Forbidden Secrets Read online

Julian was frustrated.

  He didn’t want to take anyone’s word for it. That’s how you let things slip by.

  “How about that first police report for Mariah Easton?” he asked. “Did it turn up?”

  “I have my men looking for it. If it shows up, I’ll email it to you, but it has to be from my private account. Again…”

  He didn’t need to say anything more.

  They totally got it.

  That he was even trying to help them was more than appreciated. Julian and Tori didn’t always have back up from the local law when they worked a case.

  “We appreciate it, Sheriff.”

  “I wish I could be more helpful, but you’ve both been in law enforcement. You know there’s a fine line for me, and I’m already dangerously close to it.”

  They were aware.

  “Thank you, Silver,” Julian stated. He gave his wife the look. They had limited time, and he needed to get them some details, and fast.

  Tori was up to bat.

  “What about the guard? Did the ME find anything out from his wounds? I know we can’t see the report, but if you could share with us, that might lead us to the killer.”

  He did some typing and turned his monitor around. “I have to get some water for my coffeepot. I suggest you get ready and read fast.”

  Then he was gone.

  Tori did better than that.

  She pulled out her phone and snapped pictures. As she was about to do a search to get the other reports, the sheriff returned.

  Crap.

  She was so damn close.

  “So, is there anything else I can assist you with?” Silver asked, taking his seat, turning his monitor, and closing the page.

  “No, Sheriff Byrd. We appreciate your help on this, and we’re so sorry that we’ve drawn attention to your town. It wasn’t intentional.”

  He smiled. “No worries. We’ve had crimes here before. Now that I’ve shared with you, are you going to be as forthcoming?” he asked.

  Tori looked over at her husband.

  Apparently, he’d made a deal. She hated that. Tori didn’t like to let anyone in on their case until they had it solved. Too many people involved in a case often ruined their shots at closing it—especially the local authorities.

  “We do have some information. Maybe you can look something up for us.”

  “Sure can,” he offered.

  “Do you have a police report for someone named Evangeline?” Julian asked. “She would have likely known the Easton family.”

  He started typing. “Evangeline—what’s her last name?” he asked.

  “We don’t have a clue.”

  He laughed. “Yeah, I don’t know what I’ll find, but I’ll search it for you.”

  He hit the enter button.

  There was a beep.

  “Nothing. I’m sorry. If you get a full name, I’d love to help. Just bring it back and I’ll run her again. If it was a long time ago, she might be in the paper files.”

  It was worth a try.

  “Did you find anything else? Is this crazy case actually valid?” he asked.

  “Yeah, it is. Look at the body in the morgue. That man didn’t die out of coincidental circumstances,” Julian stated.

  “Oh, I don’t doubt that Miss Easton is in trouble. I doubt that the whole family was wiped out by nefarious means. That’s all I’m saying.”

  They got that.

  At first, they had a hard time buying it too. Anyone with a stitch of common sense would—until they saw the facts.

  “We’re going to interview Orwell and Howell’s business partner.”

  “Calvin Foster, huh? Good luck there.”

  That had their attention.

  “Care to share?” Julian asked.

  “Sure will. I’ve had my run ins with him. The man is a pain in the ass. After Ms. Easton’s brother died, Calvin Foster was here every day trying to get me to arrest Larissa Moore and Lennox. He was pissed that he’d been screwed out of money. He’s been trying to get ‘what was owed to him’ for over eight years now. I almost want to tell him to suck it up. Now he knows what it’s like to be a Native.”

  Julian laughed. “I hear you.”

  “Money has that effect on people,” Tori stated. “Sadly it makes people crazy.”

  He laughed. “Tell me about it. He’s like the ringleader of crazy. He has a major issue with Lennox. Come to think of it, he’s really the only one. That woman is a freaking saint. Last year, she raised fifty thousand dollars for the local law enforcement charity. It bought us all new vests and some for the K-9 units too. Without her in town, we’d be screwed.”

  Yeah, they were aware of her generous nature. Now they had even more reason to talk to the business partner.

  “Well, if you need my help or want me to ride along with you, give me a shout. I’ll be more than happy to make sure the man doesn’t go shit nuts on you,” he said, pointing at Tori’s baby belly. “He’s a little off his rocker.”

  “I’ll be fine, but thank you,” Tori offered. “I’m well versed in handling crazy. It’s been part of my life for years.”

  Julian stared at her.

  He really hoped she wasn’t talking about him.

  If she was…

  They stood.

  “Thank you, Silver. I really appreciate all your help,” Julian stated, shaking his hand.

  “Trust me when I say that it’s my pleasure. I’m glad I could help a brother out—especially one who is fighting the good fight. Still, let’s keep this on the down low. If anyone asks, I was a bastard and you hate me.”

  Julian laughed.

  “We can do that. Take care, Sheriff Bastard.”

  They headed out. Once outside, Tori slipped on her sunglasses.

  “Well, that was useless.”

  He was aware. “Maybe if we keep bugging him, he’ll break down and help.”

