Nailed (Marked For Love #1) (9 page)

"If you want, I can bring Clyde down here and let him scratch everything up for that touch of authenticity." Smiling, I closed the door and dropped my keys on the coffee table.

Honey, I'm home
, flitted through my head. There was, actually, something nice about having someone take care of me. I'll admit to feeling a bit awkward being back here after last night. A bit; not a lot.

I crossed to the sink and washed my hands while he put the finishing touches on our dinner. Besides the chicken there were Italian style green beans with garlic and tomatoes, a loaf of fresh bread and a huge salad. "Can I help?"

"Nope."

He never wanted me to help. Which was also actually kind of nice. "I
can
cook you know."

"I know." He handed me a plate heaped with food and nodded toward the kitchen table. "Sit."

I took it and sat, sipping my wine while I waited on him to join me. "You like being all domestic, don't you?"

"Don't tell anyone, but I'll make some woman a fine wife someday." He sank into the chair opposite me, his plate piled as high as mine was.

"That's hysterical, Wynn. A domestic enforcer. Boy I feel sorry for your kids."

"I would never be hard on my kids." His statement was dry and very matter of fact.

Judging from his scowl, I'd overstepped myself. "Sorry. Guess my sarcasm got the best of me."

"S'okay. You know," he said, pointing his fork at me, "I have a theory. Would you like to hear it?"

I stared at him for a few heartbeats, then grunted, "Sure."

"By the time I was conceived, poor old dad didn't have enough testosterone in his swimmers. So I got a lower dose than my brothers."

"And then you got a sister," I added with a laugh of my own. "You do have a sister?"

"I have a sister and she's exactly like I said she was." His lips twisted into a smirk. "A total brat."

"Y'all are close."

"Literally and figuratively. She lives about ten minutes away from me, and she comes over whenever her roommates are driving her nuts, partying too much, and she needs to study."

"She's still in college."

"She's taken the slow track."

"That must be kind of weird. Growing up in a family that...you know."

Wynn chuckled softly and ran a hand through his hair. "She's definitely a tenderhearted one. And whenever she gets mad at Dad, she gives money to charity, on his credit cards. Sometimes it's lots of money." He shrugged in a way that made me think he liked his sister's quiet rebellion. "Dani is the only person who can get to Dad, and I mean get under his skin."

***

In the space of just a few short days, Wynn and I had somehow managed to fall into some sort of pseudo-couple routine, cemented after the night on his air mattress. Shortly after we finished up the dishes (together) we headed for ice cream and the pay phone so I could call Lisa back.

Someone named Candy answered the phone, rattled off yet
another
number to call and hung up. I never even got to ask any questions or run the number past her.

It was all very
Twin Peaks
.

With an eye-roll in Wynn's direction, I slipped more change into the phone and dialed the new number, praying I'd memorized it correctly. With change in one hand and ice cream in the other there'd been no way to write it down.

"Lis—" I'd barely gotten the words out of my mouth before she started speaking.

One short sentence was all I got before she was gone again. I stood there, the dial tone buzzing in my ear, staring at Wynn with what had to be a shocked expression on my face. It felt shocked and judging from the frown on his face, it was. I slowly replaced the phone in the cradle, then licked the dripping ice cream off my hand.

"Well?"

"Lisa said that I have what you want."

Chapter Fourteen

Wynn stared at Julie, feeling as shocked as she looked. His heart actually slowed down for a few heavy beats, and he almost dropped his ice cream. The feel of sticky, cold goo dribbling across his fingers had him pitching the remains of his sugar cone in the nearby trash barrel. This was not good. "Anything else?"

"No." She frowned, her head dipping thoughtfully, her eyebrows pulling together the tiniest bit.

He reached out to give her a reassuring squeeze only to stop and lick the sticky remains of his dessert off his hand first.

"All she said was that I have it. Then she hung up. Do you...have to tell...people?"

"No, baby, absolutely not." He took her ice cream from her, threw it in the trash with his and pulled her to him, suddenly feeling incredibly protective.

No way in hell was he telling anyone that Julie had what Sunset wanted. No way was he letting his brothers, or his dad for that matter, get their hands on Julie.

