Delivering Justice (15 page)

Chapter Fifteen

“What happened? Who were you shooting at?” Jessica asked, trying to calm her fried nerves.

“I saw movement in the bush and something charged toward me. Turned out to be a wild hog,” he said.

Tyler O’Brien was no doubt capable of handling any situation he came across, but Jessica couldn’t ignore the fact that the cowboy lit up more of her senses than was good for either one of them.

Another noise sounded behind her. Jessica jumped and scrambled into his arms.

“Don’t tell me you’re afraid of a hog?” he asked, leaning back to get a better look at her.

“You’re not?” she asked.

“They’re mean but, trust me, I can be worse. I’m not going to let anything happen to you,” he said and his voice was gravelly. “But
this
isn’t a good idea.”

“What?” she asked, but she was being coy. “Is
this
?” She reached up on her tiptoes and pressed a light kiss to his lips. Sure, she was frustrated with him and she figured half the reason their frustrations had built to this degree was all the sexual tension crackling around them every time he got near her. It was crazy and impulsive but all she could think about was the feel of his arms around her and how right everything felt when she was this close to him.

His heart thundered against her chest, its rhythm matching hers.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “I can’t stop whatever’s going on between us and it scares the hell out of me.”

“You don’t have to be in control all of the time,” she countered. “Maybe it’s time we both let go.”

With that, he closed his arms around her and pressed her body flush with his.

“I’m glad you feel that way, because this thing between us seems to have a mind of its own,” he said. “I’m tired of fighting it.”

A trill of need blasted through Jessica. “Those are the best words I’ve heard all day.”

He dipped his head and claimed her mouth. She parted her lips and his tongue slid inside, tasting her, needing her.

Tyler picked her up and carried her to the tent. He set her down long enough to pull the sleeping bag outside, under the stars.

She shrugged out of her shirt, dropping it onto the ground, and he groaned when he saw her blue lace bra.

All it took was one step for him to be there, his hands on her breasts as her nipples beaded beneath the silk undergarment. He paused long enough to look into her eyes and she was certain he was searching for reassurance.

No words were needed as she tugged at the hem of his shirt. His joined hers on the ground a moment later and then his lips were on her neck, slowly moving down. He stopped at the heartbeat at the base of her neck, feathering little kisses there, and then slicked his tongue down the line between her breasts.

Her breath came out in little gasps as he explored her sensitized skin. She planted her hands firmly on either side of his shoulders to stop him.

“What? What’s wrong?” he asked, and his voice was low.

“We’re wearing too many clothes,” she said, already grabbing for his zipper.

He shimmied out of his jeans and she did the same. Her bra came off a few seconds later and joined the other clothes on the ground.

Tyler stopped, his eyes dark and hungry, and looked at her. “You’re beautiful.”

“So are you,” she said, tracing a line down the muscles in his chest. He was like touching silk over steel, raw power in physical form.

His hands roamed her breasts and she liked the rough feel of his fingers on her skin.

Her breath caught as he slipped her matching blue silk-and-lace panties down the sides of her hips with achingly slow movements.

She tugged his boxers off next and took a second to admire his glorious body in the moonlight. He was muscle and hotness with just the right amount of gruffness to be irresistibly sexy...damn. There was so much more to Tyler O’Brien than a hot body, although he had that in spades. He was warm, intelligent and caring...a potent combination. And she was hooked.

When this was all over and he walked away, the pain was going to be beyond anything she’d ever known...but she had tonight. And a little part of her mind told her she’d held back too long. She needed to take what she wanted...and she wanted the hot cowboy. Hurt would eventually heal and she would have this memory for the rest of her life.

Jessica made a move toward Tyler but he stopped her.

“I’m not done looking at you,” he warned, naked and glorious.

She should be embarrassed but there was something about his presence that made her feel completely at ease. She glanced down at the makeshift bed on the ground, smiled, and then took off running in the other direction, straight to the water.

The cool lake practically sizzled against her burning skin.

Tyler was behind her in the next moment, spinning her to face him. She wrapped her legs around his waist and eased him inside her.

