B00MV3HMDW_EBOK (2 page)

E
than swung the Jeep in front of the large Victorian home that had been converted into apartments. Taryn rented out the top floor and he could see a light silhouetted in the right side window, indicating that she was getting ready for her morning run. She was methodical in her schedule—rising at zero four forty-five and jogging at zero five hundred for approximately three miles. She got prissy when her routine got interrupted, but what he had to tell her couldn’t wait.

Ethan gave himself a minute, reflecting over what he’d discovered in Texas. The team had been working day and night in locating Ryland, but when it came right down to it they wouldn’t find him unless they worked the man’s one known weakness. Unfortunately Ryland’s Achilles’ heel happened to be a woman who’d gone by the name of Yvette Capre…who they’d discovered to be related to Taryn through DNA testing and who just happened to be deceased. Ethan shook his head at the absurdity of it. One couldn’t make this shit up.

He exited the vehicle and made a mental note to drive it through the carwash before returning Jax’s new baby to him. The clunker that Ethan drove would never have made it to Texas. He was appreciative of the borrow and he knew that if he were ever to drive it again that he would have to return it in the same condition that it had left in. Then again, Ethan
could
fork up the cash to buy a new vehicle himself but it was hard to justify the expense. His clunker worked just fine around town.

Pressing the key fob and hearing the Jeep beep in response, Ethan strolled up the walk and up the steps before pressing the buzzer on the right hand side of the door. There were three levels with three tenants, each with their own single floor apartment. The landlord had been creative enough to block off the staircase to the downstairs, creating an entry hall out of the foyer and a walk up for the tenants onto the second and third floors. He’d added on the intercom system so that any of the renters could buzz someone in through the heavy front security door and allow their guests access to the staircase.

“Come on up.”

Taryn’s greeting let Ethan know she’d looked out her window to see whose vehicle was sitting out front. She and the other residents used the street behind to pull into the three-car garage, which was where Taryn’s Nissan Pathfinder was currently parked. He waited until he heard the click of the door lock, signaling he could enter. Making his way up the steps, he didn’t hesitate to twist the knob. She always unlocked it for him instead of waiting for his knock, regardless of how often he chided her on the safety of her action.

“You should wait for me to rap on the door,” Ethan reprimanded loudly, knowing it wouldn’t do any good. That didn’t mean he would stop. He walked directly to the kitchen and pulled down a mug from the cabinet above the coffeemaker. Pouring himself a cup, he knew that Taryn wouldn’t have any until after her run. “You’re gonna get your ass killed one of these days.”

“If Ryland wanted me dead, you and I both know I’d be taking a dirt nap,” Taryn said as she pulled a sweatshirt over her head, entering the kitchen from the small hallway to the right of the door. Because of the way the landlord designed the entrance layout her apartment was shaped into a large U. The right side of the apartment contained her kitchen and living area, whereas the small hallway led to a relatively large-sized bedroom with a seating area. Ethan saw that she was wearing a worn pair of sweats with a hole in one of the knees. Her face was devoid of all make-up and her usual spiky short hair was pulled back with a hairband, but her natural state didn’t alter her innate beauty. As she pulled the sweatshirt over her black sports bra, he tried not to take it to heart that she was probably a more accomplished runner than him. They might be best friends, but he wished she would stop dressing in front of him. He was still a man and she had one hell of a body. She had to know it had an effect. “You might as well give me a cup. From the look on your face, I’m not getting in my morning run.”

Ethan sighed, turning back to the counter, but not before taking a drink of his own coffee. He’d been driving for close to sixteen hours, having spent some time in a godforsaken Midwest state to catch a few hours of sleep on his drive home from Texas. He was tired and irritable, but what he had to tell her couldn’t wait. She’d be thrown off her schedule, and he had a feeling that the next few months would find her perpetually in that chaotic state.

“What do you want first?” Ethan finished pouring the steaming liquid into her cup and then walked past her to where the couch separated the two rooms. Sinking into the cushions he sighed with relief. Shit, he would have crashed here for the remainder of the morning had he not told Crest that he would be into the office in an hour to give a verbal SITREP. He handed her mug over before kicking off his black leather boots and stretching out on the sofa. “Good new or bad news?”

“I actually have bad news for you,” Taryn said, standing over him. She looked different without her glass-rimmed glasses. She only wore them for reading and computer use, but since that was the majority of the time that he saw her he was struck by the softness in her face. He rubbed his tired eyes, knowing he needed sleep. He held out an extended hand to the heavens in exasperation when she didn’t continue. He knew that he could be annoying, but she was right there beside him. They had important things to discuss and her delaying wouldn’t make what he found disappear. “Fine, I’ll tell you. Fallon Canna is coming into the office today. I know that the two of you didn’t leave things on great terms, so I thought you should know.”

