Chapter Twelve
Hudson leaned a cautious hand on the porch railing, then added more of his body weight when it held up. “You’re sure it’s not enough?”
“Not if your friend Mia is right. We’ve been building a case against Raj, but if this Abe guy is actually in the top position, we’re either going to need to get very lucky with the research or we’re going to need testimony. Hang on, two seconds. I’m at the office and, seeing the lovely crime analyst is working late, I’m going to bribe her with dinner to run the names Mia gave you.”
He heard the analyst’s snarky reply and suppressed a grin. Mitch had been trying to convince Ava to go out with him since Hudson had started on this case. Didn’t sound like his luck was improving tonight.
“Hudson? Still there?”
Mitch’s tone had the fine hairs on his arms lifting over tightening muscles. He pushed off the railing and let his gaze slide over the property, suddenly hyper-alert to the possibility of danger. “I’m here. Bad news?”
“It’s not good. One of the protesters is on the system as missing, presumed foul play, just like Mia said, and another one is the vic in a homicide file from last year. The good news is it looks like Mia is on the up and up. The bad news is, it looks like she was right to be scared of this guy.”
Hudson swore under his breath. He should at least be feeling some relief that Mia had been cleared, but there was none. Because, he realized, he’d never really believed she was dirty at all, and when she’d handed over the gun it had concluded the matter entirely. And now she was in direct danger from this psycho, Abe, because he’d managed to put her right in harm’s way.
He could hear the analyst talking to Mitch on the other end of the phone and Mitch’s muted reply. There was no levity in their exchange at all now, and the lack was putting Hudson even more on edge.
“Abe Larson is carded to the same file as Mia as a Person of Interest, but there’s nothing else on him—not in our records system, anyway. Ava says the guy is listed on the boards of several companies, but it’s going to take her some time to drill down. On paper, this guy looks pretty clean, like he got caught up in something when he was younger and it scared him straight.”
“Well, that’s convenient.”
“Isn’t it though? Little too much so. Ava said the guy has no presence on social media, which is odd for a corporate mover and shaker. My gut’s talkin’ to me about this guy, Hudson. I think your tree hugger may have cracked the case for you.”
“She’s a wildlife biologist.”
“Sure—hang on a sec, buddy.” There was a scratchy noise and then complete silence. Hudson pulled the phone away to see if the connection had been lost. “Hudson.”
He lifted the phone back to his ear. “What’s up?”
“Mia’s with you, right? You’re safe?”
A mosquito had landed on his wrist, but he didn’t slap it. The strain in Mitch’s voice told him he didn’t want to risk the noise bringing Mia to the front door. He made his way quietly down the steps and across the yard to a burly tree, eyes moving across the landscape the whole time. His mouth was dry. “We’re safe as we can be for right now. What is it?”
“Damn, Hudson. I’m looking at the scene photos from the homicide last year.” Mitch stopped, and the sound of swallowing came over the connection. “Hudson, what this guy did…if you even think there’s the slightest chance you might not be able to keep Mia safe, you need to bring her in.”
Hudson’s heart was beating at double speed and the rushing blood pulsed like ocean waves in his ears. “That bad?”
“That bad and more. This wasn’t just about self-protection or hiding evidence. Whoever killed this woman liked doing it, man. Call-in-the-Behavioural-Sciences-Unit liked it. If she’s right and it’s this Abe guy, Mia’s in trouble, Hudson. Huge trouble.”
A crack of light appeared at the front door, then disappeared. He cleared his throat softly, working hard to force the words past a tongue that suddenly seemed to weigh two tons. The house was rigged like a fortress. They were far safer here for the night than if they got back on the road. “I’ll keep her safe. I’ve got to go. You’ll keep digging?”
“Hells yes, we’ll dig. Like a dog burying a bone. Ava just passed me the menu to the all-night delivery place. Looks like I finally get to buy her that dinner. I’ll send you what I can find—you have a secure signal, or do I need to encrypt?
“The house is secured. As soon as you can, Mitch. Mia is…special.”
“Is she now?”
Hudson could practically see the other man’s eyebrows climbing to his hairline. “She is. So, please…”
“We’re on it, Hudson. Lock up tight and we’ll get you word as soon as we have it.”
It took two tries to get the slim phone into his pocket and another three to shift his weight from the tree to his tensed up legs. He’d been in danger almost continuously since he graduated the police academy. He’d slept, eaten, lived his life with the constant threat of discovery and death hanging over him, but for the first time, he was truly terrified. He didn’t think he could live with himself if anything happened to Mia. And if anything did, he wouldn’t have to kill himself. His heart would just stop beating on the spot.
