ROMANCE: Mason (Bad Boy Alpha Male Stepbrother Romance Boxset) (New Adult Contemporary Stepbrother Romance Collection) (119 page)

Audrey slipped on tennis shoes and grabbed her robe before going outside.  When she got to the car she looked at Liam sleeping, a small smile escaping past her irritation that he was there.  He always looked so much younger when he slept.  She noticed that he was bare chested, and from the looks of things bare everything else.  She stepped back from the car embarrassed as he began to move his head and open his eyes.  He may still be her husband, but she hadn’t seen him without clothes in quite some time.  

Liam rolled down the window.  “Good morning, Audrey.” 

“What are you doing here?” 

“I was guarding you.”

“Naked?”

Liam gave her a look that said she knew why he was naked. 

Audrey folded her arms over her chest.  “You drove your car as a Werewolf?  Doubtful.”

“You know I can’t do that!” 

“Whatever.”  Audrey wanted to argue, but she was running out of steam fast.  She squinted her eyes instead and attempted to keep the acid from her tongue.  “Are you hungry?”

Liam reached into the backseat and grabbed his abandoned clothes.  “Yeah.” 

Audrey walked back to the house assuming he would follow.  Of course, he did. 

A half hour later, Liam was shoveling eggs, toast, and bacon into his mouth like a starving man.  He felt like he was starving.  It was always a side effect of shifting. 

“What are your plans today?”  He asked, before gulping a half glass of orange juice. 

“Working on my thesis.” 

“You can do that from home?” 

Audrey eyed him critically before sliding her hands together over the table.  “You know I can, but I wanted to go to the library.” 

“Stay home.” 

Audrey went the coffee pot and accidentally spilled hot coffee on her hand in her irritation. 

“Crap!” 

“What?”  Liam said, rising quickly.  He saw what she had done and guided her to the sink by her shoulders.  “Let the cold water run over it.” 

Audrey looked over her shoulder as the cold water soothed the light burn.  Liam sat back down and looked mournfully at his near empty plate. 

“I have a donut I was saving in the fridge.  You can have it.” 

Liam found the donut wrapped in a napkin and popped it in the microwave.  Audrey had cut off the water and was standing next to him cleaning up her mess from the counter, before trying the cup of coffee again. 

Liam didn’t move when the microwave beeped.  He had a burning desire to know if she still loved him.  He kept his back to the counter and slid the few inches necessary to be right beside her.  Audrey kept her eyes on her coffee cup, but her hands stilled. 

“What are we doing, Audrey?”  His voice was low and husky.

“What do you mean?”  She felt her pulse quicken.  She had a desire to give him some glib response about they were eating breakfast, what did he think?  Instead, she looked at him from the corner of her eye. 

“I mean, in our life?  Do you even still love me?”

Audrey’s heart was pounding.  How could he even ask her that?  The bigger question was, did she want to know the answer of that very question from him?

Audrey opened her mouth as Liam’s cell phone began ringing on the table.  She let her jaw snap shut. 

Liam answered the phone on the third ring, his voice gruff. 

“Hello?”  He closed his eyes and winced.  “Detective Lamb speaking.”  There was a period of silence before he spoke again.  “Yes, sir, I understand.”  More silence.  “I’ll be there.”  Liam set the phone down gently on the kitchen table. 

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.  I have a meeting with the Mayor at nine.” 

“Impressive.”  Audrey said, and meant it. 

Liam looked at her hard.  “Do you need anything before I go?” 

“Liam, I can go to the store if I need to.” 

“No, I prefer you just stay here today.” 

Audrey shook her head.  “I’ll not be a prisoner in my own home.” 

Liam growled lightly.  “Can you just do this for me?”  The way he touched the center of his chest with his fist made Audrey soften.  He really was worried. 

She nodded her consent.  “Alright, Liam, but only for today.  Tomorrow my life goes back to normal.” 

