Sinful Pleasures (16 page)

“Congratulations then,” Bishop said. “I hope you have a lot of years together.” A wistful expression flitted across his face before it once again became an emotionless mask.

“I’ll give you a ride home now. We need to talk about your safety.”

Jude held her breath when Bishop paused and glanced in the rearview mirror. His penetrating stare pierced straight through her. She knew there’d be more, and she wouldn’t like it. Nestled between her two men, Jude shrank a little farther back in the seat as she held Bishop’s eyes. When he continued, her heart sank a little bit more.

“You’ll have to stay alert for trouble. This isn’t over yet.”

Jude gasped. Her hopes plummeted at Bishop’s words. She could barely get the words out as her heart did a flip, then began to race out of control.

“Not over?” She reached out to grasp both Dallas’s and Morgan’s hands. Their fingers curled around hers and held tight, reminding her that she was safe, at least for now. She closed her eyes and began to count, trying to calm the rampaging beat of her heart. She took a deep breath and released it slowly before she looked back at the mirror. “What do you mean it’s not over? We know who tried to kill us. You said you’d take care of everything tomorrow.”

“And I will,” Bishop said. “I can easily take care of Mrs. Wheeler, but it’s the man she hired that’s a problem. His name is Harry Matthews.”

“How do you know that, Bishop?”
Dallas
asked. “I’m beginning to get real curious here, buddy. I need some explanations. At this point, I’m not sure who I can trust. You seem to know a hell of a lot about what happened.”

Bishop sighed, slammed the Mercedes back in park, and turned the radio up a notch as if to drown out his words. He rubbed at his chin as though struggling with a decision. “Look, what I’m going to tell you stays in this car.” He looked around the lot before going on. “I’m not a fireman. I’m working undercover on assignment. I can’t discuss the details with you, okay? So don’t ask. I’ve tracked Matthews from
Hawaii
to here. He won’t stop until he finishes his assignment. I can call off your mother-in-law, Jude, but I won’t be able to call off Matthews. He’s going to have to be physically stopped.”

“You’re an undercover cop?” Jude’s mind whirled with the implications.

Bishop gave her a grin, sliding the sunglasses back on his face. “Something like that. But we didn’t have this conversation, and you need to get a real quick case of amnesia. Understand?”

“No problem,” Morgan agreed. He looked over at Jude, and then at
Dallas
. “We’re glad for the help.”

“Wish I could say I did it out of the goodness of my heart,” Bishop said, “but the fact is I’ve been after Matthews for a while. He just presented me with the opportunity to take him down.”

“Can I ask one more question?” Jude involuntarily moved closer to the front seat. “You said you followed Matthews here from
Hawaii
. Where do you live?”

“On the big island.” Bishop’s face didn’t give an indication of what he was thinking when he answered her. “Why do you want to know?”

“So, this thing with Trace is just to pass time? A flirtation?”

Bishop grinned, showing even white teeth. “First, there ain’t no
thing
, yet. And, secondly, I didn’t know she couldn’t leave the mainland if it does work into a
thing
.”

“Men like you always get what you go after, Bishop Taylor, and I don’t want to see my little sister hurt. She won’t leave
Arizona
, so don’t start something you can’t finish.”

“Might surprise you what your sister will do if she’s given the opportunity,” Bishop answered softly, shifting the car into drive. He gave the premises another quick look then pulled out of the parking lot.

Chapter Twelve

When they arrived back at the ranch,
Dallas
asked Jude to fix a pot of coffee. He wouldn’t be sleeping tonight, not with Matthew on the loose. While Jude was inside, he and Morgan stood on the porch with Bishop.
Dallas
hoped to glean as much information as he could.

“What did Matthews do in
Hawaii
?”

Bishop stared out over the dark spread of land. For a moment,
Dallas
didn’t think he would answer. He kept his eyes on the stars overhead and the acres of darkness that surrounded them. An expression of pain flitted across his features, then disappeared just as quickly as it had surfaced. Finally, he turned back to face them.

