Reckless Pleasures

by Tori Carrington

  Yeah, like it would have been any better coming from her.

  She clamped her eyes closed and her arms tighter, wishing she could take back the past week, forcing back the hands of time so that she was once again standing in this room opposite Jason. But this time, she had the good sense to turn down his offer.

  Her cell phone rang on the bedside table. She stared at it, not daring to hope it could be Darius. She picked it up. Jason.

  Three simple words: “They found her.”

  NO MORE THAN FIVE minutes later everyone was present in the command center. A television had been rolled in and they all watched the news from various positions.

  There weren’t very many details. Only that a search volunteer had decided to go out on his own when the rain stopped and happened to find her.

  “Thank God she’s alive,” one of the team members said, earning nods from almost everyone in the room.

  “Wish we could have found her,” another said.

  “They’re not saying who did.”

  Jason got up and shut off the TV. “The sheriff’s scheduled a press conference for first thing in the morning. I’m going to head over there and see what I can find out now.”

  He looked toward Dari, who ignored him, arms crossed and looking everywhere but at either Jason or Megan.

  “Shotgun,” another member said.

  She noticed Linc slip from the room without a word, probably to check with his FBI contacts. At any rate, they’d probably know much more than the media in an hour or so. The only thing they’d seen in the news were shots of the front of the family’s house and the sheriff’s office, both locked up tighter than a clam’s buttocks.

  Jason left and someone suggested ordering pizza while they waited. Megan looked at Dari. He got up and walked past her without acknowledging her presence.

  She considered returning to her own room, and then thought better of it. What would she do there but cry?

  She watched Dari leave the room and felt her eyes well up. What was she talking about? She could very well just break down here.

  “Who said something about pizza?” she asked with a false smile. “And who’s going out on a beer run? Looks like we’re going to have a long night ahead of us…”

  17

  THE FOLLOWING MORNING, Megan was still in the command center. Even if there was sleep to be had, she knew she wouldn’t have gotten any. So she’d stayed there, hoping against hope Dari would return. But he hadn’t. Only Jason and Linc had. She’d spoken briefly to Linc but Jason was navigating a wide berth around her and she was doing the same.

  That aspect of her life seemed to be in stop-animation right now, on pause. And she didn’t know when—or if—it might ever go live again.

  Now they were all in front of the television again, pizza and beer replaced by doughnuts and coffee. It was just after 8:00 a.m. The sheriff had held his press conference. And the media were beginning to compile information of their own.

  Megan watched video of Don McCain flash across the screen. It was footage that had been taken a few days ago outside the church.

  “I still can’t believe McCain’s the one who found her,” Dominic said.

  She couldn’t believe it either.

  “Dumb luck. We should have continued the search nonstop after we found that bike,” Jason said. “From what the sheriff said, she was found not far from where we left off the other day.”

  A couple of the other guys agreed. They should have kept looking. Maybe they would have saved the girl another two days of isolation.

  Megan was sitting at the table tapping her pen against her pad. She’d made several notes.

  It was said the girl had survived by drinking rainwater and eating berries. She was suffering from malnutrition and exposure but otherwise was in good condition.

  “So what do we do now?” Dominic asked.

  Jason was at the communal laptop. “I’ll have your tickets and boarding passes printed up in a minute. We’re going home.”

  Megan looked at him and for the first time since last night, he returned her gaze.

  Home.

  If only it were possible for them to go home, to return to the way things used to be. Before this assignment. Before the mess she’d made out of everything.

  “Skip mine,” she said.

  His gaze narrowed.

  “I have some things I want to follow up on.”

  He returned to communicating with the main office where travel arrangements were being made.

  Megan would like to say she was happy. Oh, she was enormously relieved Finley had been found alive. That went without saying. But happiness about her life in general was hard to come by. And she seriously wondered if she’d ever achieve it again.

  As if on cue, Dari walked in. Dominic stood at the borrowed printer, taking out the boarding passes as quickly as they were generated. He held Dari’s out.

  “Yours.”

  He glanced at it and then returned it. “I’m not going back.”

  Megan and Jason stared at him, but he didn’t acknowledge their interest.

  He wasn’t going back now? Or ever?

  Her stomach bottomed out at the thought she might not see him again.

  He was a full partner of the company. But as soon as he recovered from his injury, he would be heading back over to Afghanistan again. If not sooner.

  If he wasn’t going back, where would he be going?

  She wanted to ask. But was afraid not only that he wouldn’t respond, but that she wouldn’t like the answer if he did.

  She pushed from the table, gathered her things and headed back to her room.

  DARI HAD SPENT THE night staring at the ceiling, dry-eyed and hollow. He’d hoped that by this morning he’d be able to look at Megan without feeling as if she’d ripped his heart out with her bare hands. But he’d been fooling himself. The instant he’d spotted her in the command center, it was yesterday and she was telling him she loved him all over again.

  Damn, damn, damn, damn! Why had she done it? Why had Jason?

  He stared at the man in question. Scratch that. He knew exactly why Jason had done it. He’d been a pussy hound his entire adult life.

