Krewe of Hunters Series, Volume 5

by Heather Graham

  As she started past him, he bent down and whispered, “And here I thought you’d be in a hurry to get back to your house.”

  His whisper alone sent heat shooting through her veins.

  Matt and Meg were right behind her, and she wondered if they’d heard, not that it really mattered. If they hadn’t figured things out this morning, they were bound to when Brett stayed over tonight and—she hoped—every night from now on.

  They had three cars for the four of them, so Matt and Brett took their own vehicles, and Meg drove with Lara. To Lara’s surprise, her friend said nothing about Brett. Finally she looked at Meg and asked, “Warnings? Anything?”

  “About life? It’s brutal out there,” Meg said.

  “About Brett.”

  “Well, I knew how you felt about him.”

  “What? I didn’t know how I felt about him!”

  “You forget how well I know you. Better than you know yourself, sometimes. And I can’t think of anyone better for you.”

  “You just met him,” Lara said.

  Meg nodded. “Yes, but Matt’s known him for years and says he’s one of the best. And if Matt said it, it’s true.”

  Lara loved her friend’s confidence, but still she hesitated before asking, “Do you think…do you think it’s just that I’m afraid, and because I’m afraid, I’m looking for a protector and mistaking that for something else?”

  “You have Matt and me here. You’d be protected without him. Look, for the moment you’re both getting something you need. And I’m not just referring to sex. It’s just a bonus that you’re sleeping with a guy who has a Glock by his side and knows how to use it. I don’t like that doll. I really don’t like that doll.”

  Lara didn’t like it, either, but she decided to focus on anger, not fear. “My best friend and her significant other are FBI agents, and—as you pointed out—I’m sleeping with another. Let the bastards try something. If they do, you’ll get them.”

  “We always get them in the end,” Meg said.

  They chose a restaurant, and Lara suggested that they eat outside, by the water. They agreed, and she noticed that Brett hurried to claim the seat nearest the water. She realized it was actually the most vulnerable side, the easiest route for someone to slip up and surprise them. She noticed, too, even as they discussed the menu, that the others were studying the water. It was a beautiful night, with lights glistening on the water, boats off in the distance, music playing softly and a benign moon smiling down. But even in such a perfect setting, there was an elephant in the room that couldn’t be ignored.

  Brett seemed bothered by something more than the overall situation, Lara thought. She looked at him, a question in her eyes. “What are you thinking?”

  He sighed. “It still bothers me that anyone can get to Sea Life by boat.”

  “I don’t think anyone is after the dolphins,” Lara said.

  “Someone threatened you because of your role in finding those body parts, so why wouldn’t they threaten Cocoa for the same reason?” Meg said.

  That thought disturbed Lara. “Do you really think someone would try to hurt Cocoa?”

  “Maybe,” Brett said.

  “We need security there, then,” Lara said determinedly.

  “How would just anyone know which dolphin is Cocoa? I know that everyone who works with them can tell them apart. They have scars, they’re different sizes, whatever,” Meg said. “But how would a stranger know which dolphin was Cocoa?”

  “They could show up during the day and find out what she looks like and which enclosure she’s in,” Brett pointed out.

  “I wonder if we need to move Cocoa to another facility, just for a while,” Lara said. She bit her lip. “From what I’ve heard, it’s a tricky thing to do, moving a dolphin. But Grady must know somewhere she could be taken until this is over.” She hesitated, looking at the three of them. “I’m going to stay at the facility tonight.”

  She knew, of course, that they wouldn’t let her stay there alone.

  In fact, she was counting on it, since she didn’t have a gun or the faintest idea how to use one. Point and shoot, of course, but beyond that…

  “You know I’ll stay wherever you stay,” Brett said quietly.

  Meg laughed softly at that. “Yes, and we know you’ll keep a very close eye on Lara, too.”

  “I’m wondering if we should all stay there,” Matt said thoughtfully. “Until now I didn’t really see the facility as being in danger, but the threat to Lara puts a new spin on things. We’ll all stay.”

  “Slumber party?” Meg said drily.

  “I wasn’t planning on getting that close and cuddly,” Brett said, grinning. “But here’s the thing. The offices aren’t that close to the lagoons. If one of us is guarding the dolphins, someone else will have to be on guard duty in the offices.”

  Matt nodded. “Shifts down by the lagoon.”

  Lara felt uneasy. “I wonder if we should have left at all. Rick and Adrianna are in for the night, so if something happened down by the water, they wouldn’t even know.”

  Brett reached across the table, his fingers curling around hers. “Don’t panic. I can fix that with a phone call. You guys order—I’ll have the roast beef—and I’ll be right back.”

  She looked at him curiously.

  “World’s greatest partner,” he said, then stood and walked away to make his call. When he returned, just as their waiter was leaving, he told Lara, “Call Rick and Adrianna, tell them Diego will be there in ten minutes. They need to meet him at the parking gate and let him in.”

  She called Rick’s cell. He seemed surprised by the change in plans, but pleased, as well.

  “Never hurts to have some big guns around when the world goes crazy, huh?” he said.

  “Never,” she agreed.

