Carolina Rain (17 page)

Lily rolled over and sat up, tears coating her eyes, rubbing her gloved hand and rubbing her leg under her black yoga pants.

“You hurt me, Daryl. I hope you’re proud of yourself. Does it make you feel like a man to treat women like that
—
especially one that
’
s
hurting
?”

The brief look of confusion flashing in his small, dark eyes told her she’d at least gotten a foothold on his emotion. That’s all she needed.

“I saw what you did, bitch. Don’t give me that
‘
I’m helpless
’
shit. I saw
what you did, corkscrew and all
.
”
He pointed
the six-inch blade in her direction. “I ain’t gonna be the next one.”

Yes
,
you are, you country moron. Yes
,
you are
,
and it’s going to be
. . .
sweet.

Rising slowly, she walked to the bed, sat down
,
and unbuttoned her blouse to expose cleavage old Daryl had only dreamed about seeing in the flesh.

“Don’t get me wrong, I think you’re an asshole but you’ve made me hot. I love it when men take charge
,
and the rough act just makes me wetter. Let’s bounce first and then we can talk about what you think you saw, okay?”

Uncertainty
seeped into his eyes
momentarily
, then he turned back to the apparent safety of his macho display. But she could see the sweat forming on his brow as his
eyes
switched between her breasts and her face, settling on her chest.

“
Wha
-
what’s under that there glove? I asked old
J.R.
and he said he ain’t seen you without it, and he didn’t give a shit, anyway. But I ain’t
getting’
close to you unless I see for myself.”

Tilting her head to the floor, she spoke softly. “What if you don’t like what you see? What if the
sight
of what those people did to me turns off those switches you go
t
all revved up?”

“I’ll take that chance,” he answered.

“I won’t. Come on
,
Daryl. I’m hot and bothered and ready to give you wha
t you want
.
W
hat the hell’s your
problem? Are you queer?” her voice was edgy, almost angry.

Her Oscar was already a done deal.

“What? You stupid
slut
. You think I’m a fag? I’ll show you what you ain’t ever had before.”

He took two steps toward her, then stopped, the
crooked grin
showing just how bad his teeth were. Green accented some of the yellow.

“You almost had me, woman. I’ll give y’all credit for that
. A
s good as you look, I ain’t dying just for
no
piece of ass, no matter how fine
it’d be
.”

“You are smarter than I thought, Daryl. But you got me wrong.”

She uncrossed her legs and ran her hand along her thigh. “I’m not that complicated or devious. Come get it, no strings attached.”

“Yeah, I bet that’s what you told old Carl, didn’t ya?”

She sighed. “Okay. I can see I’m not going to get what I want until we resolve last night. You got that wrong
too
. What if I told you it wasn’t me with Carl last night? What if I told you I have a friend that I’m trying to help through a rough
stretch
?” she asked so softly that her captor leaned closer to hear.

More doubt
clouded
his thin face. “I didn’t see
no
other
—
”

“Really? Tell me what you saw.”

“Well, I
saw you go into his house
. .
.”

“So you followed me? I bet you have some real expensive binoculars, right? You are a pervert, aren’t you?” she smiled as she
spoke
. “But did you actually see me kill him?”

His gaze finally left hers and he stared at the floor. “I
. . .
didn’t
. . .
see that, no.
”
He raised his head, a new defiant look draping his face. “I saw you through that cracked curtain and you was riding him like a bull at a rodeo.
Then I saw that corkscrew thing.
I just figured you took him out.”

She patted the bed next to her
,
then
finished unbuttoning so her opaque black lace bra was totally exposed.

“Come on, man, I’m getting warmer by the second. Isn’t this why you didn’t go to the cops? To get me like this?”

He nodded, swallowed hard, and nodded again.

Patting the bed again, she whispered. “I’ll tell you what really happened when we get done and if you’re a real good boy, that might mean tomorrow morning.”

He swallowed again,
took a step back
,
but the battle was
lost for Daryl, forever
.

“Now that would be right fine but I still don’t trust y
er
purty little ass. We’ll do this my way.”

She
’d
gotten what she wanted and he still thought he was in control.
His idiocy would be his undoing
.

He shuffled over to the bed, sat down, and raised the knife to her chin, his hand shaking ever so slightly.

“Don’t cut my throat with that.
”
Then she slowly placed her hand on his, raising her mouth to him.

Daryl kissed her
, t
hen
kissed her again, trying to show some measure of tenderness. Odd
,
for a man like him
. T
hat made it even better.
She bit his lip, hard
,
and felt the warm blood. Daryl moaned.

Reaching down, she touched his thigh, running her hand up
ward, but stopping
just short of where
he
wanted her most because he’d begun to shake, dropping the knife in the process.

