He nodded and then pointed toward the shipping container. “I take it you’re moving?”
“Yes.” She stared past him at the smoldering skeleton of the house. “I stayed in town after my mother’s memorial service ended to meet with her attorney today. I found out that she left me a small trust fund. I plan to buy a place of my own, so I ordered the container and boxes to be delivered. I’ve only taken a short leave from work and needed to get started.”
“Why don’t you walk me through everything that happened from when you got home?”
“I decided to fix a sandwich and unwind a bit, so I went straight to the kitchen. An hour later, I couldn’t put off facing my mother’s room any longer. That’s when I discovered her room had been vandalized.”
She stopped talking as the memory swept her back to the pain of that moment.
“Everything was smashed or ripped to pieces. Everything.”
Inspector Collins looked up from the notes he was taking. “Did you call the police?”
Keelie shook her head. “I decided to check out the rest of the house first, so I ran upstairs. I would’ve sensed if the intruder was still in the house, so I figured I wasn’t in any immediate danger.”
“And was the upstairs vandalized as well?”
“Yes, everything was trashed, but I didn’t get much of a chance to look around before I heard glass breaking downstairs. By the time I got back to the first floor, the house was already filling up with smoke. It came from several directions. I dropped to the floor and crawled out the front door.”
Griff had been leaning against the side of his transport. He straightened up and rejoined the discussion. “Wasn’t the back door closer?”
“Yes, but the smoke was coming from the back and both sides of the house. The front was bad, too, but clearer than the rest of the lower floor.” She had a sudden urge to cough, maybe to clear even the memory of smoke from her lungs.
The investigator nodded and then continued writing for several seconds. “What happened next?”
“I got outside and ran as far as the road before I stopped to look back. I never saw anyone around the house, but then it was after dark at that point.”
“When did you arrive, Mr. Tyler?”
Despite the calm way he asked the question, Keelie frowned. She didn’t like the barely veiled suspicion in the inspector’s voice. She might have her own problems with Griff, but still she defended him.
“He pulled up right after it happened. As I said, last night was the memorial for my mother. He’d promised to stop by right after sunset to see if I needed anything.”
“She was kneeling in the road when I drove up. I damn near hit her.”
As he spoke, Griff reached out his arm to her again. He might only be trying to present a united front to the authorities, but she allowed herself to sink into his side. If nothing else, the warmth of his body helped keep the chill of the night air at bay. Not to mention she’d reached the breaking point after a day full of shocks.
“If you don’t have any more questions, Inspector, I’m going to call a cab to take me to a hotel.”
He held out a card to each of them. “Here’s my contact information. I’ve got both of your numbers when I have more questions.”
Interesting that he said “when” and not “if.” Right now Keelie was too tired to do more than wonder about what he might be thinking. When the inspector was out of hearing, Keelie pulled out her phone. Griff placed his hand over hers before she could dial.
“I’ll take you to a hotel if you insist, but I’d feel better if you came home with me.”
“Why?”
“The security is better for one thing. The other is I never sleep well in hotels, and I’ll be damned if I’ll let you out of my sight before we get to the bottom of this.” Maybe she was crazy. She had no reason to trust Griff, but she liked that he left the decision up to her. Well, except that he planned to be right beside her no matter what. But the truth was she was afraid, deeply afraid, to be alone right now.
“Fine, but let’s be clear about one thing—I’m sleeping alone when we get there.”
“It’s a deal. I’ll put your bag in my vehicle.”
He pressed a quick kiss on her cheek and walked away, leaving her second-guessing her decision and wondering about the gleam of satisfaction she’d seen in his eyes.
Chapter 8
Griff would kill the bastard that put the fear in Keelie’s eyes. While dealing with the aftermath of the fire and all the questions, he’d kept a lid on his temper, but just barely. The last thing she needed to deal with right now was an enraged vampire intent on murder. But once he had her tucked safely away in his home, he’d start hunting for the culprit.
Becan better hope he had an ironclad alibi or he was a dead man. Griff glanced up at the sky and realized how late it was. The search would have to wait until tomorrow night. Right now he had more important things to do.
Like getting Keelie tucked up safely in his bed. Yeah, he’d promised she could decide where she slept. If she insisted on separate rooms, he’d live with it.
Griff carefully steered around the clutter of fire trucks and headed for his house on the Tyler clan estate. It wouldn’t take long. As he drove, Keelie stared out at the darkness.
“I’m sorry this all happened.”
“Did you torch the place?” she asked without looking at him.
A flash of hurt anger had his fangs running out. “Hell no.”
Keelie finally turned in his direction, her own fangs gleaming whitely in the night. “Then you have nothing to be sorry for, do you? But, when I get my hands on the bastard who did, there’ll be no quarter given. No matter who it was or what his last name is, blood will run.”
He grinned. She was a bloodthirsty wench. He liked that about her. “Can I watch? Or help?”
“This isn’t funny, Griff. Someone destroyed everything and for no reason.”
