Sinful Pleasures

by Ashley Shay

  “There’s no evidence of a concussion,” Dr. Liu said, shining the light in Morgan’s eyes one more time. “Do you remember if you hit your head?”

  “Hell, Doc, we were spinning like a top going down the road, I don’t remember hitting my head, but I must have.” Morgan looked at the emergency room physician impatiently. “Did you find any lumps?”

  Dr. Liu gave a long-suffering smile. “I think it’s possible you may have suffered a whiplash-induced blackout.” He punched a few keys on the laptop in front of him, studying the results of the X-ray. “Since I don’t see any trauma or swelling, I’ll release you tonight if you have someone that will be in the house with you.”

  “He’s covered,” Dallas said. “Our fiancée and I will be with him.”

  “Then he’s free to go as soon as I get the paperwork printed out. The nurse will be back with a form to sign.” Dr. Liu stopped at the doorway. “I suggest you see your primary physician in the morning, Mr. Kent, just as a precaution. And don’t do anything strenuous.”

  “Right,” Morgan growled at the retreating doctor. “No sex.”

  On the heels of the doctor’s departure, Bishop Taylor walked into the examination room. As usual, his expression was unreadable as he studied the three of them. “I figured you might need a ride home. I also got a lead on that green Suburban.”

  Dallas looked stunned. “A lead? Already? How the hell did you manage that, Bishop?”

  Bishop looked every inch the Special Ops soldier as he brushed off Dallas’s question, keeping a vigilant eye on the people coming and going in the hallway. “Let’s get out of here and I’ll show you.”

  Even though it was dark, Bishop slid on a pair of amber-colored sunglasses before getting behind the wheel of his black Mercedes. Dallas, Jude, and Morgan all piled into the backseat, drawing strength from each other. Without a word, Bishop pulled out of the hospital parking lot and turned left, taking the same route Morgan had a few hours earlier.

  Jude sat silently for a couple of miles until she couldn’t stand it any longer. “Nice car. Did you win the lottery?”

  Bishop looked in the rearview mirror for a long second before replying. “I do a little security work on the side. I like to keep busy.”

  “Security obviously pays better than the fire department.” Jude didn’t know why she was pushing him. Maybe because he scared her a little, and he had his eye on Tracey. That scared her a lot.

  He grinned, shaking his head in disbelief. “You’re playing the older sister routine? I didn’t figure you for that type. It’s all legit, sis. I’ll let you check my books anytime you want.”

  Jude started to come back with a less-than-gracious reply when Dallas put his hand over her wrist. “Let it go, Jude.”

  “That’s a real good idea,” Bishop said. Jude watched him glance in his side mirrors to keep check on the traffic around them. He seemed constantly vigilant no matter what he was doing, and Jude wondered if he ever truly rested.

  They rode in silence for a few more miles with Jude seething inwardly, but she kept her thoughts to herself. She would talk to Tracey in the morning. She didn’t need to get tangled up with Bishop Taylor. The man was an arrogant bastard. And he sure as hell wasn’t living on a fireman’s salary. Despite his explanation for the car, Jude had a feeling the man wasn’t telling the whole truth.

  Bishop broke the silence. “This is where you got tapped.” He pointed at the skid marks on the left lane. The dark smears were visible under the lights positioned along the off ramp. “Your witness said the Suburban swerved from the impact but kept on going. I figured he would get off the road fast, just in case someone managed to get the tag number, or there was more damage to the vehicle than met the eye.” Bishop turned on his signal for the exit ramp. “This is the first exit he would come to, and over here is a convenience store.”

  “Security cameras,” Morgan said. “They have twenty-four-hour surveillance.”

  “That’s right. These stores are at a high risk of being held up. They have security cameras all over the place. I called Mr. Saied, and he let me view the digital feed.” Bishop pulled the Mercedes into a dark corner of the lot. “I’ve got a copy of his files downloaded on my laptop.”

  “I don’t know how you thought of this,” Morgan said in admiration. “It’s kind of obvious when you think about it, but it wouldn’t have crossed my mind.”