A few seconds later, her man Daryl
was
on the floor quivering
.
His eyes were wide and
,
for the moment, they could follow her as she pulled her purse over
to her side
and took out the wooden handled corkscrew, the small case of scalpels, and a sewing kit. His widening, horrified eyes caused her heart to
climb to the next
level.

Taking her time, she drew close to him, feeling his shallow breath and watching his chest rise and fall ever so slightly.

“Didn’t your daddy ever tell you not
to
put things in your mouth that you couldn’t eat? You just never know what you might catch.”

She raised the corkscr
ew high above his head so that he could see it
—
and her intent.

“Thank you, Daryl. You’ve made my afternoon. You should be applauded for that.”

Then Lily brought her hand down with all
she had
.

CHAPTER-22

Waiting for Manny, Alex, and Sophie to enter the terminal at Myrtle Beach International Airport, Josh Corner stood behind the tinted window near their gate door, listening on his cell phone. The man on the other end wasn’t giving him time to
respond
and he wasn’t sure he had a pertinent syllable to utter anyway. There were times to listen, really listen, and
instances
to cut through the bullshit and take over, something he’d always been good at. But this was a golden opportunity to listen. The voice carried a panicked edge. The incident the voice on the other end was describing wasn’t about breaking procedure or an employee making a mistake. It wasn’t about getting your ass so deep into the fire that the burn
s
would leave a professional scar and cost you your job. Although all of those situations may come to fruition for the director of the hospital. It was about the butterfly effect and how one small event could change the lives of many.
Especially since the butterfly was Max Tucker.

Finally, the stream of words that sounded like a defense attorney’s opening statement to a murder case ceased.

“Thank you for all of your help and please let me know, via e-mail, if you think of anything else
,
” Josh said calmly. “
And yes, I’d send my family out of town, if I were you.
The
kind of personality that Max Tucker exhibits, as you’re aware, might be thinking revenge is sweeter than freedom.”

Ending the call on his smartphone, he glanced at Dean Mikus, who was standing abo
ut ten feet from the metal door
with his hands folded in front of him, paisley cap firmly gripped, and waiting for the woman
of
his dreams
.
Josh loved Sophie but never pictured her as the dream-
answering type
. T
hen again,
life
took all kinds, and he
’d
found himself appreciating that more and more as he grew older.

Dean returned Josh’s gaze, looked down at the floor, and grinned.
“I must look like a total love-
struck geek,” he said.

“Well, from the first
minute
I laid eyes on you in San Juan, the geek part was obvious and I think it was more like
oh princess of my life I’d die for you
, than love struck.”

“Bit
e
me, sir
. A
nd really? What gave me away?”

“I think the bending of knee and kissing the skin from her hand was a sure
-
fire sign. The drooling didn’t help either.”

Letting out a breath, his newest CSI shook his head. “Never had this kind of situation before. Wanting to be this close to someone. It’s new to me, but I’ll, we’ll, work it out.”

“I hope so, Dean. I hated losing Chloe from this team and I’d hate to lose either one of you for the same reason. Just keep it low profile and stay out of bed with her. Of course, Williams will know if you do sleep together and his lecture on waiting and doing the right thing is an ass-kicker.”

“So I’ve heard
,
and I respect that. If I’ve learned anything being around him, he’s real.
We
need more of that. Besides, I’ve kind of made myself the same promise. I know, dorky by today’s standards, but I don’t want to be tired of sex on my wedding night. I want it to be a night to remember. And if it is Sophie
. .
.”

Raising his hand, Josh interrupted. “If you think that every night with Sophie wouldn’t be a night to remember, and in a million different ways, you’re dreaming
. A
nd now you’re getting past the
red on the
TMI meter. Just keep it together, like I said.”

“It’s a deal. But I do have one question. It seems she’s a little sweet on you. Is that like the real thing?”

Laughing out loud, Josh slapped Dean on the back. “It’s flattering to have the attention she can give, but
nothing
has
happened, nor w
ill
it. I’m a jerk of a husband, from time
to
time
, but
I love my wife
and boys
and will do what it takes to make the best marriage possible.
Sophie’s special though.
”

At that moment,
the door swung open and Alex walked through, followed by Manny, supporting Sophie with one arm under her ribs. She was as pale, with a tint of green, as Josh had seen her.
His smirk
was hard to
suppress. Dean thought it less
funny, however.

“Sophie! Are you all right?”

“Do I look like I’m all right? Aren’t you supposed to be observant?” she muttered.

“She’ll be fine in
a few minutes
. It was a little rough on the descent and she hates the landings anyway,” said Manny, trying to
disguise
a smirk of his own.

“Hey Sophie, want a piece of sausage and pepperoni pizza? I’ll buy,” asked Alex, his eyes spark
l
ing.

“You bastard,” she whispered and rushed to the ladies room, hand over mouth.