His jaw flexed and he released her hand to draw the covers over them both.
“Wait. I need to get up and grab my PJ’s in the bathroom.” She sat up and began to swing her legs off the bed when he snagged her wrist in his tight grip and pulled her back down to his side.
“No. I want you to stay the way you are right now. I want to be able to roll over and wake you up properly.”
Well, then...
“You’re not going to wake up and go for a ten-mile run, do a thousand pushups and five hundred jumping jacks?”
“I don’t do jumping jacks. I do mountain climbers.”
It was Londyn’s turn to roll her eyes. She snuggled under the covers next to him, absorbing his body heat. “You make me feel like a slacker.”
“No judgment, right?”
She twisted her lips. “Right.”
He brushed his lips over the top of her head, which she had planted once again on his chest. “Better sleep because oh-six-hundred comes early.”
“Oh-six-hundred?”
“You’ll be my warm-up for my run. I need to run early because of us being in Satan’s sweaty armpit, remember?”
Right. “Maybe I should walk around the block while you run.”
“Again, no judgement, Londyn. If you want to walk, you walk. You want to swim, you swim. You want to have breakfast waiting for me once I’m done, I’m okay with that, too. If you want to be that breakfast, even better.”
He’d caused her to smile more in the last few days than she had in a long time.
Was he perfect? Definitely not. But damn well close enough.
Brick shifted and blew out a soft breath as he listened to Londyn’s snoring. She had rolled away from him after falling asleep. Most likely his body temp was too hot for her. It was better she did, anyway. At home he sometimes awoke to sweaty, twisted sheets.
Which meant he had taken a trip back there again.
If he got too restless, he might hurt her by kicking or hitting her without knowing.
The last thing he wanted to do was hurt her.
But there was one person he did want to hurt.
A man only two doors down. Someone probably lying in his bed, fantasizing about doing the same things to Londyn that Brick did earlier.
His jaw tightened at the urge to smash Kramer’s face in with the butt of his rifle.
He didn’t like this feeling clawing at his gut, messing with his brain. He never felt it before, but he knew exactly what it was.
Because the more Kramer looked at Londyn, the stronger that feeling became.
His thumb spun the wedding band on his ring finger. Her being in his bed, him wearing that ring. Both of them being in Florida.
It was all temporary.
They were on a job. They were playing their parts. They were doing what needed to be done.
But, fuck him, if it wasn’t going to fuck with his head to do it.
Chapter Eleven
Londyn studied the woman sitting across from her in the little café where they decided to grab lunch. She was trying not glance at the time, but Brick had given her the order to keep Barb occupied as long as possible.
In the few hours she spent with her, she couldn’t see the woman harming a flea. She also couldn’t imagine Barb having anything to do with helping Kramer commit murder.
But psychopaths could be very deceiving.
Now they had food in their belly, loads of charges on their credit cards, and too many bags in the trunk of Barb’s car, it was time to start digging a little deeper, just like she’d wanted to do with Brick the other night.
“You and Chris seem so happy.”
Barb sighed, sitting back on her side of the booth, and returned Londyn’s smile. “We are.”
“How long have you been together?”
“About a year and a half now, but I’ve known him a lot longer. We moved down here after his first wife died.”
“Did you know his late wife?”
“We were friends.”
Yikes! “Oh! I’m so sorry for your loss. I had no idea. I don’t think either of you had mentioned Chris was a widower.”
Had she sunk her claws into Kramer before or after his wife died? Was it more than about the insurance settlement? Had Kramer wanted to be free of his wife to be with Barb? Were they having an affair before the murder?
Dun dun dun duuuuuun.
“We found consolation with each other after Teresa died.”
Sure they did.
“And things developed from there.”
No kidding.
“Well, at least you found solace within each other’s arms. And love, too, right?”
“Oh yes.” Barb’s expression actually became...
Dreamy.
Now, admittedly, Kramer was a good-looking man, but he wasn’t nearly as dreamy as Brick.
Londyn mentally rolled her eyes at herself.
“I’m sure her passing was hard on Chris. Did she suffer long?” Holy smokes, she normally hated asking those types of questions. But she was there to dig, right?
Though, even if she wasn’t, she was nosy.
“It was quite tragic.”
Londyn leaned forward with interest and waited for Barb to continue.
“It was a freak accident, really. Teresa had gone to take a bath, slipped in the tub and smacked her head. The impact must have knocked her out and she drowned.”
A chill slithered down Londyn’s spine. “I thought Chris worked from home. He didn’t hear her fall or cry out?”
“He does, but he had gone out to run an errand when it happened. When he found her, she was already,” Barb dropped her voice to a whisper, “gone.”
Well, wasn’t that convenient?
“He must have been devastated. And it had to be even tougher on him if he found her.”
“Yes, he struggled with dealing with her loss for a while.”
Until the life insurance payout came along. Cha-ching. After payday, move with your new girlfriend into a larger luxury home in another state.
“He was lucky you were there for him.”
“I’m lucky to have him.”
Until he kills you, too.
“You’re the silver lining,” Londyn mumbled, disturbed at her own line of thinking.
