Little Bird (The Tangled Series)

by Gaines, Liza

  “She had a picture of my parents hanging in her hallway with a bunch of other pictures of her family and friends. She’d written a note on the back. It said, ‘Middleburg Bank, you idiot!’ and then she asked if I’d called you yet.”

  Mike laughed. “Smart girl.”

  Lee rolled his eyes. “Well, you aren’t the one she called an idiot. Although in this case, she wasn’t entirely wrong.”

  “So, did you go to the bank?” Mike asked.

  Lee told them about his trip to the bank and what he had found in the safe deposit box. Mike whistled. “Hartwell’s the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations. Did you bring the pictures back with you? Maybe Savannah and I would recognize someone else.”

  “No, this must be what they were looking for the other night when they broke into my place. So it didn’t seem like a good idea to bring them back here. I did take pictures of them with my phone though. I’ll email those to you and show them to Savannah after we eat. That’s pretty much all I’ve got.”

  “What about you, Savannah?”

  “Not much. Over the last several months she’s taken several large withdrawals from her bank account of five hundred dollars or more. That may or may not mean anything.”

  Lee snorted, leaning back in his chair. “She always had a weakness for expensive handbags and shoes. Unless she’s changed a lot over the last few years, that sounds about right.”

  Savannah continued, “Well other than that there was nothing of note about her bank accounts. There were three credit card statements. Two of the accounts were old; she’s had them for years. Nothing unusual there. But the third account, she’d just opened last month and it’s only been used twice so far. Monday, someone used it at a coffee shop in Chinatown. And yesterday it was used at a store in Columbia Heights. It has to be her, if someone had stolen the card they’d have charged a lot more than that.”

  Mike sounded proud as he said, “Good job, Savannah. I think you’re right. Anything else?”

  Savannah smiled; it always made her happy to know she’d impressed Mike. He was a good boss and a good friend so she was glad to know he thought highly of her work. “Not really. Just before I came over here for dinner I emailed all of her co-workers at the Post saying I was trying to get in touch with her. If this is somehow related to her work, maybe one of them knows something. I’ll let you know if I hear from any of them.”

  “All right, Lee, send me those pictures and I’ll see if I can figure out where that building is. It sounds like we’ve stalled out at the moment, though, unless Savannah hears back from one of Cara’s co-workers. But at least we know she’s probably still okay, or she was yesterday, anyway. And I’ll pull that credit card statement again tomorrow and see if she’s used it again. Maybe we can pin her location down based on where she’s using the card.”

  After hanging up, they ate their dinner, chatting comfortably about the usual things people talk about when they’re getting to know one another, which had been a relief to Savannah. She’d been worried that it would be awkward and weird to have a normal conversation when so far they’d spent pretty much every minute they’d been alone together having sex. But Lee was so relaxed and easy to talk to, they quickly fell into the pleasant cadence of conversation.

  Lee was funny, warm, and engaging and Savannah discovered she enjoyed learning about him and his life. He seemed just as interested when she told him about herself. In fact, the meal had passed with such amiable conversation, she was disappointed when it was over and Lee left the room to email the pictures to Mike while she did the dishes.

  Savannah had just finished the dishes and was wiping down the counter when Lee came back into the kitchen and sat down at the table, putting on his boots. “I just sent the pictures to Mike. I need to go up to the barn for a bit. Frank’s off tonight and some of the mares need to be brought in. Do you want to come?” He grinned when he added, “We’ll see if we can get you over this irrational fear of horses you have.”

  Savannah shrugged, suddenly regretting that over dinner she had confided in him about her lifelong horse phobia. “Sure, I guess I don’t have anything else to do. But I’m not getting close to the horses.”

  Lee smiled, obviously pleased she wanted to go. “Fair enough.”

  She followed Lee outside, Toby trailing behind them. As they approached his truck, Savannah asked, “So how come you park out here when you have a garage?”

  “There isn’t room. I keep the toys in the garage.”

