“How do you know all this? I mean how did you know what they were talking about if you were outside?” Charlie asked.
“I read their lips,” Shiloh admitted.
Charlie snapped his head to where she sat. “You can read lips?”
“Yes.”
“What happened after Mischa left the Import shop?” Charlie asked.
“Simon made a phone call and I called Richy to find out what the task force has been up to,” Demon offered.
“And what did Richy have to say?”
“Not a whole lot. He was surprised to hear Pieter was dead but he wasn’t surprised that Mischa was taking over his enterprise. Mischa has been making a name of himself for the past four or five years.”
Demon shook his head. “I think Richy will show up soon, though.”
“What makes you think that?” Charlie asked.
Demon chuckled. “Because I’ve known Richy as long as I knew Pete. He wants closure for the shooting five years ago and he wants the man responsible for Pete’s death.”
“What happened five years ago?” Charlie asked.
“They were closing in on a smuggling ring. They had tracked a special shipment from Amsterdam to New York. They knew the boxes were sitting in Customs waiting to be picked up. A black limo pulled up and several men got out. They began loading the boxes in the truck of the car when someone got trigger happy. When the smoked cleared three people were dead, including Pete Webber and several were wounded, including me. The bad guys got away with the shipment and we were left with nothing.”
“Tell him about the green book,” Shiloh nudged him.
Charlie looked from one to the other. “Would that be the green book Shiloh’s father told Simon he had?”
“Maybe, but that night in New York I picked up a green book one of the smugglers dropped. If we find the safe and it’s the same kind of book, we have a link, but it would only be a link, we have to find the book I had five years ago. That green book has mine and Pete’s blood on the cover.”
Charlie nodded. “Well, when we find the book we can have it tested. If it is Simon’s book, we’ll have the evidence we need to put the creep away.”
“First, we have to find the book,” Shiloh reminded them. “If my father had the book it would have been under lock and key since he was murdered. We may never find the book with your blood on it.”
Chapter Twelve
Later that evening, Shiloh and Demon sat on the couch. Charlie had gone home without protest when Demon told him it was his turn to stay overnight.
“Do you still think Charlie is somehow involved in this?” Demon asked.
“I don’t know what to think anymore.” Shiloh shrugged as she rubbed a sore spot on her forehead. “Every time something happens he has a plausible excuse. I guess we’ll have to play it by ear, until something breaks.” She paused then asked, “I have something I want to show you.” She got up and left the room for a minute. When she returned, she had part of the file Donna left for her. “Do you remember showing me the original police file?”
Demon nodded and took the papers she handed him.
“Donna had a copy of the police file too. Something just doesn’t look right to me about the copy she gave me.”
Demon glanced at the report and frowned. “Hang on a minute, the report is still out in the car. I’ll be right back.” He left and returned a few minutes later. He pulled a file out of a leather jacket and sat down to compare the two reports.
He glanced over at Shiloh and frowned. “There is something different about these reports.”
Shiloh leaned forward to look over the reports.
“See here,” Demon pointed out. “On the police reports I showed you this morning, there was only one signature, Charlie’s. On the report Donna had there are two, Charlie’s and another cop by the name of Stan Flynn. Stan was Charlie’s partner back in the day when your parents were murdered.”
Demon went back to comparing the files. He sat back a moment then leaned forward to reread part of it. Donna’s file said the gems were valued at two million dollars. The other report claimed they were worth a sum of two hundred thousand. That was the only difference between the reports but it was a big difference. He glanced over at Shiloh. “I’d be willing to bet that Donna’s report is genuine. Somebody doctored the original report.”
“But why would anyone do that?” Shiloh asked. “What would be the point?”
Demon looked at her. “I don’t know but I aim to find out.”
“What are you going to do?” Shiloh asked.
“I’m going to call Stan and get some answers.”
“Remember that Donna’s copy has been put away for a long time. Can you ask him if he’s heard from Charlie since we got back? I have to be sure I can trust him.”
