He handed her the cooler then her bag before stepping off the boat. “Come on. I’ll carry these things for ya.”
“You don’t have to. I can manage.”
“I want to.” He winked. “A man likes to feel wanted.”
“As if you have any doubts after this weekend.”
“Yeah, well there is that.” He laughed, following her up the steps and to her front door.
Once there, she frowned. The house was exactly as she’d left it. She peered around to the driveway and noted the rental. “Ash hasn’t returned. Reece, I know you said I shouldn’t worry but …”
“But a whole weekend without any word isn’t right.” He took the keys from her trembling hands and unlocked the deadbolt. “I don’t like the idea of you being here alone.”
“The home security folks are coming tomorrow to install an alarm. I’ll be fine. Well, as fine as a person can be for worrying about her sibling.” Her voice caught on a lump of fear. If anything happened to Ashley because of her, she’d never forgive herself.
“I called my friend at the sheriff’s office this morning before you woke up.”
“You did?”
“Yes. He said there’s been no fatalities or serious car accidents within a thirty-mile radius since her disappearance. Plus, no one matching her description has shown up in any of the emergency rooms at the local hospitals. My advice is to believe your maverick sister is on a joy ride and when she gets back, you read her the riot act.”
Lilah released a flood of tension filled air. “Perhaps you’re right.” After all, Ashley was known for taking off on a moment’s notice without thinking of telling her family. She had to think positive or go crazy from worry. Reece’s plan was best.
His gaze shifted to the evidence of the intruder’s evil designs, the laptop knocked on the floor. “Did he do that?”
“What? Oh, the computer. Yes. Fortunately the fall only cracked the corner, it still works.” She bent to pick it up. “I confess, I haven’t finished cleaning up all the areas he carelessly destroyed.”
“Think maybe he was looking for some sort of file?”
Her eyes widened. “Damn, how could I be so blind? I had a similar conversation with Ashley when she first arrived, about how he was always hiding stuff from me around the computer.”
“Any idea where your husband could have hidden data storage units? Maybe he had a hidden safe somewhere in his office.”
Lilah searched her memory and related pretty much the same information she’d shared with Ashley. “A few weeks before the murder, I walked in on Ben when he was working on the computer. He acted weird, like I had caught him watching porn or something. He quickly removed something from the side of the screen and stuffed it in his pocket. A couple of days later I was gathering clothes for the cleaner and a flash drive fell from his pants. When I bent to pick it up, he freaked out.”
Lilah’s lips twisted. The only way she’d be free of this nightmare was to locate that data. Otherwise the danger would always be close by.
“It’s all right, my love. You’re not alone anymore. Think Lilah. Is it possible you have the information and don’t even know it?”
“No, Ben never told me about it, and he definitely never gave anything to me.”
“Okay. This is like a puzzle with no clues.” Reece analyzed what few facts they had. “Ben couldn’t bury it in his office, his clothes, nothing associated with himself personally; that’d be exactly where they’d search. Did the senator have a safe deposit box in a bank somewhere?”
“Not that I know of?”
“Problem with a safe deposit box was he’d be observed coming out of the building. The kingpin would simply have him trailed till he returned to recover the storage device, then they’d get him.” Reece seemed to be talking more to himself than her, but his ramblings made sense. “No. Better to place it where he thought no one would see him store or retrieve the data. A hiding place in plain sight; not associated with him, but still nearby. A location rarely visited, but openly…”
He stared at Lilah, his face alight with the dawning of new realization. “You have it, that’s why you’ve been a target.”
“No, I told you, he never confided in me about such things, and he definitely never gave me data records to hold.” His continued assumptions frustrated her. His interrogation held a ring of familiarity, like the grilling tactics of the police.
“You don’t understand. Your husband hid the drive in your possession, not his. When this thug ransacked your apartment the first time, he never figured to search your stuff, why would he? Later, once he found nothing, they likely concluded the senator stuffed it in your things without telling you.”
“But why would he do that…”
“That’s right, Sweetheart. He was an asshole. The Senator was known publicly for his escapades. I’m sorry but the man never truly loved you. Lilah, you’re a woman, you have three or four times the possessions of a man.”
“What the hell’s that suppose to mean?”
“I was only married once, but I’ve been involved… let’s just say that most ladies I know have things in their closets they haven’t visited for years. Is there anything you can remember, a box of shoes, a container of memorabilia…”
She rubbed her temples where a headache formed. That Ben could be so cruel as to embroil her in this affair made her physically ill. “Can we do this later? You have work, and I – I need to sort out my thoughts.”
He softened his voice and pushed a stray hair from her forehead. “Got an idea?”
“What?”
He gently pinched her chin. “What if I do everything I can to bring back that pretty smile? It’s so much nicer than the sad face.”
She forced a grin, leaned in, and kissed him on the cheek. “Thanks, Reece. I appreciate that.”
He released a mocking gasp. “I’ll never wash that side again.”
Lilah chuckled. “Cute. Corny, but cute. You do have a boyish charm about you, Mr. Edwards.”
