Don't Mess with Texas

by Christie Craig

  “And for the record, Nikki couldn’t hurt a fly. She even uses release traps to catch rodents.”

  Dallas coughed, but Nikki could have sworn it had only been to cover up a laugh. Not that she thought it was funny. The knot in her throat remained tight.

  “Nikki informed me of that fact.” The detective’s frown deepened when he looked at his brother.

  “Why, Nikki’s an angel,” said Helen with all the confidence she could muster while dressed like a nineteenth-century saloon girl, with her aged cleavage spilling out of her dress. “And whoever killed Jack Leon deserves a medal.”

  Nikki’s heart did a quick jolt. Before, when anyone said anything bad about Jack, she secretly liked it. But now that he was… dead, well, it didn’t have the same effect.

  “Please,” Nikki said. “Can we just—”

  “If you have to have a suspect, then slap a pair of handcuffs on me. It’s not as if I haven’t had them on before,” seethed Nana. “Seriously, I threatened to neuter his butt every time I laid eyes on him.” She glanced at Nikki and then back at the cop. “And who do you think poisoned Nikki? Or hurt Ellen? Or have you been too busy accusing my granddaughter of a crime she didn’t commit to go out there and find the real criminal?”

  The nurse put her hands on her hips. “Do I need to call security?”

  Nana scowled at the nurse again then glanced back at Nikki. “How’s Ellen?”

  “In surgery,” Nikki said, finally able to talk.

  “Can you people not hear me?” the nurse snapped.

  Nana huffed and glanced back at the Ol’ Timers. “Can you guys go to the waiting room before this woman has an aneurism?”

  A chorus of, “Fine,” “Sure,” and, “I guess,” answered her.

  They all nodded at Nikki. Well, everyone except Benny, the man who had a romantic interest in her grandmother. He stood there, dressed like an old lawman with a tin star pinned to his chest, and peered at the cop. Even though he was well into his seventies, his grizzly barrel-chested frame could still pull off the intimidating card.

  “Walk the line,” Benny said to the detective. “I have connections and I’m not above calling in favors.”

  “Just doing my job,” Tony O’Connor said.

  Nikki dropped back on her pillow. Would the craziness of this day ever end?

  “Let’s go,” Helen said and motioned the other two to follow.

  “Thanks, guys.” Nikki waved at Nana’s friends as they walked out, leaving Nikki with the detective, Dallas, and her grandma.

  “There’re still too many people in here.” The nurse held up two fingers.

  Dallas and his brother met each other’s gazes and then the detective rolled his eyes and walked out. Nikki couldn’t help but think the better man won. When Dallas looked up, Nana was giving him the evil eye.

  “You, too, Buster Brown,” Nana said.

  Dallas stood there as if trying to decide whether he should chance going against Nana. Not many people chose to. Nana was only a few inches over five feet in height, but she had a big presence that screamed, Don’t mess with me. Hence the reason she got the part as Annie Oakley. And her strong personality was one of the reasons Nikki had walked a straight line in her younger years.

  Not that Nikki had caused problems. She hadn’t wanted to risk being given away again. And Nana never made her feel she’d do it. As a matter of fact, when Nikki had been seventeen and asked permission to skip school, Nana had rolled her eyes and suggested Nikki try just once to be a normal kid and do something rebellious without asking permission.

  “Actually,” Dallas said, “I’d like to introduce myself first. Name’s Dallas O’Connor, I’m a private investigator and Nikki has enlisted my help with this case.”

  Nana cut her gaze to Nikki and then back to Dallas. “She’s innocent, so why would she need your help?”

  Funny how she and Nana thought alike. “Because…” Nikki’s own words faltered. She remembered Dallas explaining those reasons—something about how she was the perfect suspect right now—and it had made perfect sense then, but now she couldn’t recall exactly what he said. The fact that anyone would believe she would kill someone was… farfetched.

  Dallas moved in a step. “Because sometimes even the innocent need someone in their corner.”

  “And you’re in her corner?” Nana didn’t sound convinced.

  “Yes, ma’am.” His gaze shifted to Nikki. “I’ll do everything I can to prove she’s not guilty.”

  “That O’Connor cop—is he your brother?” Nana asked.

