Waiting For Wren (Book Five In The Bodyguards Of L.A. County Series)

by Beauman, Cate

“Staci.”

  Her eyes sobered, and she touched his cheek.

  “I’m going to reopen her case—unofficially.”

  “How do you go about doing that?”

  “Basically, I’m going to go back to the beginning. Start from scratch, study all the evidence and see if I can flush out something that got missed.”

  “Is the police department going to cooperate?”

  He shrugged. “Probably not, but I wasn’t planning on asking. Luckily I know this computer geek who can hack his way through any firewall out there, and he doesn’t have to follow procedure.”

  She traced his ear. “You’re going to ask my brother for help.”

  “I’m not sure how enthused he’ll be after we more or less told each other to fuck off, but at the end of the day, I need him if I’m going to find out who killed Staci. He’s the best at what he does. These idiots here don’t have a freaking clue.”

  “You and Ethan might be at odds, but he’s still your friend.” She kissed his chin.

  “I know.”

  “He’ll help you because you deserve to know the answers.”

  He nodded and grabbed her hand, kissing her fingers.

  “I want to help you too.”

  He rested his forehead against hers.

  She hugged him. “I want you to have some peace, Tucker. I want that for you more than anything.”

  “I guess today’s the perfect day to go back to her room.” He didn’t want to. He didn’t want to keep reliving her death.

  “But it upsets you.”

  “I need to try to put the emotions away. I need to stop looking at this as her brother and look at this through a cop’s eyes.” Which would be a hell of a lot easier said than done.

  “I’ll come with you.”

  “You don’t have to.”

  “Let me help you, Tucker.”

  He nodded. “Okay. Let’s have some breakfast first.”

  “I need a shower—big time.”

  “Shower, then breakfast. Good idea.”

  “Separate showers.” She drilled her finger into his chin.

  He nuzzled her neck. “What’s the fun in that?”

  “I’m all finished with fun for the moment. Jelly legs, remember? I’ll be lucky if I can stand up.”

  “I should definitely join you then. Safety first.”

  She grinned. “Nice try.”

  “Tough sell.” He reached below the blanket and found her soft, tender flesh and began to stroke and circle.

  Closing her eyes, she hummed in her throat. “Tucker. Showers.”

  “Are you sure I can’t persuade you into letting me join you?”

  “Nope. My minds made up.” She pushed at his shoulder.

  Fighting dirty, he slipped a finger inside.

  She froze, bit her lip, and moaned as she clutched at his arm. “Unfair,” she shuddered.

  “Maybe.” His finger moved about as he kissed her breast.

  “Okay. You win.”

  He grinned. “Baby, we’re both going to win. Wrap your legs around me. Your feet never have to touch the floor.”

  She did as she was told, and he awkwardly got out of the bed with her twined around him. “Cold. It’s cold.” She clutched herself tighter.

  “Only for a minute.” He grabbed his gun, captured her mouth, and locked the bathroom door behind them, setting the weapon on the counter. He twisted on the shower faucet, waiting for the steam, and walked them in to the warm spray. “Cooke,” he said against her lips as he pressed her to the wall. “We’re not leaving here until we both have to crawl.” He thrust himself deep and she groaned. “Better hang on.”

  It was well after noon by the time they started down the hall toward Staci’s room. Wren was sorry to see the light leave Tucker’s eyes the closer they walked. They had a fun morning making each other crazy in the shower, on the bathroom counter, then back in the bedroom again, before they ate ravenously and laughed at the old sitcom playing on the small kitchen television.

  Something had changed between them during the night as he held on to her, distraught over his sister. Their loving had been different—intimate, powerful—while they clung to each other in bed. In those moments by the fire, he’d given her his trust. She’d asked for it—demanded it—and he’d been willing to try. Now, as they walked together hand-in-hand, she understood she needed to do the same. Somehow after sharing what they did, the idea of giving Tucker everything wasn’t quite so scary…sort of.

  They stopped in front of the closed door, and he sighed.

  She gave his hand a supportive squeeze. “You don’t have to do this.”

  “Yes, I do.”

  They both knew he did.

  “I’ll be right here with you.”

  He brought her fingers to his lips, kissed them. “You have no idea how much that means.”

  Probably not nearly as much as he was starting to mean to her. She pressed her palm to his cheek, touched by his sweet gesture. “Ready?”

  He nodded and opened the door.

  They stood in the doorway for several seconds, then entered the shrine to a beautiful life cut short. Tucker’s jaw clenched as he stared at the floor.

  This was a bad idea. Then she remembered him telling her that he had to stop looking at Staci’s case through a brother’s eyes. She desperately wanted him to click into ‘cop mode’ and escape some of his pain. “What—what would you do if you were still a detective?”

  “I would talk to witnesses, study the crime scene photographs, try to get in the victim’s and the killer’s heads.”

  “You were the first witness.”

  He looked at her. “I was the only witness. My mom tried to come back here, but I wouldn’t let her.”

  She bit her lip, unsure of what she needed to do to make this even a little easier. “I—she—that was for the best. What would you ask your witnesses?”

