Lost & Broken (LIttlemoon Investigations Book 2) Page 23
“You don’t have handcuffs with you, so I’m not scared in the least.” Yeah, fear wasn’t the issue. The lust was. Now, she had visions racing through her head, and they were all of her sexy husband having his way with her.
When she blushed, he moved toward her. It was hard not to be turned on when his wife was standing in their room in some lacy girly things. God, he couldn’t wait to get her into that dress.
Then get her out of it later.
“Want my help?” he offered, as his body was pressed against hers. When his hands went to her hips, she shivered at his touch.
“I always want you, Julian,” she purred, allowing there to be no confusion in what she was thinking.
Julian knew that if they wanted to make it to dinner, they needed to stop thinking about sex.
It wasn’t going to be easy.
Backing up, he waited until his wife picked up the cocktail dress and dropped it over her head. When she lifted her hair and turned, he immediately handled the zipper. Slowly, he slid it up, and the sound filled the room. The only other noise was their breathing.
“Later, Julian?” she asked.
His masculine laughter said it all.
When she turned, Julian appreciatively allowed his gaze to slide up and down her body. There was no doubt that his wife was stunning. The black dress had a lace bodice that left one shoulder free. From her waist down, it floated around her and gave her an ethereal appearance.
Yeah, he really couldn’t wait to get her out of it.
“You look beautiful,” he said, running his fingers through her hair. “I’m the luckiest man in the whole damn world,” he admitted.
Tori began buttoning his tux shirt. He wasn’t the only lucky one. She was pretty fortunate herself. When she freed the top button of his pants to tuck his shirt in, his eyes gave away everything that he was feeling. Tori could swear that his pupils dilated. As her hand intimately brushed him, his body shook.
“It’s going to be a long night,” he muttered, as Tori began laughing.
“Oh, I think you’ll survive,” she stated.
Pulling her close, he stopped the teasing and took her mouth until she was just as stirred up as he was. Once he pulled away, the evidence was there for him to see. His wife was just as turned on.
Julian had no choice. He needed to walk away and finish getting ready. The heat in the room was threatening to burn him alive. Tori always had this effect on him, stripping away his control.
“Give me five minutes to put on my tie,” he muttered, closing the bathroom door.
Tori grinned. “Sure thing, Jules,” she replied. It was going to be one hell of an evening, and she couldn’t wait.
Christina allowed Kane to escort her down the stairs. She had just spent the last twenty minutes being sick. What she really wanted to do was head back to the room and crawl into the bed. In all honestly, she didn't know if she was going to be able to pull off the pregnancy thing.
This was likely going to be her downfall.
She could see it now.
“If you want to go back to the room, please just tell me,” Kane said, knowing that Julian and Tori would understand if she couldn’t do it. He was beginning to get worried about her. Christina was pale and wasn’t able to keep much food down. Already, he was stressing this fatherhood thing. In the back of his mind, he kept trying to reassure himself that morning sickness wasn’t fatal. As long as he kept her hydrated, then she would be okay.
“I’m good. I’m sorry that I’m not much fun,” she apologized softly.
He stared at her like she was out of her mind. “Chrissy, you’re growing a baby. You don’t have to worry about being fun. I only care that you’re doing okay. We’ll get through the rest. I researched it. You’re in the home stretch of morning sickness. Just hang in there. One morning you’ll wake up and it’ll be gone.”
“Promise?” she asked, hoping he was telling the truth.
“Yes,” he reassured, lifting her chin and quivering bottom lip. “I picked a strong woman to love, and I know that you’ll beat this.”
She kissed him, and then wrapped her arms around his waist in a hug. It was nice to be protectively held against his body. One of her most favorite things about the man was his sheer size.
“I love you, Kane.”
He grinned. “I love you too.”
“Isn’t this sweet,” stated Fredrick, walking past them. “I almost want to puke right here,” he stated, making gagging noises. “Married people are insane.”
Kane lifted a brow. He knew that Julian wanted to throttle the man, and he wasn’t far behind himself. Instead of saying anything, he simply let it go. There was no point in starting an argument with an asshole.
“Come on, Chrissy. Let’s go find Julian and Tori.”
Tucked beneath his strong shoulder, Christina leaned against him. She was so glad that Kane was now aware that she was pregnant. In her heart, Christina knew that she couldn’t do this alone.
She needed him.
More than anything.
Julian held a glass of sparkling champagne out for his wife. They knew that they needed to work, but they still needed to blend in. When she smiled up at him, his heart skipped in his chest.
“It’s somber tonight,” stated Tori.
“Yeah, it is,” he replied, glancing around the room. Not far from them was Lorelei Hesser, and there was a man beside her with his hand on her hip. “That must be the on again, off again boyfriend,” he stated.
Tori watched them as the man leaned down to whisper in the woman’s ear. Out on the dance floor, Tori could see Fredrick Hesser- Jameson, dancing with a woman. His hands were on her ass, and she was giggling.
“Oh brother,” stated Julian.
They both knew what he was thinking.
The letch was on the prowl.
