Protective Custody (17 page)

She fisted a hand in his hair. “You have no idea.”

“I think I have a pretty good idea, actually.” He stroked his fingers in and out, in and out, tormenting her with delight. Her hips rocked of their own accord. “Give me your hand.”

She released his hair and let him move her hand to her pussy.

“Rub it, baby.”

As Will slid his fingers inside her, she used hers to rub outside. The delicious sensation quickly brought her to the brink of climax. She increased her pace, and Will matched her rhythm. Blissful shock waves rolled through her as she tumbled over the edge.

She moaned in delight as she rode his fingers. Ecstasy stormed through her. She shook and writhed. It went on and on, snatching away her breath, until the waves of pleasure slowed, leaving her weak and completely satisfied.

Will couldn’t tear his gaze away from Megan’s face. Her caramel skin glowed, and her Mona Lisa smile reflected her love, a love he’d yearn for forever. The notion that he’d nearly lost her tightened his chest. He stood and drew her into his arms, savoring her heat and her vanilla scent. She cupped his balls, then fisted his erection.

A powerful rush of desire gripped him. “I need to make love to you, baby. Now.” He took a condom from the nightstand, then stared into her amber eyes as he sheathed himself. Hooking his arm around her waist, he crushed her against him, let her feel his insistent cock.

She grazed her tongue across his lips, then slipped it into his mouth and kissed him with a fervent passion. When he was with Megan, all the bad stuff melted away. After what he’d witnessed today, he craved her touch to reassure him that there was still good in the world. She was his haven, his refuge from the storm.

He’d lost someone he looked up to, someone who’d betrayed him on every level, and that was painful. But Megan’s loss ran deeper. Wasn’t like she had a big family she could lean on. Her grandmother was everything to her. He wanted to be the one to lick her wounds and make it all better. Or at least help ease her misery.

“Want to get in the bed?” she whispered.

“No.” At her raised eyebrows, he took her hand and led her to the big chair by the window. He sat and pulled her toward his lap. “This way you control your pleasure.” And he got to see her face as she did.

Her naughty grin assured him she liked the idea. She climbed over him, straddling his thighs. Grasping his cock, she angled it toward her opening and eased it past her intimate lips. Her hot pussy beckoned to him as she took him inside. She was so wet and tight. Drunk with molten lust, he slid deeper.

He held her by her hips and gently rocked her over his shaft. The sweet friction energized his body with savage need. She curled her fingers into his shoulders. Biting her lip, she moaned and shut her eyes. She lifted up and down, made little circles with her hips. The sensations drove him wild.

He couldn’t tear his gaze away from her face. No mistaking the intensity of her enjoyment. Her lips were slightly parted, her brow furrowed and her head lolled slowly from side to side.

Hot, demanding pressure built in his balls. He caught one of Megan’s breasts in his hand. She slowed her movements to let him suck her peaked point. A deep sigh broke from her lips. She started rocking faster.

He struggled not to let go as she sighed and bucked. Her pussy constricted around his cock. “Oh, Will. Yes…yes.” She rode him like a steed, raising herself high, then lowering again, taking him all the way to her sweet depths. Her fingernails cut painfully into his shoulders, but he didn’t mind. She squeezed her eyes shut and let out a savage scream when her climax hit. He grasped her hips and thrust into her hard and fast like she loved.

She twisted and moaned. He loved her most when her face contorted in erotic joy. Panting, she opened her eyes, and her lips curled in a lustful grin. She raked her fingernails over his skin. The line between pain and pleasure blurred.

He was so close as he moved her hips up and down, hard and deep. Another thrust and his control shredded. His orgasm detonated in a white-hot blast. Pleasure shot through him like a speeding locomotive.

Megan kissed his forehead, his cheek, his lips. He sensed a new tenderness in her touch. Maybe the change was inspired by her grief, or even his. Or else it was the honesty between them, the promise of a future together.

He closed his eyes and savored the sweet sensations. She laid her head on his shoulder, and he wondered if she could feel his heart thudding.

Once his breathing slowed to its normal pace, he stood, lifting her with him. She wrapped herself tightly around him as he carried her to the bed. He set her down, then climbed in next to her. Pulling her against his chest, he kissed the top of her head.

