by CP Smith
We heard Max talking as he headed down the hall. Maxine looked in his direction, then winked, pulled out her phone, and put it to her ear.
When Shane and Max entered the kitchen area, Maxine started talking, waving her rainbow-colored dildo in the air.
“Did you send my supplies overnight express?”
Shane and Max turned toward her and their brows rose.
“What the fuck is she up to now?” Max asked.
Jenn, who obviously had practice deceiving men, mumbled without looking up, “She’s having a toy party at her friend Helen’s house. Apparently, there is a shortage of good vibrators in the Gunnison area.”
“Christ,” Max sighed, narrowing his eyes on Shane when he chuckled and slapped him on the shoulder.
“The girls are gonna help me with the party since it’s short notice,” Maxine lied into her phone.
Shane turned and looked at me. “Is this a poker party?” he asked suspiciously.
“No. Just catalogs and refreshments,” I lied.
“When?” Max asked Mia
“Tonight. It’s the only night Helen had free.”
Jack walked in then, carrying a twin under each arm like a sack of flour.
“What’s tonight?” he asked.
“Maxine’s having an impromptu Passion Princess party at Helen’s house and the girls and I said we’d help out,” Jenn answered, not looking up from the notes she was writing.
“Christ,” Jack sighed, then looked at Max and Shane. “I’m guessing neither of you wants to spend the evening looking at rubber cocks?”
Horror was written across both men’s faces.
“Right,” Jack guffawed. “Then you might as well ride along with me while they’re out.”
Max and Shane jerked their heads in acceptance, looking relieved at the invitation.
Jack dropped Keller and Kaiden on their feet, then leaned over and whispered in their ears. Both boys smiled at their father, nodding, then gave him a hug, saying, “Love you too, Daddy.”
Rising, Jack looked at his watch and said, “We need to leave,” so I stood and walked Shane to the door while Max and Jack said good-bye to their wives.
“Use your head today,” Shane ordered, grabbing my hand and pulling me closer. “I doubt Heller can get out of Alaska, let alone find us here, but if he does, it won’t be for a few days.”
“I will. I promise.”
“That’s my girl.” Raising my hand to his mouth, Shane teased my palm with an open-mouthed kiss, his eyes locked with mine as he did. Heat swept up my neck and settled on my cheeks when his tongue darted out and flicked my palm, reminding me how he’d woken me. My knees weakened from the memory, so I leaned against his hard body and shuddered. He felt it, and his knowing grin turned into a chuckle as he kissed the top of my head.
“Let’s roll,” Jack threw out as he opened the door, so I stepped back from Shane. He winked, then brushed a kiss across my mouth before he followed Max out the door.
When it closed behind them, I turned to the room and grinned at how easily we’d pulled that off.
“That was easier than I thought it would be.”
“Like I said, piece of cake,'” Maxine snickered.
“Who’s ready to hunt ghosts?” Mia asked.
“You grab a pen and I’ll get the computer. We need to google exactly what to do if we see one of these suckers,” Jenn said.
“What to do?” I questioned. “I’m pretty sure a sane person would run.”
“Probably,” Maxine answered, “But since when was sane fun?”
Eleven
Good for the Goose
Good for the Gander
“Does this guy look like FBI to you?” Max mumbled.
Shane shook his head slowly as he took in the agent.
He was mid-thirties, dressed in faded jeans, an Oklahoma Sooners hoodie rather than the standard issue black suit, and his hair was longer than the standard issue FBI cut as well. He was tall, built, and based on the way the female Deputy was open-mouthed staring, a good-looking man.
“My confidence in the FBI was just downgraded,” Shane answered.
“Jack says he’s solid,” Max threw out.
“He’s too much of a pretty boy—”
“To be working with Sage?”
Shane grunted. “Or Mia.”
Jack indicated both Shane and Max as he spoke. When the agent looked toward them both, he jerked his chin in acknowledgment before he and Jack made their way over.
“Max. Shane. This is Special Agent Dane Parker.”
