Hunting (2 page)

Unfortunately, most of the
women he knew he had found quite lacking for what he would need of
them. His future wife would need to be beautiful—or at least
presentable, intelligent, articulate, well-liked, well-groomed, and
well-educated. She would have to follow his instructions to the
letter, but also be able to make decisions for herself without him
present at her side. She would have to understand that children
were to be kept clean, neat, and image-ready. No grubby urchins
would be allowed. And no more than two, though he would be far more
satisfied with just one.

He had narrowed his list
down to a handful of candidates, and had made his selection. While
she was far from what he was looking for, with a bit of molding,
she could eventually fit his needs.

And she now walked at his
side, providing the perfect alibi for the events that would happen
later. Events he had set into place. After all, how more perfect
could his alibi be, than him escorting an FBI agent?

“
Be careful of the snow, my
dear.”

“
I’m ok. Really. Thanks for
the ride.” She had her bag slung over her shoulder and he wondered
at it, but didn’t ask. After she was his to do with as he pleased,
she would not be jetting around the country with that team of hers.
No, she would be a stay at home wife and hostess, set into place to
ensure he had his needs met fully while on the campaign trail. His
career was the one that mattered, after all. But he would never
tell her that, not yet. “I’m going to camp out at Al’s for a
while.”

“
And what is wrong with
your place?” He had to admit, he did not like the idea of her being
in Malachi’s home when the next piece was played. It was best to
keep his plans separate from one another. Still, she was not under
his control, yet.

“
Smoke damage.” She
laughed, and he smiled. The sound was very pleasing to the ears. It
was one of her better features, besides her porcelain skin and rich
dark eyes. The hair was horrible, but he would address that later.
“Dan’s boy, he’s almost twelve, blew up the basement trying to do
his science homework.”

And she lived in Dan’s
basement, renting an apartment from her older colleague. Horrific.
“What was he doing down there? Doesn’t he stay
upstairs?”

“
Oh, I was helping him.”
She grinned. “His mother wasn’t too happy, but we had fun doing
it.”

“
And did he learn the
lesson?”

“
I think so. The main thing
we learned was that neither of us should be playing with that kind
of stuff. At least not without an actual tech present. It’ll take a
few weeks to change the drywall in my place. There was also the
tiny problem of the upstairs bathroom.”

“
What was that?”

“
Ryan’s little sister left
the sink running in the bathroom right over my bedroom. Saturated
the drywall before the smoke damage.”

What horrific children. If
they were his, they would have long been beaten. He just barely
held back a shudder. “I see.”

“
I don’t think you do. The
water kept the drywall from catching fire, at least. Everything
worked out for a reason.”

“
I see.”

He guided her up the steps
into the house that Malachi shared with his younger sister
Alessandra. He’d considered Alessandra, but although she was truly
beautiful, he’d found her personality severely lacking for his
needs. That woman would never bend to proper authority, and she
would give a husband more trouble than she would help. No. He’d
needed a more malleable woman, so he’d easily crossed Alessandra
from the list, despite her connection to the Brockman family. Once
again his attention had landed on Alessandra’s partner,
Paige.

The house was too large for
just Malachi and his sister, but he knew it was in perfect repair.
Everything Malachi possessed was of high quality. And always had
been. Malachi Brockman had never wanted for anything. But he would
soon take all that away from Malachi, and he’d watch the man’s
perfection wither away. He was so looking forward to it.

Malachi was his biggest
obstacle to his career ambition of politics. Malachi may never have
said it, but he knew it was always there. He could not be the best
at anything until Malachi was no longer a competitor. Malachi had
overshadowed him since they were in grade school. But that would go
on no longer. Tonight, would be the end of the game.

They met several of Paige’s
friends inside, people he was acquainted with because he’d chosen
to spend so much of his spare time with Paige. There were only one
or two that he genuinely liked, but he hid his disgust as he shook
hands with them all.

Once she was his, he would
cull these lower class individuals from her social circle. It would
be one of the first things he did. He wanted to appeal to a certain
class of constituents, and these people just weren’t
them.

Two hours into the party
and Mal’s path finally crossed with Julia’s again. She glared at
him and stalked off. He laughed as he decided to make it his
mission to keep her so riled, she’d have no choice but to
explode...again.

He made a mental note to
duck when needed.

What he hadn’t counted on
was Julia’s ability to avoid confrontation. It took him nearly an
hour to find her again. She stood in the kitchen doorway, watching
the dancers swaying across the make-shift dance floor—what was
normally his dining room. He watched her for another moment,
enjoying his slight time of voyeurism. His sister must have called
her name; she turned back into the kitchen, her dress twitching
around her pretty legs.

The dress she wore was
lovely, low-cut and revealing. And a good color choice for her. He
might not have liked her personality, but even he had to admit
there was nothing wrong with her body. Pity she usually kept it so
ruthlessly covered.

He either saw her dressed
in shapeless suits or medical scrubs. Scrubs were his favorite—they
at least hinted at the female body beneath. And when dressed in her
medical garb she appeared confident.

She was hard at work
helping his sister Al set out punch, applying herself to the task
with utmost concentration when he entered the kitchen. Hiding. He’d
not missed the expression on her face as she’d watched the dancers.
He considered for a moment—had he ever seen her dance with someone?
Someone other than Ed Dennis? In an instant, his mind was made up.
 ”Dr. Bellows, I was at least hoping for one dance before the
night ends. Instead I find you in here.”

