Kerry

I feel small.

I sit here and listen to his boots thumping down the stairs, without moving. I want to call him back, tell him I’m sorry, that I didn’t mean to give him a hard time, but the truth is: I was a bitch.

He’s right, I’m scared, tired, and mentally exhausted, and I fully took it out on him. Then to add insult to injury, I painted him with my ex’s legacy. Accusing him of something I know in my heart is not him at all. If anything, he’s done everything to leave me my self-worth. To keep me in the loop and not make me feel I was being managed—controlled.

I lie down and curl myself around the pillow. His pillow. My eyes burn with the tears that want to fall, but it’s almost like I’m too tired to cry. Or maybe there’s been enough crying already, I don’t know. All I know is I wish for them to fall, to relieve the pressure behind my eyes, and maybe wash away some of the guilt that’s choking me. A man is dead. He didn’t say who or what; I should’ve asked because now my mind is imagining who it might be. I can only hope Damian stays safe, because if something happens to him, and these are the last words we ever exchange...

I vaguely hear Bella come into the room, but I keep my eyes firmly closed, feigning sleep, until I hear the door gently close again. The soft click of the latch works like a trigger, and the tears slowly start rolling down my face.

-

I DON’T KNOW WHAT TIME it is. Sometime well after dark since moonlight appears to be streaming in through the uncovered windows. The mattress dips behind me and an arm snakes around my body, pulling me back against the broad expanse of a chest. Damian’s familiar scent wards off any panic I might feel.

“I’m sorry.” His low voice rumbles against the shell of my ear and settles deep in my chest. A new surge of tears washes the remnants of my earlier ones away, as I turn around and bury my face in his neck. His apology only serves to make me feel even more guilty than I did when I finally cried myself to sleep.

“I didn’t m—mean it,” I sniffle against his skin.

“I know that. I knew it then and still overreacted, which is why I’m the one to be sorry.” He shifts his head back a little and looks at me. His dark eyes are soft and convey a slew of emotions. I don’t even try to identify them, too afraid I won’t be able to get my tears under control. “You’ve been crying,” he says, following it up with a mumbled expletive.

Instead of trying to deny it, I place my hand against his face. “I’m done now. How are you?” He rolls onto his back, pulling my arm across him and covering my hand on his chest with his.

“Tired to the bone,” he sighs. “I only have a few hours before I’m expected back at the office for a briefing.”

“The dead man?” I inquire.

“Among other things. The identification in his pockets was a credit card and driver’s license in the name of Trevor Simms, but in a side pocket of his wallet was a stack of bank cards, as well as a British driver’s license in the name of Troy Sinclair.”

A shiver runs down my spine. “It’s not over, is it?”

“Not by a long shot,” he says solemnly. “It was made to look like a suicide, but there were some things that didn’t add up. Technically, this investigation should be handed over to the task force because of the man’s identity, but Keith is keeping as close a rein on it as he can for now. That will all change in a few hours. We’ve not shared anything the past day or so, but we can’t keep a lid on a murder or on the fact we found Marya. And once that comes out, so will the discovery of the camera and the listening devices.”

“Why? Why keep that a secret?” I want to know, struggling to keep up with the sudden flow of information.

Damian turns back on his side, taking my face in his hands before he answers. “Because there is a possibility someone in law enforcement may have been involved, someone with access to top-of-the-line electronics, who might even be close to the investigation.”

“That’s why you said you’d broken rules and trust,” I deduce, sounding much calmer than I feel. I’m terrified, even more so than I was before, and it dawns on me that I’m way out of my league here. Damian picks up on my rising panic, stroking his thumbs along my eyebrows.

“It’ll be okay,” he whispers with his lips against mine. “I’ll make it okay.”

I don’t have time to respond before his tongue slips between my lips, slowly stroking mine to life. One of his hands leaves my face and slides down to pull my knee up over his hip. The rough calluses on my skin, as he brushes his hand along my thigh to my butt, stoke a fire. His long fingers knead my flesh, drawing a low moan from deep in my throat. My own hands move restlessly over his shoulders and down his back, registering every ridge and dip of his muscles.

“Stop me,” he almost pleads when he pulls his mouth away, using teeth and tongue to caress along my jaw.

“Do you want me?” I utter breathlessly.

“I fucking need you, Gypsy, but I’ll stop at your say-so.”

“Not a chance in hell,” I declare. I don’t even consider he has to be up for his meeting in a few hours. Not when his mouth latches on to my breast like a starving man. Not when the expression on his face as he slides inside my body reflects the utter bliss I’m sure is visible on mine.

DAMIAN

“You’ve got to leave?”

Kerry’s sleepy voice greets me as I walk into the bedroom, a cup of coffee in my hand. She looks flushed with sleep and sex. A great combination on her.

