Wild Ways (11 page)

He watched her scout all the animal-print bras before coming back to him. “Nothing signed by a Di or a Birdy.”

He pointed toward the back where one of the four pool tables was unoccupied.
“There aren’t any stools open at the bar. Let’s go shoot some pool. Then we’ll see if that’s Lang tending bar.”

He knew guys who shot pool with women for all the bending and leaning. While Julian had never been that desperate for an eyeful, he sure didn’t mind watching Mollie line up her shot. She took a long time in her effort to get it just right, and the modification of her shirt certainly didn’t hurt.

She seem to have no idea how tasty-looking she was. He really wanted to enlighten her. She had a nice, curvy ass, a long, lean torso, and a set of boobs his hands were twitching to cup by the end of the game. When she ran her fingers up and down her cue stick as she waited for him to shoot, he could well imagine it was another stick she was stroking.

“Why are you looking at me like you’re going to eat me?” she asked as she nudged him aside to take her shot. “You said you didn’t bite.”

“I lied. I like to bite. And nibble. And lick.”

She fumbled the shot. That was another thing he liked about her; she was unawakened. He could see in the way she reacted when he said things like that, and the awkward way she’d positioned herself when they’d simulated sex. She probably wasn’t a virgin, but he bet she’d never had hot, sweaty sex.

And damn, he wanted to initiate her. But he needed to keep focused on their task. He sank the nine ball and took her cue. “Are you hungry?”

She blinked. “You mean … for food, right?”

He held back what he wanted to say. “Yes. Food.” He set their cues in the rack. “They have kick-ass barbecue here.”

The scent of smoked beef filled the air. He settled his hand on the small of her back as he led her toward the bar where there were now two stools available at the end. She glanced up at the bras hanging overhead. Maybe he’d at least get her out of her bra by night’s end. Mollie definitely needed loosening up.

The tall, thin guy at the bar was in his fifties, with an affable personality. And he did seem to know everyone. He narrowed his eyes thoughtfully when he approached to
take their order. “You and a buddy came in a few weeks back. Redneck from Tennessee.”

“You got it.” He angled his thumb at Mollie. “This is him. Got a sex change up in Chicago.” When Lang’s mouth dropped open, Julian laughed. “Kidding. I ditched him for my girl.”

Lang barked out a laugh. “You had me on that one.”

“You’re Lang, right?” Julian said.

“Sure am. What’ll you have?”

They ordered. Julian could tell that Mollie was dying to ask questions now that they had a friendly dialogue going, but she was following his orders—let him do the talking. He’d dealt with a lot of different people over his military career, and he knew how to time the interrogation. He’d also learned from their team’s interrogator, Risk. He always said you had to wait for the “soft point” or you’d lose the opportunity.

His phone vibrated, and he pulled it out of its holster. Rath, with the message: “Is this the girl?”

Julian opened the message and saw a picture of Rath in some dive, cheek to cheek with a redhead, hamming it up for the camera. “Rath’s checking the bars.” He held the phone so Mollie could see it.

She shook her head. “Looks like he’s having fun.”

“Dude doesn’t have fun. He’s like you, all serious and ‘I’m gonna find the truth even if it kills me.’ ”

“I don’t sound like that. Do I?”

He laughed. “No, that’s more Rath and my bad imitation of his Tennessee accent. He’s probably on some supposed quest to get pictures with biker chicks for his Facebook page or Instagram or whatever.” He answered Rath and put his phone back as the food arrived.

“Has Rath said anything about my car?” she asked. “We should probably be working on retrieving it.”

“Why? We have the bike, and I don’t want to take the time to backtrack at this point.”

“But I’m going to need it eventually. Chase can’t afford to fund this kind of investigation for long. I mean, I know he can afford it, but he’s obviously a smart man when it comes to money. Why should he do work without pay? Why should you?”

Julian grasped her hands, feeling her soft fingers slide against his. “People have let you down in the past. Abandoned you. So you’re shoring yourself up for when I give up on this investigation. On you.”

Her eyes were big and full of her doubts. Her resolve. “You will. We’re hitting dead ends. You’re the kind of guy who needs results.”

“I’m the kind of guy who sees things through.”