Liam grabbed his suit jacket from the back of the chair.  He purposefully kept his eyes off of her.  “Oh, and one more thing.  I think I should stay here with you until this whole thing gets worked out.”  When Audrey didn’t respond he turned to look at her, expecting a fight.  What he saw was an uncertain woman on the edge of tears. 

“Until what gets worked out?”  She asked quietly.  “The Monkey Killer, or you and me?” 

Liam gave her the most honest answer he could.  “Both.” 

Mayor Wilkins office was a simply decorated room.  Liam wasn’t sure what he expected, but it wasn’t the simple oak desk and two padded chairs that sat opposite of it.  He examined several law books shelved next to a framed master’s degree from VCU. 

The door to the office swung open and Tom Wilkins walked easily into the room.  He was an impressively thin man in his fifties with closely cropped hair and a neatly trimmed mustache.  His dark skin crinkled at the edges of his eyes as he extended his hand to Liam. 

“Detective Lamb, it’s good of you to come on such short notice.”  He motioned to a chair in front of his desk.  “Please have a seat.”

Liam watched the Mayor fold his hands neatly on top of the desk.  “Chief Bosher tells me that you will now be heading up Crystal’s investigation.” 

“Yes, Sir.” 

He nodded his head slightly.  “Good, good.  Have you made any progress?” 

Liam cleared his throat.  “I was just told late last night that I’m now heading the case.” 

“Do you feel this is the Monkey Killer?”  The Mayor’s eyes were round black orbs, steady in their new found intensity. 

“I don’t know.” 

“My son Lamar is having a hard time with this.  He was planning on proposing at Christmas.”  There was a slight tremor at the end of the sentence, but it had vanished when he spoke again.  “We were very fond of Crystal.”

“I’m sure you were, Sir.” 

“I want to be briefed as closely on this case as Lieutenant Corey and Chief Bosher.”  His mouth flashed white for a moment, the eyes still steady.  “Is that understood?”

“Yes, Sir.”  Liam nodded slowly.  He had no idea if this was protocol, and even if it wasn’t, was there now a way around it? 

Hank practically ran up the hallway when he saw Liam.  His steadily thinning round face was flushed. 

“We need to talk.”  He said and grabbed Liam by the elbow and pulled him into the nearest men’s restroom.  He comically looked under the three stalls like a teenager getting ready to smoke in the school restroom. 

Liam laughed at his antics.  “What’s wrong with you?”

Hank puffed and leaned on one of the sinks.  “There’s bad stuff going around the precinct.” 

“Yeah…”  Liam said slowly.  “Ok.” 

Hank’s jaw tightened.  “Lydia is running interference about the photos.  She’s telling everyone you initiated!”

Liam’s gut rolled into a ball, but he kept his face calm.  “Let her talk.”  He smacked Hank playfully on the chest.  “I have you for a witness.” 

Hank’s eyes bore into his.

“What?”

“Liam, I didn’t leave with you and her that night.  I just caught the tail end of the kiss.” 

Liam’s eyes narrowed.  “What are you saying?” 

Hank was becoming more flustered.  He ran a hand through his blonde hair.  “What I saw was the two of you breaking away from a very steamy kiss.  That’s it!”

“But…but you know what happened!” 

Hank turned and washed his hands for no apparent reason, as if the entire conversation made him feel dirty.  Liam understood.  Every time he thought about that night, he felt dirty too. 

Hank grabbed at the paper towels angrily and dried his hands.  He tossed the towels into the trash can.  “She’s gaining momentum to bring sexual harassment charges.” 

“What?” 

Hank shrugged dramatically, his shoulders and arms suspended in air.  “That’s the rumor.” 

The door opened and a uniformed officer walked in.  He went to the urinal unaware of what was happening.  When he finished, he went to the sink, and looked at Liam and Hank in turn through the mirror.  He spoke with uncertainty.

“Lamb.  Walters.”

Both men mumbled hello.  The young officer dried his hands and left, with a quick and curious look over his shoulder. 

“What are you going to do?”  Hank asked quietly. 

“I don’t know.”  Liam said, and headed for the door.  “Pray this doesn’t come to pass.” 