He took her hand in his and kissed it. “No, it’s not funny. I was smiling because you remind me of me. I was just thinking how much I was going to enjoying ripping the bastard into little bloody shreds.”
“This is my battle, my duty.”
He understood that as well. “And I’m on your side. Never doubt that.”
As they drove through the security gates, he could feel her still watching him. She waited until he pulled into the garage before she finally responded.
“Just so you know, I do believe you.”
Inside the house, Griff set the alarms and made a couple of quick calls. He had friends living on the outskirts of his estate whose special abilities made them well suited to the task of guarding his house in the daylight hours. They promised to come as soon as possible.
“Thank the pack for me.”
When he hung up, Keelie was watching him, a curious look on her face. “The pack?”
He opened the fridge and pulled out sandwich makings for Keelie and a blood pack for himself. “It’s, um, a nickname for a special security squad I use for daytime surveillance.”
“What’s special about them?”
“They’re a canine team.” True enough, except they worked with timber wolves, not dogs.
She accepted the sandwich he’d put together for her. “Thanks. I didn’t realize how hungry I was.”
He let her eat in peace, fixing her a second sandwich and then one for himself. After cleaning up the mess, he picked up her bag.
“Ready to go downstairs?”
An unexpected knock at the door had him dropping the bag and palming the gun he had tucked in his waistband. He motioned for Keelie to get back before he peeked outside. He jerked the door open and motioned for his friends to come inside.
“Keelie Bronson, meet Garrett and his partner Kipp. They’ll be patrolling the estate while we sleep.”
She started to smile but then she blinked and took a closer look at Kipp. “That’s a timber wolf, and a big one at that.”
Garrett grinned. “You’ve
got a good eye. Most people just think he’s a big dog, and an ugly one at that.”
The wolf nipped at Garrett before shoving past him to lick Keelie’s outstretched hand. Griff wasn’t much for sharing, but that was the first real smile he’d seen on her face all day.
“He’s not ugly. In fact—”
She pulled something out of her pocket. When she opened her hand, there was a small figurine of a wolf, one that was an exact match for Kipp.
“My mom and I collected these. We both love wolves.” Her smile dimmed. “This is the only one that survived the destruction in my mother’s room.”
“Well, if you like wolves, you’ve come to the right place, Miss Bronson.” Garrett shot a glance in Griff’s direction. “Any time you want to spend time with a wolf, you just let me know.”
Griff was going to wring his friend’s neck for him. “Don’t you have something better to do than stand around in my kitchen keeping me up? Or did you actually have a reason for being here?”
“We caught Becan’s scent. He’s definitely on the estate.”
Keelie looked up from petting the wolf. “I get first crack at him.”
The wolf woofed and Garrett laughed. “I think I’m in love.”
Okay, enough was enough. “All right, you two, that’s enough. Get going and find him. I’ll catch up with you at dusk.”
He shoved them out the door and threw the lock. At least the close-up encounter with the wolf had brightened Keelie’s mood. Unfortunately watching her take such sensuous pleasure in running her fingers through Kipp’s fur had him wanting to howl himself.
Time to go downstairs. Now, before he did something stupid like trying to coax Keelie into trying out the kitchen table. Despite his earlier plans, he knew she needed some rest. They both did. He’d offer her the guest room next to his bedroom, but that was as much distance as he could stand between them. He’d come too close to losing her, and he’d only just found her.
So tonight he’d sleep alone. But once the dust settled, all bets were off.
Keelie followed Griff down to the basement level that had no windows, no outside access to endanger him during the daylight hours. Maybe she should be thinking about something other than the way those jeans showed off that fine-looking backside of his, but she couldn’t help herself. With her family history, she’d never expected to be attracted to a vampire, much less the very one rumored to have killed her father. Somehow, she knew there was more to the story than the few hints she’d managed to garner over the years.
Griff stopped halfway down the hall and opened a door. “This is your room. Mine is right next door. You should be able to find anything you need stocked in the bathroom.”
When she started past him, he quickly backed away. His abrupt departure startled her and made her wonder at the reasons behind it. He’d certainly not been reluctant to touch her before this. She’d certainly expected at least another kiss. Maybe even hoped for another kiss or a reassuring hug.
Inside the bedroom, she set her purse on the dresser and got her first clear glimpse of how bad she looked. No wonder Griff hadn’t wanted to kiss her. Her hair was a tangled mess, her skin and clothing covered in sooty streaks. She probably smelled as if she’d bathed in wood smoke and burned oil.
A knock at the bedroom door interrupted her pity party. She peeked out. “Yes?”
Griff shoved a stack of clothes at her. “I thought you might need something to sleep in.”
She accepted the gift. “Thanks. I appreciate it.”
Then he was gone again. The vampire was a constant surprise. More than ever, she needed to know his truth. But first things first. A hot bath was calling her name.
When Griff finished his shower, he could still hear Keelie moving around in the room next door. Images of her soaking in the oversized tub, her skin slick with soap, had him hard and hurting. He groaned and leaned his forehead against the cool tile. He hadn’t been in this constant state of sexual arousal since his teens when he first became fascinated with the female half of the population.
