Gravedigger (The Rayburn Mysteries Book 1)

by Ceeree Fields

  “Please, enlighten me.” Amusement danced across Karma’s face as she leaned back, a curl tipped the corner of her lips.

  The reaction wasn’t what Jo expected, she answered without thinking. “Ghost.”

  A snort, quickly replaced with laughter. “Yeah . . . no. It is not Ghost.” More chuckles rolled from her sister and a shake of her head followed.

  “It doesn’t matter what his codename is. How does someone like that get three kids?” Sue her, she was a cop and wanted answers.

  Shadows clouded the crystal gaze. Sadness and fear replaced the mirth and Jo was looking at an entirely different person.

  “My mom used to be a dancer.” Karma held a hand up as Jo opened her mouth to ask what the hell that had to do with anything. “Let me finish. Anyway, Dad and her had some fun. Her words not his. From what I understand he ended up in Thailand on a mission and Mom ended up falling on stage.”

  “No wonder, strippers in high heels and poles do not mix—”

  Karma’s eyes blazed. “Fuck you, Josephine.” Fury poured from the blue gaze. Jo shoved back on the stool, pressing her back against the counter. Karma followed, trapping her there with a heavy hand on Jo’s chest. This was the first time she’d ever seen Karma lose her cool devil-may-care composure. “My mother was a ballerina, gorgeous and in productions all over the fucking world. But you’re so low-brow you probably don’t even know what that is.” Karma snarled, biting off the last of the words through gritted teeth.

  “Sorry.” Contrite, Jo rubbed her tender cheek. The hit she’d taken earlier, from Karma, throbbed as Jo’s face reddened in embarrassment. “Just thinking about bio-dad pisses me off.”

  Her sharp gaze delved into Jo’s eyes. An unnerving silence fell between them, only broken by the sounds of the music in the other room, various conversations, and the crack of the pool balls.

  Karma took a controlled breath before slowly perching back onto her stool. “Mom fell, got hooked on prescription drugs and Dad took me in.”

  Jo knew there was more, wanted to know how he was able to wrest custody from the woman.

  “As for Juliette and Jenna. Juliette’s mother died in childbirth.” Karma took another swallow of beer. “From everything I’ve heard about the woman, she was the love of Dad’s life and he was devastated when she passed. Ended up trying to forget her with Jenna’s mom. Luckily, that woman was smart and ended things pretty quickly. That was why we lived in Detroit. Dad could be close to his last daughter, because after that, he made sure he couldn’t have any more kids. Said condoms broke and the ones that didn’t were only ninety percent effective. Since he had all of us because of faulty rubbers; he got fixed.”

  “But Jenna lives with you all now.”

  “Yeah, she got a big contract for the southeast through her company and needed to relocate. Her mom’ll retire in five years and move down here with us. Maker and I were ready for a change and well . . . Dad and Juliette can work from anywhere.” Karma smiled, the last of the anger slipping from her face. The glacial ice melting to leave a warm fondness as Karma spoke of her sisters.

  Jo watched Karma’s gaze drift to Sam, Abe, Rhys, and Sullivan. Interest written across her face. That expression told her she’d have a battle if she wanted to draw Rhys’s attention.

  “He’s hot,” she probed her sister, trying to get a feel for how deep Karma’s attraction was.

  “Yeah, I love how that navy-blue T-shirt hugs his arms and shows off all those yummy muscles. And those jeans hug those long legs and ass to perfection.” Karma openly ogled the man.

  Confused, Jo looked again. Nope, he was still dressed in the emerald long-sleeved, button down shirt, and black slacks. The only man dressed the way Karma described was Abe Ramirez.

  “Wait . . . I thought you were interested in Rhys.”

  The blatant interest morphed into disbelief as Karma turned to face her. “Are you kidding? He’s not my type. I like the rough and tumble men.” Karma’s bright blue gaze narrowed on Jo. “Is Abe your type?”

