Temptation, The Complete Serial Series 1-4 (The Temptation Serial Series) (11 page)

They thought they knew it all. Riley, whom they thought was hot on the case, was an amateur. Of course he did figure out the Hunter symbol, given to me by my grandfather, which had belonged to his grandfather. But even with that, he would never be able to determine my identity. However, I would have to be more careful with the gifts I bestowed upon Brooklyn.

I needed to find her, to tell her how I felt about her and make her mine.

So I listened.

I heard Shane ask Morgan about their location. “Where is this place, Sin?”

She hesitated. “It’s not too far. Just a little over an hour and a half. It’s a very small town and Brook seems to really like it. I think it’s what she needed the most; just a break from everything in Vegas.”

The men never pressed her for the town’s name or questioned her further.

Shane asked her to stay in the city for another day or so with him and she agreed quickly, warning that she had to go shopping for paint and supplies. No doubt those were for Brooklyn.

Slipping out of the restaurant after settling my bill, I made my way outside to the rental Morgan had arrived in. Inside the inner pocket of my jacket was a tiny device. Reaching beneath the underside of her bumper, I felt the magnet adhere and proceeded to my car. Their conversation may not have led me to her, but Morgan would in just a few short days.

My cell phone vibrated in my bra, so I went for it. I thought Colt was too busy lifting heavy stuff to notice, but he apparently saw me and wore that ever-present southern boy smirk on his face. It was a good look on him. Sigh.

The text was from Morg.

Staying in the city for a couple of days until supplies can be shipped here

Me:
Is that code for Shane flew in to see you?

Morg:
He’s so romantic

Me:
And horny

Morg:
And horny. LOL!

Me:
Lucky bitch

Morg:
;)

Colt Stone was a ninja, stealthy like a cat. He snuck up behind me and was reading my conversation with Morgan. “Excuse me!”

He just chuckled. “You havin’ a dry spell, sweetheart? I can probably find someone to help you out in that area.”

Willy coughed back a laugh.

“Shut up, Willy. You’re supposed to be on
my
side. We bonded today, remember?”

“I like your hair,” Colt said, surprising me. “I liked the long blonde, but this is more you.”

“More me?”

“Yeah. Sexy, a bit sassy and dangerous.”

I snorted. “That’s what I was going for. Make sure you thank your girlfriend for me. She did a helluva job.”

Colt stiffened. “Lynn cut your hair?”

Willy straightened his back and started toward the pair of us like a referee, arms slightly extended, as if they would keep us from tearing each other apart. The thing was, he didn’t need to worry. My beef wasn’t with Colt; it was with his girlfriend. And I was going to find many, many ways to make her wish she had never butchered my hair. “I helped, too,” Willy added with a nervous smile.

I gave Willy a hug, dropping my box of Lucky Charms on the ground in the process. “And I love you for that. That’s what friends are supposed to do. They’re supposed to be there for one another in happy times and in the times when you want to kick scissor-happy bitches in the lady bits.”

Colt smiled questioningly. “Lady bits?”

“True story. Thanks, Willy. Anyway. . . I guess you fellas didn’t need backup after all.”

Colt puffed his chest up and scoffed. “Backup. We’ve got this. Right, Willy?”

Willy smiled and shook his head, but agreed, “Whatever you say, boss.”

As my front door’s hinge squealed out into the night, I turned and yelled, “Hey Willy, is that pool okay to swim in now?”

“Yes ma’am, and I, for one, can’t wait to see you in a bathing suit!”

A stiff swat from Colt had the old man rubbing his bicep. “What’d I say?” he asked his boss.

The back of my hand met Willy’s arm. He pursed his lips and grabbed his bicep, asking, “What’d I say?”

“You said you wanted to see her naked!”

Willy snickered and his eyes glazed over. He was picturing her. Hell, now
I
was picturing her. His raspy voice broke the silence. “I didn’t say
naked
, boss. I said I couldn’t wait to see her in a bathing suit.”

Grumbling, I retorted, “It’s almost the same thing.”

