Without thinking, without even breathing, she gripped either side of his shirt and kissed him. Kissed him hard, smoothing her hands up over his broad chest to bracket his face. She kissed him because he’d accepted her answers without hesitation.
Cormac’s tongue slid into her mouth, stroking her own, the heat of the silken rasp against hers leaving her dizzy. His beard, crisp and coarse, scraped against her cheeks with delicious friction. The kiss deepened, becoming heated, their breathing harsh as their chests met.
He scooped her up, pulling her tight to him until they were standing, backing her against the house so the brick wall met her spine and then he melted into her, his rigid body, every muscle, every sculpted line pressed into her.
Cormac’s arms snaked around her, his hand splaying over her ass, pulling her deeper, closer, until there was nothing but the sound of their harsh breathing and their mouths, devouring one another’s.
The door popping open made them both jump, but not apart; rather, they clung to one another tighter.
Carl’s dark head poked out of the heavy door, his lopsided grin in place when he flipped the light on. He motioned them inward, the duct tape holding his index finger on shiny under the bright patio light. “Insiiide, pease,” he said.
“Hey, Carl,” Cormac replied with a warm smile. “We’ll be right in, okay? Go tell Nina and the others, would ya?”
Carl nodded, his grin widening, and then he pointed to the watch at his wrist, which in zombie-speak she’d learned meant hurry it up.
Teddy cleared her throat and nodded her head, smiling back at him. “We’ll hurry, promise. Get in there now so you don’t catch your death…er, I mean a cold. Wait. Can zombies catch a cold?”
Carl snickered and shut the door, leaving them to deal with what she’d just done.
“I’m sorry,” she murmured, unable to look Cormac in the eye.
“Your words, they cut like a knife.”
“Huh?”
“Are you sorry you kissed me? Because I’m fragile right now, and I’m pretty sure if you tell me you’re sorry you kissed me, I’ll flat-out break,” he teased, letting his lips graze her jaw.
Shivering, Teddy shook her head and shrugged. “I’m not sorry I kissed you. I meant I’m sorry I was so abrasive. You telling me I wasn’t to blame just struck a sensitive place. I guess I got overwhelmed. I don’t know. I kissed you, okay?”
He grinned and winked. “Yeah, it was pretty okay. And damn right it’s not your fault. Listen, if the Teddy I’m coming to know is anything like I think she is, you blamed yourself for sticking it out for so long with Dennis, am I right?’
Oh, the endless nights of blame, of reliving all the moments she should have walked out the door and never looked back. “I stayed too long.”
“So you suppose the length of time would have changed the outcome of the end of your marriage? Do you suppose Dennis just wouldn’t have beaten you almost to death if you’d done it sooner?”
“You’re probably right.”
“No. I am right, Teddy. I am right. This fuck’s an abusive prick. He would have been just as angry had you left a few months into the marriage as he would have in a couple of years. And it’s damn well not your fault he got out of jail.”
“I still can’t believe his attorney managed to reduce the charges from attempted murder to assault and battery and jail time. But his parents have a lot of money and a lot of heavy-duty contacts in Denver.”
“Yeah, I can’t believe it either. But you can believe, if he shows up, the murder won’t be an attempt.”
Putting her fingers to his lips, she shook her head. “He doesn’t know where I am, and my brothers are aware he’s out. They’ll keep an eye out and if he so much as sneezes too loud, they’ll see to it he’s right back in jail. I don’t want you involved in this, Cormac. This is my baggage.”
“I’m sorry, isn’t it mine, too? You know, life mates and sacrifices and all?”
Jabbing a finger into his shoulder, Teddy giggled. “I’m sorry, weren’t you the one who gave me up to Nina to save your own pretty hide?”
He made a face. “Well, c’mon. Be fair. Nina’s damn frightening. I don’t care if she’s not a vampire anymore. She’s just as intimidating as a human. I had no choice but to hand you over. Who wants their face chewed off?”
Teddy’s head fell back on her shoulders as she laughed. “She’s a formidable foe even human. I agree.”