“That’s what makes me think it’s a copy of the original report, but why would someone change the amounts the jewels were worth on Charlie’s report? It doesn’t make much sense. Charlie’s report would have been in police storage all this time.”
Demon called Stan and when he was done with the conversation, he scowled at Shiloh. “Stan recalled the report. He also remembers your case very well. When I asked him about the police report, he said he signed the original but a week later the report disappeared. Charlie said it was no big deal at the time.” Demon glanced at her and winked. “He also recalls a phone call late last night. It was him Charlie called. He said he wanted to come over and talk to you but Charlie said no. He told Stan you didn’t remember all that much about the night your parents died but you were starting to remember and he didn’t want to rush the process.”
“Did Stan notice anything else that summer?”
Demon nodded. “Yeah, he said Charlie changed that summer. Finding you in that closet and your parents dead, it became an obsession with him to find your parent’s killer. He dug up dirt on Simon and even checked out your dad’s background. Stan said he left no stone unturned but in the end, it wasn’t enough to arrest Simon on. All they could do was wait for Simon to make another mistake.”
“And did Simon make another mistake?”
Demon shook his head. “No, he’s been very careful. Although a few weeks later, Simon liquidated almost his entire money train. The amount was a little over two million dollars. It took him a long time to get it back.” He shrugged, “I had my guy check out Simon this morning. He called me earlier. I was going to say something when Charlie was here but I didn’t.”
“I wonder what he needed that much money for?” Shiloh asked. Then she thought of something, “Unless the jewels weren’t his to begin with.”
“What do you mean?”
“Remember the conversation between Mischa and Simon? Mischa said he wanted the jewels Pieter sent to Simon. He gave him forty-eight hours to get them. What if those were the jewels in my father stored in his safe?”
“But if Simon paid Pieter for the jewels, why is Mischa demanding them now?” Demon shook his head.
“How about just because he can.” Shiloh rolled her eyes. “Simon claims he paid Pieter off for the stones but he doesn’t have a receipt for the purchase. There isn’t anything Simon can do about it, it’s not like Simon can go to the police. He either has to pay again for the jewels or get them back.”
“And he’s running out of time.” Demon nodded.
“I would imagine Simon is getting desperate.”
“Or angry.” Demon reasoned. At Shiloh’s confused look, he explained, “Think about it, all these years he’s been trying to find the jewels, knowing that when he does, he can sell them and keep the money, but first he has to find them. Now some jerk is claiming the jewels for himself and giving Simon very little time to get his hands on then. That would make Simon a very angry man.”
“And very dangerous one.” Shiloh paused for a moment then asked, “I wonder if Charlie has all the information on Simon yet?”
“What good would that do? Whatever info he dug up would be twenty plus years
old.”
“I know, but the more we know about him the easier it’s going to be to trip him up. All we really know about the man right now is that he wants something I have. We know he’s going to come after it soon and he’ll use any means possible to get it.”
“You said the attorney in Seattle gave you a packet your aunt put together. What else is in the packet?” Demon asked.
Shiloh shrugged. “Mostly newspaper clippings about the murders, some legal papers, some family pictures, just stuff like that.”
“What kind of legal papers?”
“Donna used the money from the insurance to pay off the house. She also put my father’s half of the shop into a trust for me.”
“She gave you no clue about where the safe was?” Demon asked.
Shiloh shook her head. “I don’t think she ever knew where it was. She said in a letter that my mother told her I would know where it was and how to get into it.”
“And you can’t remember where the safe is.”
Shiloh stood. “Yeah, I know.” She turned and scowled at Demon. “What you guys are forgetting is the fact I was only four years old the last time I was in this house and a lot has happened between now and then. I’m so sick of this crap, my life was just fine before I met you and Charlie.” She walked away with her head held high.