  “No, he’s like a brother.” Jo shivered at even thinking of Abe like that. It was one thing to use him to chase guys off, but quite another to make that leap into the bedroom . . . yeah, no.

  “Well, that’s good, because as soon as I get the all clear, I’m rocking that man’s world.” Karma returned to eyeing Abe. “I just never expected you to go for doc.”

  Sputtering and coughing the liquid from her beer getting sucked down the wrong way, Jo finally caught her breath enough to wheeze. “Doc? I know he was going to medical school, but I didn’t know he’d finished.”

  “He hasn’t. Not sure what happened, but he ended up having to leave. Said he keeps up with the reading and takes a class here and there because he finds it interesting, but then he changed the subject.”

  Jo’s attention continued to wander back to Rhys. What was it about him that drew her? Granted, he was striking, but she’d seen others that were more handsome. It couldn’t be his personality, she didn’t know him. Her mind flashed on how gentle he’d been with the body at the cemetery, he’d handled the woman like she mattered. Whereas the crime scene techs had treated her as just another corpse.

  Pulling her attention away from the intriguing man, she watched Abe round the pool table and head their way.

  “You up to playing against your partner, Jo?” Abe propped his hip against the counter next to her sister.

  “No, I’ve had a crap night and if Sullivan beats me, he’ll crow about it for the next week. If he crows about it, I’ll end up dumping him on the side of the highway again. LT will be pissed at me if that happens twice in one month. So, not tonight. How about Karma? I hear she’s good with sticks and balls.” Jo smirked.

  Karma flashed her middle finger and turned her gaze to Abe. “I’m game.”

  “Well, come on then.” Abe’s rough-hewn face pulled into a smile. They left to play against Sullivan, and one of the rookies he’d finagled onto his team.

  Not long after, she thanked her lucky stars her sister left with Abe. Jo watched as Rhys wrapped up his game, then he walked toward her, his stride not hurried nor slow. Confident was how she’d describe it. She sipped the new beer Marcy had dropped off. Curious, she waited to see if he’d join her or veer away. His gaze latched onto hers, a small curl of his lips softened the intensity of his gaze.

  “Hello, I’m Rhys.” His voice wasn’t deep, but not light either. It drew her in, made her want to see what it’d take to make that crisp, proper tone break and heat. What would turn it into a growl?

  Holding out her hand, Jo smiled. “I’m Jo.”

  “Karma said this stool was empty, mind if I join you?” He tipped his bottle toward the stool Karma had vacated.

  “Nope.”

  He turned to face the pool tables and propped his elbows on the counter behind him. Both sipped their beers and watched Sullivan break. She hid a smile at how distracted her sister was with Abe. Of everyone in the bar, she’d never have pegged Abe as Karma’s type.

  “Heard you had the date from hell.” He turned in his seat and focused his unusual gold eyes on her.

  “Don’t get me started, seems like I’m drawing them like flies to shit right now.”

  He grinned. “Weird analogy, but okay. I saw you and your sister in the ring yesterday.”

  As perfect as the man seemed on closer inspection, it was not only reassuring to see the slight gap between his front teeth but endearing as well. Heat stole over Jo’s face and she twisted around to face him. All her friends and co-workers had been talking about that fight.

  “Who won?” he asked, interrupting her rambling thoughts.

  Shrugging, she smiled. “Depends on who you ask.”

  “I’m asking you.”

  Jo leaned toward him, the heat of his body seemed to reach ou
t to envelope her. It was odd how much she wanted to move even closer, wrap herself around him. Shaking off the feeling, she focused on their conversation. “Oh, then the captain won.”

  His gaze darkened with confusion. “What?”

  “See, Sullivan, my partner, he says I won. Maker says if they counted the hits by MMA rules, then Karma would’ve won because some of my hits weren’t kosher. Karma says the match was a draw and I say the captain won.”

  He scratched his shadowed jaw. “I’ll bite, why do you think the captain won?”

  “Oh, that’s easy. Because when we were going at it, the captain stepped into the gym and with one shout cleared the entire area out.”