  “I would want to know what they heard, saw, etcetera. This guy studied Staci. He knew her routine—all of ours.” He rubbed at his forehead. “At some point one of us had to have seen him.”

  “Here. Come here.” She tugged his hand as she sat on the bed.

  He hesitated. “I can’t. We used to sit there and talk about everything or nothing at all.”

  She rushed to her feet. “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s okay. I guess the best place for me to start is by asking myself the questions I would ask someone else.”

  She nodded. “Good idea.”

  “The night it happened, we had gone to a movie. Staci, me, JT, and Jasmine. We saw a Will Smith flick. I didn’t care much about what was going on on the screen; I had the hots for Jasmine. I wanted the credits to roll so we could get to the part where I took her home and got to kiss her goodnight.”

  Wren rolled her eyes. “Why am I not surprised?”

  He smiled, then it vanished. “It was my turn to drive. Staci and I had to share the car that summer—a small bone of contention. Anyway, I drove like a moron, trying to impress my girl. Pissed Staci off, but JT and I had a hell of a time.”

  “Did JT and Staci date?”

  He shook his head. “Nah. They were just friends. Staci wasn’t into the whole dating scene. She always told me I dated enough for the both of us.”

  “So what about JT?”

  He shrugged. “I think he got around when he wanted to. He and I, we never talked about girls much—mostly sports and working out.”

  She glanced at the photos. “He was a pretty handsome guy—still is.”

  “Sure.”

  “Very successful and kind, despite his mother.” She narrowed her eyes, shook her head. “Sorry. Keep going.”

  “We let JT off and set up p
lans for the next day—baseball game, then Jasmine suggested I drop Staci off first. She wanted me to walk her home.”

  “I’m sure she did.”

  He grinned. “Hey, I had moves.”

  He still did, but she scoffed for form.

  “Staci went inside, and Jasmine and I walked to her house. She lived four houses down. We made a date for the lake, played a little tonsil hockey, and I left.”

  “Didn’t it creep you out, walking alone in the dark?”

  “I was a jock with a date to the lake. I wasn’t thinking about anything but getting laid.”

  “It’s just so dark here.”

  “Yeah. Good for stargazing. Staci loved—” His hand tensed against hers.

  “What?”

  “I forgot. I completely forgot until now.”

  “What?”

  “There was something in the woods that night—scared the shit out of me. Ms. Hayes told us to be careful. A couple of cats had been seen in the area. I tucked tail and booked it the hell home, certain I was going to be a bobcat’s next snack.” His eyes sharpened. “What if it wasn’t a fucking cat?”

  She shuddered at the idea.

  “Son of a bitch. Staci’s killer had to know my father was gone. I was the other obstacle. But if it was him, why didn’t he just off me instead of risk getting caught?”

  “I don’t know.” This was so out of her realm.

  He dropped her hand and pulled the pad from his jean pocket, scribbling something down, and shoved it back.

  “Did anything else happen? Were there any other noises?”

  “No, just branches snapping. I hauled ass home, slammed the door behind me, told my mom I was home, and forgot about the whole thing. I was so preoccupied with the car and taking Jasmine to the lake. It was Staci’s turn to have the Mustang the next day, and I needed it. I found her in the hot tub staring up at the stars. We talked for a while. We made a deal with the car in which I got completely hosed, then I told her we should go in. She said she wasn’t tired, we made fun of my dad a little bit, and she told me she loved me. I told her I loved her too, even though she was a brat.” He steamed a breath through his nose and closed his eyes.

  Wren stepped closer, slid her arm around his back, and rested her cheek against his chest.

  He wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “If I’d stayed with her, she would still be here.”

  “You didn’t know. How could you have possibly known, Tucker?”

  He shrugged. “I was thinking more about my dick than my sister.”

  “Which is completely normal. I’m sure Ethan thought more about his penis too, which is actually pretty gross, and I don’t want to think about that.”

  A quick chuckle escaped him, and he squeezed her closer. “Damn, Cooke, I don’t know what I’d do without you.” He kissed her hair.

  She looked up and smiled.

  “I should have made her come in with me.”

  Her brow rose as she continued to look at him. “She told you she wasn’t ready. If you had insisted, she would have dug in her heels. I’m a sister myself, Tucker.”

  “Yeah, I guess.”

  “You’re looking at this in hindsight. There is no way you could have known what was to happen.”

  “I would give anything to change it.”

  She held him tighter, wishing she could change the outcome for him.

  “I don’t know what happened next. I crawled into bed, slid my headphones on, and put Pearl Jam on repeat. He must’ve waited awhile after I went in. I think I dozed off, then I heard a loud bump in Staci’s room. I didn’t think anything of it. I closed my eyes and went back to sleep. My sister was being raped and strangled right here, and I slept through it.” He shook his head and turned away from the spot on the floor. “I can hardly stand it.”

  Wren said nothing as she stared at his back. There was no use telling him everything was going to be okay, because it wasn’t.

