by Ranae Rose
The grave he’d dug in the woods wasn’t meant for two people – especially not a bloated bitch like her – but it was located at the foot of a little ridge that’d eroded into a rockslide. He’d planned to slack on the depth, then cover the top with rocks to keep animals from unearthing the body anytime soon.
He’d have to make the grave a little wider, but no deeper. He’d do it. He’d committed himself to doing whatever he had to a long time ago, and he wasn’t about to stop now.
CHAPTER 20
“Oh, thank God.” Sasha stared over Alicia’s shoulder at the computer monitor.
Alicia turned to look at her. “Thank God? I take it you like the dress then?”
Sasha couldn’t help sighing as she stared at the gown displayed on the screen. Cap-sleeved and knee length, it boasted a cute fit-and-flare style that would be flattering on just about any body type.
“I’m just relieved it’s not strapless. I was a bridesmaid in my cousin’s wedding a few years ago and she chose strapless dresses. I spent the entire ceremony pretending not to notice the weight of a thousand stares on my cleavage and worrying I’d experience a wardrobe malfunction.”
Alicia cleared her throat. “Well I don’t think you’ll have to worry about that with this dress. So you both like the design?”
“Looks great to me,” Sasha replied, and Kerry agreed.
“Okay. I had them ordered into that bridal boutique in Wilmington, and they called this morning to let me know they’re in. If they fit and you like them, great, and if not, there’s plenty of time to order a different size or style. I think this shade of blue will flatter you both, too.”
“It could be neon camouflage for all I care,” Sasha said, “just as long as I’m not expected to dress like a 16 year old going to her first prom. There’s not a strapless bra on the face of this planet that could persuade me to do that again.”
Alicia grinned. “You know, I once spoke to another wedding planner who coordinated a camouflage-themed ceremony.”
“Sounds like something that would happen around here. Was she a local?”
“No, we met at an expo a couple years ago. I think the ceremony was in Virginia. The groom was a big hunter – had his own hunting TV show, I think.”
Sasha cast a sideways glance across Alicia and Liam’s living room. She could just see into the kitchen, where Henry, Liam and Grey were gathered around the table, decimating a platter of homemade macadamia nut cookies she’d brought along. “I think the guys are planning a hunting trip as we speak,” she said.
She wasn’t talking about hunting for wild game, of course. No, they all had their heads together and judging by the looks on their faces, Henry had gotten Liam and Grey wrapped up in his obsession with Randy Levinson.
“Hey guys,” she called out, “how are those cookies?”
A few seconds ticked by. “What – Sasha, did you say something?”
She narrowed her eyes at Henry in mock-annoyance. “I asked what you three thought of the cookies.”
“Great,” they all said, nearly in unison, and went back to frowning at the table.
Alicia sighed. “Don’t bother trying to sidetrack Liam when he’s all worked up over the Levinsons. Or the one that’s left, I should say. He’s un-distractible.”
Sasha was about to say that there was always at least one surefire way to distract a man, but then she remembered the supernaturally strong willpower Henry had displayed several days ago, during her second night at his place. There was no way around it: Henry and his friends were exceptional.
Exceptionally sexy, and exceptionally frustrating, at times.
“Grey tried to convince me that I shouldn’t be living alone while a murderer’s on the loose,” Kerry said, her voice low. “He didn’t come right out and say it, but I’m pretty sure he was hoping I’d ask if I could stay over at his place. He actually offered last time, when they first broke out.”
The way she rolled her eyes seemed to say what she thought of that, but Sasha noticed the way she blushed a little, too.
“He and Liam are two peas in a pod,” Alicia said, grinning and closing the browser window. “Of course, I can’t exactly say I’m sorry I took Liam up on his offer.” As she removed her left hand from the keyboard, a sizeable rock sparkled on her ring finger, reinforcing that sentiment.