Every step she took, Demon could see her body language was screaming at him. When he heard her bedroom door slam, he jumped. He sat there on the couch and thought about what she said. So much of the past few days rested on what Shiloh remembered from a night twenty years ago. She’d been traumatized and lied to since that night, whether by design or because someone else thought it was best for her.
Now they, meaning him and Charlie hadn’t considered what this ordeal was doing to her. He understood the implications of what was at stake and he was sure she did too. Demon realized maybe they pushed Shiloh as far as they could for a while.
He reached for his phone and hit his contact list. “Hey Charlie, how’s it going?”
“Not too bad, how is Shiloh doing?”
“Not too good at the moment. She’s a little stressed out,” Demon admitted. “I spoke to Stan Flynn today.”
“Stan? Why would you talk to him?”
“Donna had a copy of the police report from over twenty years ago. His signature was on her copy but it wasn’t on the copy in the file I had.”
“I forgot about that.” Charlie took a deep breath. “For some reason the original report went missing and we had to try and remember what it said and make a second report.”
“Yeah, we noticed the value of the jewels went down drastically,” Demon commented. “Stan said you did a full background check on Simon and Mike. Would you happen to have those files yet?”
“Yeah, they’re here somewhere. Haven’t seen them in a while but I know I wouldn’t have thrown them out. I’ll hunt them up and bring them over in the morning. That reminds me, I have to call an old friend of mine.” Charlie hesitated then asked, “Are you going to be ok over there for the night?”
“Sure, no problem. Not much going on over here anyway.”
“Ok, then I’ll see you guys in the morning.”
As Demon disconnected the call, he thought he heard a noise coming from Shiloh’s bedroom. He got up and walked down the hall. Listening at the door, he could hear her sobbing. The sound broke his heart. Taking a deep breath, he opened the door and went inside. She was laying on the bed with her back toward the door. He walked over to the bed and got in behind her. Wrapping his arms around her, he shushed her. “Baby,” he whispered in her ear. “Please stop crying. You aren’t alone here. I’ve got your back, Charlie does too.”
Shiloh turned in his arms and when she faced him she whispered, “All my life I’ve never known anything but fear. I had Donna but with her, there was always one eye on the door in case we had to run quickly. I’ve been running all my life and this isn’t the way to live your life.”
“I agree.”
Shiloh wet her dry lips with the tip of her tongue and Demon felt his body respond to her action. He groaned and told her, “Unless you want something more than comfort to happen you have to quit doing that.”
Shiloh frowned and looked at him. “And if I want more than comfort?”
Demon froze and stared at her for a moment. “Do you know what you’re asking me?”
Shiloh nodded. “There’s something between us. I don’t know what it is but I’m willing to find out.”
“I have to warn you,” Demon wanted no misunderstanding between them. “I don’t do relationships. I never wanted a woman like that, but I do want you in bed. I can give you that much but no more. Can you live with that?” He didn’t explain that his rule was because of his nightmares and PTSD. He wouldn’t lay that on a person. It was too much to ask. He still had too many issues and it was best not to get involved with any woman. Most of his brothers at his MC were the same way.
Shiloh swallowed hard. “I guess I’ll have to.”
Demon leaned forward and he crushed his lips over hers. They both felt the spark that went through them when their lips met. Shiloh opened her mouth and Demon thrust his tongue deep inside.
Shiloh groaned, and her fingers grabbed his t shirt bringing him closer. Demon pushed her on her back and hovered over her, pressing his body down on hers. His hands were busy as he stripped off her shirt and bra.
His lips kissed down her neck and chest and when they got to the hard peeks of her nipples Shiloh arched her back and hissed her pleasure. When his teeth bit down gently, she moaned and grabbed for this shirt.
Demon took a moment to strip off the t shirt and then he went back to her. Kissing his way down her stomach, he moved to the band of her jeans. His fingers ripped open her pants and quickly pulled them down, taking her underwear with them.