  “Well, if you weren’t so well versed in crazy…”

  She stared at him. “Elizabeth Blackhawk once told me something. People who didn’t realize they were at least a little bit crazy were generally the nuttiest in the bunch.”

  “That’s not really a compliment because I don’t think I’m insane. Are you trying to rile me up?”

  She laughed as she headed toward the passenger side of the SUV. Next to having sex with her husband, there was nothing Tori enjoyed more than teasing him.

  A girl had to have some fun.

  Julian knew what she was thinking. Before he could say anything, he heard a scuffle from her side of the vehicle. He raced around the front of the SUV to find his wife holding a gun on a man on the ground.

  His hands were up, he was lying on a pile of papers, and he looked scared.

  Crap!

  “Uh, honey, you’re holding Lincoln Brooks at gunpoint. He’s a deputy, and he’s also Lennox’s friend. Maybe you can put away the gun.”

  “Maybe he should learn not to sneak up on pregnant women and then he won’t have my Sig pointed at his pea brain.”

  Julian’s heart slowed when he’d seen what was going on. He almost wanted to laugh. Of course his pregnant wife had handled it.

  He was going to go gray before he hit forty.

  “Victoria.”

  “In my defense, he was lurking. That makes me want to shoot people.”

  The man swallowed.

  “Ma’am, I was hiding to give you some papers.”

  She slipped her gun into the back holster beneath her blazer. Since they were in their home state, her permit to carry a concealed was still valid.

  Lucky for her.

  Unlucky for him.

  “What papers?” she asked.

  “I managed to get you the autopsies. I heard you telling the sheriff you wanted them, and I knew the ME wouldn’t share them, so I made copies.”

  Tori stared at him. Could they possibly get that damn lucky? “Get up.”

  He did, and his hands were still up. “Please don’t kill me. I swear I didn’t mean to
scare you.”

  That almost made her laugh.

  Apparently, the media had made her seem like some crazy who killed at the drop of a hat.

  Well, then again…

  That sounded about right.

  “Please don’t tell the sheriff. I don’t want to lose my job. I want to help Lennox. If this is my only way, so be it.”

  She patted him on the shoulder as he picked the scattered copies up from the ground.

  Julian was having a hard time keeping a straight face.

  His wife amused him.

  “I also got the recent autopsy of the guard you found. I hope you’ll find the killer. I want Lennox to be safe. I love her.”

  Tori studied him.

  She absolutely believed that the man did, and she doubted it was in a friend-friend kind of way.

  “You better get out of here,” she warned as he handed her the folder. It didn’t take long for him to agree, so he took off. Tori wasted no time getting into the paperwork.

  Julian started the drive back to the estate. “Do we actually have the reports?” he asked.

  “Yeah, we do, but I have bad news.”

  “What?” he asked.

  “The sheriff was right. The reports don’t have anything that’s going to help us.”

  Well, that really sucked.

  They still had nothing at all.

  * * * L i t t l e m o o n * * *

  They were almost there.

  As Beau navigated their way to the estate, he knew his fiancée was thinking about what was coming.

  “You’re quiet, Nyxie. Want to tell me what’s going on in your head?”

  “I’m just thinking.”

  “About?”

  “If I should stay on the team or if I should pack it up and call it a day,” she stated.

  He glanced over. “Is this your way of telling me that you’re dumping me?” Beau asked, his eyes full of concern. He hoped that wasn’t going to be the case. Nyx had already sent him away once, and it had sucked.

  His heart might not handle it again.

  She stared at him as if he was out of his mind. “Uh, no, but let’s be honest. What use am I to the team? Vivian has her dreams, Beckett can track by touch, Tori is a medium, and I’m…”

  “You don’t know that your gift won’t come back. Sometimes, when one door closes, a new one opens.”

  “Or the door stays closed, Beau. We have to be realistic. I’m useless to the team. In fact, I’m useless to the psychic shop. I can’t read cards. I can’t channel. Basically, I sell candles and rocks to people who are curious about the family. I’m a tourist trap for our city.”

  He took her hand in his as he drove. “Baby, you’re more than that. You’re my partner. There is no one I’d rather work with than you, Nyxie. You’re the best backup in the world.”

  She shrugged.

  “You are. Who is going to protect me better than you, and who is going to have your flank better than me?”

  He had a point.

  It was just…a tough pill to swallow.

  “Just give it some time. Think about it long and hard and promise me that you won’t quit until after we get married, and you have time to think about it.”

  She glanced over at her fiancé. His red hair was growing in, and she loved it. He was fiery, tough, and an ex-soldier. “Okay. I promise.”

  That helped him relax.

  Beau needed to get her to the altar so they could get hitched. The last thing he wanted was a runaway bride. If he had to chase her down, he was going to go insane.

  “That’s all I ask for, baby. Maybe, by then, your gift will return, or you’ll have another plan in place.”

  She squeezed his hand. “Thank you, Beau, for being so patient with me. I really love you so much. I’d be lost without you.”

  He felt the same.

  The woman beside him was his other half. With her witchy eyes and black hair, he couldn’t imagine being with another person. Their souls were one.

  “Baby, I’d give up my life for you. Patience is nothing when you love someone.”