He should tell her about Ed and about Jarity’s brother, but he needed a few more minutes to hold her and recharge his battery. Shutting his eyes, he forced all the bad stuff out of his mind. He pulled in a breath of her scent—and
their
scent. Her skin felt like velvet as he skimmed his hand over her side.

She purred softly and wriggled against him. Minutes later her rhythmic breathing told him she’d fallen asleep. Glancing at his watch, he grimaced. If he planned to be at the sheriff’s office when Harvey Jarity arrived, he’d have to leave soon. And he definitely wanted to hear what the man had to say.

Megan reached across the bed, searching for Will’s warmth, but the sheets were cool to the touch. She peeled her eyes open and found him sitting on the chair, tying his shoelaces.

Why was he dressed? “Where are you going?”

He tilted his head up and met her stare. “Well, we need to talk about that.” He returned to his task, but not before she noticed his furrowed brow.

She sat up and tried to ignore the uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. “What’s wrong?”

His lips compressed. He crossed the room and sat on the edge of the bed. “Something happened this morning.”

Goose bumps sprawled over her skin. She grabbed the robe from the bedpost and wrapped it around herself. “What is it, Will? You’re scaring me.”

He took her hands and exhaled deeply. “I went to see Ed this morning. The news about Jarity’s death hadn’t hit the papers or the airwaves yet, and I wanted to see his reaction.” He glanced toward the window. “But mostly I had to know why he drugged me and why the hell he would help a monster like Jarity commit a murder.”

She flashed on Jarity’s face and the awful smell of his breath. She shuddered. “Did Ed deny it?”

“At first. Wasn’t like I had any proof.”

“I know he drugged you. You didn’t wake up when I screamed at you.”

He nodded. “I know. He finally owned up to it. Apparently Ed had major money problems. His wife was milking him dry. He caught Jarity trying to break into your house a few days ago.”

She gasped. “Oh God.” Bile burned the back of her throat.

“Jarity offered to pay him off to keep his mouth shut about that. And to divulge where we were hiding.”

The hurt in Will’s eyes made her heart ache. He climbed off the bed and paced the room.

“Talk to me.” She yearned to hold him, but if he’d wanted that, he wouldn’t have gotten up.

He stopped walking and hooked his fingers behind his neck. “He put a gun in his mouth and blew his brains out right in front of me. And there wasn’t a damn thing I could do to stop him.”

The aura of his anguish filled the room. She went to him and wrapped her arms around him. “I’m so sorry, Will. I can’t imagine how awful that must have been for you.”

His cheek brushed the side of her face. “It was pretty bad.”

She wished there were something she could do to ease his pain, something she could say, but only time would help.

“There’s more.” He grasped her shoulders and met her stare.

She steeled herself for another emotional jolt.

“Jarity’s brother, Harvey, was arrested in Miami last night. He entered the country with three young ladies from Sri Lanka. But he got scared and offered to rat out John if they went easy on him.”

She sucked in a breath. “You think he knows something about the girl his brother murdered?”

“I hope so. There were other girls. The sheriff’s office located several and rescued them from the people who bought them. Harvey’s supposed to arrive at the sheriff’s office here in the next hour or so. I plan to sit in on the interview. I want to know exactly what those bastards were up to.”

Fear and excitement swirled in her belly. “Can I come, Will? Please?”

He shook his head. “I don’t think—”

“Please, Will. After all I’ve been through, I need to know who that girl was and why Jarity killed her. And I need to hear that others were saved. It’s important to me.” The end of this nightmare was finally in sight.

He combed his fingers through his hair and narrowed his gaze. “Okay, fine. But you need to get dressed in a hurry. And I can’t promise they’ll let you sit in. We don’t usually do that for civilians.”

She hurried to her closet and snatched a pair of jeans off a hanger. “You’re a civilian. If you can see it, why can’t I?”

“Well, that’s another thing I wanted to speak to you about. I’ve been offered my old job back. I’m thinking about going for it.”

She smiled but remained silent. It wasn’t up to her to influence his decision. She fastened her pants, then pulled on a sweater. “Okay.”

Half an hour later she sat in a darkened room and stared through the glass at a man who resembled John Jarity but was a little shorter, a little heavier. Disgust roiled in her belly.