Leaning down, he brushed her lips with his once more, leaving her almost breathless. “We’d better get back inside before that foe decides we’re the enemy. But let’s discuss this more in depth later, okay?”
She shot him a warm smile, her toes curling inside her boots. “Done deal.”
Gripping her hand, he pulled her back inside and they were traversing the long hallway again when she heard Nina yelp, “That son of a motherfucking bitch!”
Cormac and Teddy exchanged glances as they followed the sound of the television to the family room, where everyone had gathered.
Sectional couches in plush fabric were scattered throughout the wide room, where the focal point was an eighty-inch flat screen.
With both she and Cormac’s faces flashing on it in vivid colors.
“What the hell is going on now?” Teddy almost shrieked.
“I’ll tell you what the hell,” Nina said from clenched teeth. “That fuck-knuckle Carmine Ragusi went on live friggin’ TV and accused the two of you of murder.”
Chapter 12
The hits just kept on comin’, was Teddy’s first thought, second only to the sheer terror a murder charge with she and Cormac’s names attached to it brought.
“Murder?” Cormac thundered, dropping her hand and moving closer to the television as the reporter was just wrapping up the story.
“That’s what I said—murder,” Nina groused, rewinding the broadcast so they could watch for themselves.
As the reporter replayed the interview with that lying sack of smelly shit Arty, aka Carmine Ragusi, her knees threated to give out.
Carl came up behind her, driving his hands around her waist and squeezing her. “You are niii…ce.”
She shuddered out a breath and gripped his hands, fighting a sting of tears at how sensitive he was to everyone around him. His hands were cold, but they were comforting just the same.
So now the story was Carmine Ragusi believed his partner had something on Cormac and Teddy, and Carmine had some kind of evidence to prove they’d killed his partner? Without a body?
Whoa. Her head was spinning.
Teddy’s mouth went dry when she was finally able to speak. “How?” she managed to push out.
Wanda was on her feet in an instant, tucking her light sweater around her waist and approaching Teddy with worried eyes. “We think that’s who was murdered the night Toni found Stas and Andre standing next to a dead guy. He was Carmine Ragusi’s partner at the precinct. He needs someone to take the fall for his dead partner.”
“That’s insane.” Cormac’s jaw had gone stiff, his fist balled into a wad of anger.
Marty buzzed about them, too, her wheels spinning, her hands waving. “We have a theory. Carmine’s partner, whose name was Mauricio Benneducci, by the way, caught Carmine in the thick of this Russian mob thing and they took him out to keep his mouth shut. I’d bet all my lip gloss Carmine was at the dealership that night and he was the one who killed Mauricio. Toni may not have seen him there. Maybe he left. Or maybe he was hiding and waiting to kill Toni when she showed her face. Thank God she got away when she did. But I’d also bet Stas ordered Carmine to kill his partner because in this nut Stas’s mind, Carmine was to blame for his partner finding out he was on the take. Stas and Carmine had to be worried about how much Cormac knew after finding Toni with him. Cormac being a loose end like that is bad for Stas. So, Teddy, you were probably right when you said Carmine just needed you to find Cormac and the plan all along was to kill you, too. No one was supposed to know anything about Cormac or To
ni to begin with. Eliminating you, and probably your brothers, would have shut that right down.”
“Hold on,” Cormac interjected. “There were no deaths or murders reported on the night Toni witnessed the murder at the dealership, or even in the vicinity, and not a single word of one from that night since this all happened. I’ve gone over the blotters for every single arrest hundreds of times. If Ragusi killed his partner—a cop, no less—why wasn’t there some kind of all-out manhunt? He was a cop, for Christ’s sake! Cops stick together, don’t they?”
Marty pressed a hand to Cormac’s arm and nodded, her logical tone a small consolation in this mess. “Here’s what we think. Yes, the cops would have let loose the hounds of hell to find who killed one of their own, but that’s only if they thought Mauricio was dead. Maybe Carmine somehow managed to make them believe there was suspicion surrounding his partner’s mental health or whatever. Sure, they’d look high and low for him, but you weren’t looking for a missing cop, Cormac. You were looking for dead bodies.”