“Excuse me, but can I have this dance?” came a voice.
Julian immediately went on alert, his whole body going tense at the sentence. When he saw the sheriff, he was only slightly mollified.
When he dropped his voice low, they both leaned in to hear what he had to say.
“We need to discuss something, and it’s going to look odd if I’m seen dancing with you, Mr. Littlemoon. I’ll keep my hands where you can see them and bring her right back,” he teased.
Tori handed her husband her champagne and winked at him. She knew he wasn’t happy, but this was still work. His fear of his past needed to stay buried while they tried to solve this.
When he only nodded, she took it as her signal that he was okay. As he placed her hand through Beckett’s arm, Tori noticed Kane and Christina were beside Julian, trying to offer calm.
She wasn’t the only one who knew him well.
“I’m sorry,” Beckett said, not wanting to infringe on the man’s wife. He was well aware that the look Julian Littlemoon was shooting him wasn’t a pleasant one. “I needed to talk to you and your husband, but had I just done it, people would talk.”
She understood. “What did you find out?”
“I asked the ME to reexamine William Macavoy. He said that he still can’t call it homicide. He believes that the corner of the shelf could have created the long wound in his head. Until I can prove otherwise, it’s staying accidental.”
Tori figured as much. “Okay, well we have news too,” she began, sharing the information that they learned about the woman sleeping with Jonathan Hesser.
“What are you going to do about it?”
She smiled serenely at her husband, hoping he’d remain calm. “We’re going to confront her, but we need to plan it just right. If we tell her that we’re private investigators, she may start to blab.”
“Do you want me to do it?” he asked, spinning her in a circle. His eyes scanned the area, taking in all the attendees.
“Can you?” she asked, knowing that they needed to keep their cover.
“Yeah, I can tell her that I had an anonymous tip that she had more than a boss-employee relationship.”
“She definitely has it bad.”
That was an understatement.
“Do you think that she could have something to do with it?” he asked, suddenly thinking about love being a motive for murder, or attempted murder in this case.
“Anyone can at this point. We have another suspect to add to it all. The jockey had a reason to kill his boss, and maybe Jonathan scorned Sharla Wheaton.”
“Yeah, women can be wicked.”
That statement was pretty telling, as was the look on Beckett Rand’s face. Tori was good at reading people, and this man’s demeanor screamed one thing.
Someone kicked the hell out of his heart.
“Can we watch the interview?” she asked, noticing that Fredrick was watching her dance with the sheriff. She needed to end this soon, or he would think she was offering up dances with any man who asked.
“Yeah, I’ll text you the details. If you arrive at the station early, I can hide you in the observation room.”
That was good.
“Anything on the DNA?” he asked.
“Nada. Someone knew that we were going to be heading in that direction. It was probably the same person who stole the jeans from my room. Someone is definitely watching us.”
Tori looked around.
“We’re drawing attention. Stay away from us the rest of the night, or someone will begin talking.”
Releasing her hand, he watched her walk away. It was hard not to notice how beautiful Tori Littlemoon was. Glancing over at her husband, they shared a look.
Yeah, keeping his distance would be a very good thing.
Chapter Fifteen
The night had been pleasant enough, considering the previous day’s events. Lorelei Hesser danced with her date, trying to mingle.
Fredrick Hesser-Jameson hopped from eligible woman to eligible woman. It was like he was a bumble bee, attempting to pollinate the entire field. No one was shocked or surprised, and no one paid him any mind.
Each time they crossed paths with the sheriff, he gave no notion of wanting to speak to them. There would be a friendly nod, but nothing more. Tori couldn’t help but notice that Julian was still staring at the man warily.
“It’s time,” he stated, giving a silent signal to Kane. They would have to keep the Snyders occupied, until they managed to get upstairs and into the room.
Watching them carefully, Julian noticed that the other private investigators looked around, trying to track them through the crowd.
Yeah, they were really bad at their job. Once they were spotted outside William Macavoy’s building, and now they were busted staring.
Someone needed to go back and refine their PI skills.
Heading up the stairs, Tori reached into her husband’s pocket and pulled out a little case. In it, she grabbed two tools, as he blocked her from anyone’s view. Most of the people were downstairs, but someone could come upstairs for a little interlude. From her position, kneeling in front of him, people were going to be talking. It definitely didn't look like she was picking a lock…
It amused her.
Quickly, she popped it open, and Julian wanted to laugh. His wife was full of surprises. Inside, he took his position. Sitting on the bed, he was front and center for when they came in and turned on the lights.
Julian knew it was risky, but he was willing to put his safety in Tori’s’s hands. There was no other person he trusted more than her. When she took her place, in the shadows of the room, neither spoke.
Now, he needed to hope that she could disarm two angry PI’s. This was the truest meaning of partnership.
Tori’s heart pounded in her chest. All that she could think about was the gun which Kane had found in this room. If the man had it on him, this was going to be risky.
At the sound of footsteps down the hall, Tori stared at her husband to watch his face. From her position behind the door, she couldn’t see the people entering. He was going to be her eyes.
When the door opened, the lights flashed on.
