Chapter Ten
“They just finished questioning Fitz. He wasn’t anywhere near Brown’s place last night,” Amaryllis said as she stuffed her phone in her pocket.
Aiden threw her a look. “How do they know?”
“Because he spent the night in jail in the next county for drunk driving.”
So he couldn’t be responsible for the crime they were about to investigate. Ed Brown’s place was on the county border and during the entire drive here—in Aiden’s truck—he’d wanted to reach over and feel up Amaryllis’s leg. She was doing her best to keep their relationship all business, though.
Her sweet ass swayed with every step she took across Brown’s ranch.
“Holy fuck,” Aiden said as they walked a bit farther and he spotted the entrails of a cow, a bloody, gruesome streak that led to the carcass.
Amaryllis sped ahead of him and bent to stare at the ground. She was most likely checking for tracks. The ground was muddy and bloody. There had to be some evidence left behind. Trouble was, in these parts, everybody wore boots that were purchased at the same store in Crossroads. They all left behind the same tracks.
The rancher’s face was grim as he stared at the loss of his cattle. At least thirteen-hundred dollars butchered right here in his field. A big loss.
Aiden asked him some questions to nail down the timeline while Amaryllis circled the bloody scene, sometimes peering close at something. Once she used a forefinger to probe a bit on the carcass.
Aiden watched her closely while trying to keep his mind on his conversation. He could see the woman’s brain working, and damn if he didn’t want to hear what was going on inside it.
“We’ll take some pictures and then help you clear this mess,” Aiden said to the rancher.
He rubbed his craggy jaw and nodded. Loss was always hard, even to seasoned ranchers like Brown. “Appreciate it.”
Moving to Amaryllis’s side, Aiden felt her start as if she hadn’t realized he was even there. When she looked up at him, her eyes were far away.
“What are your thoughts?” he asked, low.
“Whoever did this has a taste for more than beef or selling beef. He took the heart.”
He straightened. “You sure?” He went to the carcass and stared down at the place the heart would be.
Sure enough, the big arteries were severed.
“This is fucking sick,” he said before he could stop herself.
“Really fucking sick. It’s almost like a ritual, isn’t it?” Her voice was thoughtful.
Aiden’s skin prickled, but no way was he going to admit that to anyone, least of all Amaryllis, who seemed completely unfazed by the gruesome detail. “Or it could just be a man who’s got a taste for heart. Some do.” Hell, his pa did. He liked it cooked nice and slow so it was tender.
Amaryllis chewed her lower lip, white teeth moving over the plump tissue. His cock stirred.
The rancher walked over to pull a shovel out of the back of his pickup.
“Take the photos, Roshannon. I’m going to check the woods.”
He threw her a look. “Alone? Like hell.”
Her brow crinkled. “Why the hell not? You think the guy who butchered this cow is lurking in the woods waiting to leap out and attack me?”
He flexed his shoulders. Put that way, it sounded unlikely, silly even. But he didn’t like the thought of her going off on her own.
“You’re not going alone.”
Her eyes narrowed. “What is this? Some odd show of protection toward me? Just because your dick was inside me doesn’t mean you need to protect me.”
Glaring, he stepped up to her, so close that her body heat washed over him. Her beautiful face was twisted in annoyance, and damn if he didn’t want to kiss her pretty mouth.
“I’ll go with you. End of story.”
“Good Lord, Roshannon.”
He shot her a deadly look at the use of his last name. “What happened to Aiden? Last night you were panting my name, begging my name, screaming my name.”
She set her hands on her hips, eyes shooting bullets. “I knew I should never had let you touch me. Damn fool doesn’t know when to separate work from pleasure,” she muttered.
He reached out and slid a tendril of her hair behind her ear. “What I do know is you aren’t going to those woods alone. I know you want to look for ATV tracks.”
“Of course I do.” She batted his hand away from her face.
“We are a team. We stick together.”
“Meaning you think I’m incapable of going alone because you filled me with your cum.” Her voice was pitched low, furious.
He grabbed her waist, anchoring her in front of him in case she wanted to move away. “You’re more than capable, Amaryllis. But maybe I want to go with you because you’re starting to mean something to me.”
She went dead still, all but her jaw, which dropped. She stared up at him. A heartbeat passed in silence.
He released her waist. “We’ll go in a minute. Let me take some photos.”
To his surprise, she waited for him. He wasn’t one to dominate outside the bedroom, but when it came to her safety, he would damn well take the upper hand. At this point, the crimes were getting closer together and the rustler obviously bold and uncaring of his moves.
After taking the photos, the rancher began to dig the hole to bury the remains. Amaryllis took off for the woods. Aiden kept stride with her.
“I can’t lie. I want to throw you against one of these trees and have my way with you.”
She shook her head. “We’re on the job.”
“Didn’t say I was going to. Not yet, anyway. I have a little self-control.”
“You have a lot.” She checked herself as if she hadn’t meant to say that at all. “Stop grinning, Roshannon.” She emphasized his last name, separating business from pleasure.