Parker stuck out his hand and shook both of theirs. Green eyes, which had seemed laid back at first, grew sharper, more lethal as he took in both men, and Shane relaxed. Parker’s hard expression told him all he needed to know about the man—he was deadly serious about catching Heller.
“Jack brought me up to speed. My team is ready to fly to Alaska the minute we’re done here.”
“You look like you’re on vacation,” Max answered, his tone stating he still needed convincing. “Or has the Bureau changed their dress code?”
Parker looked down at his clothes and grinned.
“I was off duty when I received Jack’s call.”
Max indicated his hoodie with a tilt of his chin. “You from Oklahoma?”
“Savannah, Georgia, originally,” Parker answered, “but I worked a case in Tulsa last year. I was visiting a friend; flirting with his wife to keep him on his toes.”
Max turned to Shane and raised a brow. “And he still calls you friend?” Max asked.
“Considering she wouldn’t be alive if it weren’t for me, he stops short of punching me.”
“Arrogant,” Shane muttered, looking at Max. “I like his confidence. He’ll do.”
“Just as long as he refrains from flirting,” Max answered.
“I’ll hold off on flirting with your women until after we’ve apprehended Heller.”
“Fearless too,” Shane muttered, looking at Jack. “You put up with this?”
Jack grunted. “I’m not stupid enough to leave him alone with Jenn.”
“Smart man,” Max grinned.
Clapping Parker on the shoulder, Jack jerked his head toward the door. “Let’s grab coffee at The Bean and discuss Heller before you head out.”
“The coffee’s that bad here?” Parker asked as they all headed for the door.
“It’ll shrink your balls. So unless you’re givin’ up on having a family . . .”
“Lead the way.” Parker grimaced.
***
“According to this website, the ghost of a gold miner has been sighted at the old cemetery by locals and visitors for years,” Mia stated, her face buried in her phone. “Seems the best time to catch a glimpse of him is from just before sundown until midnight.”
Jenn hauled a dry erase board into the living room and began writing down everything we had found on the internet.
“According to Ghost Hunting 101, you should investigate the area in daylight to check for any dangerous obstacles you can’t see in the dark.”
“Write down we need flashlights,” I said to Maxine.
“It says to notify the local police and let them know you’re conducting research,” Mia continued.
“I think we can mark that off the list,” Maxine mumbled.
“That goes without saying. We have to keep this on the down low. If his men catch wind of our plans, they’ll rat us out,” Jenn stated.
“Never go alone,” Mia continued reading from the website, then looked up and asked, “Who would go alone?”
One by one, we all looked at Jenn.
She shrugged.
“I’m getting a clearer picture why Jack locks you up,” I giggled. “You’re a little nuts.”
Jenn grinned and nodded.
“Okay, here is the list of what to bring,” Mia announced. “Digital camera, digital voice recorder, flashlight with extra batteries, a first aid kit—”
“That was the fi
rst thing on my list, daughter-in-law,” Maxine muttered, smiling. “Though I keep one in my purse at all times since you married my son.”
Jenn snorted and I turned my head to cover my smile.
“NOTEBOOKS,” Mia emphasized loudly between her teeth, “pens, pencils, a watch, appropriate clothing for the weather, and for the advanced ghost hunter, a video camera with tripod, EMF detector, compass, motion detector, thermostat, and handheld radios.”
Jenn was scribbling fast then she paused. “You know, I think Jack has some extra radios around here, but I doubt I can get my hands on an EMF or thermostat.”
“How big is this cemetery?” I asked as my phone buzzed in my pocket. I raised my finger to pause conversation and pulled out my phone, expecting to see a text from Shane. I found my mother’s number instead. I’d been texting her since we left Trails End so she wouldn’t worry.
I need to know where you are so I won’t worry.
I mumbled, “I thought I told you where we were heading,” as my fingers flew across the keyboard.
Sorry, Momma, I thought I told you I’m in Gunnison, Colorado.