Sasha’s heart felt tight and happy every time she thought of Alicia and Liam getting married. Really, they were about as close to perfect for each other as two people could be. And although they hadn’t been together very long, they’d faced more as couple than most would in a lifetime. But the guys’ behavior – Liam’s included – was getting a little ridiculous.
Of course, Sasha was well aware that she was the only one of the women willing to step in and administer a dose of reality.
“You know,” she said, approaching the table where the guys were gathered, “it’s an urban myth that if you frown hard enough while chewing a cookie, the convict you’re chasing will appear. All you’ll get are premature wrinkles. Seriously guys, I hope you’re not planning to slip away from us to go on some sort of wild goose chase for Randy Levinson today.”
They all three looked up at her, and it was Grey who spoke first. “Bad news – you’re not clairvoyant, Sasha.” He smirked. “We’re not planning on going after Randy.” His expression said today, anyway.
Liam nodded, then scoffed. “And we’re definitely not abandoning you three in the middle of Wilmington.”
“Then what exactly are you three conspiring over? And don’t tell me you’re not planning anything. I may not be clairvoyant, but a monkey could see that you guys are plotting something.”
“We’re just planning our day at the beach,” Henry said, meeting her eyes. “You know, the picnic you insisted on us having.”
His gaze was unwavering, and while she didn’t think he was lying, she knew there were things he wasn’t saying.
“Uh-huh.” She looked over her shoulder at Kerry and Alicia, who were picking up their purses from the kitchen counter. “Would you two believe that the guys have been over here stressing over our picnic for the past fifteen minutes? I think they’re worried we won’t be able to get a good spot on the beach, since it’s the weekend and tourist season and all. It’s cute how this means so much to them.”
“We could always eat at a nearby park and hit the beach afterward if space is really an issue,” Alicia said.
Sasha had to resist the urge to roll her eyes. Alicia was so head over heels for Liam that she wouldn’t even poke fun of him when he was in macho mode. Then again…
Liam had jumped out of a burning building and attacked a knife-wielding psychopath, saving Alicia’s life. In light of that, Sasha decided to cut him a little slack.
“All right guys.” She smiled. “Whatever you say. Are you ready to leave?”
Grey returned her grin, but when she turned away and they all began filing out the door, she could’ve sworn she heard him say something under his breath. Something like: “I don’t trust that smile.”
Well, she didn’t trust him either. Or Liam or Henry, for that matter.
Oh, she knew they’d do anything to protect her, Kerry and Alicia, but something told her that they were dead set on ruining the fun, relaxing day she’d planned in the process.
It was really hard to give them all a break when they refused to take one.
* * * * *
Henry’s big blue Dodge Ram truck could hold 6 passengers. Could. Normally, Sasha would’ve questioned whether that meant it should when they had half a dozen vehicles between them, but since she was squashed cozily beside Henry, she wasn’t complaining.
She was sweating a little, though – walking just a few of Wilmington’s city blocks in the July heat had been a searing experience.
At least she wasn’t in the back seat. Henry claimed the reason why he’d chosen a truck with such a large cab was so that Wolf could have the back seat to lie down and stretch out on when they went places
together. The dog’s silver-grey hair showed up brilliantly against the black seats. Alicia, Liam and Grey would no doubt have to pick a few off of their clothing later.
Kerry sat up front with Sasha and Henry. Grey had made a big show of making sure Kerry took the front right passenger seat, which he claimed was the best seat in the truck.
Even now, Sasha was barely able to suppress a snort of laughter. Grey was so obviously into Kerry that he might as well start wearing a neon sign proclaiming his enormous crush on her.
“Whew,” Sasha said as Henry steered out of the parking garage, “thank God Wrightsville Beach is just a few minutes from here. I can’t wait to wade in the water.”
“We’re not going to Wrightsville Beach,” Henry said, stopping at an intersection to let a horse-drawn tour carriage roll through.
