Severed Threads (42 page)

Rachel’s stomach twisted as she followed Devon into the Crow’s Nest Bar. Detective Brennan was sitting alone in the far corner with a Padre’s baseball cap on, looking up at a photo of Sam and his boat on the wall. Her last encounter with the detective had been at her father’s funeral only four days after his wife’s suicide. Under the circumstances, she never expected him to show up at the church. His loyalty to her family, even during the worst possible time in his life, had left her amazed and truly grateful. Now, four years later, with a ruddy complexion and an extra thirty pounds wrapped around his middle – and her own memory of watching him accept a bribe – she couldn’t wait to see him destroyed.

“
Come over here,” Brennan said, his deep, gruff voice a stark reminder of the night she was kidnapped. He motioned at the two empty chairs across from him.

Rachel and Devon stared at him.

“I said come here,” he repeated more loudly.

Rachel studied her brother’s profile, gauging his temperament by the tense look on his face. She followed after him, dodging tables still covered with chairs. Arriving at the same table where the town drunk normally sat. She eased herself into the chair next to Devon and swallowed hard before glancing up at the waitress who had suddenly joined them.

“Coffee,” Mika said with two mugs and a half-filled pot clutched in her hands. Rachel bit her lip, curbing her temptation to speak.

“Won’t be staying that long,” Devon said. He reached for Rachel’s hand and squeezed it in assurance. He glared at Brennan and was blunter than she’d ever deemed possible. “Okay, we’re here. What do you want?”

Brennan’s bloodshot eyes thinned. It was only 1 P.M. and he was reeking of alcohol. “You really think I’m going to sit back and do nothing after Novak calls my department and tries to discredit me?” he slurred. “None of you have a clue who you’re dealing with.”

“
I have an idea,” Devon said.

“Really? The fact that you’re still breathing is only because I’ve allowed it. Believe me… that can change.”

Devon glanced at Rachel, containment etched in his gaze. “That’s why you wanted to meet? To threaten us?”

Brennan’s evil smile looked out of place on his amiable features. A nearly empty bottle of vodka sat next to his glass. “Was just curious to know what you think you’ve got on me. It doesn’t take a great stretch of the imagination to figure out that Skylar Zane and A.J. Hobbs are my sons. At least that’s what my wife told me before I found out she was fuckin’ your old man.” He shifted his gaze from Devon to Rachel and back again. “Trained those boys real well to keep their mouths shut. Sent them to separate schools, changed their names. Planned my revenge for a long, long time. Now that they’ve both served their purpose, there’s nothing to connect me to anything they’ve done or to anyone else in this town.”

Rachel looked down at Devon’s hand resting on hers. She wished more than anything she hadn’t promised to keep her mouth shut.

“
I can sit here all day telling you tons of shit,” Brennan boasted, pouring another shot. “How I spent years planning my revenge…turning those pea brains against your greater-than-thou family. How I celebrated for months after Claire and Sam turned up dead.” He downed another glassful. “How I convinced Pollero and his hoodlum pals to take you both down. And guess what? There’s not a fuckin’ thing you can do about it. No matter what you claim or whom you try to convince, no one’s going to care. No one will take the word of a blubbering idiot and his nursemaid sister over a highly-respected, decorated cop.”

“
If that’s the case, Brennan, why did you insist on seeing us? Why did your partner frisk us outside if you’ve got nothing to worry about?”

He huffed. “Don’t go giving yourself undue credit, Lyons. I play it safe, that’s all.”

“
Yeah, right,” Devon muttered under his breath.

Brennan leaned forward on his elbows. He lowered his voice. “You haven’t got a thing on me, understand? I know for a fact no one saw me put a bullet in your partner’s head. No one heard me on the phone changing the drop site or can ever link me to the Polleros. So take a free piece of advice while I’m still willing to give it. Keep your mouths shut and move out of town or you’ll find yourselves buried next to the rest of your kin.”

Rachel jumped to her feet. “I heard you in the car the night I was kidnapped. I saw you take a bribe from Novak when you thought he was on the take. And your partner was seen dumping Logan’s body. What’s more, there’s a man who saw you fighting with your son Jeremy just before he was killed.”

Brennan guffawed. “Who’s going to believe the town drunk? Like I said, you’ve got nothing.”

“Except your word,” Devon said.

“Yeah…mine against yours.”

Rachel banged her fist on the table. “Exactly! Now that I know you were behind my father’s death, I’ll do whatever it takes to put you behind bars. I’ll stand up in court to make sure you rot there.”

The detective snorted. “Good luck,” he said, reaching for the bottle.

Devon stared at him – his aggravation apparent. “No, your bad luck,” he snapped. “This bar has ears and you just filled all of them.”

Brennan glanced around nervously. Spotting Novak in the doorway, he rummaged under the table and pulled out a gun. Devon swung a backhanded fist, knocking his gun from his hand. Before Brennan had time to react, Mika rushed over and snatched it from the floor. She pointed her weapon at the detective’s throat, daring him to move. Within seconds, uniformed officers rushed through the entry lead by Novak and the chief of police. As soon as Brennan was handcuffed, Mika recited his Miranda rights. All the while Rachel leaned back in her seat watching, stunned and completely exhilarated. She was still amazed at discovering Mika had been an undercover officer all along. Although Novak explained that she’d been recruited to join
Stargazer’s
crew to insure everyone’s safety, Rachel had a hard time believing it was true until she had actually witnessed her in action.