Willy walked to the truck bed and rested his forearms on the edge. “I wouldn’t mind seeing her naked.” He clutched his chest. “Not sure this old ticker could take that, though. Hoo-wee!” I threw an old greasy rag at him and he laughed. “It’s true!”

I just smiled. Then I remembered what she said about Lynn cutting her hair and Willy helping her out. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what had happened, but Lynn and me…we weren’t a thing. I told her from the beginning that we were just friends with benefits. I wasn’t looking for a commitment and I definitely didn’t want to get serious. She could see other people. She always swore she was fine with that arrangement, but somewhere along the way, feelings had apparently developed—on her part—and things got messy.

“I need to talk to Lynn.” Willy was easy to confide in. He listened well and wasn’t afraid to tell you when you were doing something wrong or stupid. He didn’t beat around the bush. Hell, the man barely had a filter at all.

“You do. She’s scary.”

“Scary?” I smiled.

“Damn near scalped Brooklyn. Yeah, I’d say she’s scary. Like the weirdo in that movie.” He snapped his fingers as if the sound would jog his memory. It must have worked, because he continued, “Edward Scissorhands! Yeah, she’s like Edwina Scissorhands.”

I raised my eyebrows and then wiped the sweat from beneath the bill of my ball cap. “Edwina Scissorhands.”

“Um-hm.”

I looked back up at Willy, who just stared at Brooklyn’s condo like he was trying to solve a puzzle. “What’s up?”

“Don’t know exactly, but somethin’ ain’t right with her.”

“With Brooklyn? Why do you say that?”

He pinned me with a
dumbass-please
look and I stared at Brooklyn’s condo with him, as if the answers to the riddle that was Brooklyn Harris would suddenly appear, written on the white siding. Willy started talking out loud, mostly to himself, but this time I listened. “What kind of girl up and leaves her home and a good paying job to come here? What kind of girl is tough enough to ignore the gossips and a near-beheading and keep her head up? Whatchu hidin’, Miss Brooklyn?”

As if on cue, the upstairs bedroom light flickered on. I couldn’t see her, but I could see her shadow. She was undressing and I knew I was being a complete pervert, but I couldn’t tear my eyes away. When I did, I saw Willy with a smile stretched across his face, watching unabashedly. “Willy,” I warned.

He shrugged. “Can’t help it, boss. It’s the manther in me.”

“Manther?” Now, Willy had said a lot of weird stuff over the years, but this was a term I wasn’t familiar with.

“Yeah. Manther. You know how old ladies, when they go prowlin’ for fresh meat, they’re called Cougars?”

I coughed, trying to cover a laugh and failing miserably. “Yeah.”

“Well, when an old man is prowlin’, he’s a manther—like a man-panther. Part man, part beast. He can’t help it. It’s just who he is. Time ain’t on his side anymore, so he prowls. Always on the hunt.”

I swear the man growled after that speech, sending me into a fit of laughter. Willy huffed, standing up straight. “What? You think I can’t get a woman? I can get a woman and I could even teach
you
a thing or two, boy.”

“What happened to ‘Boss Man’?”

He muttered something about showing me who was boss and then showing Brooklyn who was boss as he stalked home.

“We done for the night, Willy?”

“Yeah. We done.”

Willy was done but I had a long night ahead of me, by the looks of it. But first, I needed to take care of one little problem: Lynn.

She picked up on the first ring. “Hey, honey. Long time no see.” Why didn’t I realize before now how I absolutely hated her voice? Reminded me of nails on a chalkboard or a cat in a swimming pool.

I shuddered.

“Listen, we need to talk.” Famous last words, Lynn.

“About what? I can come over if you want.” She dropped her voice to a whisper, “I bought a little something I think you’ll approve of.”

“Tomorrow. Stop by on your lunch break.”

“Sure!”

“We’re just
talking
, Lynn.” I let the tone of my voice do the warning for me.

“O-okay. See you then, Colt.”

I clicked ‘End’ before she could draw the conversation out another ten minutes with goodnights and goodbyes. It was something she did and now I understood why. She thought she could be the one to break me. She thought wrong, and tomorrow she would find out just how wrong she was.