It takes everything out of me not to strip off the clothes I just pulled on and climb back under the sheets with her, but the sooner we can get a handle on this investigation, the sooner I can start working on getting the stunning woman in my bed to stay there permanently. Instead, I sit down on the edge and set the coffee on the nightstand.

“I’ll call as soon as I’m out of the meeting,” I promise her.

She pushes herself into a sitting position, regrettably holding on tight to the sheet. “I’m going to have to do something about the store. I need to go in.”

“Babe, I think you should keep the store closed until we get this sorted out. I’ll have a better idea after the meeting this morning,” I explain.

“I know, but it’s going to hurt my business if people keep knocking on the door or calling and no one is there. At least let me scoot over quickly and put up a sign and forward my calls to my cell phone. I can even grab my laptop from home in a flash, so I can take care of my online store to some degree.”

She’s hard to resist, making sense while she’s naked in my bed. Fucking hell.

“Let me check in with Luna. If she calls you from the store, can you walk her through forwarding to your cell?”

“Yes, it’s not that hard. But what about—”

“She can run up to your place after. Just let her know where to find everything.”

I’m glad she seems on board with that plan, at least I think she is since she wraps her hands around my neck and drags my mouth to hers.

“Be safe,” she softly says against my lips.

“I will. I’ll call.”

With a last hard kiss, I force myself to get up and walk out.

-

“WHERE’S LUNA?” JASPER leans down and whispers in my ear.

I wave him to sit down next to me and bend toward him. “She’s running an errand. She’ll be here shortly.”

I watch as Boris, Ella, and James take a seat around the table, and the last to walk into the boardroom are Blackfoot and Browns. My eyes skim over the others in the room, trying to pick up any kind of reaction. If someone had a hand in the murder of Sinclair, they would be sitting on hot coals right now. The only one who has a visible reaction, more than perhaps a general mild curiosity at Blackfoot bringing along his forensics guy, is Boris Parnak. Not all that surprising, since normally he and Keith work in tandem on major investigations, and I know for a fact, Keith’s been avoiding him the last few days.

“Okay,” James starts. “A brief recap then have updates first. There are a few loose ends I think need to be addressed. We have two boxes with valuable books shipped from The Gilded Feather. Right now, both boxes are missing. One of them held a shipment of stolen manuscripts that we suspect ended up at Kerry’s Korner. Jasper, you were looking into Willoughs? I received confirmation from the IT team that the second box was shipped from The Gilded Feather warehouse to the post office box you discovered.” He hands Jasper a sheet of paper. “That’s the UPS tracking number.”

“Matches what I have. The box was picked up a month ago by Willoughs himself,” Jasper informs him.

“All right, so it’s about time to bring Mr. Willoughs in and ask him some questions. Gomez?” He focuses on me.

“On it.”

“Keith, any luck finding the box that disappeared from Ms. Emerson’s car?”

“I had a team scouring the side of the mountain. They came up with nothing,” he answers James.

“It can’t just be gone,” Boris pipes up. “Are we sure the store owner is telling the truth? She may have been lying.”

I’m halfway out of my chair already when Jas grabs my waistband and sharply yanks me back down. A few eyebrows are raised, most obviously by James, who lightly shakes his head.

Keith saves my ass. “Unlikely, Boris. She didn’t conjure up the pickup that almost knocked her off the side of the mountain since it was witnessed by the truck driver. That reminds me; did you find anything on the missing pickup truck yet?” He bounces the ball right back into Parnak’s court, who’s been assigned recovery of the hit-and-run truck. 

“Nope. I have a few teams out on it, and it’s like the damn thing’s disappeared.”

“Funny how that can happen, right?” Keith fires right back.

“All right, that’s enough.” James looks sternly between the two local lawmen. “Moving on. Any news on the woman that went missing?”

“Actually,” I jump in. “She was found, Keith’s got some info on that.”

As agreed, Keith details the circumstances of Marya’s discovery and those of her disappearance. He fills them in on the discovery of the tracker on Kerry’s car, the listening devices and camera inside Kerry’s house, and the ones found in the store. When he announces the equipment looked to be government- issue, I scan the room for reactions. James is staring right at me, his eyebrow slightly lifted. He knows we kept this close to our chest for a reason.

“Is she going to be okay?” James asks, deflecting the focus.

“She will be,” Keith answers with conviction. “Especially since the man who did that to her was found dead in the cemetery, apparently with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Trevor Simms...or Troy Sinclair, he apparently answered to both.”

That bit of news gets a round of raised eyebrows and exclamations of disbelief.

“No shit?” James says questioningly.

“His body is with the coroner, which is where Browns and I are heading after,” Keith fills him in. “There are some questions around the circumstances leading to his death.”

“Interesting,” Ella speaks up. “Especially now that we know Willoughs was likely the intended recipient of the stolen goods. It’s reasonable to assume he would’ve been in contact with Sinclair. Would’ve wanted some restitution for the money I’m sure he had to fork out for those manuscripts. He may have been fed up.”

