Like Arrows (Cedar Tree #6)

by Freya Barker

  It's possible. And with Kim not showing up at her house for days, it would make them impatient and possibly reckless.

  "Anything traceable? Fingerprints, tire tracks?"

  "Still working on that. We do have a pretty decent description of the car from the neighbor who called in. Said it was a maroon Ford Edge, looked brand new."

  I nod, taking in the information. "Figure it's a rental?"

  "Likely. I've got someone checking car places to see if anyone rented it out." Drew looks at me, his head tilted to the side. "You think maybe it's time to talk to her now?"

  Before I have a chance to answer, the side gate opens and Boo slips through, bounding up the porch steps to try and jump on me. Following closely behind are Kim and Emma.

  "Talk to me about what?" Kim asks Drew right away, alarm etched on her face. I leave it to him to answer, but step down the porch and put my arm around her in support right away. Her face lifts briefly to me and I give her what is supposed to be an encouraging smile, but it doesn't take the panic from her eyes.

  "There was a break in early this morning." Drew holds no punches. "Your neighbors called it in."

  Immediately she tries to pull away from me, but my hand grabs her far shoulder, preventing her from moving too far. "My neighbors? Are you... you mean at my house?"

  "It doesn't look like much, if anything, was taken, but they left a mess." Drew informs her, looking apologetic. "We have some good leads based on the information your neighbor was able to give us, but I'm thinking it's good you're staying here for the time being. Best not to go anywhere for a bit."

  This is when I jump in. After half a word from Gus, I already know he's wanting her out of harm's way and set up in Vegas until we can get a decent grip on this case. "She has plans to head out of town next week, and I'm thinking those plans just got moved up by a few days, Drew," I tell him firmly, before looking down in her face. "Gotta get you packed, babe. That little trip of yours is gonna start earlier than anticipated."

  One look at Emma and it's clear she's clued in when she gives me a nod and pulls out her phone. Dialing either Gus or Katie before she steps off to the side a little.

  "I don't know if—" Drew starts before I cut him off.

  "Not staying here until we have a good idea of what we're up against," I say firmly, holding his glare.

  "I have to insist she does a walk through of the house. We've gotta know if anything is missing," he fires back.

  "Don't like it, but I hear you. We'll be there at nine tonight so we can get her in and out under the shadow of darkness. No lights on until we get inside and all blinds closed. Don't need to make things easier."

  With a curt nod, Drew turns to Kim. "I'm sorry, honey. We'll get this sorted—I promise."

  I bristle at his use of an endearment when she's fucking clinging to my side, but I swallow it down. I'll have a chance to deal with that later.

  A final smirk in my direction, the ass, and he's off.

  "My husband wants me to come home and pack," Emma announces before walking over and pulling Kim in her arms. "Listen to Mal, honey. It'll be okay."

  With Emma backing her SUV out of the driveway I finally turn Kim in my arms. She looks to be in shock. "This just got serious, didn't it?"

  I can't help the chuckle escaping me, but she's so damn cute. Stumbles on a violent scene at the Walkers' place, witnesses a coldblooded murder—but just now it got serious?

  "What the fuck do you mean you've got nothing?"

  He sits behind his massive desk, looking out at his sprawling ranch just outside Austin, his knuckles white around the phone.

  "She's a fucking secretary. How far can she go?"

  He grinds his jaw listening to the man on the other end. "If she's disappeared, you fucking find her, you moron. That information gets out, it's millions if not billions down the drain and my ass is on the line. I'm gonna fucking hold you personally responsible... You know exactly what I mean. Time is of the essence. You have a week or I'll send someone else... Damn right." He slams the phone down on the desk, and tosses back the glass of fifty-year-old Chivas Regal like it's plain tap water.

  Those incompetent idiots had burst into that motherfucking traitor, Vedica's office, like a bunch of Keystone cops. They shot the idiot and grabbed whatever they could find on the land deals, instead of torching the damn place to burn whatever evidence that prick had amassed, like they were supposed to. Claimed the computer was clean but was displaying a pop-up screen alerting that an external drive had been removed incorrectly. Vedica must've made copies before deleting everything from the hard drive. No disk or flash drive was found in the office, which can only mean he'd already handed it over to someone.

