Some Like It in Handcuffs (21 page)

The car stopped, Sunny gripped her shoe with a shaky hand swallowing her fright. Her muscles tensed when the car shifted into park and heavy footsteps sounded against the pavement in the opposite direction from where she hid. Her body sagged in relief. They hadn’t spotted her. Whoever had gotten out of the car paused at every garage door and side entrance jiggling the handles.

“Damn it all.”

Sunny’s head snapped back, her heart caught in her throat.

“Judson,” she squeaked.

Unable to talk louder, she stood, tears blurring her vision when Judson turned in her direction and rushed to her side in what seemed like two long strides. In an instance he held her in his arms like he’d never let her go. She closed her eyes for a moment as the warmth of his body folded over her. Sunny went limp.

“You didn’t stop looking for me did you?” Sunny whispered, breathless.

“Never.”

Judson carried her to his car then sat on the front seat with her in his lap. His lips touched her temple, her forehead, her nose tip then her lips, before he broke away and caressed her cheek with the rough tips of his fingers.

****

A dose of adrenaline shot through Sunny’s system as the car’s heater warmed her skin. Since Maggie and Benny believed Slater and Vivian were involved in Karina’s murder, it would be a likely conclusion that either one or both of them were sending her the notes. If only whoever had sent the messages had given her something more concrete, something with real evidence.

Then it hit her, the precise penmanship of the receipt signed by Maggie Slater for the flower delivery and the printing on the notes Sunny received were one in the same. How Maggie laid claim to the cassette Sunny had no way of knowing. Vivian knew what Maggie was up to and it spelled trouble for the older woman.

With rapid speech, Sunny shared her concerns with Judson as he drove at speeds which rivaled the posted speed limit.

“We need to get Maggie some protection. I’m afraid what Vivian will do to her.” Sunny turned in her seat to face Judson as he raced to the nearest payphone at the gas station down the road from the warehouses.

“Looks like the old lady’s suspicions were correct all along.” Judson rubbed his chin as he skidded to a stop in the deserted parking lot. “Slater and his wife are either bugging her apartment or they have psychic powers.”

Sunny grinned. “Either way they know she sent the clues, that she and I have talked, and I bet they even know about the tape.”

Judson threw open the car door. “Let me call into the station and get someone out to her place. Then I want an APB issued for Slater and Vivian’s rusted out brown Impala.”

“Tell them to hurry. If Vivian gets the chance she’ll hurt Maggie.”

The door slammed and for the first time in hours Sunny could breathe, she leaned back against the seat, closed her eyes and sighed. The car’s heater blasted hot air onto her frozen feet and across her arms as she hugged them around her middle.

She relaxed and let her mind drift back to all that had happened. Her mind replayed everything, from the moment she’d been taken until the moment Judson appeared. After he’d found her—or had she found him—it didn’t matter, she’d filled him in on all that had gone on, including who her abductors were. Afterward, they’d headed back to the warehouse in an attempt to find Vivian and Slater. The creepy building’s door hung open, slamming against the concrete brick wall whenever the wind blew off the water. The crumpled masks on the floor, underneath the handcuffs hanging from the pipe, were the only sign any of them had been there.

Slater and Vivian must have taken off after they discovered Sunny had gotten away.

Shivers raced across her flesh as she considered what might have happened if she hadn’t escaped. And Judson hadn’t been there for her.

Sunny opened her eyes and her thoughts returned to the present. A different kind of shiver lit her flesh as she trained her sights on Judson as he hung up the payphone. With determined strides he returned to the car.

“Okay, all set. Let’s head to your place so you can pick up a few things. You’re staying with me tonight. Then we’ll head to the precinct to fill out a report detailing everything that went down tonight.”

Too tired to argue, and past caring that he called the shots, she inched across the seat and snuggled into his side. Judson wrapped one arm around her, scooped her close, and merged onto the highway toward her house.

****

“In and out to get your clothes and then we’re off to the precinct.” Judson followed behind Sunny as they approached her apartment stoop.

“Yes sir.” Sunny turned to salute him then inserted the key into the lock.

Judson pulled her back before she crossed the threshold. “Me first.”