  Bishop opened the laptop and punched a couple of keys. “That’s where most people go wrong, Morgan. They overlook what’s right in front of their faces. It’s human nature to make things harder than they have to be.”

  A video feed of the parking lot began playing on the screen. Jude realized Bishop stopped the Mercedes in approximately the same spot the green Suburban had parked while the driver made a phone call. A few minutes later, another car pulled up beside the Suburban and rolled down the window.

  Jude gave an audible gasp, unable to believe her eyes.

  “Do you recognize the car?” All three men asked in unison.

  “That’s my ex-mother-in-law.”

  “You’re kidding, right?” Dallas asked.

  “No. That’s Genevieve Wheeler.” Jude leaned closer to the screen, watching in shocked fascination as Genevieve handed a fat white envelope to the man in the Suburban. “She’s paying him off for trying to kill us.”

  “Looks that way,” Bishop agreed. “But why would she want you killed?”

  “She thinks I’m standing in the way of her son’s political career. She wants me out of sight and out of mind.”

  Bishop nodded. “I’ll take care of it in the morning.”

  “What are you going to do?” Jude asked. “We should call the cops. Let them handle this.”

  Bishop slowly took the glasses off his face, staring at Jude until she thought her heart would explode from the tension. “You call the cops and this old bitch will fight back. She’ll pull in every favor she’s ever been owed. Trust me, her society friends are going to back her all the way. You’re going to be portrayed as a bitter ex-wife. Who do you think is going to win in this situation?”

  “So what are you going to do? I don’t want you to hurt her.”

  “Oh, shit, give me a fucking break,” Bishop exploded. “What the hell do you think I’m going to do? Break her legs?”

  “I don’t know what you’re planning to do,” Jude retorted hotly. “That’s why I’m asking.”

  A muscle in Bishop’s jaw twitched. “I’m going to show her a copy of this video and tell her that if anything happens to you, anything at all, this video will find its way to the police and she will be charged with attempted murder. Is that satisfactory to you, your highness?”

  Jude felt more than a little guilty for judging him so harshly. After all, he was only trying to help and she hadn’t thanked him yet. In fact, all she had done so far was hassle the man. She decided it might be time for a truce, so she thanked him in the best way she could think of—by giving him a little insight into her sister.

  “Trace likes death-by-chocolate ice cream, and her guilty pleasure is werewolf movies. They scare her to death, but she can’t resist watching them. You take a pint of chocolate ice cream and a scary movie when you visit her and you won’t be sorry.”

  Bishop grinned, then he chuckled and started to laugh hard. “Chocolate ice cream and werewolf movies? Seriously? You’re not setting me up to get slapped, are you?”

  “White wine doesn’t hurt, either,” Jude added, giggling a little herself at Tracey’s uniqueness. Her sister had always colored outside the lines. She would fearlessly face a mugger head-on but go shrieking under the covers at a phony werewolf with a canned howl. She worked tirelessly for her favorite charities but flitted from job to job when she got bored with whatever new occupation she decided to conquer. Tracey simply danced to a different drummer than Jude.

  “Thanks for your help, Bishop,” Jude said. “I’ve got a wedding to plan, and it’s a little hard to do with a death threat hanging over my he
ad. I guess I’m a little nervous.”

  Bishop looked back and forth between Morgan and Dallas. “Which one?”

  “Both,” Jude answered, looking happily at her husbands to be.

  “That’s right, I forgot about the three-way marriage law being in effect in Parrish,” Bishop said. He studied them before speaking. “I have to admit, I’m intrigued. How are you going to make this work?”

  “I love them both.” Jude surprised herself she could speak so openly about her unconventional arrangement, especially to a man like Bishop Taylor.

  “And you can live with that?” Bishop turned his gaze to the men.

  “It’s incredible, man. You’d have to experience it to understand.” Dallas said. “We fell in love with Jude months ago. How are you going to take your best friend’s woman? If one of us won her, it would ruin our friendship, but if we didn’t have her in our lives, both of us would feel empty. So we decided to share and to convince Jude she couldn’t live without us.”

  “They make me complete,” Jude said. “I’ve never been happier in my life.”