“
I’m sorry; I make it a
point not to dance with apes.” She didn’t look up from the peach
punch she was ladling. Malachi heard his sister snicker.

“
Julia is a bit angry at
me. She wouldn’t really say I’m an ape. Then I’d have to say she
was a shrew, or something of that nature.” He grinned at the shrew
in question. “I would never do that.”

“
Of course, you’re too
perfect for that.” She thickened her slight accent into a more
noticeable southern drawl. “And who would ever accuse the great
Malachi Brockman of not being perfect? Surely not I.”

She showed just the barest
hint of teeth before looking away. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to
use the restroom.” She left Malachi and Al standing watching her
back as she wove through the dancers.

“
Good one, Mal.” Al bumped
his shoulder with hers. “What did you do to her this
time?”

Malachi smiled. “I probably
deserved the stapler she heaved at my head this morning. I just
can’t seem to resist pushing her buttons. But she will dance with
me before this party ends.”

He’d make sure of
it.

It took him another forty
minutes to corner her, and it was only in front of Ana and Paige
that he did.

Julia wouldn’t dare make a
scene in front of her friends. And one thing Malachi could say was
that she valued and protected her friends. God knew the woman
didn’t have very many. Just Georgia, Ana, Paige, Carrie, and
Alessandra.

As luck would have it, the
tempo slowed just as he slipped his arms around her. A woman’s
voice, low and throaty floated over the dance floor, soon joined by
more. Paige, Carrie and Al sang beautifully, even more so when they
sang together. This time they sang of enduring love.

Mal pulled his partner
closer, ignoring the way she resisted. Her hair brushed his chin,
but he allowed her to keep an appropriate distance between their
bodies.

It wasn’t as if they were
lovers, after all. It wasn’t as if they even liked one another. He
just wanted to dance with her. He held her almost gently, one hand
low on her back, the other holding her left hand against his chest.
She wasn’t any bigger than Georgia or Ana and he’d danced with them
hundreds of times. So why did she feel so different?

Malachi didn’t have a
clue.

Alessandra watched her
brother and one of her closest friends as they danced. It was
funny, seeing them not snipping and sniping at each other for once.
It was refreshing, seeing someone yanking Mal’s chain, instead of
fawning over him. Most women thought her brother was some type of
god, and if she was objective enough she could see where he’d look
pretty damned good. He was big and strong, with dark hair and
beautiful blue eyes. And he had a great sense of humor, was highly
intelligent, and very successful in his field. What her mother
would refer to as a ‘prime catch’.

Jules apparently didn’t
agree.

Al continued to sing,
following Paige’s vocal lead for this song Paige had written about
longing and waiting for that special someone.

If that person even
existed. Al certainly hadn’t found hers yet.

But Jules had found hers.
And lost him. Al had never asked the details of what had happened,
but she knew enough from Georgia to put the pieces together. How
horrible. To have someone you loved and then watch them die in
front of you.

No wonder Jules seemed so
alone.

Loneliness was a real bitch
sometimes.

Was Mal lonely? Al had
never given it much thought, but watching him pull Julia even
closer, watching him stroke the other woman’s back in an almost
loving manner, she wondered.

Interesting.

Al missed her next cue from
Carrie, coming in on the refrain just a half a beat too
late.

Was there something going
on between Mal and Jules?

Al had often wondered if
her brother had had feelings for Georgia or Ana, both who had been
on his team at one time, but they’d paired off with Fin and Hell
quickly once the other men had come into the picture. Leaving Mal
on the sidelines, friends with them all.

Had that bothered Mal? Was
that why he picked at Jules so much? Because she was close friends
with both Georgia and Ana? Mal treated Jules differently than he
did any other woman Al could remember. Did either of them realize
that?

Except…he wasn’t teasing
Jules now. He was holding her like he’d held her a thousand times
before. Like he’d never let her ago…

Al felt a rush of envy for
her friend. What would it be like to be held like Mal was holding
Jules? When was the last time she’d felt that connection with a
man?

Too many years for her
to count—and she wasn’t quite thirty!

Paige was staring at her, a
question on her face. Al shook her maudlin thoughts away. Sent a
thumbs-up to Paige to let her know Al was back with the
program.

She was probably just
seeing things between Jules and Mal that weren’t there. It wasn’t
as if either had made any overt signs of attraction toward one
another. They were just dancing.

Kind of like Payton was
dancing with Nathanial, Chalmers was dancing with their next door
neighbor Tiffany, Smokey Jo from Smokey’s Bar was dancing with
Allan Knight. Acquaintances sharing a dance. It was happening all
over the space that usually acted as Al’s dining room
area.

So why did what was going
on between Jules and her brother look so different?

The woman in his
arms—despite being beautiful in her country-bumpkin way—was
completely unremarkable. Such a shame, really. Meredith had
introduced them and suggested they dance.

He would do anything to not
hurt Meredith. The woman was a saint, and if dancing with her
daughter’s little wallflower friend pleased Meredith, than he would
do it. No harm in that. What was but a moment of his time to share
in a socially acceptable custom such as dancing at a
party?

Even Malachi was engaged in
such an act—though he appeared quite happy to be wrapped around the
small woman in his arms.

He couldn’t quite see her
through the crowd, at least not enough to identify her. Had he met
her before? He mentally flipped through the guests he’d recalled
meeting when he’d entered the party an hour ago. None came to mind
who met her physical description.

Had Malachi brought a date
to the party, perhaps? Meredith hadn’t mentioned either of her sons
being involved. Was Malachi and his mother just didn’t know
it?