  Problem was, he hadn’t expected his best friend to go sniffing after his girl.

  He winced.

  Megan wasn’t his. Even if they had been married, he held no physical claim over her. She didn’t bear a stamp that said she was The Property of Darius Folsom.

  But he had believed he was in possession of her heart.

  He remembered the devastated shadow in her eyes last night. She probably did love him. But not as much as he loved her.

  He’d never in a million years think about being unfaithful to her, physically or otherwise.

  Of course, it was easy to say that when the only place he’d be was in the remote mountains of Afghanistan with nothing but other Marines and goats as company.

  He rubbed the back of his neck and then reached automatically for his side pocket where the pain medication he’d finally started taking was.

  He caught himself.

  “We need to talk,” Jason said.

  His ex-friend had come up beside him while he wasn’t looking.

  “We have nothing to say to each other.”

  Jason sighed heavily and put his hands on his hips. “Hey, the last time I checked we held equal interest in this company.”

  “Not for long.”

  Jason squinted at him. “How do you mean?”

  “It means we’ll never have to worry about confronting that issue again.”

  With that, he left the room, deciding to leave any necessary communicating to Linc.

  JASON WANTED TO HIT something as he watched Dari walk away from him. His head still pounded from last night’s overindulgence. But for a short time, the alcohol helped him forget what he’d done.

  Shit.

  While the scene with Dari in his motel bathroom was a bit blurry, he was pretty clear on the fact he’d been
the one to tell his best friend he’d had sex with his girlfriend.

  He cursed himself inwardly. He’d been so certain Megan had told him. Hadn’t she said she was going to do as much? Why hadn’t she?

  And why had he opened his big mouth?

  “Ready?”

  He looked to see Linc at his side.

  “Yeah. Let’s get this over with. Who else is coming?”

  A couple of the team members stepped up.

  Through Linc’s contacts at the FBI, they’d learned not only the exact place where McCain had met the responding officers, but the location where he’d placed the call to the sheriff’s office declaring discovery within fifty yards. It was still a lot of ground to cover, and there was no guarantee McCain had made the call from the exact point he’d found her, but they were going to go out and see what they could scare up nonetheless.

  Jason led the way, ignoring the pounding of his head and the knot in his gut, focusing his energy on the day that lay ahead.

  MEGAN WASN’T ENTIRELY certain what she was looking for. Perhaps satisfying closure in her life where there was so little of it to be found in other areas. But rather than wrap things up in the Finley search, she instead redirected her efforts into what had truly happened.

  The story was that Finley had come across a small dog on the loose and had gone after him into the forest. She’d ridden her bike as far as she could, then abandoned it and continued on foot. Darkness had fallen, but she’d continued the chase until she could no longer hear the dog. Then she’d realized she was lost.

  As for McCain, he was saying that he’d been concerned and restless after the church service, upset that the search had been abandoned for the day due to rain. So he’d taken a backpack and headed off on his own, calling for Finley as he went. Yes, he’d been afraid of getting lost himself, but he’d had GPS to guide him and a cell phone.

  He was an hour inside when she finally called back to him.

  He’d fed her and called the sheriff, but rather than waiting for the authorities to arrive, he’d carried Finley out of the forest himself, leaving the exact whereabouts of where she’d been a mystery.

  All told, everyone was just happy she’d been found alive.

  Including Megan.

  But she had one or two unanswered questions she’d like to ask.

  Thankfully, the family was so happy, they readily invited her to stop by for some coffee. Megan had been surprised, pleasantly so, considering they had triple the media camped out on their doorstep. But since it had been Lazarus that had found the bike, and the location of the bike had led to finding Finley, she easily gained access since she was the one they associated with the company.

  Megan navigated her way through the throng of press blocking the Szymanskis’ sidewalk, waving away microphones and cell phones and the questions that went along with them.

  One of them recognized her.

  “Miss McGowan! Miss McGowan! Tell me how you feel about your company’s discovery of little Finley’s bike leading to her safe return home.”

  That, she couldn’t ignore. She paused slightly and said, “Everyone at Lazarus Security is very happy that Finley Szymanski is finally home where she belongs.”

  With that, she pushed her way through to the front door and was immediately led inside.

  It was the grandmother who greeted her, hugging her as if she were family. The warm affection made her feel a little awkward, especially considering the reason she was there. But she returned the gesture and smiled when the older woman drew back.

  “Dorma is upstairs giving Finley a bath now. She must have had at least ten since she got home. It’s like she can’t get clean enough.”

  “I think I’d feel the same if I were caught outside for that long.”

  She was invited into the kitchen where the other woman poured her a fresh cup of coffee and then peeled back foil on at least five different cakes neighbors and families had dropped off. Megan declined, but Finley’s grandmother served up a piece of lemon coffee cake just the same then sat down opposite her with her own slice.

  “How is Finley all told?” Megan asked carefully.

  “Happy to be home.”

  “Of course.”

  “She was afraid she’d never get back.”