“He killed a family,” he said at last. “Revenge killings are his thing. It’s my opinion he’s building his reputation so he can move up to the big league. It’s not personal vendettas for him now, it’s murder for hire.”

 
“How in the hell did Genevieve Wheeler connect with him?” Morgan wondered aloud. “I can’t imagine that she’d have much accessibility to criminal elements. When do society matrons rub elbows with assassins?”

“Yeah, I was wondering that myself,”
Dallas
said.

“That will be one of the things I find out in the morning,” Bishop said. “It could be that Jude’s ex-husband hired him and Mrs. Wheeler is the go-between. I’ve seen crazier things happen. In the meantime, one of you should get some rest while the other keeps a lookout. You’ve got my number. Call me if you need backup.”

Dallas
watched the Mercedes fade into the darkness. “Do you get the feeling he isn’t telling us everything?”

Morgan nodded. “I think it’s personal between him and Matthews. Did you hear what he said about the revenge thing? Do you know anything about Bishop’s background before he hired on at the department?”

“Nope. Only thing I heard the chief say was that he lucked out when Bishop signed on with the arson team. Let’s go have a cup of coffee and see what we can find out on the Internet. Gotta be something on there about a family getting killed. That would make news.”

When
Dallas
opened the door, Jude met him with two steaming cups of coffee in her hands. She looked tired but resolved. “I got the pistol out of your nightstand while the coffee brewed. It’s on the table for easy access. And I pulled the blinds shut so no one can see inside. Should we do anything else?”

“You did good.”
Dallas
took one of the cups out of her hand and leaned over to brush a kiss on her forehead. “Why don’t you go to bed, sweetheart? It’s going to be a long night. Morgan and I are staying up for a while.”

Jude shot him a stubborn look. “I’m not going to bed until you do.”

Dallas
shrugged. “Suit yourself, but you better fix another cup, then.” Jude turned to go into the kitchen. “Jude?” She turned back to him. “You do realize you’re disobeying me again. You’ll pay the consequences for that later. Right now we really need you to get with the program. Your life, and ours, might depend on you doing what we tell you when we tell you, and not when you decide.”

Her face flushed, and she hesitated before going over to the coffee pot to pour a cup for herself. “Staying up late with the two men I love doesn’t put us in danger. I’ll listen to you when the time comes.”

Dallas
nodded. “Okay, babe, I’m counting on you to do that. This situation could get real sticky, according to Bishop.”

Morgan carried the laptop to the sofa, stretching his legs out while he booted up the computer.
Dallas
sat down beside him so he could see the screen. Jude snuggled up on the other side of Morgan. He tapped a few keys and waited for the search engine to do its thing. It didn’t take long.

Jude gasped and gripped the edge of the laptop, twisting it toward her. She felt a little tug somewhere deep inside as she stared at the article that had appeared on the front page of
Hawaii
’s premier newspaper.

“Oh, my God, it’s his sister.”

“Seriously?” Morgan asked.

Jude ran her finger down the screen. “Look.” She tapped a picture of Bishop in a police uniform. He looked a couple years younger, almost happy. Not at all like the Bishop Taylor she’d come to know. Along with Bishop’s photo was one of the three victims. They were identified as Glenda, Erin, and Emmie Patterson, sister and nieces of Officer Taylor.

The article stated that an investigation by the Hawaii Police Department centered on suspect Harry Aaron Matthews. Matthews had been arrested by Detective Taylor for attempted robbery and murder. At his trial, he vowed to get even with
Taylor
, and he had.

Dallas
pointed further down the page. “Look, it says Bishop quit the force when Matthews got an early parole. He claimed Matthews called him at home, threatening his family, and the judge wouldn’t revoke Matthew’s parole.”

“Why do you think he quit the force?” Jude asked. “Wouldn’t he have the protection of his friends to back him up?”

“I think he would quit if he planned on taking care of the problem himself,” Morgan said. “He wouldn’t want to drag the police department into something illegal.”

“Yeah, and he probably spent every minute trying to look after them. He couldn’t very well work on the force and protect his family at the same time.”

