Layers Crossed (31 page)

While I was in
my bedroom, I heard unexpected hellos and a quieted conversation
among them. Were they really getting along? Was it possible that my
brothers would finally give me the respect I’d sought?

“What are you
doing here?” I asked as I came back into the living room.

“We had some
business to take care of.”

“Oh, you mean,
pay your employee.” I rolled my eyes out of habit, making a note
that I hadn’t done that in a long time.

“No, Emma. Can
you please stop rolling your eyes? It makes you look too young to
have a man in your apartment.”

I sighed,
deciding not to argue and take the higher road. I came over to
Julian, hugging him tightly, “Thank you for getting him here.”

“We’re
discussing your case,” Tristan said. “Am I chopped liver?”

“No.” I
strolled over to my other brother to embrace him as well. I’d
forgotten how good it felt to have their loving arms around me.
It’s been too long since I’d let them hold me like this. “It’s
still my case, isn’t it?”

“It’s more
dangerous than we thought it was.”

“Like hell.
There’s no way you’re butting in.”

Eric’s pulse,
pumping through the vein of his strained neck, was beating off the
charts, and I knew that whatever my brothers were proposing, he
didn’t like it.

“Emma, it’s
better that…”

Eric cleared
his throat loud enough for both my brothers to freeze, Julian
midway to scratching his head and Tristan to getting off his
seat.

“Emma’s the
only one I want on this case. I trust her. She’s very intelligent
and knows the details already. Besides, I know that she would ask
for help and not get herself into a dangerous situation if there
was a need.”

My brothers
looked from one to the other, obviously not happy with Eric’s
choice. For a moment I thought we’d have a little wrestling match
in the middle of the room between the three of them. Instead,
Tristan poured himself a cup of coffee and sipped it, saying,
“Fine. So what’s this I’m hearing about a family dinner
tomorrow?”

Eric shrugged
toward me. “I sort of mentioned it already.”

While Tristan
and Eric discussed tomorrow afternoon, already making the flight
arrangements and ordering a caterer, Julian pulled me aside.

“You love him,
Emma? Isn’t it too fast?” he asked.

“Yes, I love
him very much. I don’t think I’ve ever been this happy.”

“I haven’t
seen you this happy in a long time, either. He’s a good guy.”

“You did a
background check, didn’t you?”

“Do you blame
me?”

“No. I love
you, Julian. Thank you for putting up with me for the past few
years.”

“You’re
welcome. Believe me, I know when a woman is broken and when she
needs help.” He sighed. Of course he knew. He’d helped his wife,
Kendra, rehabilitate after she’d been held captive by sex
traffickers for a month. If there was anyone who knew how to fight
dark demons, it was Julian. “I’m sorry it took me so long to help
you, but I’ve never had a troubled sister. You’ve always been so
strong, Em. I just wanted you healthy.”

“I know.”

“As much as I
don’t like you working this case, I will be forever grateful to
Hunter for bringing Eric to New York. You’re practically glowing
when you look at him.”

“All I want to
do is make him happy. How are we going to make this work? He lives
so far away.”

“I’m sure
you’ll figure something out, Emma. Listen, this case and Huntz. You
may have been too young to remember what Allie went through with
Wright, but John Huntz has all the traits of a maniac, Emma. Be
careful.”

Yes, I
remembered how Allie had run her entire life from the man who raped
her mother, causing her to lose her baby. She’d run from him, met
Tristan, and when the two of them finally thought they could form a
family, the bastard had returned. He’d been stalking her for years,
calculating the perfect time to make a comeback. Chills ran up my
spine, raising goose bumps on my arms.

“I remember
enough. I’ll be careful.”

“You still
have the gun?”

“Yes.”

“Well, maybe
it’s time to carry it with you on the job. I don’t want to lose
you, Em.”

“You have
nothing to worry about. I was taught by the best.” I hugged
him.

We chatted a
bit longer in the kitchen, and for the first time since I’d met
Eric, I got the feeling that our families could blend together
after all. The guys seemed to get along quite well, and I couldn’t
wait for tomorrow’s family dinner.

“Do you know
how much I love you?” I said after my brothers left.