  “And the dog?”

  “Dog? Oh, yeah. The dog.” The woman laughed quietly. “Never found him again.”

  “Did she know the dog? Maybe it belonged to a neighbor?”

  The grandmother blinked. “I’m not sure. I don’t think so. She said it was like one of those Paris Hilton dogs. A Chihuahua, I guess. No one we know has one.”

  Megan made a note to check newspapers and online resources for any ads placed for missing dogs. Also, a call to the pound wouldn’t be a bad idea.

  “Has Finley said anything that the news or the sheriff’s press conference hasn’t covered already?”

  The grandmother shifted uncomfortably. “Do you know something you’re not telling me?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, she was lost and now she’s been found. She’s home…”

  “Yes. And I’m happy for that.”

  “You make it sound like there was a crime involved.”

  Unfortunately, she was afraid there might be. “No, no. Just covering all the bases, that’s all,” Megan said in what she hoped was a reassuring tone. “You know how the media can be. If there’s one question left unanswered, they’ll be sure to come up with their own.”

  “Oh my God, don’t I know it…”

  Then she went into almost every detail of what happened, everything Finley had said, from the moment they met the authorities at the discovery site. Or, rather, the edge of the forest, where she’d been discovered.

  Unfortunately, none of it was really anything Megan could use. From what she understood, all Finley’s grandmother kept talking about was the moment of discovery. About eating animal crackers and drinking the juice McCain had given her. Of his carrying her. Of the little dog that had gotten lost just like she had.

  There were other questions Megan would like to have asked, but she didn’t get a chance as Finley came bounding into the kitchen in her pink pj’s, her damp hair combed back, a smile the size of all of Florida on her young, pretty face.

  “Snack time, Mimi!”

  The grandmother laughed. “Oh, and she can’t seem to get enough to eat, either.”

  Megan could only imagine.

  18

  JASON SAT AT THE BAR, draining the last of the beer in his bottle. He waved the empty at the tender and then put it down, dragging the back of his wrist across his mouth.

  He’d been in the place for the past hour and couldn’t seem to quench his thirst. A mission the tender didn’t seem to be in any hurry to assist him with.

  “Hey,” Dominic, one of the last remaining team members, said as he took the stool next to him.

  Linc had been with him earlier, then gave him a silent salute before leaving a short time ago after only one beer.

  Some company he’d been. Especially considering their visit to his FBI buddies and an exhaustive trek through the forest hadn’t yielded anything more than a headache and tired muscles. Not that he’d expected otherwise, but he’d hoped to glean more than they had.

  For all intents and purposes, Finley’s discovery had happened exactly the way McCain represented. There was no reason for them to suspect differently.

  Still, he’d feel a hell of a lot better if he could find the area where the girl said she’d stayed for the duration, never moving more than ten feet as she waited for someone to come for her.

  “So, is it true?” Dominic asked.

  “Tender?” Jason called out, holding up his empty bottle. “When you get a minute.” He turned his attention to the kid next to him. “Is what true?”

  He really wasn’t up for babysitting one of the younger team members. He’d prefer to be alone, if it was all the same to everyone else. Or with Linc. Which was pretty dam
n close to being alone.

  “Did you and the lady boss…” the kid made like he was pulling something close to his hips “…you know, knock boots?”

  Jason stared at him, his every muscle tensing dangerously. The tender finally came and exchanged his empty for a full. He pulled it close, nearly draining it in one swig.

  Had Linc said something? He dismissed the thought the instant it entered his head. Linc didn’t speak unless it was absolutely necessary, and even then, he barely said anything at all.

  He looked back at the kid.

  “Hey, I’m not saying anything everyone else isn’t already talking about,” he said, holding up his hands. “I mean, you disappeared into her room every night. And now you, her and her old man aren’t speaking.”

  Her old man.

  He grimaced at that. The kid was new enough to the team he wasn’t familiar with Dari and his connection to the company.

  He also wouldn’t know that Megan and Dari were a longtime couple.

  Jason forced himself to push his bottle slightly away. His head already felt as if it was stuffed with cotton. “You know what they say about loose lips, kid.”

  “Yeah, they sink ships. Only we aren’t on a ship.”

  No, but Jason felt very close to drowning him anyway.

  He glanced around the room. A couple other team members waiting for morning and their transport out were there and openly watching him.

  Damn. When had a simple roll in the hay become so damn complicated?

  The waitress sidled up to stand between him and Dominic, making it obvious she was ignoring him and catering to the kid as she placed her orders with the tender.

  Jason cursed under his breath. Why hadn’t he just bedded the woman instead of holding on to some stupid latent desire for his best friend’s girl? Even now, he could be hip deep into some sweet flesh instead of at the bar drowning his sorrows, mourning the loss of his best friend.

  “So how was it?”

  The kid didn’t know when to shut up, did he?

  “Bet she was good. She looks like she’d be majorly hot between the sheets—”

  Jason wasn’t sure what happened next…but he was pretty sure it involved his fist and sinking the kid’s proverbial ship.