Viper (15 page)

Joe opened the passenger side door to her Dodge and climbed out before she had a chance to turn the key off and cut the engine. He headed for the scarred front door with one purpose in mind: pissing off the biker. Cara unfastened her seat belt, climbed out of the car and jogged up the beaten path behind him, dread sitting in her stomach like a rock. Kane swung the door inward after Joe’s incessant pounding, the look on his face none too friendly, even when he turned it on Cara.

“Let me guess, social call?” Kane grumbled, his glare centered on Cara and ignoring her partner altogether.

By the look of his sexy bed-ridden hair, she’d bet Kane had been sleeping upon their arrival. No wonder he seemed to have a continuous stream of women. One look at him and she was mighty tempted to join him in that bed herself.

Whoa, Brahnam … Mind on case.

As though knowing the path of her thoughts, Kane ran a hand through his mussed hair. His scowl turned to a smirk as he winked at her. Damn him for the insight. Arrogant bastard. Her face heated, no doubt reddening her cheeks.

“Look, Mister Tepes—”

“Don’t you two have something better to do … like catch a murderer?”

“That’s exactly what we’re trying to do,” Joe said with a cocksure smile. “And you need to let us do our job.”

“Are you here to arrest me?”

“No, not yet anyway.” Joe pulled out his small tablet and pen from his jacket pocket. “We’re here to ask you a few more questions. Like why you were really out on North Fork Road the night we got the tip about the dumped body in Bender Landing County Park.”

“Joyriding. Last time I checked, it wasn’t a crime.”

“Cut the bullshit,” Cara said, stepping past Joe and jamming her forefinger into his sternum. “You and I both know that’s not the reason you and Kaleb were out there. Visibility that night wouldn’t have been great for sightseeing.”

“I assure you, Detective, I had no problems with my vision that night.”

“Did you stop near Bender Landing County Park?”

“No.”

Cara narrowed her gaze. “I think you’re lying.”

Kane stepped closer, leaning forward so their noses nearly touched. “Prove it.”

“You see, Mister Tepes—”

Kane chuckled when she placed her palm on his chest and shoved. Though her effort wouldn’t have made him budge, he backed up anyway and gave her some much needed breathing room.

“So formal, Cara? You can call me Kane, or Viper if you choose … but we’re way past the formalities.”

Hell, she’d much prefer picking up her tail and running as far away from him as possible. Being this close to the man, or vampire, or whatever the hell he was, played havoc on her senses.
Mind on case, Brahnam.
Could she help it if the man was a walking, wet dream?

Cara sighed, then said, “We have footprints leading back to the area where the body was found.”

“You have casts? Then match it to my boot and prove I was there. But considering the amount of rain we had that night, I’m betting your evidence washed down the hill. How far off am I?”

If Joe hadn’t been standing mere feet behind her, she might have pummeled his smug chest. Kane knew she bluffed and that they had no evidence at all to point to him or Kaleb having been at that site before they arrived to cordon off the area. But someone had been digging up that body and messing with the crime scene, and she would bet her grandfather’s life that it was either Kane or Kaleb. The brothers, no doubt, covered for one another. Call it intuition, but she
knew
.

At Kane’s obvious lake of respect, Joe started to step around her. But Cara held out her arm, staying her partner. She wouldn’t allow Kane to think he could best her or that she needed her partner to go to battle for her. Besides, where would Joe be tonight when she showed back up at the clubhouse under Kane’s protection?

“You know, Mister Tepes,” —she stuck with formality since he said he preferred her not to— “you aren’t helping your case if you are in fact innocent by not cooperating.”

His gaze darkened, and Cara swore she could see just hint of the obsidian-like glass his eyes turned to in his vampire state. “Just so you know, Detective, I
am
cooperating. If I weren’t, you’d still be pounding on the fucking door.”

“Then why lie about being at the scene.”

“You haven’t proven I was, therefore you can’t make the assumption I’m lying.”

“Someone was out there. That much we know. Someone disturbed the make-shift gravesite … maybe someone who had a stake in this.”

“And what stake would I have?”

“She was your girlfriend.”

“I thought we already established that I didn’t have a girlfriend. Don’t embellish the facts or put your own spin on the truth. She was someone I fucked on occasion. And that’s all she was to me.”

“So did you get rid of the annoyance?”

Kane’s brow furrowed. “Now what direction has your inquisitive little mind taken you? Why the hell would I want to rid myself of a good piece of ass?”

“Was she?”

He laughed, humor twinkling in his gaze. “Why would you or your case care whether my last fuck was any good?”

“Because if she were, then maybe you wouldn’t have killed her.”

“Or maybe you have a personal interest.”

Cara looked briefly at Joe to see his reaction. She couldn’t tell if her partner was angry at her for the line of questioning going south or mad at the biker for insinuating she might be jealous. She certainly hoped for the latter or she’d have a lot of explaining to do.

“You live in a dream world, Mister Tepes, one where every blonde haired, blue-eyed woman cannot resist you.”

He raised one brow. “I haven’t found one yet who could.”

“Then your ego is inflated, because this blonde is resistant to your charms.”

His smile widened. He didn’t believe her. And why should he? She hadn’t given him any reason to. No, just mere hours ago she damn near gave him everything he desired from her.

“Let’s get back to the questions, Viper,” Joe growled, his temper showing.

“That’s Mister Tepes to you, asshole.” Kane’s humor quickly retreated. “Ask your questions, then get the fuck off my property. But if you even start with whether I was at Bender Landing County Park the night in question, you should know, my answer hasn’t changed.”

“And my belief that you were there hasn’t either,” Joe retorted.

“Then we’re at a standstill. It’s your job to prove I was, Detective. Why not go do your job?” Kane glanced back at Cara. “And unless you can prove I had anything to do with Tab’s murder, or that I even had a motive, I suggest you find someone else to harass. I’m done here.”