Ultimately, Brennan and his partner were handcuffed and loaded into the backseat of two patrol cars and driven away. One of the detectives removed their father’s photo from the wall and lifted the bug from its frame before handing it back to her brother.

“
I still can’t get over that Brennan was behind everything,” Devon said. “Even when his name kept coming up…I didn’t have a clue.”

A soft smile touched Rachel’s lips. She laced her fingers through his and together they looked down at their father’s smiling face. “It’s a good thing Lyons look out for each other,” she said.

* * *

Novak had just finished his phone call when Rachel approached. “I can’t thank you enough for letting us be involved,” she told him. “With Brennan put away, Devon and I can finally get on with our lives and put our father’s memory to rest.”

“
Of course you understand this was far from normal procedure. Your brother was determined to make this happen. But all the same, you both had me worried for a while there.”

Her lips curled. “Guess my brother’s kind of used to getting his own way,” she said. “Anyway, there’s still something I’ve been meaning to ask you. What about Tom Nash? Your cryptic comment had me wondering about him all morning. I was honestly half-expecting Brennan to incriminate him as part of his drug smuggling ring.”

“
Sorry, should’ve been clearer about that. Especially with the guy having his own set of issues.”

Rachel glimpsed Devon outside with Mika, engaged in deep conversation. “
What
issues?” she asked Novak.

“
Remember when I said he was involved more than you know?”

She nodded.

“
I was referring to you. Far as we can tell, he never meant you any harm but there was good reason to believe he’d been stalking you for months. The guy came clean when we accused him of running Olivares off the road. Turned out his greatest fear wasn’t getting arrested for manslaughter. It was in his wife finding out about you.”

“
His wife?
I didn’t even know he was married.”

“
Separated, actually. The guy decided to move on…literally. Back to Texas where his family’s originally from. You won’t have to worry about him bothering you anymore. Just the same, you’re one lucky woman. If he hadn’t been breaking the law at the time, he wouldn’t have been there to save your life.”

Rachel looked away, shaking her head. When Chase returned, she’d have another crazy story to share. One that would leave him lecturing her for weeks. She’d end up having a battle on her hands trying to convince him that she didn’t need his protection full time. A soft smile came to her lips at the thought. She imagined his hands on her shoulders. His sky blue eyes peering into her soul. Although she hated to admit it, Chase had definitely wormed his way into her heart again. Having him around looking after her wouldn’t be such a bad thing. Would it?

“
Novak!” a police officer yelled from the open doorway. “Have you seen the chief?”

“
Not recently, why?”

“
The Coast Guard just received an emergency call from the
Stargazer.
Turns out we have another dead captain on our hands.”

“
What…what did he just say?” Rachel stared at Novak, disbelieving her ears. The debilitating look in his eyes. It couldn’t be Chase. It just couldn’t! Her breath caught. Her heart skipped a beat. There had to be a mistake.
Oh, God, please…it has to be a mistake!

Devon was suddenly there, folding her in his arms, keeping a world filled with heartache at bay.

Thirty-Eight

As he leaned in the bedroom doorway, Chase couldn’t imagine a more exciting homecoming. The only thing lacking was the words Rachel refused to speak – the words that came so easily to him. He pushed his hair out of his eyes and stared at her naked body, poised like a teen-aged boy’s wet dream in the middle of his bed. Even though a trail of clothing evidenced the passionate exchange that had led them there, he had to blink to verify the vision before him was real – verify she hadn’t turned and bolted just when he found her again.

Rachel’s chin lowered. "Stop looking at me like that."

Her arousing feminine scent betrayed his languishing feelings. Just the thought of straddling her made him tremble. "In a minute," he murmured. He scanned every inch of her body before moving closer. A soft blush crept into her cheeks and flowed down the curve in her neck. It reached the rigid nipples on her perfect breasts. As she shifted her angled shoulders, long chestnut tendrils broke free, interrupting his heart-racing appraisal.

"Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea," Rachel said. She reached for her shirt at the foot of the bed.

Chase snatched it and tossed it aside. He smiled as he lowered himself onto the bed. "No…it was a
great
one." He grasped her knees and kissed them before pressing them apart. He stared down into her face as he slid his hand along the silky skin lining her thighs. "Been dreaming about this far too long." He blazed a path of kisses to the soft brown mound between her legs, stopping briefly when a moan escaped her lips. He stole an upward glance and watched her breasts rise and fall with rapid breaths.

"Don’t stop," she murmured.

Chase had no intentions of halting. The mere touch of her was intoxicating. He eagerly resumed his divine mission, stroking and teasing with his tongue. With her fists clinching the covers, he claimed his dominion. He slid his lips across her smooth belly and ventured toward her full breasts. After gathering a handful, he suckled and nipped, reveling in her cries of ecstasy. He planted a trail of kisses along her neck and over her upturned chin, then found her mouth again – wet, sweet, trembling.

He lifted his head and braced himself on either side of her, surveying his possession. Beneath him lay a treasure far more valuable than anything resting on the ocean floor. Anything he might have imagined.

Wordlessly, she roped one hand around his neck and guided him against her shoulder. She raked her fingers down his side and spread them over his hip. While her hot breath blew currents across his ear, her free hand slipped between their bodies, inspecting the level of his hunger.