Yes, but you didn’t tell me where?
We’re staying with the Sheriff. He’s a relative of Maxine’s.
Is he staying with you all the time?
No. But Shane said that Richard can’t get out of Alaska easily, and if he did, he wouldn’t be here for days.
I’m sure he’s right. I just worry. Stay safe. No need to call me and run up your bill. I’ll see you soon enough.
Love you, Momma! See you when I get back.
“Sorry,” I said when I put my phone away. “Where were we?”
“You asked how big the cemetery is, which is a good question. If it’s huge, we may not have enough people in this room to cover it,” Maxine said.
“Five acres if the survey I pulled is correct,” Jenn answered. “It backs onto the forest, so it’s possible it’s been overrun by trees.”
Maxine shook her head. “If it’s the one off country road seventeen, it hasn’t. We used to go there when I was a teenager. It’s not so big we can’t handle it, though.”
“Is it still used?” I asked.
“Not often, but some of the old timers like bein’ buried there, since the original settlers of the town are.”
Capping her marker, Jenn stood back and read over her board. She’d listed the supplies needed and all the hauntings in the Gunnison area, along with what kind of ghost and frequency of the sightings.
“That should do it,” she mumbled. “I’ll find Jack’s radios and then we can head out and survey the cemetery before nightfall.”
Ten minutes later, we were loaded in her Jeep heading toward town. Gunnison was small but quaint, with a population just under six thousand. Jenn explained that Jack, Max, and Maxine were distant relatives of John W. Gunnison, the surveyor for the transcontinental railroad who first discovered the area. According to her, he only stayed in Gunnison three days, but years later, a relative came to Gunnison and settled. That was Jack’s great-great-grandfather.
“Who needs coffee before we drive out to the cemetery?” Jenn asked, pulling in front of a coffee shop named The Bean.
I started to answer in the affirmative, digging in my bag for money, when Jenn gasped and mumbled, “He’s a fine one for locking me up because a man looked at my ass when half the town females fawn all over him.”
Mia and I leaned forward and followed the direction she was looking. Down the street, we could see Jack, Max, Shane, and another good-looking man standing at the corner as two blond-haired women with large boobs flipped their hair. All three of our men looked bored.
“Is that the FBI guy?” I asked when I noticed him smile.
“Must be,” Mia answered.
One of the bimbos had the audacity to reach out and run her hand down Jack’s arm. He stepped back from her touch, his jaw clenched as he said something to her.
“That’s Amber Welsh,” Jenn bit out, her lip curled in disgust. “Jack dated her years ago.”
I was ready to grab her arm if she tried to leave the car in protest to her man being touched, but she didn’t move.
“Guess she doesn’t respect the state of holy matrimony,” Maxine sighed when Amber ignored Jack’s obvious dislike and touched him again before sauntering off, her hips swinging as she left.
Jack and the others turned their backs on the two women as they left, their attention surprisingly not on their retreating asses, and started across the street.
“At least you know Jack doesn’t flirt when he’s away from the house,” Mia stated.
“Pfft! Neither do I, and I still landed in solitary.”
“I say what’s good for the goose is good for the gander,” Maxine said, her eyes glimmering with laughter when she turned to Jenn.
“I could never pull it off.”
“You have backup now,” Maxine pointed out.
I looked at Mia and smiled. This could get interesting.
“He’d be suspicious if we went anywhere near the cell,” Jenn countered.
“Not if I was the one doin’ the askin’.”
Jenn looked back at Mia and I, and we both nodded. Then she looked at Maxine. “How much trouble will I get in?”
“Does it matter?” Maxine asked.
Jenn thought about it a moment then grinned and answered, “Nope,” before leaning forward to eject a CD. “If we’re doin’ this, we’re doin’ it right,” she laughed, waving the CD in the air. Then she pulled out her phone, searched for a number, and hit call. “Barry?” she asked into the phone, “I need your help.”