With that, he shut the door in their faces. A complete waste of time, Cara thought. Not to mention they had probably put Kane in one hell of a mood, for which she would likely pay later. Cara let out a steady stream of air, turned on the step and headed for her vehicle, hoping that Joe would let the innuendoes go without question.

* * *

“Where the hell have you been?” Cara’s grandfather griped, his voice raspy from years of smoking, even before she passed through the open doorway, a slice of his favorite peanut butter pie in hand.

The late afternoon sun poured through the opened, west-facing window as a cool, fall breeze caused the tan sheers to float softly across the tiled floor. She had been running late, due to the busy supper crowd at Tom’s Deli. Joe and Cara put their time to good use. After a filling supper, they interviewed the crowd. Finding someone who might have seen a person dropping the cell phone used to call the S.O. across the street two days prior, though, didn’t happen. Had it not been for the great food, Cara would have called it a complete bust. She purchased a slice of pie to go and parted ways with Joe.

“You know some of us have to work for a living, Grandpa,” she said with a smile as she bussed his cheek and laid the pie on the dinner tray, still sitting on the bedside table next to him. A roast beef open-faced sandwich, dripping with brown gray, and a perfectly rounded scoop of potatoes appeared all but untouched. “Doesn’t look like you ate much for supper.”

“‘Cause I was waiting for that pie. I had to save room, you know.” He patted his slightly rounded belly. “Watching my figure for the ladies.”

Cara chuckled. “They don’t stand a chance with you around, Grandpa. And if you don’t learn to eat better, you won’t have the energy to chase them.”

She took a seat on the edge of the bed, grasping her grandfather’s weathered hand. The veins stood out in contrast from his brittle bones; the skin-covering seemed to get more loose and transparent every day. She knew her grandfather’s years were numbered and she wanted to cherish each and every one of them. After all, to her, he was the last of her family. Cara turned his hand over. A dark bruise marred his right wrist. At his age, it didn’t take much to purple his delicate skin. She rubbed the injured area.

“Where did you get this one from?”

“Getting out of bed.” He glanced at the wrist she held. Cara knew he loved the close bond they shared. “They put those bed rails up every night like I’m some damn child.”

“They don’t want you falling out of bed, Grandpa.” Cara smiled. “If a bump caused this bruise, imagine what a fall would do. Don’t you be giving these ladies a hard time here. They take good care of you. I can’t be looking for a new home for you, one that would be willing to put up with your old cranky ass. I have a job to do.”

“Bah! Cranky! You go right ahead and find me a new place, missy. These gals don’t give me no slices of peanut butter pie! That’s for sure.”

Cara laughed again. “Then you best be nice to me or I won’t bring them either.”

“Ain’t it a Saturday?”

“You know it is, Grandpa. I come every Saturday evening to see you.”

“You should pick another day.”

Cara smiled. She knew what was coming. He never stopped chiding her about not having a man in her life.

“Saturday is for courting. You should be out on a date.”

“Don’t worry, Grandpa. You aren’t taking some man’s time. I’m still not seeing anyone.”

His weathered brow creased. “You best stop playing so hard to get. You ain’t getting any younger and I ain’t dying until I get me a great-grandbaby. How about that nice detective you work with?”

“Joe?” Cara laughed. On occasion, Joe would stop in to see her grandfather, said he liked the old fart … made him laugh. “He’s already married. Don’t you be pushing me off on someone else’s man. I can get my own.”

“Well, you sure ain’t doing a very good job of it.”

Her grandfather picked up the remote, turned on the television set and changed the channel to the news. Settled, he reached for the pie and began taking large bites.

“You best not fill yourself with dessert. You need to eat some roast beef, too, old man.”

“Who you calling old?” he said around a mouthful. “I can still outrun you on a bad day.”

“I’d like to see that. You can barely get out of that chair.”

Finished with the pie, he set down the empty plate and turned to look at Cara, his gaze serious. “You need a man in your life, girlie. You can’t spend the rest of your life alone. I only have so many good years left. Then who’s going to take care of you?”

“I can take care of myself. I’ve been doing it for over ten years.”

He sighed, moisture misting his eyes. “Don’t I know it and it’s a damned shame. Your mother was a good-for-nothing whore. Worked your father to death and took every damn dime he had. Made too many excuses for that one, he did.”

“You don’t have tell me…,” She patted his weathered hand. “I lived it, remember?”

“Exactly why you need to find yourself a good man. You’ve had enough unhappiness in one lifetime. You deserve to have a nice family.”

Cara smiled, hugged his hand to her chest. She knew he meant well and only wanted the best for her. But finding a man hadn’t been a priority, let alone had she ever thought about the word family. She lived for her career, which didn’t provide her a lot of time for dating. Besides, the men she came across on a daily basis weren’t worth having. No, she was better off alone.

Kane came to mind.

Her nights were about to get a lot less lonely. She didn’t plan on telling her grandfather that, though. He’d likely want to meet him, Cara thought with a chuckle. But Grandpa wasn’t ready for the vampire.

“I have to go, Grandpa. There’s someplace I need to be tonight. I hope you don’t mind me cutting it short.”

“You going to see a man?”

“In fact, I am … but we’re just friends. Don’t you go getting no ideas.”

“Bah!” He waved his hand in the air. “No such thing as a man friend. You go. Don’t keep him waiting on my account.”

Cara kissed his cheek again. “I’ll be back next Saturday.”

“You come see me another night.” His nearly toothless grin always brightened her day. “You save Saturday for that new friend of yours.”

“Fine! No sense arguing with a bullhead.”

“Not when you know I’m right. Now get on, get out of here.”