She looked down at their linked hands. “But you walked away from your family. Shut them out.”

He released a long breath. Of course she would see it that way. His family couldn’t count on him to stick around. Why should she?

“Because I don’t want to end up in jail.” He let those words settle for a moment. “Some of my family’s business activities are illegal. Stock market scams. Pyramid schemes. Money laundering. When my brothers and I were kids, they used us to perpetrate their scams. We were trained to cry on command if we were in a fender-bender. ‘Oh, my back! My neck!’ ”

He shook his head, embarrassed by the memory and his devoted enthusiasm. “They justify it because they think they’re not hurting anyone; only the government and insurance companies. I joined the military to get away from them, because I wanted to do something right. After I left the SEALs, I went home to visit. When guilt and obligation didn’t work to keep me there, they handcuffed me to the bed and sent in my ex-girlfriend to seduce me. I sent her out for a condom and escaped—they forgot why I’m called Houdini. I haven’t been back since. So no, they can’t count on me to stick around. But you can.”

She gave him a slow nod. “I appreciate you telling me. You didn’t want to.”

“I don’t like to advertise my family’s criminal predilections. Don’t get me wrong, they’re good people in a lot of ways. Loving, giving to the community. Moneymaking
schemes are the way my father was raised, too. It’s all he’s ever known. My mom was drawn into the Bonnie-and-Clyde excitement of it. And us, too. Only I grew out of it. They’ve talked about going straight. It’s always ‘just one more scheme, and then we’re out.’ But I don’t know if they can do that.”

She reached up and brushed a stray lock of hair from his face. “You’re a good man. You’re here helping me, after all.” Her gaze softened. “I know you’ll do everything you can to find Di. And I know that if you do get tired of running down leads with me, you’ll give me notice.”

He swallowed back his sigh. She still expected him to give up on her. Words weren’t going to do anything. He would have to prove it.

Lang brought their pulled-pork sandwiches and fries, and they ate while watching the clientele coming and going. No outlaw clubs and no sign of Brick or Di. Mollie ended up talking to the woman next to her, giving her advice on her love life. Which Julian found amusing, considering. He texted Chase to check in with their location and progress—or, sadly, lack thereof.

Chase texted back.
I’m chasing down a lead on Brick in St. Louis. My ATF contact should have something by morning
. Julian touched Mollie’s arm, pulling her away to show her the text. She leaned close, her arm pressed against his, her cheek on his shoulder.

Then he answered.
We’ll hang until we hear from you
.

When the woman engaged Mollie in conversation again, Julian sent another text to Chase.
Please don’t take me off this case
.

Then he quietly ordered a slice of chocolate cake. Once Lang set it on the counter, Julian tapped her on the shoulder.

Her face lit up at the sight of the cake. “For me?”

He touched the spot in the center of her collarbone. “For your soul.”

She swallowed hard, as though he’d given her a diamond ring. “Thank you.”

He shrugged. “It’s just cake.”

But he could see that it was more than cake to her. She relished her first bite, then
offered him one. He wasn’t a big sweets eater, but he wrapped his fingers over her wrist and took the forkful. “Decadent,” he said, his gaze on her. “Definitely makes me want more.”

Her eyes were locked to his. “The cake. It is delicious.”

“Mm-hmm. The cake.”
Too
.

She continued to share it, but he only took the proffered bites for the opportunity of touching her hand to steady the fork and look into those big blue eyes of hers. In fact, he almost ordered another piece when every crumb was cleaned off the plate. Then he remembered that they were there for a purpose other than gazing into each other’s eyes.

Finally he got around to chatting up the bartender during a lull. “Chumley over at the Bar None in Tulsa said you might know a military buddy I’m trying to find. I was planning on looking him up in OK City but found out he’s with the Kings of Chaos now. Didn’t feel like approaching any of them, if you know what I mean.”

Lang had smiled at the mention of his old buddy’s name, but he scowled at the Kings. “Luckily they don’t come through here much. What’s this guy look like?”

Mollie, who’d tuned in, produced her phone again. Lang studied the picture, then shook his head. “Haven’t seen him.”

“What about his girlfriend? Maybe she was in here without him.”

“I don’t pay much attention to OMG chicks. Those meatheads think you’re flirting with one of their women, they’ll cut your balls off.”