“You’re going to destroy me,” he said, his muscles taut as he thrust deeper inside her.

“In the best possible way,” she said. “Now shut up and kiss me.”

He did kiss her, his tongue thrusting inside her mouth as he filled her with his erection. One hand splayed against her bottom, the other pressed and tugged at one nipple then the other until she shattered into a thousand tiny pieces around him.

And then he detonated inside her as they, bare-naked skin to bare-naked skin, held each other in the moonlight.

* * *

T
YLER
WOKE
BEFORE
light peeked over the horizon, feeling a little too refreshed. There was a chill in the air that didn’t penetrate his warm body—warm because of the woman in his arms. And a big part of him wanted to stay right there and hold her for as long as he could.

Good news about Jenn’s condition would be a welcome relief for Jessica and he wanted to deliver it first thing. He needed to move to a spot on the north corner of the lake where he could check his cell phone.

Slowly, so he wouldn’t wake her, he untangled their arms and legs with a satisfied smile. Last night had been right up there with...no, had been
the
best sex of his life.

When they sorted out Red’s situation they needed to have a conversation about seeing each other on a regular basis, explore where this could go. He picked a few supplies out of his pack and moved to the water. After brushing his teeth, he replaced the supplies and hiked to the other side of the lake.

His first phone call would be to Dr. McConnell. It was early but she’d be up making rounds. He walked along the lake, checking various spots for bars until he got at least three. Immediately his cell phone started buzzing and dinging. Fifteen missed calls and a half dozen text messages. Not good.

The first was from the doc. She was direct, as usual, saying that hospital security had been breached and her patient had gone missing.

Tyler immediately phoned.

“It happened an hour ago,” she said, not bothering wasting time on perfunctory greetings. “I had to call the sheriff.”

That second statement was a given. Jessica might be upset at first but she’d see that the doc had no choice.

“What did Tommy say?” he asked.

“He figured it was connected to the murder at the motel. I didn’t link you to my patient. That’s between you and Tommy,” she said.

“What was her condition?” Jessica needed to know what they were dealing with. “Tell me in layman’s terms.”

“She’d had two bags of saline, so she was rehydrating. Overall, I’ve seen worse but I don’t like her being gone before I had a chance to evaluate all her injuries.” The doctor hesitated for a second. “How’s her sister?”

“What gave her away?” Tyler asked.

“She doesn’t have the same bruising on her arms, for one,” Dr. McConnell said. “That was the first tell.”

He should’ve known. “I apologize for not being up front. This situation is sticky and some information wasn’t mine to share.”

“You have your reasons,” she said quickly. “I’ve known you a long time and I trust they’re good ones.”

He thanked her and asked if he could see the security footage.

“I’ll have someone drop a copy of the feed off at the ranch,” she said. “It would be best if you stayed away from here for now.”

“Understood.”

“On that note, the images are grainy. We don’t have a need for high-tech security here so the equipment’s old,” she said.

“How many people are we talking here?” he asked, hoping to get a better frame around who they might be dealing with.

“Just one,” she said, and there was an ominous quality to her tone.

“Did you recognize him, by chance?” he asked.

“I’d swear it was the man visiting her sister the other day.”

James Milton.

“I better get ahold of Tommy and see what he’s found so far.” And he needed to come clean to his close friend. The best way to help Red and her sister was to lay all the cards on the table. On second thought, he’d shoot a text asking Tommy to meet at the cabin. It would be easier to explain everything with Red there.

“I’m here if you need anything,” Dr. McConnell said.

“We’ll be out of cell range for a bit this morning. You hear anything or if anyone connected to this shows up at the hospital, I’d appreciate a heads-up.”

“Already have you on speed dial.” She paused. “At the risk of sounding motherly, be careful.”

“You know I will,” he said before ending the call.

Tyler made a beeline toward the tent. Jenn had gone missing and Milton had her. Tyler had miscalculated the man and her disappearance was on his head.

Jessica needed to know.

