Touching Silver (11 page)

His muscles groaned as he stood, and he paused to stretch and crack his back. “Tiberius isn’t going to get jealous, is he?”

“I’ll lock Tiberius in his room. He’ll be fine.” She snapped her fingers and the dog jumped to his feet. She hooked her fingers beneath his collar and began to guide him out of the living room. “It’s the room at the end of the hall. I like to sleep on the side closest to the window.”

He watched her ass as she led Tiberius out, then ventured down the hall to find the room in question. It was decorated like the rest of her place, warm and cozy with numerous reminders of a life outside of the police force. The bed was large and piled with pillows and the odd stuffed animal, and the scent of her perfume was even stronger here. Isaac started stripping out of his clothes the second he smelled it.

When Olivia walked in, she immediately shut the door behind her. “I’m not getting up at five tomorrow morning to eat breakfast.”

Draping his shirt over the back of her vanity chair, Isaac watched as she cleared the bed. “What if I get up and
make
you breakfast?”

“That depends.” She pulled the sheets back and slipped beneath them. “What do you know how to make?”

If he were a gentleman, he’d leave his jeans on, just like she left on her T-shirt and sweats. But jeans were uncomfortable, and Isaac wanted the freedom of being able to wrap around her without restriction.

“The usual.” He folded his jeans before climbing into bed, and immediately reached for her. “Whatever you want.”

“I like extra-crispy bacon.” Olivia allowed him to pull her back against his chest. She rested her head on his shoulder and he draped his arm over her stomach. She curled her fingers through his. “Some might call it overcooked.”

Chuckling, Isaac buried his nose in her hair, his eyes closing of their own accord. “I guess it’s a good thing I don’t expect you to be perfect, either.”

“I never met a bacon snob before you.”

“I’m not a snob.” Her warmth was soporific, and already he felt his body shutting down. “I’m selective.” His mouth brushed across her nape. “I fell for you, didn’t I?”

She squeezed his hand gently. “Then I guess you do get credit for good taste.”

He fell asleep with a smile on his lips.

Nathan had never been so grateful to see a phone in his life. Only a day and a half had passed since they left Buenos Aires behind, but it felt like much longer. He couldn’t remember the last time he had gone thirty-six hours without communicating with Isaac, and Remy couldn’t resist teasing him about it. But if Gabriel had tried to kill them, what would stop him from ordering a hit or ten on Isaac? Worry didn’t even begin to describe what the knots in his stomach felt like.

He swore he had to dial a hundred numbers. The phone card number, the phone card code, Isaac’s cell. Sweat rolled down his neck and back, and his shirt stuck to his skin. The phone rang far too many times. He checked his watch and mentally subtracted four hours. Six-thirty in the morning. Isaac should be at breakfast.

It occurred to him if something had happened to Isaac, nobody would know how to get in contact with him.

“Pick up, you bastard,” Nathan murmured, just before the ringing cut off.

His heart jumped when the static of the open line interrupted the ringing, followed closely by a muttered curse. “Hello?” a groggy Isaac said. His voice was hoarse, his tone wary. In the background, Nathan could have sworn he heard a dog bark.

Nathan double-checked his watch. It was definitely six-thirty in sunny southern California. “Are you asleep?”

“Well, I
was
,” came the annoyed response. “What time is it?”

Nathan wondered if he hadn’t just made a phone call to the Twilight Zone. “It’s half past six. You’ve usually been to the gym and breakfast by now. What’s going on?”

“Late night. We lost the guys who were holding Stacy yesterday. Where are you? Still in Argentina?”

“Yeah. A village about a day out of Buenos Aires.” Nathan frowned, far from satisfied with the explanation. Losing a suspect always fed Isaac’s insomnia. It didn’t put him to sleep. “How did you lose them?”

“One escaped when we showed with the warrant to arrest them, and Gabriel sniped the other outside the station. Olivia and I spent the rest of our night securing Stacy and her informant before Gabriel got to them too.” Another bark echoed in the background, and then there was a creak. Isaac’s bed, must be. “Did something happen down there? Is that what the wake-up call is for?”

“No. We have a meeting this afternoon with a historian and folklorist. I guess I could have called after we spoke with her, but I thought I’d make sure you were still alive.” The dog barked for a third time. “Since when do they allow dogs in your building?”

“They don’t.” He paused, and then added in a guarded tone, “That’s Tiberius you’re hearing. He’s Olivia’s.”

Nathan would be hard-pressed to think of any announcement that could surprise him more. Maybe if Isaac calmly explained he had grown wings and he would be flying down to join them on the Silver River.

“You’re sleeping with the cold case detective?” Nathan asked slowly.

“Her name’s Olivia,” Isaac said. Another creak. It dawned on Nathan that it must have been Detective Wright he’d heard the first time. A door clicked shut. “And technically, yeah, I slept with her.
Technically
.”