“So my plan is working?”
She held up two fingers separated by a quarter inch gap. “A little.”
“Well, that’s something.” He chuckled then sobered, pulling her against his chest. “You make me feel so damn special, like I could do anything, and you do it so naturally. It’s as if, I know it sounds silly but, I keep thinking, why did He keep us apart so long. This thing, us, why did we have to go through all the pain in our lives before our paths finally crossed?”
She gently rubbed the back of her French cut nails against his temple. “Maybe so we’d appreciate the gift of one another after all the dead ends and sleepless nights. You know, kind of provides perspective for how rare and wonderful this is.”
“Perhaps, but I sense it’s almost like we’ve both been lost in a sea of strangers, only to finally come together into one unity of purpose, so far into the journey. It just took so damn long to find each other.”
“You may be right. Perhaps it was meant for this specific moment in our lives, when we needed the other the most, when we could better grasp the significance of the bond. I know, sounds corny, it’s just, you make me feel so damn good.”
“Personally, I’m not going to question the timing; I’m just finally thrilled He brought us together.”
He pulled back. “Move in with me.”
“What?”
~ * ~
Reece didn’t know he was going to offer until the words left his mouth, but what better way to make sure Lilah remained out of harm’s way. He’d caught her off guard, and she looked ready to throw a dish at his head, but damn it, he loved her. He couldn’t just stand by and watch while her ex’s idiocy got her hurt – or worse, killed.
“I know it’s sudden, but you’d be safe at my place, and I wouldn’t have to worry about hit men and burglars and missing information. So – what do you think?”
“No.” The negative answer spilled from her lips as a whisper before she punctuated it with a louder denial. �
��No. I can’t.”
“I don’t understand.”
“This is my home, and I won’t be driven from it by …” She stepped away, leaving him bereft and confused. “It’s not you, it’s just that…”
He stiffened, unsure how to answer. “It’s fine. It was just a thought.”
“No, Reece, I appreciate the offer, it’s just that this is all too soon. I’ve enjoyed my independence this past year, and while I want “us” to work, I’m not ready to move that fast.”
He shook his head. “I get it. No, actually, I don’t, but I’m patient, and I think you’re worth waiting for.”
“I didn’t mean to hurt you or be insensitive. But when I decide to make that move, I want to come to you without all my baggage. You know – with Ashley safe and the murderer behind bars. I won’t put you in danger in the meantime.”
“I’m already in danger,” he said softly. “Of losing something precious. You need better protection than an occasional police drive-by or a home security system that might have a long response time.”
“It’s my life. My decision.”
“And one I don’t agree with, but I’ll abide by your rules if that’s the only way we’re going to make this relationship work. At least for now, but I reserve the right to try my best to change your mind.” He gave her a quick peck on the cheek and exited before he said something he’d regret.
For now, he’d give into her need for independence, but he damned sure didn’t like it.
Twenty Three
Lilah hated that she’d sent Reece away while anger festered between them. Weary resignation forced her to sit and contemplate all he’d said, all he’d insinuated.
She knew Ben to be a jerk, but to hear Reece voice the reasons, to state plainly that her husband had never loved her… Damn. Why should she care whether Ben loved her or not. The bastard was dead, cut down in his prime by his own dirty dealings.
She thought of Reece and the pain she’d caused by turning down his invitation. Didn’t he know she wanted nothing more than to be with him, to love him as he deserved to be loved?
But she couldn’t risk putting him in danger. And she needed to be at the house should Ashley return.
What a crock of bull, Lilah. His offer frightened you.
“I’m such a fool,” she said and rose to her feet. In the kitchen, she poured a glass of water and downed two aspirins. “If you want this to be over, to end so you can live free of danger, of guilt, of the stigma associated with Ben’s death, then find the damned hidden data that set events in motion.”
~ * ~
“Damn piece of rusted old junk.” He kicked the tire and tossed the ignition coil against the back wall of the garage.
Maybe it’s time I break down and buy a new mower.
Reece nudged his head in disagreement with his own thoughts as he passed the clutter of power saws, trimmers, and other odds and ends gathering dust around the border of the garage. Discarding something because it was old or suffering from a breakdown was not his way. From service rendered across the years, there had to be loyalty. Why did so many, like his Ex, find it so easy to ignore the premise of honor, commitment?
Maybe if I rebuilt the carburetor and installed new primary wiring.
He patted the fender of the fourteen-year-old lawn tractor. “Sorry, girl; my fault, not yours. I’ll fix ya up.”
The mechanical failure of his equipment wasn’t the core of his frustration; rather the abrupt ending of what appeared to be the solution he’d searched for from the very beginning. Like an automaton, his hands worked delicately at removing the carburetor from the manifold while his mind drifted elsewhere.
Why are relationships so hard?
Didn’t men and women want the same thing, feel the same loneliness, ache from the same realization that they might fly solo the rest of their life; or was it just him?
No, they have to feel it too, they have to.
Then why the confusion, the ambiguity in their behavior?
I just don’t get it.
