Lost & Broken (LIttlemoon Investigations Book 2) Read online

  They both laughed.

  “Come see us when you’re back on the Rez. We miss you and love you,” Elizabeth said, laughing.

  “We love you too, Lyzee,” she stated. “Thank you!”

  “Darlin’ you don’t have to thank me. This call never happened, and if anyone brings it up, I’m going to boot your asses to kingdom come.”

  With that, the phone went dead. Tori and Julian snickered, since they didn't doubt she’d do it either.

  The entire time, Beckett said nothing. Finally, he spoke, “Who was that?”

  Tori shrugged. “That was Director Elizabeth Blackhawk. She’s head of FBI West.”

  “The Federal hub? You have her on your speed dial and are on a first name basis?” he asked incredulously. When they said they had friends in high places, they weren’t kidding. He didn't expect their sources to be the top of the hierarchy.

  “Yeah, and if you tell anyone you heard that conversation, I’m going to relay where the leak came from,” Tori threatened. She would do anything to protect her friends.

  Julian agreed. “You don’t want a piece of Tex. She’ll make you bleed and get a big old chuckle out of it.” That was one of the things that the loved most about Elizabeth. She was always feisty. When he first met her, he was pretty sure that she was the kind of woman for him, and then he met Tori and knew how wrong he had been.

  Tori was the only woman he could ever be with. She was just as feisty and balls to the wall. It was likely the reason the two women were incredibly close friends.

  “Hey, my lips are sealed. I’m not jacking with the Feds. I know better.”

  “In this case, that’s a wise answer,” she said. “Okay, so now we know what we’re up against. We just have to figure out what they’re there investigating. I doubt that the ambulance chasers are working the same case. Jamie Montgomery could barely pull our fee, so I don’t think she’s running double duty on the investigation front.”

  Julian thought about it. “We already learned that Joseph Hesser liked the ladies. There may be more than one heir apparent out there. They could be working for their client too.”

  Beckett Rand was enthralled. Here, his job was boring as hell, and he was finding himself to be a little jealous. He was really wishing that he could have this much adventure at work. The most excitement he’d had lately was trying to wrangle a wayward Hesser. “What are you going to do?” he asked.

  Tori glanced over at her husband. She, too, was curious what his plan was for this little escapade.

  “It’s easy. We’re going to find out why they’re here.”

  “How?” Beckett asked.

  Julian didn't like to beat around the bush.

  “That’s simple. We’re going to ask them.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Christina led Kane to the tack shed. When she noticed no one was there, she slid a pocket knife through the tape which marked it off limits.

  If they got caught, there was going to be hell to pay. All that she could hope was that her bosses were now playing nice with the sheriff.

  That might be their only saving grace if they were busted.

  Moving inside the shed, Christina dropped to her knees. Pulling out a pair of gloves, she scraped the knife over the surface of the blood stain.

  Immediately, she could smell it.

  Kane watched her, fascinated by what she was doing. Even though he knew she wasn’t going back to the FBI, his heart still ached that she might miss her job. When her face changed, he went on alert.

  “What’s wrong?” he whispered.

  “Can you smell it?”

  He didn't know what she was talking about. “What?”

  There was the faint lingering scent of chlorine in the air. “I think someone just screwed up our chances of finding any DNA.”

  He still wasn’t getting it.

  “I think someone dumped bleach on the blood stain.”

  Kane pulled out his flashlight and pointed it at the ground. “I can still see the outline of the blood.”

  She shook her head. “Yeah, but the chlorine is going to degrade the DNA sample. So, we may still find blood, but it’s not going to be viable.”

  “So, you’re saying that we’re shit out of luck?”

  “Yep.”

  Damn it!

  It was like someone was one step ahead of them.

  Again!

  Suddenly, there was a sound from outside the door. Kane grabbed Christina by the arm and pulled her to the back of the shed, behind some of the equipment.

  He protectively tucked her behind his larger frame, just in case the person who injured Jonathan Hesser had returned. This was his worst case scenario.

  They were trapped in the back of a tack shed, with no way out.

  “Shhhh,” he whispered, as the door creaked open. “If we’re found, I want you to make a break for the door and get the hell out of here, Chrissy,” he warned. If someone was going to jump them, he would make sure that his woman and unborn child were completely safe. He loosely clutched the handle of a shovel, to use as a weapon.

  Yeah, there was no way Christina would be leaving her fiancé behind to fight off God knew who.

  Never in a zillion years.

  At the soft sobbing, Kane peeked through the pile of items, trying to get a good look at the person. When he saw her, he ducked back down and stared at Christina in the shadows.

  He wasn’t worried for their safety anymore. There wouldn’t be the need to defend themselves.

  Then, there was speaking.

  “Oh, Johnny, what happened to you? I love you,” came the soft whisper. Then, as quickly as it came, it was gone.

  At the click of the door, Kane stood and led Christina out to the spot where the man had been hurt. Now, there was a red rose lying over the diminished blood stain.