She should feel bad about already condemning Kramer with murder when they hadn’t had a chance yet to dig around for proof. And there was no guarantee they’d even find it. But tonight Brick had a plan to at least get into the house. Londyn needed to continue to play her part to make sure the plan was successful.
If there was proof, the sooner Brick found it, the sooner they could head back to a cooler climate.
Not that Londyn had any idea where she’d go from there once that happened. It would be a good idea to start figuring that out before their job in Florida was over, even if she decided to stay in Pennsylvania near her sister.
Barb’s next words drew her out of her thoughts. “Again, I’m sorry I had to leave early the other night. I feel awful for ditching that wonderful dinner.”
“You felt awful, that’s why you left. Was your headache a migraine?”
“Yes, I get them often.”
Londyn picked up her invisible shovel and began to dig deeper. “Have you always had them?”
“They began about nine months ago, once we moved to Florida.”
Londyn’s skin prickled.
“Chris thinks it could be due to the heat and humidity. But sometimes they are so bad, I can’t even function for days and it causes me to... sorry... throw up. Unfortunately, it’s hurting my editing business. If I can’t edit, then I can’t earn my fees.”
“You never had any migraines before moving here?” And, more importantly, moving in with Kramer. “Did they start out bad?”
“No, like I said, I never got them before we moved here and they’ve gotten worse with time. I’ve mentioned moving back north to Chris, if they continue.”
She guessed it would be a co
ld day in Satan’s sweaty armpit before that happened. “And he says...?”
“We might have to wait awhile, since moving again so soon would financially cripple us.”
Sure it would. Londyn wondered if Barb even knew what Teresa’s life insurance payout was.
“What does your doctor say?”
“He put me on medication, but it hasn’t helped.”
Of course not.
Londyn reached across the table and patted Barb’s hand. “I’m so sorry you have to deal with that.” And she genuinely meant it. She hoped Brick was wrong and the woman wasn’t involved in Teresa’s death and she really hoped Kramer wasn’t trying to “off” Barb, too. But Londyn had watched a lot of repeat episodes of Dateline NBC and she didn’t put it past anyone to do some heinous shit out of greed.
People were whacked.
Barb squeezed Londyn’s hand and gave her a bright smile. “Well, not today! Today I got to spend the day with a new friend without a hint of a headache so far. Even better, the day is still young. We have plenty of time for me to show you around some more.”
Londyn pulled her hand away and gave her a wink. “And run up the balance on our men’s credit cards.”
“Exactly!” the other woman chirped.
Londyn had a feeling she’d be running around tomorrow returning everything she bought today. She certainly wasn’t using Brick’s AmEx, not that he offered, and since leaving New York, she didn’t have a job. Her savings were slowly dwindling and would continue to do so until she sold her house up north. Even then, she didn’t hold a lot of equity in that house.
And fuck Kevin if he asked for half of it. She’d slice off his balls and mail them to his wife.
Or maybe she’d introduce Kevin to Christopher Kramer.
She covered her face to smother her snort. Being in Satan’s sweaty armpit was starting to make her think evil thoughts.
Brick rang the doorbell and took a step back. As he heard the heavy footsteps approaching, he scrubbed a hand down his face.
Show time.
He needed to play the concerned and controlling husband, but also make nice with Kramer. He never said he was an actor, but he’d do the best he could.
There was a pause at the door—probably Kramer looking through the peephole—before it swung open.
He plastered a concerned, but slightly annoyed, look on his face. “Hey, Chris. Sorry to bug you.”
“What’s up?”
“Is Gertrude here?”
“Uh, nooo,” Kramer dragged out. “They haven’t gotten back yet.”
Brick scratched at the whiskers under his chin. “Huh. I’ve been calling her and she’s not answering. That’s not like her and I’m getting a bit concerned.”
“Maybe her battery died.”
“No, that’s not it.”
Kramer shot him a frown. “How do you know?”
He tilted his head and gave Kramer a knowing look. “I just do.” Londyn had texted him a warning that they were on their way back to Kramer's house and would arrive in fifteen, that was how he knew. “Do you mind if I wait? I want to make sure she doesn’t hide any of her purchases.”
There it was. Concern with just a hint of dominance. Hollywood would soon be knocking down his door.
“Uh, sure.” Kramer opened the door wider and stepped back. “I’m done for the day and was planning on grabbing a beer and sitting out back for a while, if you want to join me.”
Brick smiled big. “Would love a beer. Might cool down my temper a little bit.”
He hadn’t seen any evidence of it the other night at dinner, so he had no idea if Kramer was some abusive asshole with a bad temper and that’s why he killed his wife, or if he was simply a greedy motherfucker, to whom money was more important than a life. Either way, it couldn’t hurt to pretend he was capable of smacking Londyn around when she got out of line. It might open the man up if he commiserated.
It was a long shot, but he had to put out some more feelers to figure out if the man was capable of killing his wife. And if so, see if he could dig up any proof. Because without it, Diesel’s client, Kramer’s former father-in-law, was dead in the water with his claim of homicide.