  The man's only living relative, a sister, is clueless, but we're keeping an eye on her mail delivery. That little bitch however—the one who was working in his office until the day my boys paid him a visit. The one who was less than forthcoming on the phone, when he went off grid in San Antonio. That one might know something. The fact that she can't be found tells me she does know something. Now our job is to get to her—and fast.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Kim

  "I'll see you in the hot tub in a few," Emma calls out as Katie and I make our way down to the pool level.

  I couldn't believe the luxury of the three-bedroom timeshare Gus managed to snag for us. A complex with three separate buildings. The main one held the lobby—the tallest of the three—and offered three different outdoor pool levels flanked by the second building and a smaller one that had its own pool and hot tub surrounded by gigantic palm trees. That's where we were staying.

  When the Vegas trip had gone into overdrive at the insistence of Mal and his boss, I really had no time to think. On Mal's instructions, I packed, while he called Kerry and got her up to speed. She would meet us in Vegas on Wednesday as scheduled and I was surprised to find that GFI had even arranged a flight for her so she didn't have to drive by herself. These guys didn't mess around.

  Going over to my place after, under the cloak of darkness, to find it in shambles was not a fun experience. Again, under Mal's steady lead, it was dealt with quickly, having found nothing missing. My work computer and laptop were both at Beth's house in Cedar Tree. Other than leaving a house that would take days to straighten out and a front door that needed replacing, there wasn't much I could do right then.

  This morning after a surprisingly restful sleep, perhaps because I knew Mal was sleeping in the guest room, I woke up to the sound of the shower. Burrowed under the blankets, and still lazy with sleep, I didn't stop my mind from visualizing what he would look like with his long hair wet and loose around his strong angular face, and water sliding down the hard planes of his body. All I had to go by is that same body fully dressed, but the promise of what's underneath was enough to have me clench my thighs under the covers. Before I gave in to the urge to slip my fingers between them, I flicked back the blankets and resolutely got out of bed, banning all thoughts of the tall, olive-skinned beautiful man currently naked just a thin wall away. By the time I had coffee ready, he walked into the kitchen, hair wet but tied back and completely dressed. Dammit. He was no less tempting like that and before the blush that crept up into my cheeks became too visible, I darted around him with a quick 'morning' and aimed for the stairs. Two steps up, an arm snaked around my middle and I was turned around, my hands grabbing onto his shoulders for balance. Dark smoldering eyes with a sparkle of amusement met mine.

  "Running?" The rumble of his deep voice sounded good in the morning and I squirmed a little.

  "I have to get dressed, and I still need to... um, shower."

  The humor in his eyes was immediately replaced by something more intense, and a hell of a lot hotter. A low growl coming from deep in his chest sent a shiver up my spine.

  "Hard enough standing in the hot spray trying not to imagine you sprawled in bed just a few feet away. Fucking impossible not to think of you, naked and covered in soapsuds." Another groan, th
is one pained, escaped his lips as he leaned forward to rest his forehead against mine. "Better head up there, baby. Before I take you right here on the stairs."

  I was absolutely paralyzed and even the hard press of hot lips to my forehead before he turned and walked into the kitchen barely registered. Yet the moment his back disappeared, I whipped around and ran up the stairs.

  I barely looked at him the rest of the morning as he loaded my case into his truck and we drove over to pick up Katie and Emma at her place. Transferring all the bags into a huge Yukon belonging to Gus, who is apparently driving us to the Durango airport, took all of two minutes. Before I knew it, it was time to say goodbye. I was ready to climb in the backseat and leave with only a wave, when Mal grabbed my wrist and pulled me toward the house, telling Gus over his shoulder, "Gimme a minute." Once inside he dragged me into the bathroom and closed the door behind him. My hands grabbed the counter behind me in an attempt to hold me up. My traitorous knees threatened to buckle as my heart pounded an erratic rhythm in my chest. I guess I looked scared, because the look on his face morphed from a scary dark intensity to a much softer version. Cupping my face in his hands his forehead landed on mine again. "Promise you'll be careful and listen to Katie," he whispered, his breath fanning my face, smelling of toothpaste and coffee.