  Dallas nodded.

  “He’s an asshole.”

  “Nana,” Nikki intervened. “Remember us talking about you working on tact?” Nikki normally wouldn’t call Nana on her bluntness. It was just part of who Nana was. But when Nana’s lawyer called Nikki a couple of months ago and suggested she have a chat with her grandmother about being polite to the judge on court day, Nikki hadn’t seen any alternatives.

  “No,” Dallas held up his hand to Nikki. “It’s okay.” Dallas’s lips twitched as if he wanted to smile, but he held it back. “To be honest, I’ve called him that more times than I can count. However, of all the cops out there, we’re lucky he’s on the case.”

  “Then why does she need you?” Nana asked.

  “Because his job is to find the evidence. Evidence can often be misconstrued. And his job demands he turn over the evidence to the DA—misconstrued or not. Then he has to listen to higher-ups, and they’ll expect him to follow the political bull crap they call rules.”

  “And whose crap do you listen to?” Nana asked.

  “You’re looking at him.”

  Nana gave him another once-over. “Do you poach all his cases to see if you can get work?”

  Dallas’s eyes flinched at the insult.

  “Nana,” Nikki said. “It wasn’t like that.” At least she didn’t think it was like it. But hadn’t she asked almost the same question?

  “It’s good,” Dallas said. “It’s a valid question. I was with my brother when he got the call about the body being found. I sort of got caught up in the mess.” He looked at Nikki, his eyes smiling, and she knew the mess he was referring to was her getting sick on him. “I offered my assistance. And no, I’ve never worked on one of my brother’s cases.”

  For a minute, Nikki feared he would tell Nana he’d agreed to barter with her because Nikki was broke… a fact she hadn’t yet shared with her grandma. She relaxed when Dallas didn’t seem ready to mention it.

  Nana leaned back on the heels of her cowboy boots and held out her hand. “My name’s Beatrice Littlemore. And to give you fair warning, I’ll be in that corner with you.”

  Dallas smiled. “Fair enough. Nice to meet you, Mrs. Littlemore.”

  Nikki watched the tough-looking PI shake hands with Annie Oakley, and her respect for him inched up a notch. Then for some reason, emotion tightened her chest.

  As soon as Nana pulled away, she waved toward the exit. “Now skedaddle so I can talk with my granddaughter.”

  He looked at Nikki. “The nurse told me earlier that as soon as the doctor sees you, you’ll probably be released. I’ll see if I can find out how long it will be.” He walked away.

  Nana looked back at Nikki, crossed her arms over her chest and said, “I could be wrong, but I think I might like him.”

  And that, Nikki realized, was the problem. Even with her whole world shaken, her heart breaking for Ellen, Nikki thought she might like him, too. Too much.

  “Now, young lady,” Nana said. “What happened?”

  An hour later, Dallas watched Nikki sitting in the waiting room to hear about Ellen’s surgery. The dusty blue color of the scrubs made her eyes look bluer. And below those baby blues were dark circles, evidence of what she had been put through today. He’d heard the doctor tell her to go home and rest, that between the stress she’d suffered and what they thought was a dose of some strong ipecac, some kind of vomit-inducing medicine, she really needed t
o take it easy for a day or so.

  Sitting in the operating waiting room wasn’t taking it easy. Not that it was Dallas’s place to say anything. His job was to prove her innocent, not to worry about those damn shadows under her eyes, or to dwell on the fact that she didn’t have any underwear on under those cotton scrubs. And if he kept telling himself that, he might believe it. Running a hand through his hair, he couldn’t explain the antsy feeling stirring in his gut.

  Oh, hell, yes he could.

  He’d already told himself to tread carefully. Nikki Hunt with her innocent blue eyes, soft skin and killer body, tempted him. And it wasn’t just the temptation to strip her naked and screw her brains out. Not that he wouldn’t like to do that, too. But he also wanted to be her hero. Hell, if there was anything his relationship with his ex had taught him, it was that heroes ended up with their pictures hung in the hall of fools. Serena had personally gotten his mug nailed on that wall.

  His job was to prove Nikki didn’t kill her husband by proving someone else did it. His job wasn’t to take care of her. Staring at the door, he considered heading home. He could call Nikki tomorrow, set up a meeting to go over things. That fit the definition of his job.