Then he paused long enough to admire her full body. Opening her legs, he stared hungrily at her wet core. Her scent drifted to his nose and he breathed deeply. He lowered his head and fastened his greedy mouth onto her pussy. She was wet and her cream tasted so good. He groaned as he lapped it up. With his fingers, he stroked her clit and Shiloh moaned as her legs opened further.
Demon roughly shoved a finger inside her felt her core, she felt tight and was already clamping down on him. “God baby, you’re so tight,” he murmured.
“I want you. I want you inside me. I need more than just your finger.” She moaned.
“You’ll get more but I have make some room. I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Hurry then,” she cried out. “I need you.”
Demon shoved two fingers inside her and groaned at how tight the fit was. In and out, in and out. When his tongue flicked her clit, he felt her explode and he pushed his fingers fast and harder than before.
When she came down from her climax, he moved to shed his pants. He grabbed a condom out of his back pocket and sheathed himself. When he came back, he rubbed his hard sheathed cock against her core coating it with her copious juices then he lined it up with her opening and began pushing inside. He groaned as she closed around him. Then he paused as he thought about why she was so tight, “Baby, you have done this before haven’t you?”
He tried to pull back but Shiloh crossed her legs behind his back and pulled him into her.
Flinching at the pain of his tearing through her barrier she stared at him. She could see his anger as she lifted her hips again. “Please don’t leave me now. Please I need this, I need you.”
Demon wanted to protest but the feeling of her tight body was too much. He couldn’t leave her now if his life depended on it. He withdrew enough to make a second thrust and then he was gone. He couldn’t stop now and he didn’t really want to if truth be told.
He felt her respond to him and soon all he could think about was the act itself. His thrusts got rougher, harder and deeper than he intended but Shiloh didn’t seem to mind. Only when she orgasmed again, did she cry out. Demon followed her over the edge and cried ou
t her name.
He groaned as he pulled out and flopped down beside her. He’d never climaxed that hard before. Gasping, he drew in large amounts of air into his lungs. Slowly, he felt his strength return. He unrolled the condom and dropped it into the small wastebasket next to the nightstand.
Turning his head, he noted she was breathing as fast as he was. Reaching out, he turned her head to face him. “Why? Why did you let me take what you should have saved for a man you loved?”
Shiloh reached out and traced a tattoo on his chest before she answered. “All my life I’ve been sheltered from whatever life had to offer me. Donna watched me very closely. We lived in so many places when we moved to Seattle, I couldn’t move any more. I didn’t have too much contact with other people. I missed out on so much, but I never missed it. Then I met you and I realized I missed out on a lot.” She paused, “The moment I saw you I realized this. I wasn’t sure what but I needed what you just gave me. I’m sorry but I couldn’t let you leave me until I found what this feeling could be.” She tipped her head down. “I’m sorry for that but not sorry for the act itself.”
Demon scoffed. “I don’t regret it either. I just wished I had known beforehand. It didn’t have to hurt the way it did.”
Shiloh grinned. “You might have changed your mind and I didn’t want that. I did have a moment of pain but a whole lot of pleasure. It was an even trade.”
Demon smiled. “I think you need some rest now.” He noted the dark circles under her eyes. “I don’t think you’ve been sleeping so good the last few days.”
Shiloh shook her head. “No, I haven’t.” She bit her lip and asked, “Will you stay with me?”
Demon hesitated for a moment. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. I have nightmares and I don’t want to accidently hurt you.”
Shiloh caught her breath.
For a moment, he caught a hurt look in her eyes before she turned her head.
She moved away from him and curled into a ball.
Demon swore under his breath and rolled off the bed. He simply couldn’t sleep with anyone as it was true, he might hurt her and he wouldn’t risk that. He hadn’t risked it since he came home from the Middle East. Gathering his clothes, he made his way to the door and left the room without another word. He paused on the other side and listened but no other sounds came from her room. He slowly got dressed and went back to the living room. He had a feeling it was gonna be a long night.
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