Teddy was still trying to make sense of being a suspect in a murder. “How can they do this without a body? Where the hell is Mauricio Benneducci’s body?”
Marty’s lips thinned. “Carmine’s a cop, and I’d bet he’s pretty convincing when presenting the police with everything they need to at least investigate you two. I can only imagine the tale he spun, but you can be sure it’s a damn good one. They don’t need a body to question you surrounding the disappearance of a police officer, honey. And Carmine doesn’t need a body to get you out in the open. This is all an effort to smoke you two out. It’s a huge risk for him to take. I mean, what if other cops find you first—cops who aren’t dirty? He’s obviously pretty desperate at this point.”
Cormac dragged his hand through his hair. “We need Toni here. There has to be a way to get her here. She could tell us if this Mauricio is the guy she saw in a pool of blood that night.”
Wanda pressed her fingers to her temples and winced. “The door to the other realm can only be opened during certain times of the full moon cycle and some star configuration. I can’t remember the exact circumstances, but I do remember I have it on the calendar in my phone and it’s another month away.”
“Jesus,” Cormac muttered.
Teddy’s stomach sank, the butterflies from earlier replaced with sick dread. “So this Carmine’s effectively turned the tables on us. He’s plastered our faces all over the news nationwide.”
The kind of balls this took meant he was either desperate or he had some kind of death wish.
Cormac ran his hand through his hair again and sighed. “I’d love to know what this evidence is. The son of a bitch.”
Nina scoffed, her face twisted up in a scowl. “Well, you heard what the reporter said. He just miraculously uncovered it. You know the media score. They’re billing it like it’s some startling revelation, eatin’ it up like stray dogs. It also means the pansy fuck is scared because Teddy can identify him.”
“But he knows where we are, Nina!” Cormac returned, his fists clenched. “He knows where Teddy is. Why does he have to smoke us out?”
Wanda nodded her head in Darnell’s direction. “Because of our resident demon.”
Nina cackled her pleasure. “Some demon shit—a spell or whatever. Nobody can get in or out of the grounds now. I had him do it last night after the dude took a shot at Teddy. But you two can’t hide fucking forever. We need to handle this shit quick.”
Reaching for the back of one of the recliners, Teddy had to hold on to it to keep her knees from collapsing out from under her and knocking Carl down. “So what do we do now? We obviously can’t leave here if there’s a manhunt for alleged cop killers.” She knew she sounded hysterical, but she wasn’t used to being on this side of the law.
Nina nudged her shoulder with a light fist. “Here’s what we do—we chill the fuck out and we think about our plan of attack. If Carmine Ragusi wants to fucking play, then we play. For right now, you’re safe here. He’s not givin’ you two up—not yet anyway. It buys us a little time to find a way to make him and that borscht-loving freak Stas confess.”
This was hopeless. A guy like Stas wasn’t confessing to anything ever. Ever.
“It’s late, Teddy, and you look exhausted. Why not try to get some sleep and let us worry about the rest for now?” Marty suggested, wrapping her arm around Teddy’s waist and squeezing.
Her eyes widened in disbelief. “Are you kidding me? I’ll never sleep with a murder charge hanging over my head.”
“You haven’t been charged with anything, honey. Neither of you have. You’re just suspects in an investigation,” Wanda reminded her, her tone sympathetic.
“We might as well be on America’s Most Wanted or the back of milk cartons at this point. I don’t see how we can get a confession out of Stas, short of threatening to kill him.”
“If that’s how we gotta roll, that’s how we gotta roll,” Nina said without pause.
Before Teddy could protest the idea of murder, and the cold chill along her spine that came with it, Archibald swept in, two mugs in his hands with tendrils of steam winding out of them. “Miss Theodora, I’ve made you my special brew. Guaranteed to help you get a restful night’s sleep. You as well, Master Cormac. Now drink up, children—the sandman awaits.”
Both Teddy and Cormac took the mugs from Archibald with skeptical eyes. She didn’t plan on sleeping for at least a hundred years, but if it made Archibald happy, someone who’d welcomed them into the fold, cooked and cleaned as though they were his own, no way would she insult him.