“We parted ways amicably,” Ethan muttered, closing his eyes once more. Fallon was a lot like Taryn in the fact that she valued her independence. When he’d indicated he preferred a specific lifestyle, Fallon had ended things—over the phone, for God’s sake. Who the hell did that nowadays? He had been glad that he’d kept their brief affair a secret, although Taryn had figured it out quick. She knew him well, just as he knew her. Which was why he recognized this stall tactic as a way to delay hearing what he’d discovered in Texas. “We weren’t compatible. There weren’t any hard feelings.”

“The bitch broke it off with you over the phone.”

Ethan laughed at Taryn’s statement, his movements causing his coffee to spill over the rim. Son of a bitch. He swiped at the liquid staining his pullover long sleeved shirt, but it was no use. It had already settled into the material. He glanced up to see Taryn looking at him with those big brown eyes of hers that were anything but innocent.

“Just sayin’,” Taryn quipped, shrugging her shoulder. “What woman wouldn’t like to be restrained once in a while, forgoing some control? The daily grind can wreck havoc with one’s body. Shit, just sitting and observing at Masters can release some tension in my shoulders. Although having never met Fallon Canna, she might be the Domme type. In which case I don’t see that working out between the two of you. Maybe she likes butch women.”

Ethan pressed a palm to his right eye, thinking maybe he’d fallen asleep. Was he still in the Jeep, dreaming this crap up? When he opened his eyes, Taryn was still standing there, big as life. She was looking at him a little curiously, as if she didn’t understand his troubled reaction. How the hell could she not? She basically just admitted she was a submissive when this entire time he thought she might swing the other way. The club they attended, Masters, catered to the lifestyle of BDSM and was co-owned by two of their team members. They’d shared a lot over the years but generally shied away from sexual conversations. This was just too bizarre, but before he could comment she switched subjects.

“I’ve stalled long enough. Just tell me what you found out in Texas,” Taryn ordered, dropping down into the matching burgundy brush-twilled upholstery. He only knew what kind of fabric it was because his parents owned a furniture store over in Minnetonka. He’d spent his young teenage years reupholstering endless rows of worn sixties living room furniture. The color reminded him a little too much of a New Orleans bordello, but it wasn’t like Taryn would ever take his advice anyway. She was way too independent, but obviously after what she said, not in the bedroom. As he looked at her he had to remind himself that they were best friends. She shouldn’t have brought up her sexual desires and she sure as hell had to stop dressing and undressing in front of him. “I’m ready for it.”

“What I figured out is that you and I are taking another trip down there.” Ethan drank half his cup of coffee while trying to focus. Her bizarre comments certainly had his mind jumping from topic to topic. He set the mug on a tray that was situated on an ottoman that matched the furniture. He sat up, knowing that what he had to say would change the perception of her childhood. This was some serious shit and everything they had been talking about got shoved into the background. If he could have given her any other truth but the one he was about to he would have. “I know that you were prepared for this, but it looks as if your father might have had an affair that resulted in the birth of Yvette Capre. I don’t know if it was before your mother or during your parents’ marriage. This is all based on hearsay and I didn’t want to question your family members in Houston until you heard this from me. Plus, I think they’ll answer your questions versus a stranger’s.”

Taryn didn’t say anything as she looked down into her coffee. She wouldn’t find the answers she was looking for and Ethan tensed, waiting for her reaction. They’d been friends for years and although he knew she was strong, finding out that her father might have betrayed her mother couldn’t be easy to hear. She would either pretend it didn’t bother her or immediately start packing for their upcoming trip to Texas. He wouldn’t allow her to return to the Lone Star State by herself.

“And there’s good news that comes with that?” Taryn asked, her disbelief evident. Now Ethan felt like a heel because he’d been trying to lighten the weight of what he’d just told her. There was no good news. When she finally looked up at him with those pain-filled brown eyes of hers, his chest tightened and he ran his hands down his face in frustration. She didn’t deserve this mindfuck that Ryland seemed hell bent on inflicting. “Sometimes you’re such a dick, but I love you anyway.”

Ethan felt something shift inside of him at those words, knowing Taryn meant nothing more than a love between friends. Lately though he’d been struggling with thinking of her that way. It all stemmed from some weird ass dream he had a month ago and he couldn’t get the images out of his mind. Not wanting her to think he felt anything different, he gave her a smile and reached over to tap her knee.

“We’re due in the office in around forty-five minutes. Let me close my eyes for a half hour and then we’ll head out.”

Ethan lay back down and didn’t bother to look back at her as he covered his eyes with his left arm. He heard Taryn get up from the chair and he knew that she was heading back into her bedroom to change clothes. He’d better get his shit together. Call it a friendship or whatever the hell people wanted to, but Taryn was important to him and he’d be damned if he would ever hurt her. Thirty minutes of sleep could do wonders and that’s what Ethan was banking on.

Chapter Two