  “Congratulations then,” Bishop said. “I hope you have a lot of years together.” A wistful expression flitted across his face before it once again became an emotionless mask.

  “I’ll give you a ride home now. We need to talk about your safety.”

  Jude held her breath when Bishop paused and glanced in the rearview mirror. His penetrating stare pierced straight through her. She knew there’d be more, and she wouldn’t like it. Nestled between her two men, Jude shrank a little farther back in the seat as she held Bishop’s eyes. When he continued, her heart sank a little bit more.

  “You’ll have to stay alert for trouble. This isn’t over yet.”

  Jude gasped. Her hopes plummeted at Bishop’s words. She could barely get the words out as her heart did a flip, then began to race out of control.

  “Not over?” She reached out to grasp both Dallas’s and Morgan’s hands. Their fingers curled around hers and held tight, reminding her that she was safe, at least for now. She closed her eyes and began to count, trying to calm the rampaging beat of her heart. She took a deep breath and released it slowly before she looked back at the mirror. “What do you mean it’s not over? We know who tried to kill us. You said you’d take care of everything tomorrow.”

  “And I will,” Bishop said. “I can easily take care of Mrs. Wheeler, but it’s the man she hired that’s a problem. His name is Harry Matthews.”

  “How do you know that, Bishop?” Dallas asked. “I’m beginning to get real curious here, buddy. I need some explanations. At this point, I’m not sure who I can trust. You seem to know a hell of a lot about what happened.”

  Bishop sighed, slammed the Mercedes back in park, and turned the radio up a notch as if to drown out his words. He rubbed at his chin as though struggling with a decision. “Look, what I’m going to tell you stays in this car.” He looked around the lot before going on. “I’m not a fireman. I’m working undercover on assignment. I can’t discuss the details with you, okay? So don’t ask. I’ve tracked Matthews from Hawaii to here. He won’t stop until he finishes his assignment. I can call off your mother-in-law, Jude, but I won’t be able to call off Matthews. He’s going to have to be physically stopped.”

  “You’re an undercover cop?” Jude’s mind whirled with the implications.

  Bishop gave her a grin, sliding the sunglasses back on his face. “Something like that. But we didn’t have this conversation, and you need to get a real quick case of amnesia. Understand?”

  “No problem,” Morgan agreed. He looked over at Jude, and then at Dallas. “We’re glad for the help.”

  “Wish I could say I did it out of the goodness of my heart,” Bishop said, “but the fact is I’ve been after Matthews for a while. He just presented me with the opportunity to take him down.”

  “Can I ask one more question?” Jude involuntarily moved closer to the front seat. “You said you followed Matthews here from Hawaii. Where do you live?”

  “On the big island.” Bishop’s face didn’t give an indication of what he was thinking when he answered her. “Why do you want to know?”

  “So, this thing with Trace is just to pass time? A flirtation?”

  Bishop grinned, showing even white teeth. “First, there ain’t no thing, yet. And, secondly, I didn’t know she couldn’t leave the mainland if it does work into a thing.”

  “Men like you always get what you go after, Bishop Taylor, and I don’t want to see my little sister hurt. She won’t leave Arizona, so don’t start something you can’t finish.”

  “Might surprise you what your sister will do if she’s given the opportunity,” Bishop answered softly, shifting the car into drive. He gave the premises another quick look then pulled out of the parking lot.

  Chapter Twelve

  When they arrived back at the ranch, Dallas asked Jude to fix a pot of coffee. He wouldn’t be sleeping tonight, not with Matthew on the loose. While Jude was inside, he and Morgan stood on the porch with Bishop. Dallas hoped to glean as much information as he could.

  “What did Matthews do in Hawaii?”

  Bishop stared out over the dark spread of land. For a moment, Dallas didn’t think he would answer. He kept his eyes on the stars overhead and the acres of darkness that surrounded them. An expression of pain flitted across his features, then disappeared just as quickly as it had surfaced. Finally, he turned back to face them.

  “He killed a family,” he said at last. “Revenge killings are his thing. It’s my opinion he’s building his reputation so he can move up to the big league. It’s not personal vendettas for him now, it’s murder for hire.”