“What?” Sasha twisted in her seat in an attempt to meet his gaze, but he stared straight ahead at the road, no matter how hard she narrowed her eyes at him. “We are most certainly going to Wrightsville Beach. I spent hours making all the picnic food!”
She was so riled up at the thought of her cooking going to waste that she didn’t even look away from Henry to stare at a film set two blocks away. The street had been blocked off, and there were telltale vehicles and people everywhere. Passers-by lingered with their phones out, snapping pictures.
Lots of TV shows and movies were filmed in Wilmington, and she normally stopped to stare in hopes of spying a hot actor. Today, she couldn’t have cared less. The film set faded into the distance as she drilled Henry with fierce eye contact.
“Relax,” Grey piped up. “We’re still going to the beach. Does it matter which one?”
“Apparently it does.” Sasha didn’t remove her gaze from Henry. “If we’re not going to Wrightsville, where are we going?”
“Carolina Beach,” Henry said.
“Carolina Beach?” Sasha knew the place. It was on an island about a 20 minute drive away. She’d been there a few times before, sometimes for festivals and once to visit the aquarium at the other end of the island.
“They have a drive-on section of the beach, up at the north end. Freeman Park.”
“I didn’t know you guys wanted to go to a drive-on beach.”
“A drive-on beach means we won’t have to heft all the picnic supplies through a parking lot and down beach access steps. You packed enough to feed an army.”
“There are only three coolers.” Okay, so there were three coolers and a bag of plastic dinnerware, plates and napkins. And another full of the stuff that didn’t need to be kept cool. “I guess it’s no big deal though. Carolina Beach is nice.”
Well, now she knew why they’d all had to ride together in Henry’s truck – only 4 wheel drive vehicles were allowed on the drive-on beach.
The guys’ desire to go to Carolina instead of Wrightsville made sense when Henry said it out loud, with the explanation about the convenience of not having to carry heavy coolers. There was only one hole in his logic…
The guys weren’t really the type to drive an extra twenty minutes each way just to get out of carrying coolers. No, not at all. In fact, Grey would probably have relished the chance to carry one on his own, showing off for Kerry. Which meant they’d had an ulterior motive in changing locations.
When they finally got through the thick-as-mud tourist traffic streaming toward the island for the weekend, Sasha couldn’t keep quiet anymore.
“So tell me, did the decision to go to Carolina Beach have anything to do with the fact that there’s only one way on and off an island? I mean, if Randy Levinson was here, he’d be easier to catch, wouldn’t he? No one’s getting through this traffic in a hurry. You guys are probably hoping you’ll spot him tanning on the beach so you can throw him into the back of the conveniently-located truck, aren’t you?”
For a few seconds, nobody said anything.
“We don’t think we’re going to see Randy Levinson here,” Henry finally said. “We chose this beach because we don’t think he’ll be here. We wanted to get farther away from Riley County and Wilmington, since we figure those are the two most likely places he could be.”
“I knew all this had something to do with him.”
“Does it really matter?” Henry looked away from the road for a split second, locking her in brief but intense eye contact. “Here, we can enjoy the beach without having to constantly look over our shoulders.”
Ha. As far as Sasha could tell, Henry looked over his shoulder at least every other minute, no matter what the circumstances. But at the moment he looked so sincere – and so hot – that she just smiled.
“No, it’s not a big deal. I just wondered what you guys were hiding. I can’t wait to spend a day at the beach – which one doesn’t matter.”
No matter where their location, she’d get to spend the day relaxing, enjoying good food – if she did say so herself – and indulging in an eye candy buffet comprised of shirtless Henry, Grey and Liam. They were all sure to draw every female eye on the beach, though Henry was the hottest of the three by a landslide. His muscles were perfect, and the scars on his back made him look tough and rugged. His gorgeous fair hair contrasted with the uber-masculinity of the rest of his features, setting them off.