  That drew a surprised laugh from Rhys. He was gorgeous when he laughed, the brackets around his mouth deepened and his eyes crinkled at the corners in happiness. “I thought I saw a lot of on duty cops down there.”

  “Yep.”

  His expression turned pensive. “Do you often fight like that with your sister?”

  “First, Karma’s my half-sister. Second, we had a lot of things to work out. Sometimes it’s better to deal with our feelings in the ring rather than let it fester.”

  “You had a lot of anger to work out, but she”—he pointed his beer bottle toward Karma—”wasn’t working out anything.”

  “What?” Jo’s gaze darted between her sister and Rhys. He motioned at Karma again, it proved he’d seen the fight. “How can you say that? She came at me with everything she had.”

  Tipping the bottle to his lips for the last swallow, he set it on the counter with a hollow thump. “No, she didn’t.”

  Jo finished her own beer and set her empty bottle next to his, debating if she wanted the answer to the questions he’d raised. But that was why she had become a detective, to protect those she loved with her most valuable asset. Puzzles, they were her addiction and people were the most complex puzzles on the face of the earth. “Okay, I’ll bite. What makes you think she didn’t fight just as hard as I did?”

  Another grin flashed across his sharp planed face. “Because when you’re angry you have several tells that she could easily have used to her advantage. She didn’t. Instead, she defended herself and let you work out your frustration on her.”

  Bullshit, Jo thought and then said, “Bullshit.”

  He shrugged.

  “What tells?” No way did she have tells. She worked too damned hard to make sure she never telegraphed her moves.

  “When you made the roundhouse kick, you shifted your left foot before you followed through.” Leaning toward her, he continued, “And when you went to change up your punch to use your left fist instead of your dominant right one, you lowered your shoulder.”

  Distracted by the subtle cologne he wore, it took Jo a second for her brain to latch on to what he said. “The hell I did.”

  He shifted away from her and she wanted to growl at her stupidity. Dammit. She wanted him closer and now she’d run him off. Then he was back, a phone in his hand and the fight on the small screen. “Watch.”

  Her eyes followed the action. “Son of a bitch. She’s not even trying.”

  “That’s not true, it takes a good deal of concentration to keep someone as determined as you from doing a lot of damage.” He tucked his phone back in his pocket. “And as both of you are highly trained, it took her even more effort.”

  “How do you know how well trained we are?” Suspicion curled into Jo.

  He smiled again. “When is your next day off?”

  “I’m not sure with this new case.” She struggled to keep up with the rapid change of subject.

  “Okay, how about I call you next week. Maybe you can get an evening or afternoon off and we can go out to dinner or do something else.”

  Surprised, she took too long to answer, and he continued, “Or not.”

  A flash of something that looked like disappointment appeared in his golden gaze but disappeared so fast Jo could’ve been mistaken.

  “I’d like that, but I thought you were interested in Karma.”

  “No, she’s too flashy for me. I prefer a woman who’s a bit more subtle.” He tipped his head to the side.

  She turned to see Karma arguing with Sullivan, as usual. “She can be a tigress.”

  It was true, proven when Karma had leaped to her mother’s defense. In retrospect, she realized that was also why Karma had instigated the fight earlier. To help Jo release her anger constructively and get her on an even keel to accept Karma and Maker onto the case. The revelation caused her sister to rise higher in Jo’s estimation.

  Rhys hummed, his cell phone back in his hand. “Give me your number.”

  She rattled the digits off, watching him enter them into his cell. “Don’t call me until Wednesday or Thursday. I’ll know better how the weekend will play-out by then.”

  “Okay. But if you hear earlier, please call me.” Her cell phone pinged. “Now you have my number, and on that note, I’ve got to go. It was a pleasure, Jo.”

  With that, he waved to Sullivan and said his goodbyes. She watched the gorgeous man until he disappeared around a corner. Anticipation wound in her. He’d wanted her, not Karma. It was unexpected.

