by Diana Palmer
She quickly phoned Chief Hurt and relayed the events, then asked him to send a coroner and ambulance so they could transport the bodies they were about to dig up. Brody remained silent, his body rigid with anxiety, his breathing labored in the quiet.
Night had set in, the moon a crescent sliver that fought its way through the storm clouds. Julie pressed a hand to Brody’s back as he raised his knees, propped his elbows on them and rubbed his forehead. She hoped to hell the forensics team could finish before the snow came.
“I’m sorry I yelled at you,” Brody said in a low voice.
“Don’t worry about it,” Julie said. “Just try to hold on to hope, Brody. Like I told you before, Will survived seven years. Now he knows you’ve been looking for him, he won’t give up.”
“But he didn’t believe me,” Brody said.
Julie sighed, wiping at dirt on her forehead. “He may have said that, but on some subconscious level, the truth may have sunk in.”
She twined her fingers with his, and they sat clinging to one another until the crime unit arrived.
Johnny and Miles met them at the CSU van, and Julie explained about the case and what they’d discovered. “Let’s start with the graves,” she said. “We need to identify them ASAP.”
The team introduced themselves as Todd Franks, Janice Crimson and Detective Lyle Burks. A fire crew arrived next to extinguish what was left of the burning trailer and investigate the fire. Dr. Kurt Norman, the local coroner and medical examiner, drove up and Miles guided him to the scene.
Brody started to follow, but Julie shook her head. “Stay here, Brody. You don’t have to watch this.”
Brody gave her a sharp look. “I have to see for myself, Julie.”
Their gazes locked for a long heartbeat but he didn’t budge. Resigned, she nodded. “Come on, we’ll watch together.”
Johnny stood in the background while Todd and Janice photographed the scene and collected soil samples from the grave. Then Detective Burks and Todd began to dig.
Miles led Janice to one of the barns, and they began the laborious processing of the scene.
The sound of the shovel hitting dirt and rocks sounded ominous in the quiet as the men worked. The coroner stayed close, helping to rake away dirt when they reached the body.
Julie held one hand on Brody’s arm to keep him calm as they unveiled the two bodies. The sight of the bones made Julie sick because those bones were human, and judging from the size they belonged to an adolescent.
But the bones had been there too long to be Will.
Brody must have realized it at the same time because his breath whooshed out. Then he turned and strode back toward the Jeep. She followed him and saw him leaning against the driver’s door, his face ashen, sweat trickling down his neck.
“It’s not Will,” Julie said as she laid a hand on his shoulder.
Brody gave a short nod. “Thank God.” Then he turned to her with a tortured look. “I’m so relieved. But I feel guilty for that.”
“I know,” Julie said. “Even if it’s not Will, there are two boys who shouldn’t have died.”
*
EVEN AS BRODY admitted his guilt, relief swept through him. Sorrow for those kids in the grave and for their families overwhelmed him.
But Will might still be alive….
“I’m going to talk to the forensic team for a minute, then we’re going home.”
Brody didn’t argue. There was nothing else they could do here. Hopefully the crime unit would find evidence to help track down this bastard.
But at least they had a name now. Barry Moody.
Although since the man had forced new names on his victims, he’d probably changed his own name, too.
Johnny walked over to him while Julie went to talk to the team. “We’re going back to the BBL now, but we’ll start looking again tomorrow,” Johnny said. “As soon as it’s daylight.”
Brody shook his hand. “Thanks, I appreciate it.”
Johnny nodded and tilted his hat to one side. “We won’t stop until we find him, Brody.”
Brody gritted his teeth as Johnny went to join Miles, and they headed back to the chopper. Brody tried to pull himself together, but his emotions were still ping-ponging all over the place as he and Julie drove back to the BBL.
As soon as they arrived and entered the house, he went straight to the bar in his office and poured himself a drink. Then he offered Julie one.