The attendant handed Liam the keys to his unmarked car.  “Cleaned her up real nice for you.”  He said with a grin, as if the car was a Mercedes or something. 

Liam shook his head in defeat.  At least the chrome rims had been replaced with something less grandiose. 

When he pulled onto the street from the garage, he realized that the car actually handled very well.  It was a cushiony ride, and he noticed that the car wanted to go fast.  He reminded himself to check under the hood later to see what was there.  Right then he had more pressing matters.  He was going to interview Lamar Wilkins. 

The house was easy to find, and it was modest just like Mayor Wilkins office had been.  The two story brick house was nestled into an affluent neighborhood in the West End, but didn’t carry any pretense.  There was a lush small lawn in the front that had fall flowers blooming along the short walkway to the door, and along the font edges of the front steps.  The number of shade trees in the front yard alone gave the promise of beautifully shaded spots for summer.

Liam was nervous as he rang the doorbell.  He removed his sunglasses hastily as the door opened.  A beautiful light skinned African American woman smiled up at him, her light colored eyes mesmerizing.  She wore a royal blue silk blouse over cream slacks, and her gold bracelets made a light clinking sound as she raised her hand. 

“Detective Lamb?”

“Yes, Mam.” 

“I’m Lenore Wilkins, Lamar’s mother.  Please come in.” 

The foyer was small and he could see the dining room with a shiny mahogany colored table sitting in the center.  The scent of lilies tickled his nose.  She led him into the living room to the right, and he noticed in addition to the vase of flowers he saw on the dining room table, this room held several more arrangements and plants.  Lenore motioned for him to sit on the white couch.  Liam hoped there was nothing on his clothes that would stain it. 

“You have some beautiful flowers.”  He said looking around.  There were many lilies and a few mixed arrangements.  He noticed two large peace lily plants near the triple windows.  Liam knew they were customary for expressing condolences. 

“Yes.  Many people have reached out to us and Lamar.  I can only imagine what her parents will receive once they can take the body home for burial.”  She touched a white lily petal gently, her face unreadable.  “I’ll get Lamar for you.” 

She returned a few moments later with a young man that held a striking resemblance to his father.  Lamar Wilkins was at least 6’1” with the same complexion as the Mayor, but he had been gifted with his mother’s eyes. 

Liam stood and shook his hand.  “I’m sorry for your loss.” 

The young man simply nodded and sat across from Liam on a matching white chair.  He pushed the sleeves of his dark sweater to the center of his forearm, and leaned his elbows on his knees. 

Liam flipped open his notebook.  “Can you tell me when you saw Crystal last?” 

“A few hours before…before she was attacked.” 

“Where were you?”

“I had come on campus and picked her up around six.  We went to Champ’s for a couple of hours.” 

“Champ’s the sports bar?”

Lamar nodded his head. 

“What time did you leave?”

“Around eight.”  His voice was soft.  “She said she wanted to go to the gym before it closed.” 

“Which gym?” 

Lamar ran his hands along the tops of his thighs.  Liam noticed a small scrape along two knuckles.  “I already told Detective Johnson all of this.” 

“I understand, but sometimes it’s good to get a fresh perspective.”

Lamer nodded and ran his hands along his thighs again.  Liam could smell a change in the air.  Lenore walked behind Lamar to place a hand on his shoulder. 

“She went to the Carey Street Gym.” 

Liam looked up from his notes.  “She lived in Brandt Hall.  Why didn’t she go to the gym on Franklin Street?”

“Not open late enough.” 

“That’s quite a trek, alone at night.” 

Lamar’s face hardened.  “I know.  She liked to hit the weights, then jog back to Brandt Hall.”

“Did the two of you argue that night before you dropped her off?”

“Nah.”  He looked at the floor.  Liam sensed more than saw Lenore put pressure on Lamar’s shoulder where her hand was resting.  He raised his eyes to Liam’s.  “No, Sir.  We weren’t arguing.”  The fingers on his shoulder relaxed.