"We have to find it," she murmured, her head buried in his chest.

The question was,
how
.

***

Back at the apartment, he gently shoved her down on the couch and poured her another glass of the merlot they'd had at dinner. She downed half, blinked and seemed to visibly pull herself together again.

"What do you have of your sister's over there?" He sank down beside her, draping an arm across her shoulders.

She snuggled closer before answering. "Pictures," she sighed. "The night she died, she brought me photos from their annual Fourth of July picnic, including the framed one you had the day you broke in."

"What else? Negatives maybe?"

"No...no negatives. They were taken with a digital camera, and she didn't bring any."

"The picture frame is a possibility, but it'd help if we knew exactly what we were looking for. You said she brought you Clyde to watch the night she died, right?"

"Yeah."

"Cat carrier. Was he in a cat carrier, Bonnie?" He forced himself to breathe, to relax, to ease up on the sense of urgency that ate at him.

"Yeah!" She brightened considerably and leaped up, obviously intent on searching for the carrier and photos, only to plop down beside him again, looking as glum as she had when they'd gotten home. "What if it was in the bag of food?"

He blew out a long heavy breath. "Surely you're sister wouldn't put something that important in a bag of cat food. Come on." He stood and offered her a hand. "Let's get this over with."

Outside the night sky was dark and empty and a dry breeze rattled nearby trees. On the street below the clang of an aluminum can blowing by, beating an erratic tattoo on the asphalt, could just be heard over the hum of the air conditioners.

Clyde heard them before they saw him. He sat in the open window of Julie's apartment, greeting them with a low growl.

"Stuff it, Clyde." Julie shoved a key in the lock and pushed the door open, flicking on the light as she went. The cat barely let her get three steps before he was winding his way between her legs, making all kinds of cat noises.

If Wynn didn't know better, he'd swear the furry little shit was actually trying to trip her. "Clyde, kitty."

At the sound of Wynn's voice, the cat turned, crouched and jumped into his arms. He was actually kind of cute, except for those freaky yellow eyes.

"Shut the door so he doesn't get out, please."

Clyde dug his claws in Wynn's chest trying to get free when he realized his avenue of escape was disappearing. "Sorry buddy," he said, giving the cat a scratch under his chin.

"Don't let Satan there fool you, sugar. He's a killer." She turned around, her lips twitching as she realized what she'd said.

"Maybe when all of this is over, we can give him to my Dad as a gift."

"A killer for a killer. Now that's fucking funny." Julie moved closer and reached out to scratch Clyde's back, but he wasn't having any of it. He lunged from Wynn's arms, barely missing her on his descent, and disappeared around the corner with the scratch of his claws on the linoleum.

"He really does hate you."

"It's fairly mutual. Wynn?"

"Hmmm?" he asked, heading for the photos on the entertainment center. Some of them were gone. "Where's the rest of the pictures?"

"I packed them up."

Understanding dawned, and he took a quick hard look at her. "You were going to run the other day, weren't you?"

She nodded ever so slightly and even though Wynn knew just how strong and capable she was, at that moment she looked incredibly fragile. An illusion nothing more. She'd survived worse, Julie wasn't the type of woman to crack under pressure, which was good.

"Wynn?"

"Yeah?"

"How are we going to find it if we don't know what
it
is?" While she talked she dragged a suitcase from the closet beside the front door and gently set it on the couch. Inside were the rest of the photos.

"That does complicate things, doesn't it?"

He quickly took the frames apart, and searched them thoroughly, but he found nothing. Whatever it was, it had to be small. Small enough to be taped to the back of a photo or the inside of a frame or slipped into an envelope of photos and not be noticed.

He dug his cell phone out of his pocket and speed dialed his mother. "Can you talk?" He glanced at Julie who watched him warily as she continued to inspect the last few remaining frames.

"I was hoping you'd call. How's it going?"

"I got the furniture, thanks. And, um, things are—"

"Are you in trouble, Wynnie?"

"No, Mom. I just need a little help."

"Please tell me you didn't lose Julie, honey."

"I didn't lose Julie, Mom."

Julie giggled and he turned his back on her, taking the time to study the photos again while he talked. "Dad never told me what it was Kevin Lyons took, other than 'evidence'. Do you have any idea?"