She couldn’t wait to strip out of her cover-up dress and down to her red bikini so she could show off a little. Henry would finally be distracted from her fading black eye, and by the time they left the beach, he’d be ready to jump into bed with her again … and stay there all night. She was sure of it.
* * * * *
It was twilight and Henry had never been so glad to pull into his own driveway. Nothing but the scents of sea salt and sunblock filled the back seat of his truck – he’d dropped Liam, Grey, Alicia and Kerry off at Liam and Alicia’s place. Sasha had followed him back to his house in her car, and he was finally about to be alone with her – a fact his dick was acutely aware of, as if it had a mind of its own.
He was back to wondering what kind of blows his health might suffer at the hands of blood deprivation to his actual brain. Not that he was really complaining. He’d been feeling like shit ever since he’d accidentally knocked Sasha out of bed a couple nights ago, and he’d winced that morning when he’d first caught sight of her at Liam and Alicia’s place. The bruise was fading, but still visible.
Still, sometime over the course of the day – probably the moment when she’d stripped down to her bikini – his guilt had been superseded by aching desire.
Desire that’d flared into a supernova of lust when she’d suggested that he bring her back to his place. She hadn’t even bothered to make any excuses as to why – they both knew why. And while he’d been too disgusted with himself to touch her a mere 48 hours ago, a day of watching her flaunting on the beach had him fairly certain it’d kill him not to touch her.
She’d flirted with him all day, smiling and touching him at every opportunity. Each brush of her fingertips and flash of her teeth had made him feel 10 feet tall.
Rubbing sunblock onto her back for her had given him a boner from hell, and he’d had to put a towel in his lap to avoid looking like some kind of creep perving around a family beach.
He was just as hard now, and it was all he could think about as he climbed out of his truck and stepped down onto the driveway, keys jingling and gravel crunching beneath his flip-flops. He still wore his swim shorts along with an old, sand-colored t-shirt from his Marine Corps days. The shorts did nothing to hide his raging erection – hopefully his elderly neighbor, Ms. Keller, wasn’t looking out her window.
Sasha flashed Henry a smile as she stepped out of her car. He knew that smile – it was the same one she’d flashed him when she’d asked him to apply sunblock to her back.
“So I was thinking…” she said, sauntering toward him, her curves clearly visible beneath her slightly damp cover-up dress.
She never got a chance to finish what she’d been saying. A loud pop exploded by Henry’s right ear, the sound of a hole be
ing punched in his truck. He recognized the sound immediately for what it was, even though the noise of discharge had been muffled. Suppressed on purpose, probably.
“Get down!” He lunged at Sasha, pushing her down into the gravel.
CHAPTER 21
Sure enough, another bullet hit the side of his truck just a few feet above the ground they were sprawled on.
He met her gaze for the briefest of moments and saw a wild-eyed look of fear. The sight of it sent a clawing feeling tearing through his chest, and he tightened his hold on her, afraid she’d try to get back up.
“Stay right here,” he said, infusing his words with as much urgency as he could. “Don’t move. Don’t get up. Don’t even lift your head.”
He stayed low to the ground, crouching as he rounded the truck and climbed back into the driver’s side, reaching under the seat. As soon as his fingertips touched metal, his erratic heartbeat began to stabilize. It was still pounding like a race horse’s hooves against a track, but that was all right. He could do this.
A quick look around the front of the truck showed him nothing and nearly got him shot in the head. There was no question that the person firing on him was hiding in the woods, but they were hiding well – Henry couldn’t see them.
Which meant that to stop them, he’d have to go where they were.
He didn’t hesitate, didn’t let himself think about how his truck was starting to look like a block of Swiss cheese. He just ran toward the noise of gunfire. Another shot came, louder than the last, as the suppressor’s effectiveness waned. It missed him, and he had the presence of mind to zigzag, making himself a less stable target.
He felt the air drag created by the next bullet as it whistled past. He ran harder, faster, tearing through underbrush as it tangled around his feet.