“Oh...that’s terrible.”
“That happened not long after my older brother was shot to death in a gang-related incident.”
Speechless, Reese had nothing to say.
“My mother succumbed to drugs after she lost him. My father was desperate to try to make things better for us. He only made things worse.”
“You’re not trying to win me over now, are you?” He didn’t have to tell her all of this. “Jamie, that’s awful.” And he’d told her despite how it might taint her opinion of him.
“It was. Until I joined the military and took my mother away from that place and all the bad memories. She now has a respectable circle of friends who accompany her to movies and afternoon tea in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. It’s a quiet, friendly, safe community. She thrives there. That’s why I moved to New York after working for Aesir. I could be closer to her.”
He looked off as he must be thinking how far he was from her now.
“And still in a big city.” He had said he loved big cities. Maybe she’d have to cure him of that. And they could always travel to see his mother.
Or...not! Where had that idea come from?
“Big cities aren’t everything, I’m beginning to learn,” Jamie said. “And I can see my mother as often as I like. I talk to her on the phone almost every day.”
How touching. He took good care of his mother and had been instrumental in making her life better. Where his father had failed, he’d succeeded.
Feeling herself falling for him, the warmth gathering in her center, the core of her, she resisted. He never liked talking about his job with Aesir. He hadn’t told her anything about it, really. He’d only taken offense to being called a mercenary, so whatever had happened must not have been good.
“What questionable things did your boss at Aesir do?” she asked daringly.
He didn’t seem affected. “Enough gloomy talk.” He swung her into another dance. “I like this song.”
The singer sang about tasting a woman like sweet wine.
She danced with him a few turns, having fun and not because of the song. She liked being with him like this. The light of happiness heated in his eyes as she shared a long, infatuated stare with him.
“Careful, you might start having feelings for me.”
Maybe she already did. A familiar instinct reared up. She couldn’t get too close to him!
“You can’t run a bath for me and offer an arm in bed when I’m in a weak moment and expect me to melt into something I’m not,” she said.
“I’m not trying to make something work that won’t,” he replied. “I’m just getting to know you. I have no expectations.”
Reese cautiously believed him as her stomach did a light flip with one of his graceful turns. She had no doubt he planned to get to know her, or try, but he had to have some expectations. He wouldn’t have come all this way if he didn’t. That’s what scared her. She didn’t fear him. She feared herself. He would use the ammunition of her attraction to him in his favor and she just might wind up shot.
Just then she noticed a young man standing near the entrance. He leaned against the wall, no drink in hand. He seemed out of place in an older crowd. She recognized him.
“I saw him, too,” Jamie said with his head next to hers. “Let’s go and see what he does.”
“I saw him in town,” she said. “Outside the coffee shop before Lavinia called.” She’d thought he was a tourist.
Chapter 7
Leaving the bingo hall, Jamie kept Reese to his right as they passed the man at the entrance. If he tried anything, which Jamie didn’t expect in such a public place, and if he was a suspicious character, Jamie would be able to block Reese from any harm. After exiting the hall, he kept her slightly in front of him on the way to his truck. He’d had to park far down the street.
When he glanced back, he saw the man had followed.
Why would he so brazenly follow them? And stalk Reese? The instinct that a threat lurked rose up in Jamie. He’d often had this feeling working for Aesir and it had saved him many times.
Almost at his truck, he put his hand on Reese’s back and stopped with her. Looking back, he saw the man had also stopped and was watching them.
“What’s he doing?”
Jamie didn’t know. Was he trying to intimidate them or did he have other plans he needed to see completed?
As he searched the street, Jamie didn’t see anyone else or any other sign something was amiss.
“Wait here.” Jamie started back up the street toward the man.
The stranger didn’t seem alarmed that Jamie was about to confront him. But he started walking in the other direction, back toward the grange. The man tossed his cigarette and stuffed his hands into his pockets as he entered the building.
Jamie reached the building several seconds later, checking down the street to make sure Reese hadn’t followed. She had, but stayed a few lengths behind.
Inside the grange, he weaved through the crowd, spotting the stranger as he disappeared down a hall. Jamie hurried after him. He went into the men’s bathroom. A man washed his hands and another stood at a urinal. He looked under the stalls. No feet.
Back out in the hall, he saw a door at the end and pushed it open. A small area had been enclosed for trash and the gate was partially open. He pushed it wider and jogged out into the alley, looking both ways. A car squealed tires as it turned onto the street, too far away and too dark to see much detail.
Jamie went back into the grange, seeing Reese looking for him. She walked with him toward the exit.
“Did you get anything?”
“No.” Why would the man park in the back, watch them all night and follow them to Jamie’s truck?
They headed for the truck. The sense of unease remained.
At his truck, he unlocked the doors. Reese reached for the passenger door handle.
The truck.
Jamie stopped her from opening the door. “Hold on.” He guided her to stand on someone’s front lawn.