He swept his hands in a shooing motion. “Off with you both now. Fresh sheets and warm blankets are on your beds in the basement, as well as clean nightwear. Pleasant dreams,” he said with that twinkling smile, escorting them out of the TV room and toward the basement door.
She turned at the head of the steps and impulsively hugged Archibald, letting the scent of fresh vanilla and cookies on his pristine jacket soothe her. “Thank you, Archibald. You’ve been very kind to us on such short notice.”
“’Tis nothing, Theodora. You’re always welcome wherever I go. Sleep well, lovely lady.” He dropped a kiss on her cheek and nodded to Cormac. “You as well, Master Cormac. Tomorrow, we slay the dragon!” he shouted as he took his leave.
As they made their way down the stairs, a warm glow of light shining from a small lamp, she had to admit, the bed did look pretty inviting.
They were silent as they took turns changing behind the princess privacy screen with knights on horses and princesses with long, flowing hair, waving from castle turrets.
They each finally sat at the edge of their respective beds and sipped the warm brew Archibald gave them.
Both silent.
Both lost in their own thoughts.
* * * *
“Wow. Wow. Wow,” Cormac murmured sleepily, the rustle of the sheets as he repositioned himself meeting her ears.
Teddy giggled from her bed. Yeah. Wow. She felt great. Better than she had in well over a year. “What the heck was in that special brew?”
“I dunno, but unicorn sighting at three o’ clock.”
“You think that looks like a unicorn? I was leaning more toward Clydesdale.”
“We’re sharing hallucinations?”
“It’s what life mates do.”
Cormac barked a weak laugh. “Whatever’s in that tea, I want a permanent port put in my arm filled with it. I haven’t been this relaxed in forever.”
She nodded, tucking the comforter under her chin as she drifted on a fluffy cloud. “It’s pretty great.”
“You feel better now?”
“As good as any murder suspect feels, I suppose.”
“Let’s not talk about that. Let’s talk about something else.”
“You wanna name your unicorn?”
Cormac chuckled. “How about we get to know each other?”
“You mean like whether I want the top or bottom bunk in our cell? What our pr
ison pet names should be? That kind of intimate detail sharing?”
“Aw, c’mon, Teddy Bear, play nice. No talk of prison or dirty cops or murder. Deal?”
She closed her eyes and a cornucopia of colors rushed past her eyelids; she smiled. “Hmmm-mmm. Deal.”
“So tell me everything about Teddy.”
“Bra-size everything or favorite-color everything?”
“How about we start with favorite color?”
“Yellow.”
“I’m green.”
“Green is nice.”
“Okay, scratch favorite colors. It’s superficial and boring and the only time I’ll need to know what your favorite color is will be when we pick out paint for our house. Let’s go deeper. Ask me something you’ve been wondering about since we met and I’ll do the same.”
“Okay, in the interest of going deeper, how did you deal with becoming a bear? I mean, how did you learn to shift and…I dunno, the million and one things that come with such an enormous life change? I’ve been going over how crazy that must have been and I can’t wrap my head around the idea.”
“Romance novels,” he said, deadpan.
“Come again?”
“I read romance novels, and I’ll have you know, this tea makes my lips loose.”
“Romance novels? Please, please, pleeease explain.”
“Promise you won’t laugh?”
“Nope.”
“Fine. You were bound to find out anyway. So when this all went down, there wasn’t like a guide on how to become a bear or anything. So I Googled all sorts of crazy phrases like ‘going from human to bear’ and ‘shape shifting’ etcetera. That led me to romance novels. Just an FYI, we’re huge in romance.”
She knew she should be alarmed by the idea that everything he knew about being a bear shifter he’d learned in a romance novel, but he was still standing. That said something for romance novels and vivid imaginations.
“Bears are?”
“Last year we were all the rage. Right up there with vampires.”
“Okay, so you read romance novels and that taught you about the shift?”
Bearly Accidental (Accidentally Paranormal Book 12) Page 13