  “How in the hell did Genevieve Wheeler connect with him?” Morgan wondered aloud. “I can’t imagine that she’d have much accessibility to criminal elements. When do society matrons rub elbows with assassins?”

  “Yeah, I was wondering that myself,” Dallas said.

  “That will be one of the things I find out in the morning,” Bishop said. “It could be that Jude’s ex-husband hired him and Mrs. Wheeler is the go-between. I’ve seen crazier things happen. In the meantime, one of you should get some rest while the other keeps a lookout. You’ve got my number. Call me if you need backup.”

  Dallas watched the Mercedes fade into the darkness. “Do you get the feeling he isn’t telling us everything?”

  Morgan nodded. “I think it’s personal between him and Matthews. Did you hear what he said about the revenge thing? Do you know anything about Bishop’s background before he hired on at the department?”

  “Nope. Only thing I heard the chief say was that he lucked out when Bishop signed on with the arson team. Let’s go have a cup of coffee and see what we can find out on the Internet. Gotta be something on there about a family getting killed. That would make news.”

  When Dallas opened the door, Jude met him with two steaming cups of coffee in her hands. She looked tired but resolved. “I got the pistol out of your nightstand while the coffee brewed. It’s on the table for easy access. And I pulled the blinds shut so no one can see inside. Should we do anything else?”

  “You did good.” Dallas took one of the cups out of her hand and leaned over to brush a kiss on her forehead. “Why don’t you go to bed, sweetheart? It’s going to be a long night. Morgan and I are staying up for a while.”

  Jude shot him a stubborn look. “I’m not going to bed until you do.”

  Dallas shrugged. “Suit yourself, but you better fix another cup, then.” Jude turned to go into the kitchen. “Jude?” She turned back to him. “You do realize you’re disobeying me again. You’ll pay the consequences for that later. Right now we really need you to get with the program. Your life, and ours, might depend on you doing what we tell you when we tell you, and not when you decide.”

  Her face flushed, and she hesitated before going over to the coffee pot to pour a cup for herself. “Staying up late with the two men I love doesn’t put us in danger.
I’ll listen to you when the time comes.”

  Dallas nodded. “Okay, babe, I’m counting on you to do that. This situation could get real sticky, according to Bishop.”

  Morgan carried the laptop to the sofa, stretching his legs out while he booted up the computer. Dallas sat down beside him so he could see the screen. Jude snuggled up on the other side of Morgan. He tapped a few keys and waited for the search engine to do its thing. It didn’t take long.

  Jude gasped and gripped the edge of the laptop, twisting it toward her. She felt a little tug somewhere deep inside as she stared at the article that had appeared on the front page of Hawaii’s premier newspaper.

  “Oh, my God, it’s his sister.”

  “Seriously?” Morgan asked.

  Jude ran her finger down the screen. “Look.” She tapped a picture of Bishop in a police uniform. He looked a couple years younger, almost happy. Not at all like the Bishop Taylor she’d come to know. Along with Bishop’s photo was one of the three victims. They were identified as Glenda, Erin, and Emmie Patterson, sister and nieces of Officer Taylor.

  The article stated that an investigation by the Hawaii Police Department centered on suspect Harry Aaron Matthews. Matthews had been arrested by Detective Taylor for attempted robbery and murder. At his trial, he vowed to get even with Taylor, and he had.

  Dallas pointed further down the page. “Look, it says Bishop quit the force when Matthews got an early parole. He claimed Matthews called him at home, threatening his family, and the judge wouldn’t revoke Matthew’s parole.”

  “Why do you think he quit the force?” Jude asked. “Wouldn’t he have the protection of his friends to back him up?”

  “I think he would quit if he planned on taking care of the problem himself,” Morgan said. “He wouldn’t want to drag the police department into something illegal.”

  “Yeah, and he probably spent every minute trying to look after them. He couldn’t very well work on the force and protect his family at the same time.”

  Jude bit her lip in concentration, obviously thinking over the information. “Okay. He quits the force. His sister and two nieces get killed despite his protection. What would he do next? Wouldn’t he just go after the guy? Why the fire department ruse?”