“Just remember—we have an hour in the truck together to get to that slaughterhouse. We’ll be all alone.”
“Shut up.”
The path the ATV had taken was evident, the underbrush compressed under tires. Well, now they knew how the rustler had made away with the beef.
“Latchaw’s got patrol on that grocery store. They didn’t see anything last night or this morning?” he asked Amaryllis.
She’d been on the phone with the sheriff for half an hour during the drive. All her knowledge of the topic of the law had been like foreplay, had driven him crazy. He wanted her then—and now more than ever.
She shook her head. “Not a thing. They didn’t butcher it there. Has to be another place. I wonder…”
“What are you thinkin’?” he asked.
“Owens’ neighbor. Jack Mitchell.”
He studied her eyes. “We’ve agreed we believe there’s two crimes taking place here—those stealing and selling the live cattle. And those selling the meat they steal.”
She nodded.
“We need to visit the local slaughterhouse, see if anybody’s brought in meat in the last six hours.” They’d been checking daily.
“Right. Then it’s easy enough to get a search warrant for Mitchell’s place.”
“Guess your plans to ravish me in the truck on the way to the slaughterhouse are on hold, Roshannon. We’re making a trip over to Mitchell’s first.”
“Plenty of places to pull off.” His voice came out gritty.
She cocked a brow at him. “Keep it in your pants for now, lawman. We’ve got work to do.”
* * * * *
After Aiden’s comment about her starting to mean something to him, Amaryllis had hardly listened to the rest of the conversation. Other than he wanted to fuck her. That was one thing her body had heard loud and clear.
She felt off-balance. And she was never off-balance.
He didn’t know nearly enough about her to feel something besides lust and, she knew, disapproval at her tactics when it came to getting her rustler. Hell, they were practically strangers.
Strangers who know how to make each other feel amazing.
Spending long days with the man made her feel they’d worked together much longer. She had to admit, he was growing on her. Even the sight of his stupid little book made her feel a warm wave of affection. Though she didn’t know nearly enough about Aiden Roshannon, she knew he was a good man and was driven by his work ethic, same as her.
She’d had partners in the past, but none of them lasted long. Technically, he wouldn’t either. As soon as they solved the case, she’d return to Texas.
The whole way to Mitchell’s, her thoughts ran between Aiden and the case. There were a lot more missing pieces than she wanted. They needed to work harder, longer hours. Forego sleep and… other things… if they had to. Getting the criminals was most important.
She dragged in a deep breath. Aiden’s fresh piney scent filled the truck cab and even clung to her.
He switched on the radio. “Do you mind?”
She shook her head.
“Helps me think. Takes my mind off the obvious parts of the case and sometimes things come to me.”
She nodded. “We need to get one of these guys to talk. Give us names.”
“Sheriff Mead’s good at putting the pressure on a man. He’ll have Fitz singing in no time.”
The dulcet tones of a country music singer projected through the speakers, and Aiden sang along. She stared at him, unable to stop the chills that ran up and down her body at the beauty of his deep voice.
She couldn’t stop hearing his commands either. Take off your clothes. Open your mouth. Arch your back. Don’t come until I say so.
Giving him control in the bedroom was something she’d never expected could be such a turn-on. She wanted more of it. All those promised spankings. And the rope. She was a cowgirl at heart, after all.
He stopped singing, staring out the windshield, deep in thought. She didn’t interrupt the silence in case he was working over some good tidbit of the crime, though how he was doing it without scribbling in his book was anybody’s guess.
After a spell, he shot her a smile. “Hope my singin’ wasn’t too terrible.”
“The opposite. You’re very good. I didn’t know you can sing.”
The corner of his lips tipped up. “Doesn’t say that in my file? I know you went through it.”
“Williams told you.”
“That deputy only keeps quiet about cases. But when it comes to office gossip, he sings like a canary.”
She laughed. “So while we’re on the subject of what your file didn’t reveal, can I ask you a few questions?”
His eyes were the darkest gray. “Guess it’s only fair that you get to know me, since we work so closely.”
She tried to form her words in a way that wouldn’t put him on instant defensive. But she knew what she wanted to ask would do that anyway.
“Out with it, Amaryllis. You’re not one to hold your tongue.”
“Thanks.”
“You don’t need to sound so cheerful about that. It wasn’t exactly a compliment.”
“Is to me. I pride myself in saying what I mean.”
He chuckled. “Lay it on me, then.” His low tone suggested he meant something besides her questions.
“I wondered about your time in the military.”
He sobered, and she noted the change in his posture, shoulders tense as if someone had tightened the muscle stretching between them. “What about it?” His tone wasn’t angry, but it was guarded.
“I read something that pointed to the fact that you didn’t follow a command. That surprises me.”
“Yeah, well, I’m by the book now.”
“Is that why?”
He swung his stare to her. Warmth bloomed in her stomach, and it had nothing to do with sex. It had to do with affection for this man.
“There’s times to follow the rules and times to break ’em.”
“They gave you a command you couldn’t execute, didn’t they?”