#
Mia hurried around the back of house. Her steps were swift and silent now that her eyes had adjusted to the darkness. She hadn’t meant to eavesdrop on Hudson, but now she was glad she’d wandered this way—not that she had a lot of details, but the strangled pitch of Hudson’s voice near the end of the conversation had made her sense of foreboding kick into high gear. And as for what he’d said about her being special? Well, she hadn’t been able to get the words out earlier, but she damn sure could show him how she felt.
Neville’s hyper dash around the yard had slowed to an amble and he was lifting his leg now more for show than any need.
“Ready to go in, pup?”
His thick tail waved in the darkness like a white flag. When he went still, Mia stopped abruptly. His head came up and he tested the air. One paw came off the ground slowly, hovered, and then he was in motion. He disappeared around the side of the house before Mia had time to take two stumbling steps.
The sound of familiar laughter sent such a wave of relief through her body she nearly dropped where she stood. Of course it was Hudson. She’d just seen him walking toward the house and there was no way he’d let anyone past him. But old habits die hard, and she’d had years of looking over her shoulder and keeping her distance from people in case they couldn’t be trusted, or worse, she dragged them into the miserable, fearful existence that was her life. It was enough. Even if she still wasn’t one hundred percent trusting of her own judgement of people, she did trust Neville’s, and her dog was pretty clear in his opinion of the tattooed cop—had been since almost that first night on the mountain. She stretched her legs to cover the ground faster and walked straight into Hudson as she rounded the corner.
“Hey, everything okay?”
She didn’t bother answering, just slid her fingers into his belt loops and tugged him forward. She lifted onto her toes as he wrapped an arm around her for balance and then he obligingly ducked his head and met her lips with a bruising passion that matched her own. He pulled back and pushed her hair away from her face before moving in for another kiss.
“Inside. Need to get inside.” He breathed the words in her ear, sending a domino of chills down to her tailbone.
They moved clumsily backward until Hudson’s back collided with the end post of the porch stairs, and then he swept her up into his arms and carried her up the risers—until his foot went through the third step and she landed on the porch above him with a thump. She sat, stunned, for a second and then started to laugh when Hudson began cursing fluently in a variety of languages. She got to her feet and helped him haul himself up and his laughter mingled with hers as they lurched over the threshold.
“You hungry?” He used their entwined hands to shoot home the bolt on the door and turn the other locks.
“For food? No.”
He smiled at her in the dim light and her heart seized. “I was hoping you’d say that.”
He ran his hands down her sides until they settled on her hips, then let his fingertips graze the skin above the waistband of her pants as he closed in on the top button. She sucked in a huge lungful of air and tried not to turn into a melting pile of goo on the living room floor. She took a deliberate step away and made for the coffee table in front of the couch where Nev was settling himself for the night.
She let the condoms dangle from her fingers and stepped away again when Hudson tried to reach for her. “Not in front of the d-o-g. He’s too young to see this.”
He lunged and plucked the strip away then picked her up with ease. “Fine, we’ll take it to the bedroom. But keep in mind, as Neville’s father figure, I’m going to have to give him the talk at some point. We don’t want any accidental puppies wandering around eating us out of kibble and couch space.”
Her eyes prickled and she stared up at the ceiling to stop the tears from coming. He was just joking, and a joke about puppies was no kind of guarantee for the future she was starting to envision with this man in the quiet, secret place in her heart.
“Will you do something for me?” she asked.
“Anything.”
“Will you take Neville? If I go to jail, or if anything happens, will you make sure he has a good home?
He shook his head. “It’s not going to come to that, Mia—”
She put a finger over his lips. “But if it does?”
“Neville will never need a single thing.”
She reached up and kissed him.
He stopped walking and pressed her higher, tighter, and more deeply into the kiss. Then he lifted his head to get his bearings and steered them into a room off to the left. He dropped her legs to the floor and yanked back the bed cover, then started to strip off her clothes with just as much urgency.
She laughed and gently pushed him away. “Slow down, tiger. I’m not going anywhere.”
The look in his eyes made her want to cradle him to her and whisper things in his ear. All the things she couldn’t quite yet say.
“Promise?”
She smiled and slid her hand down between them, and his lips curved upward while his head fell back.