“Why don’t you
show me?” He picked me up and carried me to my bedroom where we
spent the next twenty-four hours, until my phone sounded with a
long-awaited ping.

C
HAPTER
28

Eric

Waking up next
to Emma was what heaven must feel like. I swept my hand across the
pillow, looking for her naked body, thinking about sliding between
her wet folds to ease the ache of my morning wood, but only found a
piece of paper on her pillow.

Good morning
Cowboy,

You looked so
peaceful that I couldn’t bear to wake you. Please forgive me. I got
a lead on Huntz and called Hunter. He’s going with me. By the time
you’ll read this message, I’ll probably be on his trail already.
Please trust me and don’t worry. I may be a few minutes late for
dinner, but I’ll see you at Julian’s house. Please apologize for
me. I need to turn my phone to silent for the next little while.
Love you so much.

Em

“Shit, Emma!”
I jumped out of bed and hit the shower, worrying about my girl. I
wasn’t sure I’d ever be able to live like this, with her going on
dangerous missions, and now I completely sympathized with her
brothers. Once I got dressed I ran downstairs to see Harold, the
security guard at Emma’s condo.

“Hi, I’m a
friend of Emma’s and need to reach a friend of hers who lives in
this building. Grace. Can you ring her for me?”

“Of course,
sir.”

Fortunately
Grace was home, and I was at her threshold within minutes.

“Did he say
where they were going?”

“No,
nothing.”

“Grace, I’m
worried about Emma. If you hear anything at all, please let me
know.”

“Of course.
But there’s something you need to know about her, Eric. She’s
kick-ass. I mean, this girl can break an arm and pinch a nerve to
immobilize a body in one move.”

I didn’t doubt
she could, yet that dreadful feeling in my stomach wouldn’t go
away. But as much as I wanted to be her knight in shining armor, I
had to let it go and trust her.

By the time I
arrived at the Cross residence and was greeted by Jack, my worries
had quadrupled. I hadn’t heard from Emma or Hunter since I’d woken
up six hours ago. Although she’d mentioned being late, I knew she’d
still need time to get ready and would have called me if she was
back. So, I came a little earlier to Julian’s, hoping that maybe he
could settle my nerves. Derek was already picking my parents up to
drive them to the airport, and they’d be here within a few hours as
well.

“Hi, Jack.” I
ruffled the top of his blond hair when he opened the door. His lips
were covered in what I assumed was chocolate, and when I crouched
to the floor his sweet breath confirmed it.

“Hi,
Ewik.”

“Piggyback
ride?”

“Yay!” he
hopped on my back, holding on with his little hands.

“Where
to?”

“Kitchen!
Mama’s making chocolate cake and she let me lick the bowl.”

“Did you swim
in the bowl too?”

“No seewee,”
he laughed, as I hopped around like a horse, the giggles vibrating
from his chest onto my back.

Under Jack’s
direction, I headed for the kitchen. The smell of baking and other
delicious food being prepared by a chef took me aback.

“Hi, Eric.”
Kendra came to my side. “This is Olivier, our caterer. He’s a
family friend. Jack, get off. You’ll hurt Eric’s back, and I’m
pretty sure he’s sore today.” She gave me a knowing look.

Did I have
some sort of a sign on my face that said I’ve gotten lucky half a
dozen times in the past twenty-four hours? But yeah, Kendra was
right, my ass had never felt tighter than this morning and my arms
were feeling the effects of holding Emma against that shower door,
the wall in her bedroom, flipping her on her bed and on the kitchen
counter. I had to stop thinking about all that, because my blood
was already rushing south.

At his mom’s
request, I set Jack down and gave him a high five.

“Is he as sore
as you and daddy when you exercise at night?” Jack asked.

She laughed,
“Yeah, I think so. Go wash your face. You’re a bit early, Eric.
Where’s Emma?”

“She’s on a
job.” Why did I feel like such a dick at that moment? My woman was
out there, doing God knew what, and I was here waiting for her,
completely helpless.

“What job?”
Julian entered the kitchen, the white sleeves of his shirt rolled
up.

“She left this
morning. I was still sleeping. This is the note she left.”