“It’s all classified information, so I can’t tell you any specifics. But let’s say their command went against the grain. For that, I was shipped back to the States and spent several days being questioned. Almost court marshalled. Didn’t think I’d get a place in the law like I did, but people around here know me and they gave me a chance.”
“I can tell you’re an important part of the sheriff’s department. And all these ranchers rely on you.”
“On you too.” He met her stare.
“Glad to do my part,” she said. “Although, I must admit, this case is taking a bit longer than usual. It’s pretty involved.”
“Lots of people we need to speak to. I’ve been thinking we should haul in all of Mitchell’s and Fitz’s friends and family members. Interrogate them in one spot.”
“That could work, but your office’s mighty small for that.”
He chuckled. “That it is. I was thinking we need to hook up with Judd. Find out what he’s heard. Rumors have a way of spreading across counties.”
“Would we go to him?”
“I was thinkin’ halfway. Eagle Crest.”
He’d take her to his family home—to meet his twin, his parents? Amaryllis gripped the seat. What did that mean? Somehow, Aiden’s tone didn’t make her think it was only business on his mind.
“What do you say?” he asked.
“Anything for the case.”
He nodded thoughtfully and turned back to the windshield.
In minutes, they reached Mitchell’s place. A truck was parked in the driveway and the dogs were milling around. When the animals saw them pull in, they rushed the truck.
“Let me handle this.” Aiden gave her a steely look.
“I’ll take care of the dogs. You talk to Nicky. And Mitchell if he’s here.”
“Here’s here, all right. It’s just a matter of finding the man.” He got out of the truck.
Amaryllis soothed the dogs, who seemed to remember her. They let her scratch their ears and pet their heads as they circled both her and Aiden all the way to the front door, their barks deafening.
This time Aiden opened the door.
She stared at him. “Are you serious? You can’t just open the door,” she mocked.
He arched a brow at her and called into the house, “Hello!”
Nicky rushed into the front room, hands wet as if she’d been washing dishes or scrubbing something.
Amaryllis stared at her hands. At a bloody little finger.
“How dare you walk into my home again?” Nicky shot out.
“The deputy will be arriving any second with the search warrant.” He cocked his head at the crunch of gravel outside. “There he is now. We’d like to have a look around. If you fight us, you’ll be taken into custody.”
Nicky paled. Amaryllis kept her gaze trained on that pinky finger. It was blood, but it wasn’t bleeding. Not a cut.
She took a step toward the woman. Aiden made a noise in his chest, and she knew his protective instincts were rising up again, but he’d have to choke on them for the time being. She had a job to do.
“You’ve got some blood,” she said to the woman.
She looked down at her hands as if wondering how they were even attached to her arms. “I… cut myself. I was chopping vegetables for soup.”
Amaryllis made a sympathetic sound in her throat. “Let’s see if we can find you a Band-Aid.” She took Nicky by the arm and led her into the kitchen while the deputy entered with the warrant and he and Aiden started sweeping the house.
When Amaryllis got Nicky into the kitchen, there wasn’t a vegetable in sight. Not surprising. There was, however, a nice-sized cut of beef on the counter.
She turned to Nicky. “Don’t lie to me and things’ll go easier for you. We know your man’s involved in some illegal activity, and if you tell us all about it, the charges against you will be lighter or even dropped altogether. Especially if he’s forcing you to help him. By hurting you?”
She looked into Nicky’s eyes.
The woman shifted her gaze away.
“You realize Special Investigator Roshannon and I are looking into some cattle slaughters in this area. Some of your neighbor’s beef’s gone missing too.”
“Heard he got those back.”
“Not all of them. And just this morning we were down at the bottom of the county looking at a cow that was killed, butchered where it lay. Even the heart was taken. You know anything about that?” Amaryllis leaned against the counter. The slab of beef lay there inches away.
“Interesting, this cut. Doesn’t look as if it was cut with a meat saw. Looks more ragged, like someone used a big knife. Don’t you think?”
Nicky went to the kitchen sink and washed her hands quickly and then dried them on a dishtowel. “I wouldn’t know about that.”
“Did you purchase this beef? Maybe at Willy’s?”
She knew damn well Willy’s was the grocery that was out of business, where she and Aiden had made a discovery… and more.
“Willy’s ain’t been open for a while now.”
“Then where’d you get it?”
“The only other place to get a good cut of beef is up at Siverly’s.”
“Oh, they deal in cuts of beef like this?” Amaryllis’s tone had Nicky hesitating. As if the woman knew what she asked, or at least the implication of it.
“It’s a simple question, Nicky.”
She nodded.
“I’ll let you get back to cutting so you can get this beef in the freezer. Can’t let it spoil.” She pulled away from the counter and walked into the other room. Deputy Williams stood at the door, watching something that was taking place on the porch. A dog snarled.
Amaryllis stepped up next to Williams, and the deputy looked down at her with a slow, crooked smile. “Looks as if Mitchell finally showed his face.”
“Yeah, to the wrong man.”
Mitchell was in cuffs, clothes stained in blood as if something big, maybe a cow, had bled all over him, while Aiden read him his Miranda rights.