  Her brows drew together curiously. “What toys?”

  Lee stopped in the driveway and pressed a button on his key fob. As the garage door started to rise, he grinned. “Come here, I’ll show you.”

  Savannah stepped closer and her breath caught in her throat. On the left was a motorcycle. It was beautiful, all black and chrome, but she didn’t know enough about motorcycles to recognize it. Besides, the car parked next to it was what really drew her attention and she definitely recognized a Shelby Cobra when she saw one. It was a roadster, bright red, with the typical white racing stripe. The Shelby Cobra was the sexiest car ever made and this was the closest she’d ever been to one. Actually, it was the first time she’d ever even seen one in person. Her mouth hung open in shock, and then she abruptly started laughing.

  Lee looked at her curiously. “What’s so funny?”

  Still giggling, Savannah dragged her gaze away from the car to look at him. “I asked Mike why you lived back here instead of in the main house. He said you weren’t pretentious enough to live in a house like that.”

  Lee raised both brows. “And you think my car is pretentious?”

  Savannah shrugged and smirked at him. “Well, it certainly screams money. Just promise me one thing.”

  “What’s that?” Lee laughed, closing the garage door again and walking around to the back of the truck. He put the tailgate down and Toby jumped in the back.

  “Some time before you disappear from my life forever, you have to take me for a ride in that car.”

  Closing the tailgate again, Lee came around to the passenger door and held it open for her. Savannah looked up at him as she settled herself in her seat. He stood in the open door, one arm on the roof of the truck as he leaned in to look at her. They’d both been laughing just a moment ago but now he stood there watching her, an intense expression on his face. That look made Savannah’s heart race and for a minute she thought he would grab her and fuck her right there.

  Instead, he flashed a grin at her and said, “You have your date tomorrow night. We’ll take the Shelby to drop you off at the metro. Maybe if you’re a really good girl, I’ll bend you over the hood before we go.”

  Before she could respond Lee stepped back and shut her door, walking around to the driver’s side of the truck. When he got in she turned to him with a teasing smile. “It’s not really a date, you know.”

  “I know. If it were, you wouldn’t be going.” Lee didn’t bother to look at Savannah as he spoke, instead starting the truck and backing out of the driveway.

  “That’s not up to you!” Savannah sputtered, her gut clenching with resentment. She couldn’t remember a time when anyone had ever pissed her off that quickly and that effortlessly. A second ago, she’d been silently hoping he’d fuck her right there in his driveway and now she had the sudden urge to strangle him.

  Lee only shrugged, giving her a sidelong look as he drove.

  “What, you think just because we fucked around you’re suddenly my social secretary?” Savannah’s voice was tight and hot, burning her throat like the world’s worst case of indigestion; she barely managed to control her fury. Who the hell did he think he was?

  Lee still didn’t answer her and Savannah subsided, leaning against the door to glare at him. There wasn’t much point in arguing with him if he wasn’t going to argue back, so she just sat there, giving him dirty looks and fuming.

  It was a short ride to the barn and Lee parked the truck and pulled the key out o
f the ignition before turning to her, a surprisingly pissed off look on his face. “Your social secretary? Hell no. But I think if you want to keep fucking me you shouldn’t be actively trying to fuck anyone else.”

  Savannah stared at him with disbelief, her mouth hanging open, before she managed to snap, “Since when does a date automatically count as actively trying to fuck someone? I can understand your confusion since I jumped your bones without so much as dinner and a movie first, but I don’t make a habit of putting out for just anybody.”

  Lee gave her a steady look and then shook his head. “I’m not going to argue with you about this.”

  He didn’t wait for her to respond. Instead, he got out of the truck and headed into the barn, Toby at his heels.

  Savannah got out, slamming her door and following him inside. There were rooms on either side of the door, then a step down and six big box stalls along each side of the aisle. The room to the left of the door was the tack room, with rows of saddles and bridles hanging on the wall. The room to the right was the feed room, where Lee stood scooping grain into buckets.