“I hear ya.” Julian popped one last, cold French fry into his mouth, then asked, “Have any campsites available tonight?”

“Plenty. The rain’s passed us by, but the forecast scared folks away.” He pointed at one of the waitresses. “Gracie Kay’ll set you up.”

Julian glanced at Mollie. “You leave your bra, and we’ll head on out.”

She had an impish gleam in her eyes. “Only if you leave your briefs.”

He laughed and slid off the stool, hooking his arm around her waist. “I’ll get that bra off you yet,” he said with a wink to Lang, then led her over to Gracie Kay.

“Are we pretending?” she whispered.

“No,
mami
, we’re just having fun.”

Twenty minutes later, Julian had bought her a sleeping roll and found a nice little spot down by the river. It was as far from anything Mollie would have imagined seeing on this trip. Moonlight spilled down through the trees and sparkled on the water as it softly flowed past. The air was clean and fresh, a soft breeze rustling the damp leaves and sending a patter of raindrops to the ground.

They’d both washed up in the cabana that served as campground bathrooms and showers. She’d brushed her teeth and hair and put on the pajamas she had packed. He had laid their rolls a few feet apart right on the riverbank. She should be dog tired, but an odd energy flowed through her. It might have something to do with the way Julian looked in the slashes of moonlight, dark and dangerous and way too sexy. He wore shorts and nothing else—his sleeping shorts, he’d called them. They were the kind of fabric that draped over the curves of his behind and showed off muscular thighs dusted with the same dark hair on his head. Luckily she couldn’t see much in the dimness, but her memory supplied the sight of him at the well-lit cabana just fine, thankyouverymuch.

He wandered down to the water, knelt, and stuck his hand in. “It’s cool, but nice. How about a night swim?”

“No,” she said too fast. “The thought of getting into water I can’t see the bottom of …” She shuddered. The thought of getting in with Julian made her shudder in a whole different way. “Besides, we don’t have towels.”

“I’ll grab a couple from the cabana. Be right back.” And he was, within a couple of minutes. He handed her one. “No more excuses.”

She set it down beside her. “I’m sticking to the one about not seeing the bottom. Creepy.”

“Suit yourself. I’m going in.” He kicked off his shoes, shimmied out of his shorts, and walked right into the inky water. Even in the moonlight, she could see the curve of
his bare behind until he was waist deep. He spread his arms out as he turned to face her. “This feels amazing. Come in.”

“You’re naked!”

She imagined that he was giving her a
well, duh
look.

“Why get my clothes wet? It’ll take them a lot longer to air-dry than it’ll take me. Or are you afraid of what might be lurking in the depths?”

“It’s the naked man I think I’m most worried about.”

“I’ll keep my distance.”

“No, thank you.” Even as her body strained to join him, she made herself drop down to the grassy bank. After kicking her shoes off, she submerged her feet into the water, all the way up to her knees. It
was
nice, the perfect ending to a grueling day.

He sank back, making a soft splash, and disappeared beneath the surface. She watched where he’d gone down. Waited. And waited. She started to get anxious. What if there was an alligator in there? No, she didn’t think they had alligators this far north. Maybe a water moccasin then. Or—

Something grabbed her ankles, making her scream. Julian surged out of the water in front of her, still gripping her so that she couldn’t lurch away.

She smacked at him. “You scared the heck out of me!”

He laughed, a soft chuckle. “Did you think I was some kind of river monster?”

“At first I was worried about you, silly me. You were underwater a long time.”

“SEALs get real good at holding their breath and maneuvering under water. We’re made for this.”

He stroked her ankles, his voice a different kind of stroking. “Come in, Mollie. It’s dark. I won’t see you.”

“I can see
you
. There’s plenty of moonlight.” Of course, she’d just admitted she’d been looking.

“Then leave your bra and panties on.”

He pushed back, maybe to give her space. To think about it. He flicked water from his hair. Oh, to be that easy with her body. “Di is like that, too, the first one to go
skinny-dipping. Once I was chaperoning her—she thought I was just tagging along with her and her friends—and we ended up at the beach. Di just dropped her clothes and raced into the surf. Everybody else followed.”