  She hung up and smiled at Brett. “Thank you—and Diego, too.”

  “We might be taking things a step too far, you know,” Matt said. “There’s a good possibility that it hasn’t even occurred to our killer that snuffing out a dolphin would help him in the least.”

  Lara nodded, knowing he was trying to reassure her. “But maybe the killer is vindictive, too. He obviously knows I’m involved, so he probably also knows it’s through Cocoa.”

  No one argued that. Just as their food arrived, Brett’s phone rang. He answered, listened briefly, then said, “Thanks” and hung up. “We’re good. Diego is on the job.”

  They didn’t linger, but they did enjoy their dinner. As soon as they were done, they drove straight back to Sea Life.

  Diego’s car was there in the lot.

  Lara used her key to enter, then reset the alarm once they were inside.

  Brett called Diego as she closed the gates. “I told him we’re here. He’s going to keep first watch by the water.”

  “That’s the kind of partner you keep,” Matt said.

  Brett nodded. “Seems as if you did okay, too.”

  “He did extremely well—and so did I,” Meg said, smiling. “What watch? We can divide things up however you want.”

  “I’ll take the second water shift,” Brett said. “That means you guys can get at least six hours sleep up in the office, so you can take care of that end. After that point, your choice whether you take guard duty alone or together. You’ll hold down the fort in the morning until the gates open to the public.”

  Lara had moved ahead to unlock the doors to the office. Now she stepped aside and asked Brett, “Mind if I head down and thank Diego?”

  “No. But I’ll watch you from here, and I’m not going in till you’re back.”

  She hesitated. “Don’t you need as much sleep as you can get before your shift? And really, I know you’re all just humoring me on this.”

  “The more I think about it, the m
ore I think there could be a real threat to Cocoa as well as you,” he said, his tone serious.

  She nodded and turned away, feeling suddenly awkward.

  As she got closer to the water, she saw Diego. He was seated on the platform in the lagoon beyond the dock, looking out at the water. He stood and turned the minute she got within a hundred feet, his hand on his gun, though he didn’t pull it.

  “Hey,” she said, going out to join him.

  “Hey. How was dinner?”

  “Really nice. And thank you so much for coming right out here. Without you, we would have had to settle for takeout. You and the others are putting in an awful lot of hours.”

  “Doesn’t matter,” he assured her.

  “I hope Brett’s call didn’t interrupt anything important.”

  He grinned. “No, it was fine.”

  She tilted her head and stared at him assessingly. “I meant a date.”

  He laughed. “No, I was just starting to see someone, but it wasn’t going to work out, and I knew it. My fault. I was intrigued, just…”

  “Just not intrigued enough?”

  “Just not intrigued enough,” he echoed. “Besides, with this thing going on… I don’t think any of us is really going to rest until we get to the bottom of it.”

  Lara hesitated, and then sat down on the platform. Diego followed suit. It was a beautiful night, crystal clear. The water stretched out before them, rippling in the moonlight. A pleasant breeze off the bay swept away the day’s heat. Palm trees bent gently, their fronds rustling in soft whispers.

  “Thank you,” Lara said again.

  He smiled at her. “No problem. It’s my job.”

  “I don’t think anyone is supposed to be on call twenty-four hours a day.”

  He shrugged. “This isn’t exactly your usual job. It’s kind of a passion, I guess.”

  “I guess. As long as I’ve known Meg, she’s wanted to be in law enforcement. She was so thrilled when she got into the academy.”

  He smiled at her. “I knew from the time I was a kid, too. I grew up in a nice, decent neighborhood, but it started getting rough when I was in my teens. I saw a little girl killed by a stray bullet in a gang shooting. The cop who came was a real dedicated guy. I still remember how when he questioned me, I knew he wasn’t going to stop until he caught the guy. And he did, too. I became a cop first, then went into the FBI.” Studying her, he said, “I still remember to stop and eat even when I’m on a case, though. Brett, well, he flat-out forgets half the time. Are you the type of woman who can live with that?”

  She flushed, looking away. “I wonder if I even know myself half the time, what type of person I really am. I know I…”

  She paused.

  “You what?”

  “I know that if he’ll let me, I want to hang around your partner for a very long time.”

  Diego grinned, set an arm around her shoulders and gave her a brotherly hug. “Just be careful. It won’t be easy.”

  “You speak as if you know.”

  “I’m divorced,” he said with a shrug.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “So am I.”

  “Her loss.”

  “We’ll go with that,” he teased. “She’s a great person. I’ve never fallen out of love with her. But if you see her, don’t tell her that.”

  “Will I see her?”

  “I doubt it. She moved to Colorado.”

  “Well, I still say it’s her loss.”

  “It’s a tough road. You have to be ready. You know what I’m saying?” he asked her. “You’re not mad?”

  “Hey, you’re trying to keep my girl Cocoa safe,” Lara said. “What’s not to like?”

  “Anyway, I suggest you go back inside and get some sleep—or whatever,” he teased. He glanced at his watch. “Brett is due to replace me here in less than three hours. Plenty of time for…whatever,” he said with a grin.

