature scent—musk and spicy cologne and warm, clean male—sent her pulse skyrocketing. Down, girl. Down. They had important things to discuss, air to clear, before going down that road again.

  “Yeah, of course.” He took her arm and lead her toward a doorway near where she’d entered the two-story home. She glanced around as they weaved through the crowd. The place was nice, modern and decorated in a southwestern style she liked. Homey, yet clean and professional, like Blake Rockford himself. It suited him.

  Chase led her toward the back of the house and through a pair of sliding glass doors out onto a deserted patio in the back. “This work?”

  “This is fine.” She hunkered down inside her hoodie, more for security than protection against the elements. Even this late in October and overcast, the temperature during the height of the day was still close to seventy. “So.”

  “So.” He crossed his arms and leaned a shoulder against the stucco wall. “Hey, uh, before we get started, I wanted you to know I’m sorry about leaving the station without you. Blake showed up and whisked me out of there before I even knew what the hell was going on. I tried to text you afterward to make sure you were okay, but I guess they didn’t go through. Sorry.”

  She crossed her arms too, more to keep from reaching out to him and hugging away his forlorn look than anything else. Time for the truth. “They went through. I just needed some time before I was ready to face you again.”

  “Is this because of what happened in the closet at Katherine’s?”

  “No.” Shelby sighed. Sure, the kiss played a part, but that wasn’t why they needed to talk. Courage, girl. You can do this. “Why didn’t you tell me about what really happened between you and my dad?”

  “What do you mean?” Chase frowned, his gray eyes wary. “I never met your father.”

  Her shoulders slumped. He was still going to deny it, even after what the police had told her. Frustrated, Shelby jabbed a finger into his chest. She wanted him to look at her, wanted him to explain himself, wanted to get some kind of goddamned reaction out of him other than cold indifference. “You might not have met him, but you knew of him. What about all that ‘trusting each other’ bullshit back at the casino, huh? That we’re partners?” She laughed, the sound unpleasant even to her own ears. “Except you forgot to tell me one gigantic thing—that you did have real motive to kill my dad. I mean, who wouldn’t want revenge on someone for taking away five years their life, huh?”

  “What?” Chase looked genuinely surprised. "What are you talking about?"

  Was it possible Chase really didn't know that drug bust had stemmed from her father? Or was he playing her for a fool? She had to find out. If they had any hopes of deepening their relationship, he had to be honest with her. Starting now. “My father tipped off the cops that all those drugs were stashed at your house. Are you trying to tell me you have no idea who blew the whistle on you back then? Seems far-fetched to me.”

  Crimson dotted his cheeks. "So that's it? You think I'm lying? How the hell would I know who blew the whistle? The police usually don't name their informants or those informants don't live long. In the trial the police just said they got intel from someone high up in the organization. I assumed it was an undercover cop or something. You mean it was your dad?"

  Shelby's anger deflated. It made perfect sense, they would have had to keep her Dad's name secret otherwise those drug dealers would have taken revenge. Here she was thinking he had lied and kept things from her. She'd blasted in here so sure he was being an asshole and it turned out that she was the asshole for doubting him.

  "The cops said you knew. That it gave you motive to take revenge on my dad. That you might have killed him because he was the reason you went to prison," she said weakly jabbing her finger at his chest again to punctuate the word 'you'.

  Chase grabbed her hand. His voice softened. “The cops told you that on purpose, to try to get us to turn on each other. But Shelby, whether or not it was your dad who tipped off the cops, it wasn't his fault I went to prison, okay? It was…” He took a deep breath. “It was my brother’s, all right?”

  “Your brother’s?” Stunned, she didn’t even try to pull her hand away. “I didn’t know you had a brother.”

  “Yeah, I do.” He laced his fingers with hers and led her over to a large rattan chaise lounge set off to the side of the patio, away from the view of the people inside. They took a seat and he kept her hand in his, holding it loosely between his open knees. “I’ll tell you the truth, if you want. But you can’t tell a soul. Especially not Blake or the police. Understand?”

  She nodded, afraid to say anything lest she scare him away.