He couldn’t bite back his smile. “You’re having sleepovers with Detective Wright? Did you braid each other’s hair and gossip about boys?”

“
Olivia
. And you know, you’re one to talk. How long did it take you to trip over Remy? I seem to recall finding her underwear wedged in your couch the first morning she was in your house.”

Nathan frowned. He never claimed to be perfect; he knew he’d moved fast with Remy. But he’d also never lied to Isaac about it. “Because Remy slept
on
my couch. Where is your underwear wedged this morning?”

“The crack of my ass, that’s where.” Isaac sighed. He spoke again in a noticeably lower voice. “Look, I know this is going to sound insane, but I really like this woman. And we were both exhausted last night, and just sleeping with her sounded like the next best thing to heaven at two in the morning. Nothing else happened.” He paused. “I don’t want to fuck this up by forcing the sex too soon.”

Nathan realized he had been wrong before.
This
announcement surprised him more than learning Isaac had spent the night at Detective…Olivia’s. For a moment, he wondered who this person was and what he had done with his best friend.

“How much do you like her?”

“Enough to tell her about Susanna when the subject got brought up.”

Nathan rubbed his forehead.
Is this what happens when I leave town for a few days?
“What did you tell her? I know she already knows the highlights.”

“Yeah, well, now she knows the lowlights too. But it’s not what you’re thinking, Nathan. I only started sleeping over here because of some shit Gabriel’s been pulling to yank my chain. It freaked Olivia out, so I agreed to sleep on her couch until we got him arrested. Last night…neither one of us wanted me on the couch.”

All thoughts about Isaac’s surprising love life fled. “What has Gabriel done to you?”

“Nothing big. Some pictures, broke into my apartment…” He heard Isaac sucking on his teeth as if contemplating what to say next. “He killed Sonny and Cher. Cut their heads off and just left them floating in the tank.”

“What? Has he seen
The Godfather
too many times?”

“My point exactly. Except Olivia doesn’t see it that way. So I’m here until we get this sorted out. She doesn’t need to be worrying about me on top of everything else with this case.”

Well, that was fine. Except now the knots in Nathan’s gut were the size of bowling balls. “I hate being stuck down here. I should be watching your back. It sounds like things are getting really ugly.”

“Thing have always been ugly with Gabriel.” He sounded more awake now, more his usual self. “And right now, you need to get whatever you can on that damn coin. I’m tired of that asshole being one step ahead of us all the time. We need this playing field leveled and we need it done yesterday.”

Nathan glanced out the window and noticed Remy sitting on the porch in a tank top and a pair of tight jeans. She watched the Silver River.

“We should be back in town by the end of the week, and I hope to God we can find what you need. Have you replaced Sonny and Cher yet?”

“No. I’m not…I’m not thinking about that yet. I’m not even at my place, so I wouldn’t be able to take care of them anyway. But…take care of yourself, will you? You and Remy. I need you two back here in one piece.”

Nathan paused before answering, waiting for the punch line, but it never came. It was like he dialed the wrong number, only instead of getting the wrong person, he found the wrong
year
.

Stranger things have happened. Ask your girlfriend about finding the wrong year
.

The stray thought was far from comforting. In fact, it was a colossal mindfuck. He didn’t want to live in a world where it seemed possible to call a person from six years earlier and have a pleasant chat.

“Yeah, you take care of yourself too. If Gabriel will stoop to killing your fish, there’s no telling what he’s capable of.”

“Not for much longer, hopefully. Call me tonight, will you? I’ll be awake then. I promise.”

“I’ll call you as soon as we get back to the town,” Nathan promised. “And, Isaac? I’m glad you found a place to sleep.”

He chuckled. “Me too. Maybe I’ll even be able to convince her to grab another hour of it.”

Nathan said his goodbyes, then hung up. A disembodied voice informed him he had twenty minutes left on the card, and then the line went silent. He briefly imagined Isaac in a strange woman’s bed, happy just to be there, thinking about
staying
there for another hour. Once his confusion began to fade, Nathan had to admit he was really happy Isaac was opening up to somebody.

Remy was still staring at the water when Nathan stepped outside the door, and he quietly moved behind her and slipped his arm around her waist.

“What are you thinking about?” Nathan rested his chin on the top of her head.

She took a long time answering, wrapping her arm over his. “I was wondering what it was like for her. What it felt like to be a slave, to not be free to go and live the life she wanted to. I’m not so sure I would’ve lived to be an old lady like she did. I think I would’ve gone cracked or tried getting away sooner.”

“No, you’re a fighter. You wouldn’t have given up or gone crazy.” Remy had been consumed with thoughts about the Silver Maiden, the myth, the missing girls, since they landed in Argentina. It almost seemed like they were searching for information about Remy’s own grandmother instead of some mythical woman who may not have existed at all.

And he didn’t like the way she seemed so unhappy.

“Guess where Isaac was just now when I called him.”