Twenty minutes later, we were standing in the control room watching a monitor as Jack, Max, Shane, and Maxine walked down the hall to solitary confinement. When they reached the cell Jack had locked Jenn in, all three men laughed.
“Men,” Mia grumbled, “they stick together.”
“How’s she going to get Jack in there by himself?”
Mia looked at me and grinned. “She’s not.”
Maxine looked at the camera in the hallway and winked, then moved into the cell. She threw back her head, laughing, then laid down on the cot. Jack entered smiling, relaxed, followed by Max and Shane. When Jack pointed at the camera in the corner of the room, catching the other men’s attention, Maxine stood up and ran out of the cell, slamming the door shut.
Jack froze, Max froze, and Shane hung his head when they turned and found the cell door closed. They knew they’d been had.
“Song number three if you please, Barry,” Jenn giggled as she handed him the CD.
Barry, one of Jack’s deputies, was a nice-looking man with mousy blond hair and green eyes. He shook with laughter when he took the CD and dropped it into a portable CD player. He selected the track she indicated as I watched the screen. Max started arguing with his mother. Jack was glaring at her with his hands on his hips, and Shane was smirking at the camera, shaking his head slowly.
“Open the door, Barry,” Jack ordered, knowing full well we could hear him.
Barry’s response was to click play on the CD player.
The same lyrical song from that morning blared through the speaker, announcing we should let it go. Barry held down the switch for the microphone and filled the cell with the music.
Jack jerked, then turned slowly toward the camera. Jenn leaned in, looked him straight in the eyes as if he could see her, and stuck out her tongue. Jack, who clearly had a sixth sense, narrowed his eyes.
“Can he see me?” Jenn gasped.
“Nope,” Barry answered.
Jack raised his hand then and crooked his finger at the camera, ordering Jenn to come to him.
She snorted. “Not likely.”
He raised a brow as if he knew she’d denied his request.
“He’s kinda scary,” I whispered.
“You have no idea,” Jenn confirmed. “He’s always one step ahead of—”
As if reading her mind, he pulled keys from his belt and d
angled them in front of the camera for Jenn to see.
“SEE!” she shouted. “Retreat! Retreat! Go, go, go!”
Maxine saw Jack pull out his keys as well and took off down the hall as we exited the control room. She passed us on the way to the front door, proving once again, that age is just a number. She outran all three of us.
“Keep up or spend the day in jail,” she hollered over her shoulder as she headed on swift feet for the Jeep.
We all dove in after Maxine, and Jenn started the Jeep, squealing her tires as she backed out. I turned around as she threw the Jeep into drive and saw all three men standing in front of the Sherriff’s office with their arms crossed on their chests. I waved at Shane and grinned. He raised a brow at me, then flicked a two-fingered salute.
“Shane doesn’t seem mad,” I told the car.
The ladies scoffed.
“What?”
“If he’s like Jack, he’s already planning retribution.”
“Retribution?”
I looked back and saw Shane still standing at the curb watching us leave. His right hand twitched and he flexed it, and his face looked darker, hungrier.
Was he aroused?
“Punishment is probably a better word,” Jenn replied.
“Punishment?”
“Bare hand to bare ass,” she replied in a breathy voice.
Hearing that, my core tingled and my breasts swelled.
I looked in the rearview mirror at the sound of her voice, and she grinned, wiggling her eyebrows.
“Good to know,” I replied in an equally breathy voice.
***
Shane lounged in a booth at Mike’s Burger, his arms relaxed on the back of a seat, chuckling as he and Max discussed how the women had gotten the best of them. If anyone had told him a week ago he’d be this relaxed, he would have called them all kinds of crazy. Sage had turned his life upside-down, in the best possible way, in a week’s time. After two days as a couple, he barely remembered the pain. The guilt was there, would always be, but it didn’t rule his life, consume his every thought. Protecting the treasure he’d found in her had taken over his focus.
“That took balls,” Max grinned.
“It did,” Jack agreed. “And help from one of my staff.”
“Barry?”