  “Please tell me that you saw who left that there,” Christina whispered.

  Kane grinned wickedly. “Oh yeah I did. I think that Jonathan Hesser was doing more than just riding horses on the estate. He had his own filly for his personal stable.”

  Christina started laughing. “Let’s get the hell out of here,” she stated. “The bosses are going to love this.”

  Kane didn't doubt it. “I can’t wait to surprise them with this little tidbit.”

  Neither could she.

  They may have not gotten a sample of blood, but they found something far greater.

  They had the man’s girlfriend.

  The jig was up.

  Outside the barn, Kane’s phone beeped. He was infinitely grateful that it didn't go off in the tack shed. When he glanced down at the ID on the screen, he read the message.

  “The bosses want to meet up for lunch.”

  Christina was hoping that she could keep some food down. “Okay,” she said, cautiously.

  Kane was immediately on alert. “Are you sick?” he asked, brushing some of her brown hair from her cheek.

  “A little,” she admitted.

  “My poor baby,” he murmured, dropping a kiss to her lips. “Let’s get you some tea, and then have you lay down for a little while. We have time yet, before we meet up with them.”

  Christina loved how doting the man was over this pregnancy. “You’re sweet.”

  He grinned wickedly. “I’m just taking care of my soon to be wife and the mother of my children.”

  That caught her off guard. “What? Why the plural?”

  “I dreamt last night that we had twins. I think there were a couple of sets too.”

  That horrified her. “Kane, that’s not even funny.”

  He laughed anyway.

  “Kane! Take it back!” she hissed.

  While he didn't subscribe to tormenting the love of his life, her distress did amuse him.

  “Okay, I take it back.”

  “Crap! It’s too late. You already put it out there for the universe.”

  He laughed.

  Yeah, he absolutely did, and really, he wouldn’t mind.
<
br />   * * *

  Two Hours Later

  At the tiny little café in the middle of town, Julian and Tori sat there sipping mint laced iced tea. They were both wearing their sunglasses and scanning the area for anyone they recognized. When the other black Mercedes pulled up, and the big man raced around to help Christina out, they both smiled.

  “I think it’s sweet,” Tori murmured.

  Julian just grinned. “When we have a child, I’m going to be all over you until you’re ready to kill me. So, you may want to retract that comment.”

  Tori took his hand in hers. It was endearing that he would want to protect her like that.

  “Hey!” Kane said, pulling out his fiancée’s chair, before he took his own.

  When he slid his chair up against hers, Julian started to laugh, earning a pinch to his leg.

  “What?” Christina said, looking back and forth, obviously to the doting.

  “Nothing. Julian’s just in a good mood because we found out something interesting.”

  Kane rubbed his hands together, grinning like a kid in a candy store. “We did too, but you can go first. I bet we scored even bigger news.”

  Tori waited until the waitress took their order. “Okay, we now believe that Jonathan Hesser was on his way out to meet up with a lady friend. It seemed that he did it three nights a week.”

  Christina began giggling, since they could pretty much confirm that.

  “What?” Julian asked. He recognized that laughter. It was generally present when Christina was ready to explode. They must have found something too.

  Kane let her do the honors.

  “Well, we have good news and bad news. Which do you want first?” she asked, accepting the tea from the waitress.

  When she was gone, Julian and Tori both answered. “Bad.”

  “When we arrived in the shed, we tried to sample the blood. I can tell you right now that it’s a waste of time.”

  “Why?” asked Julian.

  “Someone took it upon themselves to dump bleach on it. It could have been someone working there who was cleaning up or the person who did the deed.”

  He looked confused, while Tori didn't.

  She cleared it up for him.

  “Bleach will destroy the blood. It’ll still show up under a black light, but you can’t test for DNA.”

  “Shit.”

  Christina started to bounce. “But we have something even better.”

  They both leaned forward.

  Kane shared the details. When they both stared wide eyed, he knew that they were excited too.

  “Please tell me that you saw who it was,” Julian stated.

  Kane grinned. “Oh yeah, I did. When I tell you who it was, you’re going to be surprised.”

  Tori couldn’t wait. This little tidbit could blow it all wide open for them. “Spill it.”

  “It was none other than the head housekeeper, Sharla.”

  They both stared openmouthed.

  “Seriously?”

  Kane nodded. “Yep. It seems that like his grandfather, Jonathan liked diddling with the staff.”

  Christina elbowed him and placed her hand over her belly. “Not in front of the baby, Kane!”

  He grinned. “I’m sorry, Chrissy. Should I have said fu…?”

  She cut him right off, trying not to giggle at the man’s silliness.

  “Wow, that’s almost as big a shocker as we found,” stated Tori.

  That had their interest.

  “What did you find out?”

  Tori told them about their call from Elizabeth. At her name, she noticed that Christina flinched. “For the record, you need to call her and tell her the good news,” she added, pointing at her belly.