  She stared out the window smiling.

  It was fake, and it was for him.

  It’s was the same bullshit she’d used as a cover the last few weeks. The only problem was it was getting harder and harder to lie to all of them.

  They were her family, and she was betraying their trust.

  Only what was she to do?

  Nyx was lost, and she hated what her life had come to. She didn’t know who she was anymore. In fact, hope was dwindling, and fast.

  She needed a miracle, and soon.

  * * * L i t t l e m o o n * * *

  When Hart found her, she was sitting on her couch. The thing dwarfed her, and he couldn’t help but think she looked so frail and tiny sitting there.

  His heart ached for her. This was a huge mess, and he needed to fix it.

  As he stood upstairs in his room, he didn’t know what the hell he was supposed to do.

  Stay?

  Go?

  Fight?

  Run?

  His emotions were a stirred up pot of chaos, and he was confused as hell. He didn’t know if he should find her and talk, or if he should keep his distance for both of their safety.

  His gut told him to find her.

  His brain said stay away.

  Hart was sick of the tug-o-war.

  As he hid in his room, Trey had bugged the shit out of him. He’d kept yapping on his phone’s radio app, and finally, he opted to listen.

  It was that or smash his phone into bits to silence the dead man. Trey was on the verge of making him bat shit insane.

  Now Hart realized why he’d wanted him to come. Lennox was sitting on the couch, and she looked like hell. He really hated that he’d done that to her.

  They needed to talk.

  Heading her way, he noticed that there was a circle of salt around the couch.

  It made him smile. Despite the situation, that was something that would always amuse him. How could it not? His life now was so vastly different from a month ago. He’d never seen any of this coming.

  “Hey.”

  She looked up at the sound of his voice. “Hey. I’m surprised you’re still here.”

  “Is that why you threw down the salt?”

  That was exactly the reason.

  Once he bailed on her, she was going to need to keep herself safe. Like before they arrived, she was on her own.

  “I didn’t know how else to keep safe. I figured this might work until Tori and Julian got back.”

  “Can I sit down?”

  “Sure.” She slid over in the salt circle to make room for him. When he sat, he was facing her. The look on his face told the tale. This was going to be a very serious conversation.

  She braced for it.

  “I owe you an apology. I need to get this off my chest, and then we can discuss today.”

  “Okay.” What else was she supposed to say? Really, she was a captive audience. With Evangeline out there, she was staying inside this circle unless someone moved her by gunpoint.

  Hart went for it. “I’m not usually this big of an asshole. My mother raised me better than this. I swear. I wish I could say it’s just a shitty mood, but it goes deeper than that.”

  She didn’t speak.

  “I once got involved with someone, and they screwed me over. It damaged me and changed my life. Some of it was for the better, but mostly it just sucked.”

  “Ivy’s mother?”

  He nodded.

  “I’m not her, Everhart. I’m really not.”

  He was aware.

  Only it was damn hard to remember that when so much was on the line.

  “I know you’re not, Lennox. In my heart, I know you’re not, but the logical cop part of me, my brain, has that stupid override power. I try not to judge every woman I meet by her, but it’s hard. When I met you, and I found out that you’re rich, entitled, and an Easton, I judged you.”


  She was aware.

  Everyone always did.

  That was her cross to bear.

  “It’s okay. I’m used to it.”

  “No, it’s not okay. It’s anything but that. I shouldn’t have made you feel like you’d done something wrong. That was a bad call from me. I would be pissed if some man did that to my daughter, and I should have thought about that.”

  “Okay.”

  “You scare me.”

  She stared at him.

  “The second I saw you, I wanted to be near you, and that’s a problem. For the last four years, I’ve tried damn hard to avoid anyone who makes me feel. It’s safer than getting hurt.”

  “Is it? I’ve spent the last ten years trying to be near someone so I could feel, and it hasn’t worked. I understand what it’s like to be damaged, Everhart. Welcome to my prettily wrapped prison.”

  He realized they were a lot alike.

  “I’m sorry I judged you. If I could go back and fix it, I would. I promise that from here on out, I’m not going to be a dick. I’m not leaving, so we’re going to have to get along.”

  She wanted that.

  Hell!

  She wanted him.

  She just didn’t think he was ready to hear that. There was something about this man that made her want to feel again. With him there, she wanted to be happy. It wasn’t some act she was putting on, but the genuine thing.

  “I’m glad you’re staying.”

  “Are you?” he asked.

  “Yes, I really am.”

  “Well, then let’s talk about the pool. I’m sorry I nearly got you killed. I was bitchy, and you went into that water to escape me. You nearly died.”

  “While part of that is right, you’re missing the most important part.”

  “What’s that?”

  “You dove in and risked your life to save me. She could have held you down there, too, and we’d both be dead. You didn’t think twice about saving me, Everhart. I don’t think about why I went into the water, but the part where you fought for me.”

  He thought about her last words mouthed to him underwater as she gave up.

  “I had to save you.”

  “Why?”

  He knew this was going to sound incredibly insane, but it needed to be shared. Hart realized that he had to start trusting her in order to heal.