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m not sure. Something doesn’t seem right.”
“Yeah, like that man watching us, following us.”
The sound of a car turning onto the street captured his attention. It might be the same car. As it neared, he saw that it was. The car stopped, engine rumbling, exhaust clouding the air beneath a single streetlight.
Jamie pushed Reese back farther onto the grass just as an explosion cracked and boomed. Pressure from the detonation threw him against Reese and they fell to the lawn. Debris and glass rained down on them. Jamie protected her with his body, covering her head with his arms as best he could.
When the shower eased, he rolled off her and stared at his truck with an incredulous curse. That man had put a bomb on his truck, one with a remote control. He’d followed to detonate the bomb—when they got inside.
He’d tried to kill them both.
The car had sped away as soon as the bomb had gone off. The car was nowhere in sight.
He faced Reese, who sat propped up on her elbows. “Are you all right?”
“Yes. I might have a bruise or two, but I’m fine.” She looked up at him. “How did you know that was going to happen?”
“I didn’t. I got used to paying attention to a sixth sense while I worked for Aesir.”
“And it told you something bad was going to happen now?”
“Yes.” He stood and offered his hand. She took it and he helped her to her feet.
He put his arm around her, needing her close. To his satisfaction, she didn’t try to move away.
The front door of the house opened and a woman rushed out. “Oh, my Lord! Are you all right?”
“Yes. We’re fine.”
“I called 911.�
�
A man from the neighboring house emerged and people from the grange began to pour outside.
Sirens approached and an older Jeep Grand Cherokee with Ute County Sheriff printed on the sides sped toward them.
The night just got longer. And he had lost his vehicle.
“Well, so much for driving back to Wyoming.”
“As if you would have.”
He looked down at her standing flush to his side and a warmth that was becoming more and more familiar began to chase away the adrenaline. But the gathering crowd and sheriff’s vehicle coming to a stop had to take priority for the time being.
* * *
After the sheriff had driven them to Reese’s house late that night, Reese saw the window had been broken again.
“He’s not short on persistence, is he?” she quipped.
“I’d tell you to wait here, but...” He looked down at her hands, where she’d already drawn her gun, the holster hidden by the hem of her sweater.
“Are you one of those men who prefer his woman at home?”
“Only when I’m there.” His crooked grin and witty response had her fighting a smile.
She’d baited him with control questions before and he always came back with something like what he’d just said. He tickled her cerebrally. His objective was to keep her safe. He didn’t mind she had expertise in law enforcement.
She approached the front door cautiously, gun raised. The sheriff had already driven away.
Jamie entered first, having taken his own gun from the back of his pants. Reese covered his back, checking the stairs before they moved to the great room. He checked her bedroom. Unlike the first time, nothing had been disturbed on the lower level.
“Clear.” He climbed the stairs before she did. The carpenters had started the loft and hallway.
Jamie lowered his gun as he entered the office. Nothing had been disturbed in here, either, but the closet door was open.
This was bizarre. Had the man who’d tried to kill them broken in yet again and tried to take the money? He wouldn’t have known they’d found the trunk. But he’d seen the closet. He knew they’d found it now. She put her gun away.
“There’s wood in the garage to cover the front window,” she said.
“I’ll take care of that. You go get comfortable.”
* * *
Reese had to admit, more than her attraction to Jamie made her glad he stayed with her. That explosion and now another break-in had her rattled. The two had to be related, and if so, Ella’s killer had to be at work. Did he really think killing them would stop the investigation? And if he really wanted the money, he wouldn’t get it with both of them dead. Of course, he hadn’t anticipated they’d find it in the hidden closet. He should have at least considered the possibility she’d notice the torn wallpaper. Maybe he thought he had time.
She went into her bedroom and changed into a long, soft nightgown, wondering if she should be concerned that she wasn’t afraid with Jamie. After washing her face and brushing her teeth, she left her room and went to the kitchen to start some water for tea. Jamie’s hammering stopped and he appeared in the great room. No one would have guessed that he’d just come from an explosion and tackled her on the ground. His jeans looked fresh and clean and fit him perfectly, and his gray Henley was free of dirt or soot. She wanted to run her hands over his short black hair, which never had to be combed.
He bent for his laptop case and removed the machine. Sitting at her kitchen island, he booted it up.
The teakettle began to whistle. She took out a cup and held it up in question as he looked at her.
“Sure.”
She grabbed another cup out and put bags of a relaxing tea blend in each. After pouring hot water into them, she set his in front of him, amazed at how domestic and natural this felt.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Kadin sent me access to some criminal databases. Checking for similar cases to Ella’s.”
That seemed like a daunting task. Like looking for an earring stud in a swimming pool.
“That man was so young,” she said. “How can he be involved in her murder?” He couldn’t have, but how was he involved?
“He might know the killer. Or the killer could have hired someone,” Jamie said.