“You might have a point,” Keith says, his eyes sharp on Ella. “Browns just confirmed this morning that, despite the fact the cell phone that was found on Sinclair’s body was a burner, it had one text message that seems to point a finger at the millionaire. It’s the only one remaining on the phone, everything else was deleted. The message simply stated: NW corner cemetery 1 hr. BW.”

“Bruce Willoughs?” Parnak asks.

“Would seem so,” Keith responds. “After the meeting, Browns will see if he can get anything else off the phone.”

“I’m coming,” Boris announces, and Keith’s about to protest when James pipes up.

“Good idea. See what two sharp minds can come up with,” he says, giving both men a meaningful glare.

After that, the meeting quickly breaks up. Boris tags along with Browns and Blackfoot to the lab, and Ella announces she’s heading back to her hotel room to brief her superior. James stays behind.

Once Jasper leaves the boardroom, he turns to me. “Is she safe?” he asks, and I don’t have to guess who he’s talking about.

“Yes,” I simply state.

“Good. Keep it that way.” He picks up a pen from the table and starts twirling it between his fingers. I wait for what I know is coming. “I know you wouldn’t normally drag your ass on reporting information important to an investigation. Given the nature of the information, I can understand why, in this case, you chose to do just that, but I have to tell you it doesn’t sit right with me. I thought after the many years we’ve known each other, worked together, you’d be able to trust me with your suspicions.”

Fuck.

“You thought right,” I start. “All I can say is I’ve never been in love before.” James’ signature eyebrow lifts and a smile tugs at his mouth. “It appears to trump years of trust and loyalty. Especially when the woman I’ve fallen for is up to her eyeballs in the investigation. I just couldn’t take the chance.”

“I hear you. But if I’d known where your head was at, if I’d been kept in the loop, I might’ve conducted this meeting a little differently. With everything out in the open, we’ve given out all the cards. I might also have reminded you that with the kind of money Willoughs has, there is little in the world that can’t be bought. Not even government-issue electronics.”

“Blackfoot’s guy checked with the manufacturer. These gadgets are made for government agencies exclusively and produced in exact quantities as per agency purchase orders,” I point out.

James takes a minute before he repeats, “With the right kind of money, there’s little that can’t be bought.”

Before I have a chance to respond, Jasper slams the door wide.

“It’s Luna...”

-

“I’M FINE!”

I just get out of the car when I hear Luna’s angry voice. She’s sitting on the porch steps of Kerry’s house and is batting away Blackfoot’s hands from her head. I’m not sure how he got here so fast.

“I was barely out,” Luna snaps angrily when Keith persists examining her head. She’s got some blood in her hair.

“The neighbor called 911 because she couldn’t wake you. There’s blood on your head, Luna. Dammit.” He parts her hair and a nice cut becomes visible. “Good thing I was around the corner, or you would’ve walked off without medical care. I know you.”

I’m surprised at the familiarity between the two. “ER, Luna,” I order. “Right after you tell us what happened.”

“Fine,” she grumbles.

“Why can’t you be that agreeable with me?” Keith asks and is rewarded with a ball-shriveling glare. “Never mind.” I hear him say under his breath.

“I stopped at the bookstore, like you asked,” she says to me. “Forwarded the phone, picked up the mail and a few messages, and was just hanging up a sign on the door when the guy from the hardware store walked in the back. About gave me a heart attack, and probably vice versa, since he barely got a foot inside the door before he was staring down the barrel of my gun. Anyway, I explained Kerry had been called away on a family emergency, and I was making sure the shop was properly closed off. I could tell he wasn’t buying it, but it helped when I showed him my badge. Still, he said he’d keep an eye on the place, make sure the mail doesn’t pile up and stuff, just like he’d been doing. I told him sure and was about to lock up when the old man mentioned a large SUV he’d seen do a slow drive-by a few times in the past couple of days.” She takes a deep breath before continuing. “I should’ve paid better attention, because when I pulled into Kerry’s driveway, I noticed a dark brown Suburban parked in front of the house. It looked familiar, which is maybe why I wasn’t as cautious as I should’ve been. Or maybe because I didn’t want to be running errands when an important meeting was taking place.” The last she directs at me. I just shrug it off. She can be irritated all she wants, but she fucked up when she let down her guard. “Next thing I know I’m on the ground, feeling like my head was just caved in. The last thing I remember was watching a pair of argyle socks in Ferragamos walking away and thinking that didn’t look exactly like mountain attire.”

Blackfoot is faster than me and is already barking instructions to send a few units to Willough’s place into his phone. Apparently he’d come to the same conclusion I had.

Only one man in La Plata County who’d be vain enough to traipse through the mountains in those ugly-ass designer shoes.