She popped the button on his jeans and tugged on the zipper. Then it was a flurry of clothing, gentle touches, and warm lips. Mia tried to reverse their positions, to angle Hudson with his back toward the bed so she could push him down on it and have her way with him, but when she did suddenly find herself bouncing gently on the mattress, Hudson was above her and she found she really didn’t care. She gave herself over to the sensations he was sending through her body, knowing he wouldn’t hurt her, that he wanted to please her, and that his obvious state of arousal was proof he wasn’t lying to her.
He touched her everywhere, nibbled and bit and raised her to a level of excitement she’d never really thought possible. But she sensed a reserve, as though he was watching her and cataloguing her reactions, and she knew there was one last wall she needed to break through to truly know Hudson to the core of his being.
He paused to stretch over to the bedside table, and she saw her opportunity. She wiggled sideways, and while he was off balance she nudged him over and took control of the condom. She let her hair trail over his bare chest as she worked, but twitched the rapidly unravelling braid out of his fingers when he reached for it.
“Nope. No touching.”
“What? But—”
“Nuh uh. You have to wait.”
The muscles in his six-pack jumped out as he gasped when she grazed her hand across a sensitive part of his anatomy. “Wait for what?”
She just smiled at him and raked her short nails across the join of his thigh and torso to watch him shudder. She lost track of time, touching him, squeezing, scratching, licking, and kissing everything except what he most wanted her to touch—what she most wanted to touch. His hair was damp around the hairline and a slippery sheen covered his torso, making his tattoos seem to come alive, when he finally made a sound of inarticulate longing and pushed himself up and over onto his knees. This was what she wanted. Pure, unadulterated Hudson with no room in his mind for calculations or acting or pleasing anyone but himself.
She welcomed him down, her pulse thundering at the lost look in his eyes, and lifted her hips to his as he drove home. He stopped and blinked down at her. “Mia, I’m—”
She shook her head. “Shhh,” and leaned up to sink her teeth into the ridged muscle above his collarbone. A groan vibrated in his chest and he gave himself over to his passion, taking Mia along on the ride of her life.
#
He woke up with a smile on his face—until he reached across the bed and found only empty sheets. The room was in pitch darkness, the dim light from the living room no longer on. He groped across the nightstand for his phone to see what time it was, but came up empty. Unfortunately, his bladder was not empty, and he put off finding the phone to flick on a bedside light and make his way to the bathroom.
He could hear Mia in the kitchen and the soft patter of Neville’s paws in the living room when he emerged. He felt a goofy smile spreading across his face and a not so goofy heat spreading elsewhere at the thought of wrapping his arms around Mia’s waist as she made coffee at the counter, but made his feet carry him into the bedroom. He needed to check his messages to see if Mitch and Ava had come up with any more information for him overnight.
He checked both nightstands, the floor between them and the bed, and all the pockets in the clothes strewn over the floor without unearthing the satellite phone. He pulled on his jeans and made his way out into the living room, hitting the light switch as he went.
His phone sat innocently on the coffee table. Had he left it there last night? It was possible; he’d definitely had other things on his mind, and in his arms. He picked it up and toggled to the message screen.
Mitch and Ava had been busy. He sped-read through the lengthy message, dropping onto the couch as the news got worse and worse. None of the evidence he’d unearthed at the crash site was leading them back to Raj or Abe Larson. A search of the local and nearby police records systems had surfaced a number of additional homicides where the MO appeared to be similar to the one where the protester had been killed. All of the new victims were players at some level in the drug trade, but it would require many more hours of work and a professional profiler to link the files together strongly enough to generate a warrant for Larson—and that was if they had Mia’s information on record.
There was a long list of companies that listed Larson as a board member or owner. On paper, he looked like the perfect citizen. Without Mia’s damning eye-witness account, there was no way they could even bring the guy in for questioning, let alone file charges.
He’d have to go back under. Play it like he’d been in bed with Mia all night and hadn’t noticed the eight messages and texts that had come in for him on the other phone. In other words, he needed to tell them the truth. For once.
But before he did any of that, he needed to get Mia to safety. The last line of Mitch’s email was crystal clear. He was to take Mia into custody and deliver her to the local police department immediately. The calls had been made and his badge was now officially on the line if he ignored the direct order. He’d have to be careful—get the gang to believe Mia had escaped while he slept—but he thought he could pull it off. And he’d do anything it took to lock this psycho up and ensure Mia’s safety.
Mia. Jesus, Mia. He couldn’t let anything happen to her. Mitch was right. He needed to call in, get her into protective custody without delay.