Chapter Sixteen

Tyler didn’t like the idea of waking Red before she’d had a chance to get a proper night’s rest, but this news couldn’t wait. They needed to regroup and come up with a plan to find her sister, now. “I have news.”

She blinked her eyes open.

“We need to talk,” he said, kissing her on the forehead.

Red sat up, yawned and rubbed her eyes. “What’s up?”

Bad news got worse with age so he didn’t wait for the right words to come. “A man breached hospital security an hour ago and managed to get away with your sister.”

The look of shock and horror playing out on her face fisted his chest. He’d let her down in the worst possible way.

“Who? How?” she asked, wide-eyed.

“I can’t say for certain. Dr. McConnell is sending security films to the house. If we pack up now we should be there around the same time.” Tyler was already gathering supplies. “She was doing better because she was getting hydrated, but doc said she didn’t get a chance to get a full workup yet.”

“And, let me guess, they have no idea who took her?” she asked again.

He looked her directly in the eyes. “Doc’s pretty certain it was James Milton.”

Panic crossed her features as she scrambled to her feet. “What do we need to do?”

“Pack up and go home.”

Within ten minutes, the campfire had been tamped, the SUV packed and they were on the road. Tyler drove across the property, calling ahead to security to alert them he was coming. His next call was to his brother Austin.

“We have a situation and need to send out an alert to security,” Tyler said as soon as his brother answered. “The woman I’ve been helping, Jessica, her sister is missing and they’re both in danger. Everyone should stay vigilant and be on the lookout for Jessica’s twin sister and a white male. If people want a visual, I’ll be at my place in the next twenty minutes. I’m coming up from Hollow’s Lake.”

“I’ll let everyone know. Dallas is in town this morning so I’ll text him the situation. He’ll want to meet up with us. The twins are in the barn so they’ll be easy to round up. I’m not sure where Colin is, but he’ll want to know what’s going on and pitch in to help,” Austin said.

Joshua, the youngest twin, had been traveling back and forth to his job in Colorado. He’d been having the most difficult time with the transition to rancher, given that he loved his job in law enforcement. Tyler was glad to have the extra help. He thanked his brother even though he knew Austin wouldn’t see it as necessary. “I’ll see you in a few.”

“We’re all here for you. Just let us know what you need and we’ll make it happen,” Austin said. “In the meantime, I’ll watch your back as you enter from the south end of the property.”

Tyler ended the call with the push of a button on his steering wheel. Red didn’t immediately speak.

She finally leaned forward and said, “I didn’t know there were twins in your family.”

It was a distraction from the helplessness they both felt being in the SUV driving home rather than being there to save her sister.

“The youngest boys, Ryder and Joshua,” he said.

“Now I get why you seem to understand twins so well,” she said with a hollow quality in her voice. She was talking, going through the motions, but her heart wasn’t in the conversation.

He understood. Sometimes people needed to do something to keep busy or they’d go crazy. Given the current situation, Red had every right to be distant. And he had another bomb to drop on her. “Tommy’s going to be at the cabin when we arrive.”

Red shot a look at him.

“I didn’t tell him anything. I said that I wouldn’t go behind your back and I didn’t. But he has to be involved now. He has resources that can help find your sister.”

She started to put up more of a fight but seemed to lose steam as she blew out a defeated-sounding sigh.

“Whatever it takes to get my sister back alive,” she said quietly. “I’ll do anything to make sure she’s safe.”

* * *

J
ESSICA
COULD
BARELY
BREATHE
. Ever since she’d heard the news about her sister it felt as if the air had thinned and the walls were closing in on her. If Milton had gotten to her, and it had to be him, then Jenn was as good as dead. The man had a violent background and nothing to lose. There would be no incentive to keep Jenn alive if she didn’t cooperate.

Based on her sister’s condition, Jessica wasn’t sure if her sister would be coherent enough to say where the necklace was even if she did know.

And what if she knew exactly where the necklace was? What if she’d figured it out? If she told Milton, he’d kill her and dump the body just as ruthlessly as he’d tried before.