Will set a hand on her thigh. “You all right?”

Nodding, she inched her seat closer to his. She listened, fascinated and horrified, as Harvey told the two detectives interviewing him his story. He spoke of the tyrannical older brother who had beaten and tormented him his whole life, how he’d learned at an early age never to defy John, no matter what.

Then one of the officers asked him about the murder.

“I wasn’t even there, I swear. John called and told me to get my ass to the store on Henderson Street because he had an emergency. When I got there, I saw her.” He started to cry, and the detectives exchanged a glance.

A potent stew of emotions threatened to overwhelm Megan, but she tamped them down and listened.

“John said I had to help him hide her body. I didn’t want to, but he made me. We wrapped her in trash bags and drove to the marina. John has a pontoon there. We took it out to the middle of the lake.” His face reddened. “We put some rocks in the bag, then threw it into the water.”

“Who was she?” one of the detectives asked.

Harvey buried his face in his hands and sobbed. “A nice girl. Her name was Nisha, and I brought her back from Sri Lanka. John had me pay her family for her. To be his maid.” He looked from one cop to the other. “I think John made her have sex with him.”

Megan covered her mouth to keep from getting sick. Will put his arm over her shoulder and pulled her against him.

“John’s wife liked to do crafts, so Nisha taught her to make the silver jewelry popular in her region of Sri Lanka. My wife said the girl had a real talent. Lots of Ruth Ann’s friends even bought Nisha’s designs. So Nisha thought she could sell some herself, make a life for herself. She wanted John to set her up in a store—the empty one on Henderson. She was going to tell Ruth Ann about him sleeping with her if he didn’t let her.”

“And he went along with that?” one of the detectives asked.

“He pretended to,” Harvey continued. “They argued, and he—” he took a gulp from the glass of water on the table, “—he strangled her.”

Megan had to get out of there. If she didn’t, she’d scream. “I’ll wait outside,” she told Will.

He threaded his fingers through hers and stood. “I’ll come with you.”

They walked to a bank of vending machines at the end of the long corridor.

“Why doesn’t he have a lawyer?” Megan asked.

“He didn’t want one.” He tipped his chin toward the candy machine. “Hungry?”

“No.”

“How do you feel?”

She drew in a deep breath. “Sad, relieved, disgusted, angry, vindicated. You name it.”

He nodded. “At least you know her name now. And the others will be returned to their families.”

“Will they try to find her body?”

“Yeah, but don’t hold your breath. There are lots of gators in that lake. Might not be anything left. But I gave them the earring you found. If they find the mate on her, that’ll help with the identification.”

She cringed. “Poor thing. First her family sells her into virtual slavery. Then Jarity rapes her, God knows how many times. Then the bastard kills her.” She glanced up the hall toward the room they’d just left. The idea of going back nauseated her. “Do you mind if I sit out the rest?”

He drew her into his strong embrace. “No, baby. I don’t mind. We can leave if you want.”

She tried for a smile. “Thanks. It’s been quite a day.”

“I’ll understand if you need to be alone tonight, but I’d like to come over.” She saw a vulnerability in his eyes that she’d never noticed before. He needed to be with her as much as she did with him, although he’d never admit it. He was hurting as much as she.

She had so much to do between arrangements for Gram’s memorial service and explaining all that had transpired to her boss, but Will had put her before everything else in his life, and she owed him the same. “That would be nice.”

***

An icy wind blew over the Gulf of Mexico, and Megan grasped the railing as the boat pitched and rocked.

“You okay?” Will pulled her into his arms, but their bulky life vests prevented them from getting too close.

She tried for a smile. His warmth provided comfort that was more than just thermal. She wouldn’t have survived the past two weeks without him. She drew in a deep breath infused with the briny scent of the sea. “I’m good. I know this was what Gram wanted.” She glanced at the plastic box that held two urns a few feet away. Gram’s urn was decorated with lilacs, her favorite.

She eased out of his embrace. It wasn’t just the two of them there. To her left, a quiet, dark-haired girl cried. Megan took her hand.

Athula looked at her and smiled. “Thank you for letting me come,” she said in heavily accented English.