  Savannah tried to stay out of the way and neither of them spoke as Lee did his chores, hanging the buckets of feed in the stalls and refilling water buckets. When he started bringing the horses in from the field, Savannah went in the tack room and sat on a tack box in the corner. It was probably silly but the big animals made her nervous enough she didn’t really want to watch him handle them.

  It galled her to admit Mike had been right. She never should have gotten involved with Lee. This obviously was not going to work out, and the thought of continuing to work with him was awful. She would have to explain to Mike why she couldn’t help on this case anymore. He’d be mad, but hopefully he’d get over it. At least this had happened now before she’d gotten in too deep. Then again, maybe it was already too late for that given how badly she wanted to crawl in bed, pull the covers over her head, and cry for a week.

  “You can come out now. All the vicious beasts are in their stalls.”

  Savannah jumped, startled. She’d been looking down at her feet, kicking the toe of her sandals in the dirt, and feeling sorry for herself. She hadn’t realized he was watching her.

  “Are you done then?” Savannah refused to look at him as she spoke. She was too vulnerable to risk letting him see how upset she was.

  “Not quite. Some of them go back outside for the night after they finish eating.”

  They fell quiet, both of them clearly unsettled by their argument, which was just as well because Savannah didn’t know what to say to him now anyway.

  Lee finally broke the awkward silence when he asked, “So what are your big plans tomorrow night?”

  Savannah did look up then, ready to snap at him, but when their eyes met she stopped herself. He was leaning against the doorjamb, giving her an uneasy smile. She could see the hesitancy in his eyes but he did seem genuinely interested and she was so happy for Joni she didn’t want to let her spat with him spoil her excitement.

  “My best friend, Joni, is an artist. She’s having her first solo exhibition and tomorrow is opening night.”

  “I’m sure you’ll have a great time.” Lee pushed off the door, leaning back to look down the aisle at the horses before turning back to her again. “They’re finishing up. I just need to gather the empty buckets and turn a few of them back out. You don’t have to hide in here, you know. They’re all too fat and happy after dinner to cause any trouble.”

  Savannah did laugh a little then but she shook her head. “No, it’s all right. I’ll wait here.”

  Lee sighed and shook his head before walking away and Savannah wondered if he felt as frustrated and hurt as she did. Well, frustrated maybe. She doubted she could hurt his feelings, not like he’d hurt hers anyway. He was older, more experienced, and not stupid enough to fall head over heels for someone he barely knew.

  They’d ridden back from the barn in silence and were driving down the lane in front of the cottages when Savannah screwed up her courage and said, “Would you mind dropping me off? It’d save me the walk in the dark.”

  “I do mind, actually.” Lee drove by the rental cottage, pulling into his own driveway. She snorted and he gave her a sidelong glance. “Still mad at me, huh?”

  “Yes.” Savannah took a deep breath and glared at him. “I don’t want to go on a date with anyone else. But it pisses me off that you were such a jackass about it with that ‘you wouldn’t be going’ bullshit. Just like now. I ask you nicely to drop me off but oh no, you know better.”

  Lee sighed and turned in his seat to look at her. “What the hell did you want me to say? You couldn’t possibly expect me to be okay with you seeing someone else while you’re seeing me?”

  “I don’t know. Am I even seeing you or just fucking you? Doesn’t seeing someone imply some kind of dating or something?” Savannah scowled at him, waiting for him to answer but he didn’t, instead getting out of the truck and walking around to the passenger side. As he swung her door open she snapped, “Are you going to answer me?”

  Lee hauled her across the seat without comment, pulling her against his chest and picking her up. Taking a step back he kicked the door closed and then started for the house. Shifting her in his arms, he opened the unlocked door and carried her inside, closing it again behind them and taking her straight to his bedroom.

  He dropped Savannah in the center of his bed and then went back to the door, turning on the light. When Lee sat on the edge of the bed, she sat up behind him, pushing at his shoulder. “Answer me!”