  Lara stood and grinned back. “All right, I’m off. And, Diego…”

  “Yeah?”

  “Thank you. For everything.”

  “My pleasure, mi amiga,” he said. “Now go.”

  Lara didn’t waste any more time but hurried down the path toward the offices. Along the way she paused for a minute. The breeze was rustling the tree branches; except for the auxiliary lights near the buildings, it was very dark here.

  She turned back toward the water. She could see the glow that was downtown Miami. It was a beautiful city at night, with multicolored lights from a dozen skyscrapers or more reflecting off the water.

  But here, where the shadows lurked…

  Anyone could be hiding, watching, waiting…

  She hurried along and saw that, as promised, Brett was waiting for her outside the building. She had the feeling that Diego had called him and said she was on her way. She smiled. And when he smiled back she knew that they were good.

  She hurried to his side.

  “Diego okay?” he asked.

  “Yes.”

  He grinned. “Come on, then. We have a few hours before I need to relieve him.”

  She laughed softly. “Your partner suggested that would be more than enough time.”

  Brett grimaced. “Did he now? That boy may be in trouble one day. I do have a long memory. But…where are we headed? Matt and Meg took the break room sofa.”

  “They’re asleep?”

  “They sleep lightly, but yeah, they’re already catching their z’s.”

  “We’ll take the extra room in Grady’s apartment,” she told him. “I’m sure he won’t mind.”

  She led the way, aware that a feverish flush was already suffusing her skin.

  They made it up the stairs and into Grady’s guest room. Then they were tugging at each other’s clothes and trying to touch one another at the same time, their lips meeting, tearing apart, then meeting again. The only thing Brett paused for was setting his Glock on the bedside table, where it would be within easy reach at all times, she realized.

  Seconds later their clothes were strewn in a tangle on the floor and she was in his arms, savoring the feel of his naked flesh against hers. It amazed her how quickly she could forget everything but the feel of his lips against her skin, the movement of his body against hers…

  His fingers teased at her thighs; his mouth brushed over her breasts. She swept her hands down his back to his buttocks, feeling as if she was sinking in a strange world of molten lava and longing. They seemed to meld together, and yet she was also aware when he entered her, moving with her, filling her with sexual excitement and building fire.

  She felt as if she’d been denied too long, and a hunger that eclipsed everything else rose and carried her to a searing—and shared—climax.

  Brett whispered against her ear, “My partner did warn you that I didn’t need much time.”

  “He did,” she said, laughing.

  “But that was only the first course, you know…the appetizer.”

  “In that case, I can’t wait for the entrée.”

  “You won’t be disappointed,” he promised. “You’ll want to taste, to savor. Every touch will be perfection.”

  “Do tell,” she murmured, the tip of her tongue teasing along his flesh. “Something like this…?”

  Time lost all meaning. Whether he felt challenged to prove a point or was simply so involved he couldn’t stop, Brett taught her a new definition of foreplay, and she hoped she returned the favor. She loved that he could laugh, that they could play and that lying with him seemed the most natural thing in the world. She was curled against him, half-asleep at last, when she heard him sigh as he eased away from her.

  “Three hours goes quickly,” he said. “As the cliché goes, time flies when you’re having fun.”

  “
Wait for me. I’ll go with you.”

  “I’m accustomed to this, you’re not. Get some sleep,” he told her.

  She didn’t listen. She was already up and searching for her clothes. She intended to prove that she could be ready for anything in a matter of minutes, and she did it.

  He smiled, shaking his head as he looked at her. “Are you sure? This is what I do for a living,” he reminded her.

  “And Cocoa,” she said softly, “this place… They’re what I do for a living.”

  He nodded, and they headed downstairs together.

  Diego rose as they arrived. “Everything’s quiet in the lagoon,” he assured them. “Your dolphin has been eyeing me suspiciously, though,” he told Lara.

  She smiled. “You can tell Cocoa from the others?”

  “We’ve been out with her several times,” he reminded her. “I know the darker coloration right on her nose and the little scar pattern above her eyes.”

  “I’m proud of you,” she said.

  He nodded and looked at Brett, then walked away, waving to the two of them. “I’ll be in the comfiest chair I can find,” he called. “Because I’m sure the other two are already hogging the sofa!”

  As it happened, the sunrise was on their shift. It wasn’t as glorious as the burst of color when the sun set in the west, but it was still beautiful. Pale yellow shards broke through the blue darkness, then began to grow, until finally the golden orb of the sun burst above the horizon.

  Cocoa made a stunning leap into the sky, a beautiful silhouette against the gleaming circle of the sun. And then she dropped into the water and swam over to Lara, who stroked her and apologized for not having any fish.

  Matt and Meg joined them on the platform a little while later.

  Soon the day would begin.

  And despite the “bloodied” and disarticulated doll on her desk, Lara thought that it was going to be a good one.

  Because she was grateful for all life had to offer. And she wasn’t afraid.

  CHAPTER 14

  Brett and Diego started the morning by arranging a visit to Dr. Robert Treme. His receptionist informed them that no one saw Dr. Treme without an appointment, and that the next opening was weeks away.