  "Y-yes," my voice croaked.

  "Need a taste of that mouth before you go, Nizhóní," he said before dipping his head down and licking—licking—the crease of my mouth. So warm and wet, my lips opened on instinct to allow him inside. I don't know what I expected, perhaps a sudden invasion of my mouth, but not the sweet stroke of his tip along the inside of my lips. Not the gentle probing caress of him against my tongue, luring me into languid play. It felt like I'd stopped breathing, the mechanics of it had left me along with everything else in my mind. The warmth that spread through me at the tenderness of his touch, brought tears to my eyes.

  Good God, I'm drowning.

  By the time his mouth pulled back, I was gasping for air. His cheeks were ruddy and from the ragged breaths he pulled in, I could tell he was affected too.

  "That was a mistake."

  Everything inside me froze at those dreaded words, although why they surprised me I don't know. I was ready to push past him to get out the door, but his next words stopped me. And confused me even more.

  "It only makes me crave more," he mumbled before pulling open the door. Taking my hand in his, he led me back outside, past Gus who was looking up with a smirk on his face. Mal got me settled beside Katie in the backseat. Who, by the way, was sporting a similar smile on hers.

  "You're miles away," Katie says and I open my eyes to find her staring at me. That smile still on her face half a day later. Submersed to our necks in the softly bubbling hot tub, I take a minute to appreciate the cool night air and the surprisingly crisp Vegas sky.

  "Mmmm." I opt for a wordless response, cause really—what can I say?

  "Did you know Malachi helped deliver my Mattias?" she asks, taking me by surprise. No, I had no idea. More layers to this intriguing man. I shake my head in response.

  "He did. Along with Naomi and Caleb. It was unexpected and very fast, but Mal kept a cooler head than my husband." She smiles at the memory before turning to me and her face softens. "He's a good man, Kim. He may look dark and have a hint of danger around him, but despite the tragedies and mistakes in his life, he's the real deal."

  "Why are you telling me this?"

  "Because I've seen you together only twice and each time you look at him I see a combination of heat and fear in your face. I don't know you well enough to judge where that fear is coming from, but I do know that Mal is the last person to deserve that. He deserves a chance."

  A chance?

  Despite the butterflies dancing in my stomach, I'm determined to let reason do the talking.

  "I don’t think we’re at all compatible. I mean, look at him; he is in a different league. Maybe he sees me as a nice diversion, but ultimately I don't think I'm really his type." Katie surprises me when she throws her head back and laughs heartily, just as Emma pushes her walker to the edge of the hot tub.

  "What's funny?" she asks as she uses the railings on the stairs to help her down in the water.

  "Kim thinks she's not Mal's type." Katie snorts and my mouth falls open when Emma chuckles right along with her. These women are nuts.

  "I went shopping with her yesterday, and I can confirm that the woman is clueless when it comes to valuing herself."

  I honestly don't know whether to be embarrassed, insulted or shocked.

  "Honey," Emma says grabbing one of my hands and clasping it between hers. "It's clear to me you see yourself in a much different light than the rest of the world does. Including Malachi. For all intents and purposes, that man has claimed you as his. It's clear to everyone but you."

  My eyes flick from her face to Katie's who nods in agreement, but Emma's not done.

  "That little bit of yourself you shared yesterday was enough to paint a pretty clear picture. It speaks volumes about why a pretty girl like you would have such a warped body image and be so insecure about her own appeal. My guess is your mom is tall and never carried an extra ounce of weight?"

  Surprised at the accuracy of her guess, I blurt out, "My older sister looks just like her."

  "Right." Katie grimaces.