An older man wouldn’t be in as good shape as he’d been when Ella was killed. “It still seems odd that he’d go to such extremes after all this time. I only just started looking into the case. I couldn’t have posed much of a threat. Not yet, anyway.” She sipped her tea.
Jamie leaned back with his cup and looked at her, pausing in his work. “Money can bring out the worst in people. He probably didn’t know where to look until you found the money under the floorboards. You finished the lower level so he must have assumed if there was any more you’d have found it.”
“But he must have known how much was here.”
“Yes. That, for sure.”
She held the teacup between both hands. “And Ella must have convinced him she didn’t have it, or lied about where she hid it before he killed her.”
“I agree.” He put his cup down and leaned forward, sliding the laptop aside as he took a much closer interest in her. “You’d make a good detective.”
Was he making an innuendo that she’d make a good detective working for Kadin? His way of luring her to move to Wyoming? His sureness about her was unnerving. “There isn’t much need for that sort of thing in Never Summer. For the most part, people behave.”
“Just the occasional Lavinia call?”
“Yes, or teenagers stealing candy from the market.”
“And a forty-year-old murder.”
“Yes.” That definitely mixed things up. Broke the monotony.
She could see why others before her hadn’t been able to solve the Neville case. Aside from the lack of evidence, they didn’t have the resources or experience bigger cities could afford.
The person who’d killed Ella had gotten away with murder for four decades. He’d lived his life, a full life. Even if he died today, he would have had the luxury of living for all this time. He’d stolen that from Ella. Against everything she aspired to in her life, some sicko had snuffed her out, taken every chance she had to do and see all she dreamed. Ella had found love with Jeffrey. Everything Reese had heard about their relationship had the markings of the real deal. At least she’d had that before her life had been cut so short.
“Hey.” Jamie put his hand on hers.
She returned to the present. “Sorry. Drifting.”
He moved his hand up her arm, tickling her skin along the way. At her shoulder, he curled his fingers and brushed them along her jawline. “Why don’t you stop being a detective for tonight?”
The beginning of resistance faded with the fresh wave of desire he initiated. He ran his thumb over her lower lip. The passion felt different than their first night. Less impulsive. In fact, he didn’t seem to act on any impulse now. And since she hadn’t anticipated him touching her this way, neither did she. No, this felt deliberate. Like a thought-out choice.
While part of her warned her choice should be to stop, the more sensual one wasn’t listening.
He slid his hand behind her head and coaxed her forward. As she leaned toward him, he stood and closed the distance. Maybe it was the long day. Maybe it was the explosion. She might be overtired and susceptible. But she wanted this. Him.
He kissed her firmly and moved his mouth over hers.
When he broke away, she asked, “Are you doing this on purpose?”
“Yes. And no.” He kissed her again, caressing as before.
He intended to woo her, to seduce her into a steamy relationship with him. She wouldn’t think about that now, not when he strummed such magic with his mouth.
&n
bsp; Putting her hands on his shoulders, she pulled herself up onto the counter, glad he took the hint and hooked an arm under hers and helped her. With an effortless, smooth lift, he had her hips on the counter. She swung her legs to his side, parting them on each side of him. His height put his head just slightly lower than hers. She ran her fingers over his short hair, sliding her other hand over his right chest muscle. He put his hands on each cheek of her rear, pulling her to the edge of the counter.
Now the heat really simmered.
She kissed him, angling her head and loving that she was a little higher than him and that he let her have control.
He reached up with one hand and slid the tie from her blond hair, releasing the thick waves to tumble down over her shoulders. With his fingers gripping strands, he intensified the kiss. She gave in, kissing him back with more. She lost her breath. Only he existed.
Her nightgown buttoned up in the front, the neckline scooping in a modest curve above her breast. He turned the functional garment into something sexy when he began to unbutton the top buttons. The touch of his fingers aroused her, brushing lightly, parting material as he progressed. He exposed her breasts and admired them while he finished unbuttoning the nightgown to her waist. The sleeves fell off her shoulders and she sat in the pooled material, a flower blossoming for the sun, and in this case, that sun was Jamie. He heated her with the light of his passion.
At last he stopped torturing her with just his eyes, feasting on the sight of her. He didn’t have to bend his head much to put his mouth on her. His tongue caressed. Fiery sensations had her closing her eyes to ecstasy. And then she had to have him as exposed. She took his shirt and pulled the hem up. He moved back to finish lifting it over his head and drop it to the floor.
Lost to the allure of his bare chest, Reese reveled in the feel of her hands on him, running over smooth skin with hard muscle underneath. Their kissing increased in urgency.
Cradling her rear, he lifted her off the counter and carried her across the great room. In her bedroom, he laid her down on the bed and crawled on top of her, kissing her the whole time. Reese couldn’t believe how amazing he felt, how she felt with him. The magnitude of their chemistry faded to the background as he removed the rest of her nightgown.
Taming Deputy Harlow Page 10