  A part of her wanted to chase him down and ask him what the hell he was thinking, but a larger piece wanted to climb on one of the pool tables and share her news with everyone. Because the hottest man alive just asked her out.

  Instead, Jo motioned for another beer to celebrate.

  Chapter 6

  Tuesday, and Rhys hadn’t heard from Jo yet. With a few swipes, he set the alarm on his phone reminding him to call her tomorrow. Not that he would forget normally, but if dispatch sent him to a scene it could slip his mind.

  He tucked the cell into his briefcase, grabbed his empty travel mug and made the trek through government hallways. Waving bye to the security guards manning the metal detectors, he stepped into the parking garage. Within minutes he arrived at his car. After storing his bag into the trunk, he climbed in and started it.

  Tapping his fingers on the steering wheel to the upbeat pop song playing on the local radio station, he maneuvered through the congested streets. Half-past-five and traffic was still heavy. By six, he finally turned into the drive of the GlenCare School, a school for adults with disabilities. He stopped at the guard shack, rolled down his window, and showed his ID.

  The guard motioned him through and he drove deeper into the heavily wooded drive. Taking the third road on the left, he pulled into the parking area and slid his car into a space near the door. Switching off the engine, he snagged the keys.

  Before he opened the door, his brother’s bulky form stepped from the building. Rian looked so much like their father it was uncanny and made Rhys miss his dad even more. Rian stopped; the gray self-closing door held open with his arm, he poked his dark brown head in again. Rhys heard a few indistinct words exchanged, then his brother let the door swing shut behind him and he headed to their car.

  His brother stomped to the passenger’s side door, a deep frown on his face and Rhys knew something was wrong. Rian was normally a happy person, not that he didn’t have a temper, become upset, or even sad on occasion. But it was rare, he’d always been a happy kid, big smiles, mischievous jokes, and banter. Even after being in a hit-and-run while on his bike. Rian woke from his coma disoriented, but still upbeat. Throwing jokes with their father while everyone waited for the doctor to arrive only to be dealt a blow anyone else would rage against. The diagnosis of brain damage, of his brain never developing much past that of a twelve-year-old, Rian still managed to find the positive by stating he’d remain young forever.

  His brother jerked the door open a scowl on his face. Slamming his body into the car making the entire thing sway, he topped his tantrum off by ramming his backpack between the two seats. A heavy clunk
alerted him that the pack had fallen into the back. Rhys tried to determine if the confrontation with him should be done now, or after they arrived home.

  With a snarl, Rian jammed the seatbelt into place, crossed his arms, and turned his head toward the passenger window. Realizing his brother was too angry to talk, he decided to give Rian some quiet. Snapping off the radio, he started the car and navigated back to Highway 280.

  Traffic came to a standstill and then moved when the light turned green. The everyday scenery and silence soothed both of them. Rian’s arms slowly uncrossed, the frown became pensive instead of angry. The next light caught them again and Rian twisted in his seat, his teeth digging into his bottom lip. It looked like he wanted to talk, but then he faced front again.

  “What’s going on, Rian?” He veered to the far right lane to merge onto the highway. Remaining quiet to allow his brother time to calm down, he hoped Rian shared what the issue was.

  “Nothing.” Rian kicked the dashboard.

  “Stop, or I’ll pull the car over and we can discuss whatever’s going on.”

  Rian nodded with a loud huff, crossed his feet together and tucked them closer to the bottom of the seat. Sighing despondently, Rian slouched in his seat. “Can Adam go with us camping?”

  Surprised, he briefly glanced at his brother before returning his gaze to the road.

  Evan and Rian had been friends since Rian joined GlenCare six years ago. When their parents were killed, Evan’s parents stepped in to look after Rian until Rhys could return home. The boys were inseparable, to have his brother ask for someone else to go camping with them was huge.

  Treading carefully through this new minefield, he thought about how to word his answer. “If that’s what you want, then I’m fine with it. I’ll have to call Adam’s parents though. Have you talked to Adam about it?”