  “He tied her hands behind her back, raped her, strangled her. She must have been so scared, fucking terrified. Why didn’t she scream for me, goddammit?” He dropped to a crouch and pressed his hands to his face. “Why didn’t she fucking scream for help?”

  Wren crouched next to him and hugged him, struggling to keep her tears at bay. He needed her strength right now.

  “He probably threatened to hurt me and Mom, so she kept her mouth shut. Fucking bastard didn’t even give her a fighting chance. He was methodical and cruel—waited until he’d squeezed the life out of her before he freed her hands from behind her back. He cut the nylon from her wrists and neck postmortem, placed her arms above her head, left her naked and spread eagle.” Tucker rushed to his feet again and pressed his hands flat on the dresser. “Her shoulder was dislocated. The medical examiner said it was from struggling while he choked her to death.”

  “Oh god, Tucker.” She’d never ached so much for another.

  “We never did find her bathing suit or the rope. He fucking took them with him. His trophies.”

  Not only had Tucker seen too much, but he knew too much—the hazards of the profession he had chosen. She tugged at his shoulder. “Come on. It’s time to go.”

  He whirled. “How can I solve her case if I can’t even stand in this goddamn room?”

  His venom startled her, but she took his arm and pulled again. His anger was with the situation, not her. “You’ve done enough today. You remembered the noises in the woods. You need a break.”

  He yanked away. “A break? There’s no timeout from violent death, Wren. I can’t just put it away. There are answers here. There has to be, and I’m going to find them.”

  Her first instinct was to tell him to go to hell as he lashed out at her, but she stood her ground. “They’ll be waiting for you after a breather. You’re upset, which means you aren’t thinking clearly.”

  “Suddenly she’s a detective.”

  She pressed her lips into a thin line, holding his angry gaze. “I’m sorry about Staci, Tucker, more sorry than you could possibly know. I can’t even begin to fathom how hard this is, having to relive her worst moments, but you’re being a jerk. If you would like me to leave, say the word.”

  “Things getting too emotional? I know how that trips you up.” Misery swam in his eyes as he turned away again.

  He was hurting and trying to hurt her in the process—it was working. “I’ll take that as you want to be alone.” She left the room, starting toward her own.

  “Cooke.”

  She hesitated halfway down the hall but kept going.

  “Cooke, don’t go.”

  She stopped and turned as he walked to her.

  “I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” he repeated as he swept her up in a hug. “I’m sorry,” he said again as he crushed her against him.

  She returned his embrace, brushing her fingers through the back of his hair. “It’s okay.”

  “No, it’s not. Not even a little.”

  “This is hard, Tucker. I’m trying to help and understand.”

  “This is tearing me up. I don’t know how to handle it. I never really have, but that doesn’t mean you get to be the punching bag.” He brushed her lips. “I’m sorry,” he whispered once more.

  “It’s already forgotten.”

  “I need to talk to Ethan and have him get me everything in the files—local and FBI. I can’t do much else until I have it.”

  “What can I do?” She rested her hands on his hips. “What else do you need?”

  “You.”

  Her heart beat a little faster as he stared in her eyes. “I’m right here.”

  He leaned his forehead against hers. “Will you make us grilled cheese and soup while I put in a few calls?”

  “Comfort food.”

 
“There’s nothing better than grilled cheese.”

  “I agree.”

  “Will you watch a movie with me? I want to feel normal, for us to be normal—just for one night.”

  The peace she so desperately wanted him to have—and to give him. “You’re in luck, because I can deliver on all of these things. No crazy stalkers, no Staci talk. Just you and me, grilled cheese, and a funny movie.”

  “And maybe some sex? I can’t get enough of you, Cooke.”

  She smiled as he grinned. “A completely normal night should definitely include sex.”

  He chuckled, hugged her tight, and they walked down the hall, going their separate ways.

  He put the key in the lock, quietly opened the door, and punched in the code, closing himself in the dark. He crept further into the house, soaking up the warmth, straining his ears, listening for any movements down the hall. All was silent.

  He turned toward the opposite wing, making his way through the great room, careful not to trip or bang into furnishings along the way. Excitement and adrenaline coursed through his veins as he moved past the kitchen. More than a decade had passed since he’d made this journey. Now that he was here, time vanished, and he was young again, eager and ready to follow through with his plan.

  His heart pounded as he stepped closer and stopped at the second door on the left, his hand shaking on the knob as he let himself in. He paused, blinking, as he looked around. Everything was the same—the mint green walls, the letters spelling out her name, the dozens of photographs scattered about.

  He walked to her side table and touched her beautiful face in the frame, stroking at her cheek as he looked into her smiling hazel eyes. His first. His best. Staci. She’d been perfect, so tight and warm, while he fumbled his way through. And how she’d stared at him, those same eyes huge, while he squeezed the nylon, taking her last breath.

  He shuddered, fully aroused as he pulled down her pink and white striped sheets, and freed himself from his pants, tugged, groaned, and left his present just for her. He dipped his finger in his mess and left his message, then took the ties from his pocket, kissed them lovingly, lost in his memories, and set them in their place.