“You said you were going to take care of my parents.”

“They’re on a ranch in Montana,” Tyler said.

“My dad’s always wanted to go fly-fishing,” she said wistfully, trying to absorb all the information coming at her.

“That’s how we convinced him to leave. Also, he thinks his daughters are joining him there for Thanksgiving.”

“Does he know about all this? He and mother will be so worried,” she said.

“Thinks you two arranged the trip with the caveat they had to leave immediately,” Tyler said, and there was a sad quality to his tone.

“I’m more than happy to reimburse you for the expenses,” she offered.

“It’s not that. He sounds like a decent man and I hated lying to him,” he said.

Their worlds had never felt so different. She and her sister were running from the law while Tyler’s best friend was the sheriff. He was a good person who stepped in to help when most would run the other way. Would she do the same for a stranger? She liked to think she would, but then she’d never been asked to dodge bullets for anyone before.

But that was for her blood, her sister. No matter how crazy things got, Tyler stayed the course and offered his life to help. She thought about how much she’d been asking of him, forcing an honest man to lie to the people he loved, and a hard knot formed in her stomach.

“You can take me to the sheriff’s office to file a report and leave me there. You’ve done enough for my family,” she started, but his hand came off the steering wheel long enough to stop her.

“Don’t push me away.” His fingers closed around hers as he temporarily steered with one hand.

Was she?

“Every time we get close, you tell me to leave,” he continued. “There’s only one thing you need to know about a Texan—we don’t quit when life gets tough.”

Those words, his support, wrapped around her, bathing her in warmth. She couldn’t deny his point. Every time they got close and she started opening up, she found a reason to shut down. He’d never left her side. “I don’t know how to let go of the feeling that you’re going to walk away at some point.”

“I can’t promise forever, but I do know that I’ve never felt like this about anyone before,” he said.

“Me, too. That’s exactly what I’m afraid of.”

“Can you take a step back once we get Jenn back and life returns to normal and see where this leads?” he asked as he pulled into an area that finally looked familiar.

“I don’t know,” was all she could say. He deserved the truth.

“Do me a favor,” he said.

“If I can.”

“Don’t make any decisions right now.” He pulled into the garage, turned off the engine and held on to the key. He didn’t make a move to get out of the SUV. “Not while everything’s turned upside down.”

For her own protection, she needed to tell him that was impossible. That she’d already made her choice...to go home and try to forget everything that had happened these past few days. And yet it would be impossible not to remember last night.

Before he could say anything to change her mind, Jessica opened the door and stepped out of the SUV.

They came from two different worlds, knew very little about each other, and trying to convince herself they could somehow magically make it all work would be foolish.

“The door’s unlocked,” he said, moving from the driver’s side.

She walked in and forced her thoughts away from the feeling that this was home. It wasn’t home. Home was with her parents in Shreveport.

He grabbed her elbow as she crossed into the kitchen, spun her around and pinned her against the wall.

“I get that you’ve lost a lot and that you’re scared. But give us a chance.” His steady gaze, those dark eyes—she could lose all sense of time. Even forget how messed up her life was right then.

The doorbell rang.

He didn’t move and she didn’t speak.

“I’ll take that to mean you’re at least thinking about what I said.”

She looked away. No way could she look into those eyes any longer with what she was prepared to do.

An urgent knock sounded at the front door. No doubt it was the sheriff. She’d most likely be arrested for lying to an officer of the law. Would Tyler still want to have anything to do with her then? He wasn’t thinking clearly.

He kissed her anyway, slow and sweet. She molded against him.

“Tyler, I saw you drive in,” the sheriff said through the door.

Tyler pressed his forehead to hers and closed his eyes.

The next thing she knew, he’d gone into the other room and opened the door. The sheriff walked in first, followed by three men who looked related to Tyler, and a woman.

“I’m Stacy,” she said, offering a hand.

Jessica took it and then the tears came.

Stacy pulled her into a hug. “It’s going to be okay, you hear me? These men will find your sister and bring her back safe and sound. They’re good men and they’ll look out for you.”