Unless Kramer out and out admitted it, which he’d be a fool to do, trying to find proof was going to be about impossible. But the client had the cash, and he wanted something done, so Diesel agreed to at least give it a shot.
Brick could imagine a father’s frustration thinking his son-in-law killed his daughter and was getting off scot-free. If it was his own daughter, Brick would do anything to change that. So, he understood the need at least try to uncover the truth.
He only hoped he found something. But it was like searching for the proverbial needle in the haystack. If law enforcement and the medical examiner couldn’t prove it was homicide, then he wasn’t sure he’d be able to, either.
Even so, he’d damn well give it a fucking shot.
Brick followed Kramer into the house, down a hallway and into a large, very neat kitchen, checking out some of the home’s layout as they passed. Kramer grabbed two bottles of craft beer from the fridge and they headed out to the pool to wait.
They didn’t have to wait long.
He was just starting to chat up Kramer when they heard female voices.
A few minutes later, the doors to the deck opened and the women stepped out, squawking with surprise to find the men together.
It might be a surprise to Barb, but Londyn knew the plan.
“Well, there you go. No worries. They’re both back safe and sound,” Kramer announced, like Brick couldn’t see that with his own two eyes through the glasses he fucking hated.
“Where’s your phone?” Brick asked Londyn sharply.
Her mouth dropped open but quickly snapped shut. “In my purse.”
“And where’s your purse?”
Londyn hesitated for a second then slipped into perfect character by letting a tinge of fear cross her face before quickly hiding it. “By the front door with my bags.”
“I was trying to call you.”
She wiped hands down both sides of her thighs nervously. “Oh... I’m sorry, honey. I didn’t hear my phone.”
Kramer interrupted them in an effort to break the tension. “Hey, I can throw some burgers on the grill. It’s not the steak you served us the other night, but...”
Brick forced a smile. “Burgers and beer are perfect. Right, muffin?”
Londyn also shot Kramer a blinding smile that was obviously fake. “Sure. That sounds wonderful.”
“Barb,” Kramer called out to the woman who had frozen in place during Brick and Londyn’s tight, but perfectly executed, exchange. “I’ll get the grill fired up, if you want to make a couple sides and then bring out the burgers and fixings?”
That got Barb moving. “I can do that.” She quickly scurried back inside.
“Why don’t you go in and help her, Gertie?” Brick suggested in a way that didn’t sound like a suggestion at all.
She gave him a crooked smile. “I’d be glad to.”
As she turned to follow Barb inside at a much slower pace, Brick stopped her by calling out, “Did you forget something?”
With one hand on the door handle, Londyn glanced over her shoulder. When Brick tipped his chin up and tapped his finger on his lips, she looked at him in confusion.
He could see her fighting not to roll her eyes as she changed her path and strode across the deck to him. But she failed to hide that eye roll as she leaned down to plant a kiss on his mouth. Before she rose, he snaked out his hand, drove his fingers roughly into her hair and fisted it tightly to keep her close.
“Good girl,” he whispered against her lips, knowing Kramer’s eyes were locked on them and his ears were probably straining to not miss a word. Brick held her in place a few seconds longer, then released her.
Her mouth opened and nothing but air came out until she gathered her wits and answered with a husky, “Thank you, honey.”
; Was she thanking him for calling her a “good girl?” Damn, she was good at this shit. “Daddy,” he corrected on a growl.
Seriously, Golden Globe worthy.
“Thank you, Daddy.”
As she turned to go inside, he slapped her ass hard enough to make her squeak and jump.
Brick watched her disappear into the house before turning his attention back to Kramer who was standing frozen by the grill, a spatula lifted in his hand and a look on his face Brick did not like but had to tolerate.
The man looked hungry, but not for hamburgers, when he asked, “What’d she do wrong today?”
She did nothing wrong, so far. She did everything right. But he couldn’t say that to Kramer. “Spent too much money. She had an allowance and she went over it.”
Kramer frowned. “How do you know?”
“I monitored the credit card while they were out.”
“Why didn’t you just tell her to stop buying when you noticed?”
Brick smiled and shook his head, acting like Kramer didn’t “get it” at all. “What fun would that be, Chris?”
“I’m guessing for you, no fun at all.”
“And you’d be correct.” He rose from the Adirondack chair where he sat and moved closer to the grill, which Kramer was lighting. “Barb doesn’t get an allowance?”
“She makes her own money. But, thankfully, she’s pretty frugal.”
Right, more money for him.
“Gertie loves to spend. Overspend, more like it. I have to remind her sometimes that I’m not made of money.”
“You probably do all right being a software engineer.”
Shit, he did not want the conversation turning toward a career he hardly knew anything about. “I do all right, but I’d like to do better. I’d appreciate some more of those stock tips, if you have them.”
“Sure.” Kramer grinned and echoed, “I do all right.”
“I’m sure you do,” Brick muttered. Especially using a couple million from his wife’s “accidental” death.
But, luckily, the market was a topic Kramer liked to talk about, and like the other night he went on and on about it, with Brick encouraging him with an occasional question until he wanted to poke his fucking ear drums out.
Guts & Glory: Brick (In the Shadows Security Book 6) Page 13