  “I don’t want to upset her. The Blackhawks were always super nice to me, and she was there for me when I needed help with getting some things straight in my head,” she added, thinking back to the day after her drunken romp with the man beside her.

  Kane dropped his arm around her shoulders.

  “She’s going to be happy for you, so make the call. They love and care about you. If anything, she’s going to try and bribe you to come back.”

  Christian giggled. “I get updates from Doctor Leonard. It seems that they’re having one hell of a time replacing me.”

  “Yeah, Elizabeth has blown through four head techs. It’s not pretty. Call and tell her. Trust me on this. You’re underestimating her heart and compassion.”

  Christina knew that Tori and Elizabeth were incredibly close. “I’ll do it later. I promise.”

  “Uh, what did you find out?” Kane asked, not believing that their news could top his.

  “The Snyders are PI’s.”

  Okay, maybe he was wrong there. That was pretty shocking news too.

  “Seriously?”

  “Yep.”

  As if to prove it, Tori asked Christina for her tablet. Googling them, she turned it around. There on the page were the two private investigators, dressed like wannabe military militia.

  Apparently, they were trying to look scary.

  “Oh boy,” stated Christina. “Look at some of the cases they handled.”

  Kane scanned the testimonials. “They’re out for the money and glory.”

  Julian nodded. “Yeah, and that’s the worst kind of team to be up against. If they’ll take any case, they don’t have a lot of integrity.”

  “What are you going to do?” Christina asked.

  “I’m going to confront them,” stated Julian.

  Kane was willing to help them. “Want me to go with you? I can help you surprise them.”

  Both men glanced at Julian’s wife.

  Tori wasn’t having it. “I appreciate the twin looks of concern for me, but I’m going with you, Jules. Christina and Kane can sit downstairs in the house and warn us when they’re coming.”

  He didn't like the idea, but he knew that his wife was an asset. Julian weighed his options.

  “We’re going to wait for them in their room. When they walk in, I’ll be the one they see. If they try anything, Tori will have my back.”

  There was no one who he trusted more than his wife. Plus, he knew with her military training and the FBI, she had the fastest reflexes of all of them. It was kind of ironic, if he thought about it. On their website, they were dressed like soldiers, and they were about to run headlong into a real one.

  It wasn’t going to be pretty.

  “If that’s what you want, Julian,” Kane replied. He was unsure how he felt about it. Women had to be kept safe. There was no way in hell he would let his Chrissy face down two gun toting nutjobs.

  “We’ll all mingle at the party, and once we can slip away, you’ll have to keep them busy until we get into position. Then, we’ll hit them head on.”

  They worked out the rest of the plan. Tori was in charge of that aspect, since strategy was her thing on the team.

  When they were finished, they all agreed it was dangerous but necessary.

  “We need to find out what they’re doing here. I doubt that Jamie Montgomery hired them to look for the Bible, too.”

  With that, they all agreed.

  Now, they only needed to keep their fingers crossed and pray that no one on their team got hurt.

  There was no turning back.

  * * *

  It absolutely sucked that Jonathan Hesser was alive.

  That hit to the skull should have been the end of his life. The metal pipe should have been the death of him, just like William Macavoy.

  Damn it!

  This wasn’t a good thing.

  There was anger and frustration over the failure of the plan but then, what could be done? It wasn’t like there could be a second attempt on his life in the hospital.

  The man was a lump, lying in the bed, and that was suitable enough for him. He was just like his grandfather and the rest. This was his family karma, and he deserved it.

  It started with a Hesser, and it would end with one.

>   Sitting on the bed, the scissors ripped through the blood splattered material. At least one good thing had come from this. The pants were no longer telling any tale.

  They had a final destination.

  There was only one place they could be suitably hidden. It was a location that no one would find.

  When the job of destroying the evidence was complete, the next part of the plan was to pick the next victim.

  This time, the pipe would be retired.

  There was a more suitable penalty.

  After all, the punishment needed to fit the crime.

  * * *

  Friday Night

  Tori felt oddly out of place as she contemplated the evening attire, especially since she knew what was happening later in the night. A pair of pants would make her life so much easier. This was all foreign to her.

  Glancing over at her husband, he was splashing on some cologne, as he stood there with his tux shirt open. He was making it hard to concentrate. What she wanted to do was curl around the front of him, drinking in the scent of the man before her.

  Then, she wanted…

  “Tori, I can feel you staring at me,” he interrupted, laughing at the look on her face. Julian prayed it would always be there when she watched him.

  “I was just admiring my husband. I think that’s allowed. If you like, I can find another man to stare at.”

  He glanced over at her and gave her a look. Months ago, that statement would have scared and pissed him off. Now, he was more self-assured with their relationship.

  Tori wouldn’t cheat on him.

  “Want to find yourself handcuffed to that bed?” he asked. Just the thought of his wife trapped beneath him was making the blood pool much lower in his body.