Jude bit her lip in concentration, obviously thinking over the information. “Okay. He quits the force. His sister and two nieces get killed despite his protection. What would he do next? Wouldn’t he just go after the guy? Why the fire department ruse?”

Morgan typed in a new search. “He’s a licensed private investigator. Looks like he got his credentials about a year after his sister’s death. My guess is that he lost Matthews after the killings. Matthews must have gone to ground and Bishop realized he’d need a legitimate reason for searching federal and police databases. But it still doesn’t explain why he joined the fire department.”

“Maybe it does,”
Dallas
said. “If he tracked Matthews here, what better way to look for someone than to be on the streets constantly? He could ask everyone on site if they noticed a man fitting that description. No one would think anything of it. He got himself assigned to the arson investigation team so he could get into any database he wanted without raising a red flag.”

“Makes sense. Parrish isn’t that big of a place. If he asks enough people about Matthews, someone will eventually know something.” Morgan thought about it. “He’s working the situation into an advantage for himself. People won’t talk to cops, but they’ll talk to a fireman.”

Jude reached over to take the computer off Morgan’s lap. “Let me check out something.” She tapped several keys, then turned the computer to face Morgan and Dallas. “Read the rest of this newspaper article. He’s not only protecting the police force. He’s protecting the rest of his family. They own one of the big cattle ranches in
Hawaii
. He’s got enough money to hire the Marines to take out Matthews, so why is he doing it himself?”

“Because, honey, he was Special Ops. Those guys take care of things themselves.”
Dallas
reached in front of Morgan to cup Jude’s face. “I’d want to do it myself. Especially if the system I worked for let me down. I doubt that Bishop Taylor trusts any institution or anyone, these days.”

* * * *

Genevieve Wheeler woke to find a hard, cold object pressing against the center of her forehead. She started to lurch upward, ready to lash out at whoever had rudely awakened her out of a sound sleep. Then realization dawned in her sleep-fogged brain as she recognized the shape and texture of the cold metal. She slumped back to the pillow. The object digging into her skin was a gun. She swallowed hard and forced out the words.

“What do you want?” Her normally elegant voice sounded whispery and afraid. She hated sounding so vulnerable. Clearing her throat, she tried speaking again, and this time, her voice was stronger, less intimidated. “I have jewels in the safe, but you won’t get them with me dead. Not without the combination.”

A low chuckle answered her, and the gun tapped painfully against her forehead. A cold and familiar voice oozed out of the darkness. “C’mon, Genevieve, what do you think I want?”

Genevieve’s mind raced nearly as fast as her heart. It couldn’t be, but it was. She recognized the mocking voice.

“Mr. Matthews? Is that you?” Her voice held a blend of outrage and pain she couldn’t disguise. Never one to show weakness, Genevieve got a grip on herself. The man worked for her. She would not allow an employee to treat her with less than respect, even if he did have a gun in his hand.

Suddenly, the lamp flared on, blinding her for a few seconds. She squinted until her eyes adjusted to the brightness. She looked up to see Harry Matthews looming over her with a mocking smile.

“I’ve come to make sure you have no second thoughts about our business arrangement.”

Genevieve had definitely had enough. She practically spit the words at him. “Of course I don’t.” Lips pressed tight, she batted at the gun, knocking it away so she could pull herself into a sitting position. “Put that thing away and explain yourself. Why would you come to my house? You’re not as professional as I was led to believe. You should be on a plane out of the country by now. I simply can’t believe you’ve invaded my home.”

Matthews looked bored, but he couldn’t fool her, not even when he lifted the gun and sighted down the barrel toward her. His insolence inflamed Genevieve. She wanted to slap that smug look from his face.

She ground out her words between clenched teeth. “I said put it away. Once again, Mr. Matthews. Why aren’t you on a plane?”

Matthews shrugged nonchalantly and lowered the gun. “I would be on a plane, Mrs. Wheeler, except the fucking bitch didn’t die. She didn’t even get hurt.”