“I’m on duty,” she said, although exhaustion laced her voice.
“You deserve it after today.” Brody said.
Julie accepted the scotch and swirled it in her glass.
He sipped his drink. “Johnny and Miles are going to start again early in the morning.”
“They’re good friends,” Julie said. “They care about you a lot, Brody.”
“They care about kids,” Brody said. “We…all have our stories.”
“Yes, we do,” Julie said softly, then she sipped her drink, a silent understanding passing between them.
Finally Brody knocked back his drink then set his glass on the table. “You were amazing today, Julie.” He walked toward her, then brushed a strand of hair away from her cheek. “I…don’t know how I would have made it through that without you.”
Sadness glittered in Julie’s eyes, then a flicker of some other emotion Brody couldn’t define.
“You’re strong, Brody,” Julie said softly. “You always have been.”
“No,” he said, a knot in his belly. “I messed up years ago when I blamed you. I…needed you then but I pushed you away.”
Julie lifted her hand and placed it over his. The touch sent a tingle of awareness and hunger through him. It had been a long damn time since he’d been with a woman.
Even longer since he’d made love to one, because the only woman he’d ever loved was standing in front of him.
“But I’m not going to push you away this time,” he said gruffly. “I need you, Julie.”
A heartbeat passed, then Julie set her glass on the table beside him and reached for him.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Julie threaded her fingers through Brody’s hair, unable to resist the urge to comfort him.
Although as he drove his mouth over hers, kissing her with such fervor, desire flared inside her. She needed comfort as much as he did. Too many nights and days of monsters hurting women and children haunted her.
It had all started with Will years ago. It had to end with them finding him, bringing him back home, and helping him accept the love Brody had for him.
Brody emitted a low growl of pleasure as she parted her lips in invitation, and he took the kiss to a frenzied pace, his hands roaming over her shoulders down to her hips where he pulled her against his hard rippled body.
Her breath caught, delicious sensations pummeling her as his tongue danced with hers. He trailed kisses down her neck, nibbling at the sensitive flesh behind her ear, while she raked her hands over his muscled chest. She wanted his clothes off. Her clothes off.
To lie naked and loving him forever.
Then his teeth nipped at the buttons on her blouse, and her nipples stiffened to peaks that ached for his mouth.
Her back suddenly brushed the stair rail, and she realized they were in the foyer, that anyone could walk in and see them.
She kissed his neck, her body humming with arousal. “Upstairs,” she whispered.
He murmured agreement, then swung her up in his arms and carried her up the stairs. She had never been in his room, but it was exactly as she would have imagined it. Masculine colors and furniture, strong lines, with pictures of horses and wildlife on the wall.
So Brody. The ultimate cowboy.
He shoved the comforter down and dropped her on the bed, then cradled her face between his hands and gazed into her eyes. His were dark pools of turmoil, pain and hunger.
Need flared inside her, a need that had been there years ago, one that had never left her. The years fell away, and she felt like
she was seventeen again, hungry for Brody’s touch, and so in love she could barely breathe.
“I’ve missed you so much,” Brody murmured.
“I missed you, too,” she whispered.
Raw passion flared on his face as he unbuttoned her blouse, then he lowered his head and claimed her mouth again. This time emotions drove the kiss, and his fingers trailed lower to rake over her breasts.
She arched into him, her pulse hammering as he kissed his way down her throat. Then he took one nipple in his mouth and suckled it while he unbuttoned her slacks, and she lifted her hips to allow him to undress her.
A frenzy of desire made her grip his hips and press herself against his hard erection. He groaned, then rose above her and stripped her underwear. Tiny shivers rippled through her as his fingers brushed her heat.
His look of approval made her reach for his shirt. The buttons flew to the floor as she ripped it off, then his jeans came next, the two of them becoming more frantic with each touch and passionate look.
She had always wanted Brody. He was the boy who had stolen her heart years ago.
And he was the man she wanted now.