He was off the couch in a shot. “Mia, we need to get going.” He upended the pack on the floor, looking for something clean to wear. “Mia?”
He pulled a shirt over his head and tossed a fresh pair of socks onto the couch before walking down the short hall into the kitchen. No Mia. Not in the bathroom, the bedroom where they’d spent the night, or the second one down the hall. The locked door that shielded a small arsenal and supplies hadn’t been disturbed. She must be out with Neville.
He saw the phone again on his way to the front door and his heart plummeted. He hadn’t left it out here last night. He remembered now, pulling it and the condoms out of his pocket, and putting them on the bedside table before the clothes started flying. He grabbed the socks, then realized his boots were still in the bedroom and pitched them over his shoulder as he hurried to the front door.
She was at the back of the car with her head down, pushing the trunk lid softly into place.
“Mia!”
She looked up. There was an expression of resignation on her face that had his heart thumping against his sternum.
“I have to go.”
He heard what she said, the singular pronoun, but his heart didn’t want to accept it, so he pretended to misunderstand. “We do. We have to go right now. Just let me grab my stuff.”
“No, Hudson. I have to go. I read the email.”
He walked down the stairs, skipping the step he’d broken last night and refusing to slow his pace as splinters bit into his feet. “If you read Mitch’s email, then you know it’s time to turn yourself in, Mia. You need police protection.”
She shook her head and pulled up the rear door for Neville, then called him out of the woods. “I can’t do that yet, Hudson. I need you to trust me.”
He took a step forward, right onto a sharp piece of gravel. He cursed, and then Neville was in front of him and rearing up to place massive paws on Hudson’s shoulders, driving his feet farther into the rocks with his enormous weight as the dog nuzzled his jaw and neck. “Down, Nev.”
He obediently backed away and trotted to Mia, leaning against her for an ear rub.
Hudson took another painful step forward. “Mia. I can’t let you go.”
Her eyebrows drew down over the sad curl of her smile. “I’m not giving you a choice. I left your phone. You can call for another car.” She took a deep breath. “I love you, Hudson, but I can’t let you take me in now. I’ll turn myself in, I promise—there’s just something I need to do first. They won’t be too hard on you when they see I stole the car and didn’t give you a choice.”
His heart stumbled and he wanted more than anything to put this whole crazy moment on pause and revel in the bliss of the statement she’d just made, but he’d let his emotions impact this operation far too much already. If he didn’t convince Mia to stay, the first person he’d ever loved—the first person he truly believed loved him, every broken, scarred piece of him—was going to die. He had to make her understand.
He took another step. “Mia, listen to me. This is all going to be okay. I’ll take you in, we’ll make sure you’re safe, and you can give evidence and Abe’ll go away for the rest of his life. If you have no protection, he’ll find you and kill you.” Another foot forward.
“The email said there wasn’t enough evidence.”
“We just need a little more time. I’ll go back in. I can explain last night—”
“No! Hudson, you can’t. It’s too dangerous. This way you don’t have to go back. I promise you, I’ll give evidence to put him away, just not yet.”
One more step. Almost there. “Mia—”
She shook her head again. “Nev. Guard.”
Neville swung his head to stare at her, looked at Hudson, then back at her. He whined and wagged his tail hesitantly. Hudson was nearly close enough to close his hand over the front door frame.
“Neville. Guard.” She said it more sternly this time, though he could see her eyes shining.
Nev gave her one more incredulous look, but when she didn’t recant, leapt in front of her and planted his feet. With another prompt from his owner, the dog bared his teeth and growled at Hudson.
He froze. He wouldn’t—not Nev. He was almost as much Hudson’s dog as Mia’s now. Or so he’d thought. He took another step, determined to ignore the show the gentle dog was putting on. Neville whined and shifted his weight on his front paws, but at Mia’s rebuke he started to bark and leaned forward threateningly when Hudson tried to move to the side.
Mia dropped into the driver’s seat and pulled the door shut. She backed up and swung the car around slowly so the rear door wouldn’t close. She let the car roll ten, twenty feet down the drive, then called for Neville. The dog immediately put away his teeth and lunged toward Hudson with his tail tucked and ears flat to his head. He bumped his head under Hudson’s hand and licked it frantically before sprinting after the still-moving car. He leapt easily into the back seat, and Mia floored it.
The acceleration swung the door shut, but it couldn’t silence the heartrending sound of Neville howling from the backseat, mourning the separation of his pack.