  “Okay.” He scowled down at their joined hands, tracing his thumb over her knuckles absently as he spoke. “The heroin at the apartment most likely did come from the Lucky Ace. That’s probably how your father knew where to find it. But like I said, it wasn’t mine.” He scooted closer to her on the seat. “Hell, I’ve never done drugs in my life, other than a bit of pot back in high school, but who doesn’t right?”

  Shelby squeezed his hand. “You went to prison and—”

  “I don’t expect you to understand, Shelby, but my brother, Shane, had a hard life. It’s my fault.” He shook his head. “He was only twelve when Mom kicked us out, and I had to work a couple of jobs just to keep a roof over our heads. I wasn’t there for him like he needed, and he fell in with a bad crowd. Stupid me thought it was something he’d grow out of, but…”

  His voice trailed off and it took all of Shelby’s willpower not to pull him into her arms and tell him everything would be okay, even if it wasn’t true. She held her breath and waited for him to continue.

  “Shane was barely eighteen the day the cops raided our apartment. I was in law school at the time. I knew with the amount of heroin they confiscated, he’d be looking at ten years hard time, maybe more. They would’ve tried him as an adult too. I couldn’t let that happen.”

  Her heart stuttered, stopped. Restarted again. “Are you telling me you confessed to keep your brother from going to jail?”

  Chase gave a silent nod, and she couldn’t resist snuggling closer into his side. That was the bravest, most selfless, most reckless thing she’d ever heard. Still, a man would be bitter about going to prison, no matter the circumstances. “I’m so sorry that happened to you, Chase, I really am. You didn’t deserve that, but it still doesn’t erase the fact that if my dad hadn’t pointed them to your address, none of this would’ve happened.”

  “You don’t know that. No one does. Hell, given the assholes Shane was hanging with and my fault for putting him there, your father is so far down on the list of people to blame he doesn’t even register. No motive here, not from me. Besides, I had no idea it was your dad that tipped them off. He was a highly-regarded businessman, an honest guy.”

  Confession time. She straightened, withdrawing from the heat and strength of him to say what she had to say. “Maybe not so honest.”

  “Huh?” His confusion was written all over his face.

  “My dad knew about the drugs running in and out of his casino. Had watched it go on for years. Hell, he even took a cut of the profits.” She pus
hed a stray blond curl behind her ear with her free hand. “I’m guessing he told the cops about your brother to deflect heat away from him. Your brother was probably a small-time dealer, and Dad had way bigger investments to protect.”

  “Damn.” This time, Chase leaned into her. “Well, it doesn’t matter now.”

  She shrugged. “I feel bad for whoever takes over the Lucky Ace now that Dad’s gone. They’ll have a hell of a mess to clean up.”

  “Still, somebody will buy it. That’s prime real estate right there.”

  “Maybe.”

  Chase smiled and bumped her shoulder with his, turning her tactics back on her. “Maybe. Is that all you have to say?”

  “I guess.” She smiled back. Having him so near did all sorts of crazy, delicious things to her. She wanted him so bad she could hardly see straight, but things were just too damned complicated. She changed the subjects to safer territory. “How old were you when your mom kicked you out?”

  “Nineteen. That’s the only reason they let Shane stay with me instead of shipping him off to foster care. Legal age in Nevada is eighteen.”

  “Wow.” She squeezed his hand again, feeling closer to him than anyone else in her life at the moment. “So, you’ve been alone since you were nineteen?”

  “I’ve been alone since I could walk.”

  The rough edge to his voice broke her heart. “Not even a pet? Nothing?”

  “Not even a pet.” He flashed a rueful grin. “No time.”

  “Maybe you should get a pet of your own, since Henry’s with Blake now. Animals like you. They know good people when they see them.”

  Chase laughed—the warm, deep sound sending tingles of awareness straight to her core.

  “I’m not kidding. A pet would help make your life less lonely. Believe me, I know.”

  He slipped a finger beneath her lowered chin and forced her to meet his gaze. “I know another way to be less lonely.”

  Her eyes slipped closed as his soft lips brushed over hers—once, twice, before capturing her mouth in a searing kiss. She opened to him and his tongue swept inside, stroking hers, drawing her deeper into his heat, his strength, his passion.