"You know he doesn't talk business with me."

"And you still manage to keep tabs on everything us boys get into."

"Yes, dear, and as I remember, your father sent you to find Julie and get information from her so your brothers could find her sister and brother-in-law. Not you."

"It's not that simple, Mom."

"Yes it
is
, dear. If she says she doesn't know where they are, then you just make her tell you. Wynn, don't screw this up."

"She doesn't know, but we did find—"

"
We
? WYNN! You didn't! Please, tell me you didn't do what I think you did."

"She—" he lowered his voice, "—found out."

More soft laughter behind him made him wish maybe he hadn't been so hasty in calling his mom.

"Wynn! You should come home. We'll send Will."

"It's too late, Mom. Now would you just listen? If you don't know what I'm looking for—"

"Julie. You're looking for Julie, and Karen and Kevin. Find them."

"Mom! It's too late for that. Find out! Whatever it is, Julie apparently has it. Don't ask how I know, and
don't
, under any circumstances, tell Dad. Call me back when you know something."

"That sounded productive," Julie said after he hung up.

"She's...worried," he said, turning to face her. Her green eyes twinkled, her lips twitched and her eyes looked suspiciously damp. "So you think that's funny?"

"Well...yeah." She drew her legs up and hugged them to her chest. "Mama's boy."

"I got your Mama's boy, honey," he said while crossing to stand in front of her. He held out his hands, she grasped them and he hauled her to her feet. "Want to go back to my place and try out my new bed?"

She did that funny little thing where she pushed her lips to the side, and examined the logo on his t-shirt. "We could just stay here, since, you know, we're
already
here."

"True." His hands slid lower, into the waistband of her shorts, cupping the round globes of her ass. "Got condoms?"

"Do birds fly?" Grinning, she slipped free and led him toward the bedroom. Like the rest of her place, it had that thrown-together, not permanent feel with just a bed, a rickety nightstand with a dollar store lamp and a battered, secondhand dresser. Simple, utilitarian, with not a touch of female fuss anywhere. Not that Julie was the type for fuss, but it was sad.

She pulled a few condoms from the dresser drawer and waggled them at him before tossing them on the bed. "Did your mom know?"

The last thing he wanted was to think or talk about his mom right now. He shook his head then yanked his t-shirt off. "No, but she's supposed to try and find out."

"What do you do when you're not...working?" Her eyes skimmed over him from head to toe.

"I work out. I play golf. A little tennis. And I swim." While he talked he crossed the room, his pace deliberately casual.

Julie backed around the side of the bed, a coy smile on her face and sank down on the edge, crossing her legs underneath her.

"What about you?" He took a seat beside her, and leaned in enough to make her uncomfortable. As much as she wanted him, Julie
still
wasn't sure about having him around. That was okay, he could deal.

"I...lift deadweights," she said with a shrug.

The trash bags.
Chuckling softly to himself, he leaned in, skimming his lips up the length of her neck. She shivered the tiniest bit, her head drifting to the side and giving him better access.

Her hand was on the inside of his thigh, sliding under the edge of his shorts and causing his cock to swell in anticipation. He pushed her down the bed, lifted her shirt and leaned over, planting his lips just above her belly button. She shivered again, her stomach trembling, her hands pushing him out of the way as she struggled out of her own shorts.

He lifted her shirt over her head and knelt between her thighs, inhaling the sweet, slightly musky scent of her through her bikini panties while his fingers traced a path up the back of her calves. He followed with his tongue, pausing to suckle at the back of her knee, then turned his attention to her pussy, drawing his tongue across the fabric covering her clit. She surged against his lips, moaning loudly, her fingers digging into his scalp.

Wynn pushed her legs upward, slid her panties off and draped her legs over his shoulders before diving in. She was soaking wet, her pink clit jutting upward, begging for him to play with it. He blew on it, and she shivered, his arching against him again, silently wanting more. He tracked his tongue over it, slow long strokes reminiscent of her with the ice cream cone, until her legs tightened, her heels dug into his back and she rose off the bed urgently pushing her clit against his tongue at a pace more to her liking.