The phone rang, providing him with a welcome distraction. A few seconds later he slammed the receiver down. Somehow Becan had managed to elude Garrett and his pack. The vampire’s scent trail had ended abruptly when it crossed a road. Their best guess was someone had picked him up. None of the gates had opened, so he was still on the premises.
For now, they were pulling back to Griff’s house to reinforce the security there. He trusted his friends to keep him and Keelie safe for the next few hours, but come nightfall he’d hunt. He needed to end this, to lay the past to rest, because for the first time the future held something he wanted.
Would she never settle down? Every move Keelie made jarred Griff awake. He flopped over onto his stomach and covered his head with a pillow. No good. His nerves were scraped raw with the need to charge next door and demand answers or, better yet, demand satisfaction. Whatever kind she was willing to give him.
An unexpected sound had him jerking upright in the darkness. He reached out with his vampire senses. Someone was sneaking around upstairs in the kitchen.
He rolled up to his feet, prepared to defend his home and his woman. After easing his door open, he moved through the darkness toward the soft glow of light at the top of the stairs. At the bottom of the steps, he sniffed the air. One kind of tension drained away only to be replaced by another as he realized who he was tracking—Keelie. Vampires were predators at heart, and she was rapidly becoming his favorite prey.
He deliberately made noise going up the steps to avoid startling her. Even so, with her chancellor hearing she’d probably been aware of his approach since he’d left his room. She was already pouring a second cup of hot chocolate when he walked into the room.
Her eyes were so damn sad. “Sorry if I woke you.”
He wrapped his hands around the mug she offered him. The warmth felt good, but it also gave him something to do with his hands besides hauling Keelie straight into his arms.
Her wearing his oversized T-shirt and flannel boxers shouldn’t have been sexy, but try telling his hormones that. He kept the counter between them to hide his body’s response.
He said, “The real question is what is keeping you awake?”
She stared down into the depths of her mug for several seconds. Even from across the room he could see the ripples dancing in her drink.
“I almost died today, Griff.” Her smile trembled almost as much as her hands. “And I don’t even know why or what I did to make someone hate me that much.”
“Keelie…” He started toward her, but she held up a hand to stop him.
“Griff, we both know that whatever is going on started the night my father died.” Her fangs were showing now. “I want to know what really happened. I deserve that much.”
Maybe she did, but he knew she’d hate the truth once she knew it. Before he could say another word, she picked up an envelope and tossed it down on the counter between them.
He blinked several times. “Is that your mother’s letter? I assumed it burned up in the house.”
“No, I’ve been carrying it with me since the night she died, trying to find the courage to read it.”
He didn’t blame her for feeling that way. She’d lost so much in the past few days, but running from the truth never worked for anyone. He had his own selfish reasons for wanting the facts to come out, but he’d lived with the lies so long now he didn’t much care what the rest of the world thought. Only Keelie mattered right now, and he wanted no more lies between them.
He walked around the counter, needing to touch her, to ease the pain she was already feeling and the rest that would come the second they opened the envelope. To his surprise, she met him halfway, her hands sliding over his chest.
“Kiss me, Griff. Please.”
Damn, he had no business taking advantage of her when her defenses were down, but he needed her touch as much as she needed his. He kissed her soft and slow, fighting against his instincts to ta
ke her right then and there, fast and hard, claiming her as his own. It didn’t help his resolve when she moaned and practically climbed him, ending up with her legs wrapped around his hips, her core solidly against his erection.
This had to stop. Afterward, they could pick up where they’d left off if she could still stand his touch. No more lies.
“Keelie, honey, we have to stop.” He gave her a tight hug first, hoping she’d know that he didn’t want to let go of her even though it was the right thing to do.
She froze in his arms, leaning back enough to look him straight in the eye. “You don’t want this?”
His laughter held little humor. “More than you can possibly know. I’m skirting the far edge of crazy wanting you.”
He supported her with one arm while he snagged the envelope off the counter. “We’ll deal with this first. Ignoring it won’t make it go away.”
Then he carried her downstairs to his bedroom. They needed someplace quiet and safe to deal with the storm that was coming the second she read her mother’s letter. Granted, the living room upstairs would’ve been more neutral territory, but the wolves were at the door. Literally. And although their sense of smell was their strongest sense, there was nothing wrong with their hearing.
He set her on the bed and wrapped a blanket around her shoulders. After turning on enough light for her to read by, he sat down in the easy chair across the room, giving them both the space they needed.
“You read. I’ll listen and then answer any questions that I can.”
Chapter 9
Keelie winced at the sudden brightness in the room and stared down at the envelope in her hands. As long as the light was soft and the shadows thick, she could hide her embarrassment and pretend she hadn’t practically begged Griff Tyler for some hot sex. But evidently her best efforts had been all too easy to resist.
“I wanted it, too, Keelie. I still do. Never doubt that.”
Her head jerked up. Was he some kind of mind reader? Feeling more than a bit defensive, she lied. “It was a mistake.”
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