  I don't know if it is the relaxing hot tub, the fact that apparently my safety is in question, these inquisitive women who don't shy away at asking real questions, or a combination of all of it. They seem intent on picking at my defenses, albeit in the kindest possible way, and so I just keep talking. I tell them about growing up with a 'perfect' mother and sister, being constantly chastised for my weight, my laziness. I tell them about Dad who was sweet but weak. I even tell them about my endless doctor's visits, trying to find a medical reason for the pain and fatigue I'd lived with since I could remember. I shrug my shoulders, pretending the constant put-downs and doubts by my family and the medical community didn't affect me. It's obvious they don't believe me and I'm oddly grateful for that show of sisterhood.

  "I hadn't seen a doctor in years when my friend Kerry convinced me to see Naomi," I tell them.

  "She's wonderful," Katie says convincingly. "She was pivotal in my recovery from a brain injury. She is amazing with Mattias and will take good care of you. I promise." She looks at me sincerely.

  "I know, I've already seen her twice."

  "Yeah?" This from Emma who is still hanging on to my hand.

  "She thinks she may have an answer."

  "That's amazing!"

  "Yeah. Maybe... I'm not sure. I'll need more tests," I volunteer, not sure whether I want to address this here—now.

  "What kind of tests?" Katie asks, her forehead creased.

  "An MRI, the week after we get back." I take a reinforcing sip of my wine. "The ultrasound of my thyroid showed a shadow they want a better look at." The fear of what they might find has been tucked away deeply. Years of doctors, specialists and testing does that to you. You could live your entire life paralyzed by what ifs if you let it consume you. So I stomp it back down, each time it threatens to surface. Except I can't seem to push it back now. Not with a few glasses of wine, a hot tub and genuinely compassionate women to soften me.

  "It could be just that, a shadow," Emma suggests but I can see in her eyes she is worried. I don't even make an effort this time to battle the tears.

  "So you see, even if I would allow myself to dream a man like Malachi could honestly have an interest in me, I can't. It's almost easier to think he's only copping an occasional feel to change up what I'm sure is his usual fare of slim beauties. With so much uncertainty, hope just hurts."

  "I guess he doesn't know, then? You haven't told him?"

  I turn to Katie, a little confused. She sounds almost angry. I haven't told him anything, really. So I shake my head.

  "It's just easier."

  "For who? You? Because I can guarantee it won't be
easier for him."

  "Why?" I want to know but this time Katie shakes her head.

  "It's not my story to share, but please trust me on this, if there's even a remote chance you might be seriously ill, you have to tell him." With that Katie gets up out of the tub and grabs a towel.

  Emma finally lets go of my hand, but not before giving it a reassuring squeeze. "She's right, you know. He should have the right to be there for you."

  Not sure how to respond to that, I get out of the tub as well. "I think I'm going to bed. It's been a long day." I take the cowardly way out and with the big towel wrapped around me, I grab my room key and flee the hint of disapproval in the air.

  Mal

  "Drew just called," Neil says as I walk into the conference room at the GFI offices.

  "Yeah?"

  "Rental came from Durango Airport. Avis car rentals. They actually had a credit card on file. They won't rent without one."

  "Whose is it?"

  "Company name, Hart Holdings." He smirks at me, obviously pleased with himself over something.

  "Yeah? Should that mean something to me?" I impatiently bite off.

  "It might, if you'd have gone over those damn files on that flash drive ten thousand times like I have. Hart Holdings was on two separate documents in the small print. And..." He lifts one eyebrow to dramatic heights. "The only thing I was able to find out about Hart Holdings is a post office box."

  "And that is why you’re excited?" I ask him pointedly.

  "The post office box is located in Austin, Texas," he says smugly, as the puzzle starts to slowly take shape. "And Hart is spelled without an 'e.' "

  "You're saying—"

  "I'm saying it seems more than just a coincidence that the one name that's jumped out at us from the start is one Jacob Hartnett—without an 'e'—and his main residence is 60 miles outside of Austin, Texas."

  Adrenaline spikes my blood and I point my finger in Neil's grinning face. "Dig, pretty boy. Dig fucking deep. There's gotta be something tangible to tie him in. Payments, previous cases of forceful land transfers; follow the money. I'd bet my left nut that he's behind this."