Maybe that’s just part of the equation that lures us forward, the quest to understand, to peer inside and know what makes them so damn beautiful, yet so vulnerable.
I won’t give up, damn it. Not with Lilah, not this time.
All that he’d wanted, that he’d imagined with a life mate, he saw in her eyes, sensed in her touch. If he could just get her to open to the possibility, realize he wasn’t the dick-head senator from Maryland, would never betray her trust, then maybe he’d stand a chance.
That must be it.
Lilah wanted to move forward but the injured spirit inside, the little girl lost in the sea of strangers remained frightened. Her heart, like his, cried out to be held, to be loved above all others. They both needed to break down the barrier, the memory of thorns used by another to prick your heart without regard for…
“Lilah.” Without hearing her approach, he knew she was there, tasted that wondrous feminine scent that communicated her presence. Reece tried to rotate his body from its kneeling position, but she collapsed across his legs and pinned him against the lawn tractor. Her arms enveloped his neck, and her mouth inhaled his lips, that tiny sweet tongue darting madly in and out. “Jesus, Lilah. Are you all right?”
She molded to his torso, glued tight against his mid section, like a cowgirl preparing her steer in an upcoming rodeo contest. “I found it.”
“You certainly did.” The erection pressing against her spread thighs was proof enough.
She giggled and nipped at his earlobe. “I think I found Ben’s hidden data.”
The combination of wet and warm against his neck had his mind racing toward all sorts of possibilities and his body yearning to… “Wait.” He pulled away to look into her animated face. “You found the information?”
“That’s what I said.”
“How?”
“Last weekend, just before I went to the art show; I was putting the last few touches on a painting I had been contracted to complete. I ran out of cobalt violet. It’s an expensive color, about six times as much as everyday tones. I don’t use it that much, but this scene cried for that pigment. I thought I might still have a partial tube in my old suitcase. I store art supplies I don’t often need there. Anyway, when I looked inside the upper flap, there was a small envelope. I shook it and something hard slid back and forth. I was going to rip it open, but Ashley called me into the kitchen, then I got wrapped up in a dozen other things and just forgot about it until…”
“Until I jogged your memory with all my questions.”
“Hmm, you’re quite the detective, Mr. Edwards.” She wiggled her cute ass against his lap.
“Maybe we should check out the data, find out if our suspicions are right.” Or maybe they should finish what she so obviously wanted to start.
“Later.” She tugged at the hem of his shirt. “I’d rather check out you first.”
Good lord. The woman is insatiable.
“Now?”
“I want you, Reece. Now. Here.”
She ripped at his shirt, accelerated her pace of consuming the exterior of his face, his neck, down between his pecs.
“Jesus.” Reece chuckled like a schoolboy being tickled for the very first time. He tried to respond in part, but she’d have none of it. The lioness had come to take its due, devour the prey from which she’d held back so long, and he didn’t resist. Reece willingly became her folly, reviled in the heat preparing his body, surging through all veins, until he greeted his neighbor’s stare as she watered the driveway instead of the adjacent flower bed.
“Wait a minute. We need to move inside. Someone’s…”
Lilah growled and silenced her meal with that commanding tongue while both tentacles tore at his pants, his belt, his…
“Holy shit. Lilah, we’re being watched.”
His words were irrelevant, his attempt to gain momentary pause in the process of being devoured was no concern to the crazed beast writhing up and down on his b
ody.
Reece sighed, struggled twice to lift both their weights now entwined into one undulating mass. He grunted, in pleasure but also in strain as he worked his way inside the house, down the hallway and still the appendage cork screwed around his body continued munching his face, his throat, until finally they arrived at the bedroom. In one mighty heave, he tossed the feline to the mattress, took back control, and ordered, “Stay.” He raised both grease laden arms into the air. “Must clean.”
He raced into the bathroom tearing and tossing garments along the way. In fifty-four seconds he returned to take his turn as the master devouring the morsel reclining before him.
He stepped through the doorway, and the angel wrapped in a single sheet flipped off her cover. “Welcome aboard, captain.”
Twenty Four
They petted, cuddled, entwined, and finally linked as only two, a man and woman enveloped by the body and spirit of another human, can do.
Like two spent hummingbirds, quenched from the wealth of the other’s nectar, they again returned to this world, and she pondered her new countenance.
“What is it, what are you working on in that pretty head of yours?” he asked, trailing a delicious finger along the side of her rib cage.
“No, you’ll think I’m being silly.”
“Sweetheart. I thought we agreed. No secrets, okay?”
She drew a deep breath and released a micro giggle. “There’s a flood of new sensations racing through my body, and my mind just can’t stop exploring the possibilities.”
“What do you mean?”
“My dreams, the things I’ve wanted since I was a little girl, they just keep dancing through my mind.”
“Like what?”
“No, it’s just crazy things, wondrously new hopes that crashed on the rocks years ago.”
“I promise, I’ll never laugh at you, only with you.”
Lilah hesitated and wiggled into a sitting position on the rumpled bed. “Okay, but we have to play a game first.”
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