  “Hey.” Tony stepped into the waiting room and they moved to the other side of the room to chat. “I think we should have this crowd moved up to the psych unit,” he muttered.

  Dallas frowned. “They were at a dress rehearsal for a play.”

  “It’s not just the clothes. They just seem a little… over the top for senior citizens.”

  “Because they were in a play? Shit, I wish our old man would do something beside read the paper, watch the news, and call me up damning every politician to hell and back.”

  “He does do something else.” Tony’s tone changed. “He goes to the cemetery every day. Which reminds me—he wanted me to tell you that he wants us to—”

  “He needs to stop doing that, too,” Dallas interrupted. He knew what his dad wanted. And damn it, he didn’t want to do it. Didn’t see why he had to do it. His mom wasn’t in that grave. He looked again at Nikki’s grandma and, hoping to change the subject, he added, “Hell, maybe we ought to introduce them.”

  “God, no. The old woman reminds me of that ol’ bitty on the greeting cards Mom liked so much—what’s her name? Maxie or something?”

  “Maxine,” Dallas said. “I like her. She speaks her mind.”

  “Which one? The greeting card woman or Annie Oakley over there?” Tony motioned to Nikki’s grandmother.

  “Both.” Dallas recalled his conversation with Nikki earlier when he’d had to twist her arm to get her to agree to accept his help. Nikki must have inherited some of her grandmother’s “Maxine” gutsiness. Perhaps a little lower voltage of that personality trait, but it was there. Which explained the reason he found Nikki so damn attractive. Beautiful faces and sexy bodies were a dime a dozen. Spunk wrapped up in a beautiful package, however, was a rare find. He didn’t just lust after Nikki—he liked her.

  And wasn’t that what had happened with his ex-wife? Sexy, sultry, and sassy, Serena stole his heart on their first date. Yup, he really needed to tread lightly where Nikki was concerned.

  “She called me a bastard,” Tony said.

  “You are.” Dallas glanced at his brother’s pinched expression. “Not that it’s always your fault. It comes with the job.” Looking back at the crowd, Dallas noticed the way Mrs. Littlemore kept glancing over at Nikki. “Besides, she’s just looking out for her granddaughter.”

  Another frown pulled at Dallas’s lips when he saw Nikki lean back in her chair as if exhausted. He wished her grandmother would do more than visually check in. Nikki needed to be carted off and tucked into bed. And before Dallas was tempted to do it himself.

  The memory of picking her up and carrying her back to her hospital bed in the ER filled his head—again. He sure as hell hadn’t meant to cop a feel of her bare ass. It didn’t stop him from remembering how it had felt—round, soft—a perfect fit into his palm. If that made him a lowlife piece of shit, stamp the label on him now. Because about every two minutes he found himself savoring the memory.

  “Don’t let looks fool you,” Tony said under his breath.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” Dallas’s gaze lingered on Nikki.

  “She has a record.”

  Dallas’s attention shot to his brother and then ricocheted back to Nikki, sitting in the hard hospital chair, looking as innocent as a newly hatched butterfly. “Nikki Hunt has a record?”

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  DALLAS STARED AT his brother. “What did Nikki do?”

  Tony shook his head. “Not Nikki,” he whispered. “She came back clean. Annie Oakley has a record.”

  Dallas relaxed. Okay… he could almost believe that. Almost. “For what, calling a cop a bastard?”

  “Nope. Arrested for possession of an illegal substance. Caught trying to buy some pot.”

  Dallas studied Mrs. Littlemore. “Okay, I’ll admit that’s surprising. But I still like her.”

  Tony frowned. “I don’t think she’s the one you like, brother. And I’m not sure you want to go there.”

  His brother’s attitude scraped across Dallas’s last nerve. “You really think Nikki had something to do with her husband’s murder?”

  “If I really thought that, she’d be accessorizing those blue scrubs with a pair of handcuffs.”

  “Then what’s your point?” Hell, Dallas already knew Nikki was hands-off for him, but he didn’t like anyone telling him what he could or couldn’t do. Especially his big brother, who always thought he knew best.