Sunny rolled her eyes and stepped aside.

“Humor me.” He moved past her, and she curled her finger through the belt loop on his jeans.

She looked down and licked her lips. The firm muscles of his backside strained against the denim, and her hands itched to rub down the worn, soft fabric. Sunny blew out a quick breath and focused on his back instead. Not that it helped, his shoulders were strong, taut, and they rippled against the material of his shirt. Maybe she should’ve waited in the car.

Judson led the way through the living room and into the boxy hallway outside the office. He tucked her inside the small bathroom, motioned her to wait, and trekked through her apartment silently checking for any signs of an intruder.

He returned moments later, smiling. “All set. Even your cat is fast asleep on your bed.”

“Good, that’s a relief.” Sunny sighed before she moved toward her bedroom.

An assortment of clothes was tossed into a duffle bag she nabbed from the closet. Sunny didn’t pay any attention to what she packed. Her reflection in the mirror over her dresser caused her to do a double take. If that dirty, messed up woman was her, she’d scream. She pulled her fingers through her tangled mass of curls, her lips thinned, and the woman in the mirror mimicked her moves. No way would she walk out of her apartment like this, let alone follow him into the precinct to file a report.

She turned toward Judson. He leaned against the door frame tossing his keys from one hand to another, a lopsided tilt to his lips. “I need to take a quick shower and change.”

“My shower works great.”

“No way. If you expect me to cooperate at the precinct looking and feeling like a filthy mess, then you don’t know much about me—or women in general.” She squared her shoulders, ready for battle.

“We’ll be at the precinct ten minutes, you can wait in the car.” His hands stopped as he regarded her.

“I’m not leaving here like this.” Sunny pulled a handful of hair away from her head and raised her brow. “Look at me. My hair’s a virtual bird’s nest, my feet are dirty and cut, and my clothes stink.”

He stepped back and turned away. “Fine. Hurry it up.”

****

“Judson.” He glanced at her over his shoulder, and the soft lilt of her voice melted him from the inside out. There was no way he wouldn’t give her what she wanted, or do as she asked, but he couldn’t let her know that. As she looked at him wide-eyed, she bit her lower lip. His heart missed a beat. “Thanks again.”

“Hurry up. I’ll call in a favor and have a report faxed here. I can fill it out at home and fax it back.” Even to his own ears his voice sounded gruff.

While Sunny primped in the bathroom, Judson kept the phone to his ear. He called Captain Kennedy to fill him in on what had happened. He didn’t want Sunny’s father surprised when he reported to the station first thing in the morning. Then he asked another detective to fax the request form for a search warrant for Slater and Vivian’s apartment and the vacant store they used for storage. Finally he talked to the detective assigned to Maggie Slater’s apartment. All was quiet at her place, but just in case another officer was parked outside if Maggie’s son and daughter-in-law returned.

Judson leaned back against Sunny’s kitchen counter, his mind racing. He glanced at the clock over the kitchen sink then dialed Judge Collins, who was none too happy about being disturbed in the middle of the night. A stern, by the book judge, there had never been any love lost between the pair over the years.

“Listen, Detective Blackwolf, the evidence will still be there in the morning. I’ll arrange my schedule to see you then to go over the warrants.” Judge Collins hard voice betrayed her annoyance.

“With all due respect, Judge Col—”

“I’ll see you in the morning detective. Don’t get hot headed and do
anything
without those warrants.”

The line went dead and Judson slammed his fist on the kitchen counter.

“What?” Sunny stood in the archway, rubbing a towel over her freshly washed hair, and looking incredibly sexy. Her clean smell drifted around him and his body tightened.

“Nothing—nothing except Judge Collins is an overbearing battle axe that needs to retire.”

Sunny giggled. “No warrant tonight I take it?”

“She’ll see me first thing in the morning.”

“I hate to say it, but Judge Collins isn’t exactly a Kennedy family fan. If she got wind any of us are involved, she’ll make sure to take her sweet time.”

“Now you tell me.” Judson grinned.