I pulled the
paper out of my pocket, barely able to control the shaking in my
hand. Julian read the note and bit into an apple. His nerves were
definitely made of steel.

“Okay, so
Hunter went with her. She’s got her gun. They’re fine. No
worries.”

“She has a
gun? Listen, you may not be worried, but I can’t help it.”

“It comes with
the job, Eric. You’ll get used to it,” Kendra chimed in.

“I just wish
she’d call. She knows the dinner’s in an hour.”

“That’s our
Emma.” Julian pulled out his laptop. “Look, if it makes you feel
any better, I can check where she is. But if she finds out we
snooped, she won’t like it. I’m blaming this on you.”

“Do it. I’ll
take the blame.” As I wondered how he could track her, my gut
jumped at the chance to get some information – any kind of news
would be better than no news at all.

Julian began
clicking on his laptop, and after a few moments he froze.

“What is
it?”

He didn’t
answer. Instead, he grabbed his phone and dialed a number. “Meet me
at the airport as soon as you can.” And without saying anything
else, he hung up.

“Julian, what
is it?”

“Emma’s in
Ogden. Her phone has been in the same spot for the past three
hours. I don’t have a ping on Hunter. If that fucker set a trap,
she may be in trouble.”

“So her being
in one spot isn’t normal?” I asked.

“What is your
gut telling you?”

“No, it’s not.
Shit!”

“K, I gotta
go. I’m sorry to ruin the party, but if Emma’s still in Ogden, then
there’s no way she’ll make it anyway.”

“I’m coming
with you.” I nearly jumped into my shoes.

“Hell,
no.”

“Look, you’re
going to need someone who knows his way around. And there’s no way
I’ll just sit here while my girl is out there looking for a bastard
I should never have told her about.”

Julian took a
deep breath in before saying, “Fine. You better pray she’s all
right.”

Afraid to
freak him out even more, I didn’t want to tell him that I’d been
praying since this morning.

Before I knew
it we were on another jet, flying back to Ogden while my parents
were on their way to New York. While both brothers clicked on the
laptops and made phone calls, I listened, wondering whether there
was anything I could do to help.

“Let’s hope
this is all for nothing.” Tristan’s scarred lip twitched as he
leaned back in his seat. “So, what’s gonna happen when all this
settles, Eric? With you and Emma, I mean.”

“I want her to
stay on my ranch.”

“She’s a city
girl.”

“So I’ve
heard. But I think she needs the country.”

“Or is it just
you who needs her?”

“Of course I
do. Listen, I’m not gonna push her to do anything she doesn’t want,
but when she was here – it was the best few weeks of my life. She
looked so carefree and in such high spirits, so excited to help the
Sheriff when he needed a different look at running the town’s
safety and forming neighborhood dispute resolution hearings. If it
came down to it and she didn’t want to move, I’d sell the ranch and
come to New York.”

“You’d do that
for her? What would you do?”

“Not that it’s
any of your business, but if I sold my farm to the right investor,
neither I nor Emma would ever have to work again.”

“The oil?”

“She told you
about it?”

“No, we did
some research as well. Your grandfather was a very smart man the
way he hid his wealth to keep the hyenas off track. You’ve been
doing the same and would have been successful if not for
Huntz.”

“I should have
never involved Emma in this.”

“You know
where this place is?” Tristan pointed to a house on a map on his
laptop.

“Yeah, that’s
Missy’s house. She’s Huntz’s daughter, but has been staying with my
parents ever since he showed up in town over a week ago. Emma said
he owns that property.”

The brothers
remained silent for the rest of the flight, which seemed to me like
the longest trip of my life. If somebody told me that this plane
was flying all the way around the world, twice, to get to Ogden,
I’d believe them. Just before we landed, I called Derek.

“Hey, buddy.
What’s up?”

“Just wanted
to thank you for taking care of my parents’ farm for me.”

“No need to
thank me yet. Your parents haven’t left.”

“What?”

“I went over
to drive them and they said they were waiting for Emma, but she
never showed up. They were supposed to fly back together just after
noon.”

“Shit. Have
you been to their house?”

“Yeah.”