Suddenly, Tori saw fear in Julian’s eyes and knew it was their worst case scenario.
There was a gun in play.
Stepping out, she grabbed the man’s wrist, quickly bringing her knee to his groin. Since he was taller, she would have to take a nut shot over the gut. Either way, it had the desired effect. Twisting his arm, the gun came free as did a startled gasp from the woman behind them.
Before she knew it, Tori had the gun pointed at her forehead. “I suggest you come in, close the door, and don’t try anything. Unlike your husband, Katy, I’m not prone to losing my weapon. I am prone to pulling the trigger.”
The woman did what she was told, and then dropped down beside her husband. He was still struggling for air, and his mouth was moving like a fish out of water.
Julian hopped off the bed, moving toward them. “Okay, Stephen, we need to have a talk.”
The man stayed curled up like a shrimp.
It was hard not to laugh, and Julian couldn’t even look at his wife. It was incredibly sexy how she took down a man who was bigger than her, and then managed to scare the shit out of his wife. Yeah, they weren’t very skilled PI’s if they didn't see this coming.
This was exactly why he didn't believe in carrying a gun. In a fight, you could easily lose it, having it used against you.
“Want to tell us why you’re following us?” he asked, pulling a chair out from the table to have a seat. Finally, the man sat up.
“I’m having you arrested for assault,” he hissed at Tori.
“Have at it. I’ll have you outted for being a really shitty private investigator. You got made, and that’s rule one in the book. If you’re going under, stay under.”
He stared at them. Stephen’s wife didn't look happy.
“You got lucky,” Katy stated.
Julian started laughing. “Yeah, well we’ll take luck any day. At least my balls are still in the sack and not floating up around my throat. Good one, honey,” he stated.
Tori shrugged. “I was hoping to break a rib, but I had to take my heels off to kick his ass.”
Unloading the gun, she tossed it on the bed, but kept the round that was in the chamber and the magazine.
“Have a seat, Stephen,” Julian stated, glancing down at his watch. “I want to have this talk, and then head back to my room for the night.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he stated, getting to his knees.
It wasn’t lost on Tori that he was staring at her warily. Good, if he made a move, he was going to be swallowing his nuts once more.
“We simply want to talk, private investigator to private investigator,” he said, “Nothing more.”
The man feigned confusion as he took a seat. “I don’t know what you mean.”
Julian shook his head and stood. “Then, I’m going down to tell Lorelei Hesser you’re here. She’s probably going to be pissed.”
He let the man assume the woman hired them. He wasn’t going to let his client’s name out of the bag. It was a big bluff, but he was willing to risk it.
“Then, I’ll out you too.”
He started laughing. “You think they don’t know we’re here? Who do you think hired us and could afford to bring us all the way across the country? The maid?”
Tori wanted to laugh. Her husband was piling on the bullshit big time!
That made Stephen Snyder pause. “Okay, so if I share my details, you’ll share yours?” he asked, hoping they would play ball together.
“Maybe. You’ll have to risk it, since you’re the one who got busted by us. By the way,” he began, “you may want to learn to hide in plain sight. We saw you in town following us. Then, we watched you follow us through the park. That had to piss you off. I could see it on your face.”
The man went red.
“Yeah, anyway, spill it.”
“We were hired by someone not he
re on the estate. There’s a pending investigation and legal case.”
That wasn’t good enough.
“More,” he stated.
“Come on!” the man said.
From the look on Tori’s face, the man must have figured out that they weren’t screwing around. They would spill their identity in a heartbeat.
Julian was willing to play the game. With what they knew, he opted to guess. “True or false? The case you’re working has something to do with Fredrick Hesser-Jameson.”
That caught both of them off guard.
“True.”
That answer was very telling. Just from what they knew, Julian was now able to lock it down.
“Is it a paternity suit, or an assault suit?”
Stephen sighed. Apparently, they knew about everything. “Our client wants to get some details. It seems that she wants to file a civil suit against the Hessers. She claims that Fredrick raped her.”
Julian wouldn’t be surprised in the least. He seemed like the type to believe that the opposite sex was like fruit on the tree. All he needed to do was reach up and pluck the one he wanted.
“Okay.”
“What about you two?” he asked. “Oh, and we technically made you the day we saw you.”
Tori crossed her arms. “Yeah, well any moron who watches the nightly news could do that. We had to figure out who you were without your faces being all over the media. That took skill.”
Yeah, and the FBI.
“We shared, now it’s your turn,” he prompted.
Julian was feeling magnanimous, since his wife may have just ruined the man’s chances of having children one day. “We were hired to find the family Bible. Nothing more.”
They appeared to buy it.
Katy spoke, “The one that’s been lost for all these years?”
Both Littlemoons nodded.
Stephen had an idea. “We can team up. More eyes are a far better thing in our field.” Yeah, and the publicity of working with this duo would give his business added boost.
Julian wasn’t having it. “Sorry, but we work alone.” The man’s statement meant one thing. They didn't know that Kane and Christina were part of the team. For now, they had an ace in the hole, and he would use it.