Those words were soothing, and a sense of calm radiated from Stacy.

“Thank you,” Jessica said softly. She took a fortifying breath and straightened her shoulders.

Thankfully, the men had moved into the kitchen, gathering around the granite island and passing out mugs of coffee.

“These are my brothers, Austin, Ryder and Joshua,” Tyler said.

“Dallas is on his way and Colin must be out of cell range,” one of the men said. She recognized the voice as the one on the phone, so he had to be Austin.

“Nice to meet everyone.” Each shook her hand and it was easy to guess who the twins were based on the fact that they looked so much alike.

They huddled around the coffeepot as Tyler moved to her side and took her hand.

No one made her feel the way Tyler did. And a big part of her didn’t feel worthy of that kind of love. Wow. Was that why she took care of everyone around her? She didn’t feel like she deserved real love?

Before she could talk herself out of holding Tyler’s hand, he put his arm around her and she leaned into his strength. It was time to bite the bullet and own up to her fraudulence. “I haven’t been completely honest with you, sheriff. My name is Jessica and I’ve been covering for my twin sister, Jennifer.”

“I know,” Tommy said, and she almost thought she didn’t hear him correctly. She must’ve shot him one wild look because he put his hand up. “I didn’t at first, but I started piecing things together and when I dug into your sister’s background and found you everything snapped into place.”

“I understand if you need to arrest me or something,” she said. “But I’d appreciate it if you let me help find my sister first.”

The sheriff made a face. “Arrest you? For what? Being a witness to a crime?”

Tyler squeezed her and she’d never felt more safe in someone’s arms. But her sister was out there with a crazed man who had nothing to lose.

“Tell us what you know,” Tyler said to the sheriff.

“We’ve been able to ascertain that James Milton owes Randall Beauchamp a large sum of money. His interest in the Infinity Sapphire is twofold—clear his debt and get enough money to start fresh somewhere else. He’s been studying for a real estate license in Nevada, so my guess is that he’s been planning his exit from Baton Rouge for a while.”

“So, we know that he’s involved and that Jenn was set up. Why does everyone think she knows where the necklace is?” Tyler asked.

“Because she does,” Jessica said. “She might not even know it, but she does. It’s the only thing that makes sense.”

“What do you mean?” Tyler asked, clearly confused.

A picture was finally emerging. “Jenn said that Milton kept asking about the box. Maybe Ashton asked her hide something for him but she may not have known what it was.”

“It would also mean that she trusted the person who gave it to her,” Tyler said. “And we already know she was having an affair with Ashton.”

One of the brothers set up a laptop on one side of the island and plugged in a thumb drive. “This is the footage from the hospital.”

It was grainy, just as they’d been told, but it was so obvious that the person walking out was not James Milton. “That’s Ashton Brasseux.”

“How can it be? He and his wife, Emma-Kate were kidnapped,” Tyler said, and then it dawned on him. “Or so he wanted everyone to think.”

Jessica sipped from the mug she’d been handed earlier.

“Local police did some digging and found out that the Brasseuxs were having a little money trouble. Ashton and Emma-Kate were separating and she believed that he was seeing someone else,” the sheriff said.

“My sister,” Jessica said quietly. Jessica turned her full attention to the sheriff. “I know how this looks. All evidence points to Jenn taking the sapphire or at the very least being involved in stealing and hiding it. Other people seem to believe the same thing, bad people, but I know in my heart that my sister would never do that. She was in love with Ashton Brasseux and he set her up.”

“I have to follow the evidence,” the sheriff said. “But I promise to look at all the facts and keep an open mind.”

She smiled, nodded. Under the circumstances, he was being generous. “Thank you.”

“What’s our next step?” Tyler asked. “We know that Jenn is in danger and we need to find her.”

Tommy nodded.

“Do you know anything about the person who has been asking around for me?” Tyler asked.

“I tracked him down and he was an investigator for the Brasseux’s insurance company,” the sheriff said. “We just need to make sure he stays out of the way.”