****

Judson guided Sunny into the elevator leading to his twelfth story apartment in the metal and glass high rise. The door closed shut, and they were alone. Sunny’s overnight bag slid down her arm, and she gripped the leather straps in both hands. The repeated jerk of her knees bending and straightening caused the bag to bounce against her shins. The soft tap of the leather against her denim covered legs drew his eyes to the sound, and his gaze traveled from her thighs, over her rounded hips, across her tapered waist to the swell of her breasts straining against her tight purple tee shirt.

“This is a beautiful building.” Sunny whistled. “I can’t wait to see your apartment.”

“It’s small, but I like it.” He looked at her from the corner of his eye. When she smiled he knew she remembered their same conversation on his first visit to her home.

“We are a lot alike.”

“I told you.” Judson leaned against the wall. He rubbed the back of his neck, suddenly uncomfortable being in such a confined space with her.

Thoughts of almost losing Sunny tonight, of not being there for her, sent panic slamming through him earlier. But now that things had calmed down and he could think again, he realized he put himself in a tough spot.

There would be no sleep for him tonight with her in the spare room down the hall. He should’ve sent her to a motel, or better yet, with one of her brothers.

“You’re really an amazing person, you know that?” Her eyes gleamed. And her damn tongue. He watched mesmerized as it flicked across her parted lips. “Besides saving me tonight, you’ve given me some good tips on detective work.”

Lavender soap filled the elevator car, his chest tightened and he shifted away.

Sunny’s duffel bag thumped to the floor. She stepped in front of him and ran a finger down his shirt. He stopped breathing, but somehow air still found its way into his lungs.

To stay focused on something, anything, Judson blurted out the first thought to reach his brain, “I talked with Glen too. He called in a favor to have the autopsy and police report black out any mention of Karina’s pregnancy.”

Sunny’s finger circled a button on his shirt. “Why?”

His chest swelled, but he couldn’t avoid her gaze. “To protect his daughter’s name.”

Sunny sighed as she looked into his face, her eyes wide and dark. “My dad was right when he said you’re a great detective. I’m learning a lot.” Another quick flick of her tongue and her lips shined. Heat ignited his center and stretched to burn throughout his body.

He grunted in his throat and grabbed her shirt by the neckline to drag her willing body into his arms.

She drew in a surprised breath. Judson lowered his head to brush his top lip against hers then pulled back so his mouth hovered above her parted lips. He whispered, “I have a few more things I’d like to teach you.”

Sunny closed her eyes. “Teach me.” Her breath fanned across his face.

“Lesson one, Wildcat.”

****

Sunny shivered. Judson lifted her as if she weighed only a few pounds. Her back against the wall, he positioned her butt onto the rail which ran the inside length of the elevator.

She balled his shirt into her fists and pulled him between her legs.

The hard thrust of his manhood announced its presence against the inside of her thigh. A ripple of pleasure spread through her. Judson demanded her surrender with the pressure of his lips, and she obeyed as his tongue wet her bottom lip. Goose bumps pulsated across her skin.

Judson slid his hand inside her shirt to palm her left breast. She wanted skin to skin contact and arched her back against his grip. In tune to her, he moved his hand underneath her bra and Sunny moaned deep in her throat. Her nipple swelled and he plucked it between his calloused fingertips, a shudder rocked through her.

She wrapped her legs around his mid section and squeezed. He thrust against her, and she wiggled her hips. Sunny pulled his shirt from his jeans. Her hands dug into the solid muscles of his back. He tugged her nipple with gentle pressure then forcibly rolled it between his thumb and forefinger. The varying degrees of pleasure shook her to the core and her body ached with a desperate need to feel their bodies become one.

Judson unclasped her bra then pushed her shirt up. Sunny arched her back, begging him with her body to explore more of what she offered. Hot kisses heated her skin as he moved down her chin, past her throat, and over the hardened buds of her breasts. His hands kneaded and teased her heated flesh. Sunny moaned and writhed against him, her clothes almost painful in their restraint.

He pulled his head back and feasted on her with hungry eyes. She lost it, unable to control herself she reached up to grab his head and drag—demand— his mouth to meet with her own.

Sunny ran her hands over his smooth head, down his neck, and then stopped at his shoulders to dig her fingers into his firm flesh. His groan filled the confined space of the elevator car and the sound excited her.