  Continuing to ignore her, Lee pulled off his boots and socks before finally turning to look at her, his voice full of exasperation. “I didn’t ask you not to see other men because it isn’t a question. If you want to see me, you won’t see anyone else. If that’s not acceptable to you, then you can move right along and find some other schmuck who is okay with that but it’s not a point that’s open for discussion with me.”

  “You still haven’t answered my question!”

  Lee shrugged and stood, stepping away from the bed so there was nothing between Savannah and his bedroom door. “And you still think I’m an asshole.” He paused, waiting for her response.

  When she nodded angrily, he added with obvious irritation, “Well, that makes the answer to your question irrelevant, doesn’t it? So I guess the only question left is: do you still want to be in my bed?”

  Savannah looked at the open door for a long minute, angry with herself for what she was about to do. Obviously it had been a huge mistake to sleep with him but the damage was done and the sex had been spectacular. What would be the harm in indulging one last time? Finally she looked up at him, her jaw set as she said, “I’m sure I’ll regret it but yes, right now this is where I want to be. If you still want me here, I mean.”

  Lee cocked a brow at her, his face impassive and his voice hard as he said, “Go then. I sure as shit don’t want to cause you any regret.”

  “What?” Savannah couldn’t hide her surprise. She definitely hadn’t expected that response from him and it stung.

  “Go. The truck keys are on the kitchen table. You can drive yourself back if you’re scared of the dark.”

  “You fucking son of a bitch. Christ, I must be out of my goddamn head. And to think I thought I was falling for you. You must have some kind of fucking magic cock or something to make me think for one fucking second that you might be a decent human being. Fucking bastard.” Savannah muttered as she climbed off the bed and stomped out of the room, not daring to look at him for fear she might cry.

  She was half way to the kitchen when she stopped and turned around again, looking at the open bedroom door. She’d half thought he would follow her or try to stop her from going but clearly that wasn’t happening. How was it possible that even now, as mad as she was, she wanted him to come after her, to fix this, to make things okay between them again?

  Lee was still standing, stunned, next to the bed where she’d l
eft him when she came back, her cheeks red with anger and hurt feelings.

  “You weren’t going to come after me?”

  Lee gaped at her, bewildered by her question. Did she really expect him to chase her down and beg her to come back? After she’d told him she would regret fucking him? Yeah, over his dead body. “No. In case you forgot, I’m the one who told you to leave.”

  “Fuck you, Levon.” Savannah glared at him, spitting the words at him through gritted teeth.

  “Not interested, sweetheart.” Lee’s heart pounded in his chest so hard he could hear it thudding in his ears. Christ, what the hell was wrong with him? He wanted to fuck her. She wanted to fuck him. What the hell was the problem here? Oh, right, she said she’d regret it. Savannah couldn’t have known he was already worried about that very thing, it was the weakest place she could stick the knife and twist. And it cut more than he ever would have anticipated. He’d been an idiot to let this happen. At least it was blowing up in brilliant fashion in less than twenty-four hours, before it had time to really get ugly.

  “Liar. Stop being an asshole and fuck me!” Savannah shoved at his chest, trying to push him down on the bed but he was close to twice her size and had been braced against her.

  Lee surprised himself by laughing at her and wondered what she could possibly be thinking, trying to push him around. Luckily for Savannah, he wasn’t the type to shove back. After this was over, he might send her on her way with a little parting advice about trying to get physical with someone twice her size. Not smart.

  His laughter only seemed to piss her off more because she cursed under her breath and glared at him, her fists clenched at her sides. He was still laughing, his voice low and gravelly when he said, “Still not interested, sweetheart, but you can suck my dick if it’ll shut you the fuck up.”

  Savannah slapped him hard across the face and Lee winced with a curse, his cheek stinging. She hadn’t held back, putting everything she had into it, and she was tougher than she looked. Nope, she was going to get that little lecture right the fuck now.