“You’re not there. Where else would he be but work?”

“See, that’s what I thought too. But he was in bed. Detective Wright’s bed.”

Her head whipped around, and her eyes were wide as saucers. “The redhead? He fucked his partner?”

“He claims they literally just slept in the same bed. I’m not sure if I can buy it, though. I mean, Isaac’s been in a long dry spell and she’s his type.”

“I thought his type involved an air pump and a gag. She seemed too smart to chump for his usual lines.”

“She is. But maybe he’s finally found somebody who can draw him out of his shell. He likes women who, as you put it, don’t damsel.”

Remy snorted with a shade of disbelief, but at least she wasn’t thinking about the Silver Maiden anymore. “For as much hell as he’s always given me…but hey, maybe getting some will make him less likely to leave me locked up next time.” She twisted around and got up on her knees, looping her arms around his neck. “He’s okay, though, right? Gabriel hasn’t taken a shot at him, too, has he?”

Nathan kissed her forehead with a soft sigh. “Apparently he and Olivia arrested one of Gabriel’s men, and Gabriel retaliated by ordering a hit on him. His man, not Isaac. And apparently Gabriel had somebody sneak into Isaac’s house and kill his fish. Which is really bizarre, but I don’t know, maybe that’s what gang lords do now.”

Remy frowned. “That doesn’t sound like Gabriel at all. The man doesn’t bullshit around. He didn’t even blink when he shot Kirsten. If he wanted Isaac gone, he’d just do it, not pussy around in amateur hour.”

Nathan remembered his time as Gabriel’s captive. He didn’t need to be told the other man didn’t pussy around. Though Gabriel had never dealt with him personally, he remembered the argument between Gabriel and Tian that culminated in Cesar’s death. Killing Tian’s best friend had been Tian’s warning shot.
Shape up or you’re next.

“No, you’re right. Gabriel doesn’t play games. Isaac might have tunnel vision right now.”

Her eyes grew wary again, searching his like she was seeing straight down to his soul. “Do we need to go back? Maybe Isaac needs us more than I—
we
—need answers.”

“No. Isaac can take care of himself for a few days. This is where we should be.”

The corner of her mouth lifted in the split second it took her to close the distance, pressing a warm kiss to his lips that made the world vanish. His arms tightened reflexively around her, relishing the soft curves molded against him, and for a few precious moments, he forgot about his worry for Isaac and his concern for Remy. He could just kiss her and be
there
, the way it had been since she’d fallen into his life.

“We’ll go back as soon as possible,” Remy said when they parted. “Before Isaac forgets how much he needs us.”

Nathan nodded. It helped to know Isaac wasn’t alone. He didn’t know what was going on between his friend and the cold case detective, but right now he didn’t care about the details. He only cared about Isaac’s safety and Remy’s peace of mind.

The village had been hot, but traipsing through the dense jungle surrounding the small population felt like she was getting baked alive. With each step, Remy’s feet grew heavier, the boots she wore as protection from the undergrowth making it harder and harder to trudge on. She saw a stripe of sweat running down the middle of Nathan’s back as he walked in front of her. The hair at his nape curled from perspiration and heat. Not once did he voice a word of complaint. He was too intent on following the woman who’d agreed to meet with them, to tell them what she knew of the Silver Maiden.

Her name was Corazana, though she called herself Cora. Remy’d expected somebody older than Cora’s forty years, and her whipcord thin body suggested years of life in the jungle as opposed to stuck in a library. Green eyes greeted them instead of the brown Remy had grown accustomed to seeing in Argentina, and she met them with a genuinely warm and inviting smile, despite her initial cautionary words.

“Few are interested in the old stories anymore,” she’d said in flawless English, standing on the porch of the small house where they were staying. “And there are those of us who believe perhaps this is a good thing.”

“Why?” Nathan had asked.

“Because with knowledge comes power, and with power, corruption.” Her gaze settled on Remy, steady enough to make Remy fidget. “Faith is a driving force for many deeds, both good and bad. Better to protect that which we have against the unknown than to unleash it to be abused.”

Remy didn’t know what the hell she was talking about, but it left her feeling even more jittery than she already was. They needed answers, yes, but the more she heard, the more she wondered if this was a rock better left unturned.

They came to a stop at a clearing and the soft rush of water called Remy’s attention even before Cora led them toward it. Cora stopped at the bank of a narrow stream, crouching down to sit on one of the rocks, and motioned for Nathan and Remy to join her.

“We’re here on a matter of some urgency.” Nathan sat perched on a rock, his long legs stretched in front of him. He held out his scarred hand, palm up. “We need to know what the Silver Maiden is. What it can do. How it relates to seven missing girls.”

Cora took his hand, her fingers almost as long and slender as Nathan’s. Gently, she traced over the raised marks, following the lines of the Maiden’s hair as she looked over her shoulder. “You’ve touched it.” Her eyes came up and locked with his. “It knew you.”