*
BRODY SOAKED IN Julie’s beauty, the sight of her naked body lying beneath his fueling his hunger. It had been so long since he’d held a woman, loved one, since he’d had Julie, that he wanted to prolong the pleasure.
She raked a hand through his hair, and he smiled, remembering the countless times she’d done that.
And how much he’d missed the intimate gesture.
Thoughts of that place they’d found earlier started to intercede, but he pushed the ugly truth away. He would hunt again tomorrow.
Pain and need blended together, making him reach for Julie and kiss her again. She plunged her tongue in his mouth, and he suckled it, using his hands to drive her to a frenzy as he toyed with her nipples, then slid a hand down to slide between her thighs. She parted her legs in silent invitation, moaning softly as he teased her folds then slipped two fingers inside her.
She whispered his name, clawing at his back, holding him tighter as he teased her again and again. White-hot need raged through him, the urge to thrust inside her almost unbearable.
Instead of satisfying himself, he raked his tongue down her breasts, then lower to her belly, then lower until he pushed her legs apart and settled his mouth where his fingers had been.
Julie murmured a low sound of pleasure, arching into him, and he tasted her sweetness, licking and suckling her sweet nub until she cried out his name and quivered with her orgasm.
But Brody didn’t stop then. He continued pleasuring her with wicked tongue lashes and suckling noises while she trembled and sighed and begged him to enter her.
Finally Brody rose above her, then grabbed a condom from his jeans pocket, tore it open with his teeth and began to roll it on. Julie laughed as he struggled with it, then reached out to help him.
One touch of her fingertips, and he thought he would explode. Julie’s eyes flickered with passion, igniting the heat in his body, and he kissed her again, then thrust inside her.
Julie gripped his arms and clung to him as he filled her, pulled out, then plunged into her again, over and over until she cried out his name in sweet oblivion. He lifted her hips and angled her so he could go deeper, until his body shook with erotic sensations so powerful that suddenly he came apart in her arms.
Pleasure so intense it made him growl her name stole through him, and he shuddered, rolling her to her side so he could cradle her in his arms. Their bodies were still joined, heat rippling between them, his heart racing from their lovemaking.
Julie curled into him, and he closed his eyes, holding her tightly, afraid if he released her, he’d lose her again.
*
JULIE DRIFTED TO sleep, sated and feeling more alive—and loved—than she had in years.
Hours later, she awakened, her cell phone trilling. For a moment, she considered not answering it. She didn’t want to leave the sanctity of Brody’s arms.
But Will was still missing, and so was little Hank Forte.
Brody moaned, and slowly opened his eyes, but a dark cloud passed over them when he realized the phone was ringing.
Julie sat up, tugged the sheet up to cover her breasts, then grabbed the phone. The caller ID showed the CSU number. “Special Agent Whitehead.”
“Agent Whitehead, this is Detective Burks from the crime unit.”
Julie scrubbed a hand through her hair. “Yes?”
“We’re still sorting through the prints we found at the crime scene, but we’ve identified the two bodies in the graves. Carl Fanning and Daryl Derwin. They’ve been there a long time.”
“What about Will Bloodworth’s fingerprints? Did you find those?”
“Yes,” he said. “But so far we haven’t found Hank Forte’s.”
“So this man Moody must have moved before he kidnapped Hank.”
“I can’t say for sure, but with the meth lab explosion we’re still working on the timing.”
“Thanks.”
“We’re going to do autopsies, of course, and contact the families.”
Brody climbed from the bed and went into the bathroom, and she heard the shower kick on. She wanted to join him, to continue their lovemaking, to feel happy and alive and forget about the world of ugliness surrounding her, but the phone call had definitely killed the intimacy.
Frustrated, she grabbed her clothes, hurried to the guest room across the hall and jumped in the shower herself. By the time she emerged dressed and ready to work, she found Brody in the kitchen with coffee and breakfast.