  “My point is, where there’s smoke there’s fire. And right now there’s a lot of smoke blowing around Nikki Hunt. She may not be responsible for her husband’s death, but before this thing’s over with, I have a feeling she’s not going to come out of it looking as innocent as she is going in. Plus…” Tony motioned to the grandmother again and chuckled. “I hear the crazy gene is hereditary.”

  It was the chuckle that pushed Dallas over the edge. He spoke low, but the hard edge of his voice rang out. “Guess what else is hereditary? The judgmental stick-up-your-ass gene that you got from our ol’ man. You’re forgetting there was a hell a lot of smoke around me not too long ago.”

  Tony flinched. “I never doubted your innocence. I fought tooth and nail to—”

  “I know that. But it’s the same attitude you’re using now that had my ass locked up for sixteen months.”

  His brother frowned. “Look, you and I both know that every cop who ever got involved with a woman from a case… well, it never ended well.”

  “Is that so?” Dallas almost asked how his brother’s non-case-related relationship with LeAnn had turned out, but at the last minute he realized he wasn’t that angry or that much of an insensitive asshole. “You’re forgetting I’m not a cop anymore.”

  “Fine.” Tony held up his hand. “I’m sorry I said anything.”

  “Yeah.” Dallas looked away.

  “Really,” Tony nudged him with his elbow, “I’m sorry. It’s just… seeing LeAnn has me tied in knots.”

  “I get it,” Dallas said. And he did. He could still remember how knotted up he’d felt when he laid eyes on Serena for the first time after he’d gotten released. And he didn’t even love her anymore—that much he was damn sure of—but seeing her still took him to an emotional place he didn’t like. A place he didn’t ever want to return to.

  “To be honest…” Tony stepped closer. “She’s hot. I don’t blame you for going for her.”

  “I’m not going for her,” Dallas snapped.

  Tony’s cell rang. As he reached for it, he said, “Then I can tell the guys who had the hots for her that she’s free game, huh? Because several of them are interested.”

  Dallas shot his brother a go-to-hell look.

  Tony laughed. “Not going for her, my ass. The only other time I’ve seen that look was when I told you I was going to ask out Jamie We
ntworth in high school.” Tony took the call. “O’Connor.”

  Dallas frowned at his brother. Yeah, but this wasn’t high school. And no matter how much he might be tempted, he wasn’t going after Nikki.

  “Yes,” Tony said to the caller. Then he turned his back to Dallas. “What did you get?” Pause. “You’re shitting me. Okay, call me if you get anything else.”

  “What did they find?” Dallas asked as soon as his brother turned around.

  Tony hesitated. His gaze shot to Nikki, then back to Dallas.

  “Come on,” Dallas said. “We’ve agreed we’re on the same side.”

  Tony let go of a breath. “Only because I’m probably going to have to talk to her about it.” He pushed a hand through his hair. “They checked Jack Leon’s cell. Earlier today, he got two calls from a cell phone that belonged to an Ellen Wise.”

  “The same Ellen Wise in surgery?”

  “One and the same.” Tony arched a brow. “What’s the chance that Nikki’s good friend and employee was banging her ex?”

  Dallas remembered Nikki telling him she’d already caught her ex screwing around with one of her employees. And yeah, if a guy found a sure-bet path to getting laid, he wasn’t above trying again now that they were divorced.

  Tony’s phone rang again. “O’Connor,” he said into the cell. As he listened, he glanced at his watch. “Is this a full moon, or what? I’m still at the hospital on the Wise case, waiting to see if the vic pulls through surgery. Can’t you send Clark?” Pause. “Fine, I’ll head over there now.” Tony snapped his phone shut.

  “What now?” Dallas asked.

  Tony frowned. “Another homicide.”

  “Connected?”

  “No,” he said. “It’s a convenience store robbery.”

  Dallas’s interest instantly piqued. Not for Nikki, but for Eddie Nance, his other client. “Really? Where?”

  “Victor and Holdensburg.”

  Dallas stored the info in his mind to tell Austin or Tyler. It wouldn’t hurt to have one of them nose around the crime scene. If there were similarities to the robbery’s MO they were accusing Nance of pulling off, this might be the thing that got the kid off.