“I talked to Johnny and Miles, and they’re going back out to search.” He handed her a cup of coffee, and their hands brushed. His were big, dusted with hair, and had brought her intense pleasure the night before.
For a heartbeat of a second, hunger darkened his eyes, but his phone buzzed again and reality interceded as he answered the call.
“Yes.” A pause. “Okay, I’ll meet you and Tray at the main house counseling center in five minutes.”
Julie’s stomach growled and she sat down and ate the scrambled eggs and toast he’d made. Brody joined her a second later.
“Mrs. Goodner and Tray are on their way here.”
“It’s nice of you to offer them a place to stay.”
Brody shrugged and wiped his mouth with his napkin. “God, Julie, it’s the least I can do. They’ve both been through hell.”
He would know because he’d been there himself.
He polished off his breakfast, and she did the same then they worked in tandem to clean up the dishes. It felt so familiar that Julie felt as if they’d been doing it for years.
As if they belonged together.
But she couldn’t get her hopes up for a future. Last night had been about comfort. And maybe a glimpse of the past.
But they still had to find Will, and if Brody lost him again…
No, she couldn’t think like that.
Brody grabbed his Stetson and she tucked her phone onto her belt then they went to meet the Goodners.
Tray looked bruised, his skin still a grayish color, and his bandaged arm was in a sling. His eyes darted around nervously as Brody greeted him and his mother.
“Did you get any sleep last night?” Julie asked Mrs. Goodner.
“Not much,” the woman admitted. She lowered her voice so her son couldn’t hear. “I was so excited to have my boy back, but when I think of what he went through…” Tears blurred her eyes and Julie squeezed her shoulder.
“I know it’s difficult, but today your son can start to recover.” She gestured for her to sit at the round table in the corner. “We hope we find the other boys and they can have that chance, too.”
*
BRODY SYMPATHIZED WITH Tray and his mother as they settled into his office. Kim, Brandon Woodstock’s wife who counseled kids at the BBL, had agreed to sit in and was eager to help Tray.
Brody claimed the chai
r across from Tray and pushed a can of soda toward him. “I’m sorry for what happened to you,” Brody said. “And this is not an interrogation, Tray. I swear, no one here is out to trick you or hurt you or pin something on you.”
Kim spoke up. “He’s right, Tray. We’re not here to judge or condemn you and nothing you say can be used against you.”
Tray jerked a thumb toward Julie. “What about her?”
Julie sipped her coffee, her smile warm, welcoming. “I am a TBI agent, Tray, but no matter what you’ve heard about the police or federal agents, I only want to help you and find the other missing boys.”
Mrs. Goodner twisted her hands together on the table. “We do want to help you,” she said. “But my son has been through so much.”
Tray squared his shoulders, his shirt too big for his thin frame. He looked nervous, but Brody could also see that he was trying hard to be a man.
“I’m okay, Mom.” His gaze met Brody’s. “I want to do this.”
“You knew my brother, Will?” Brody asked.
Tray nodded. “Father called him Kyle.”
“What did he call you?” Kim said softly.
“RJ.” Tray ducked his head down. “But I never forgot my real name.”
Every muscle in Brody’s body tightened. Had Will really forgotten or was something else going on?
“We found a compound with barn stalls and a meth lab in a trailer,” Julie said. “Is that where he kept you?”
Tray rubbed his finger around the soda can. “For awhile. We left there when you caught Kyle.”
“But the meth lab was still being used,” Julie said.
Tray shrugged. “I guess he went back and worked it some. Money was tight and the heat was on. That’s why he started sending us out to rob the stores.”
A moment of silence passed, the harshness of his admission lingering between them all.
Finally Kim broke the quiet. “Tray, where did you go from there?”
Tray’s hand trembled as he picked up the soda can and took a sip. “Some place with concrete buildings.” He closed his eyes, his pale face constricting as if he was remembering a horror from his past.