Wilde Ink (Wilde Brothers Book 3) (10 page)

“Mom’s here?”

“Uh huh. Girl’s night out. Our sister-in-laws are here too. If you’re smart, you’ll escape before it’s too late.”

Shit. Maybe this hadn’t been such a good idea after all. The guys would be easy to deal with, but if the Wilde women found out he was here with Lia…

Lia chimed in at that point, sealing their fate. “Does your mom pick out girls for you too, Nick? I think that’s sweet.”

“No, she does not. That’s a special treatment she only gives to the sons too socially inept to manage to meet a girl by themselves, like Jared here. Jared, this is Lia Archer. Lia, this is Jared.”

Jared’s blue eyes lit up with interest and he leaned across the bar to take Lia’s hand. “Hello, Lia, nice to meet you. I hate to ask this, but have we met before? I’m certain I wouldn’t forget such a pretty face, and you look hauntingly familiar.”

Nick wrapped a possessive arm around Lia’s shoulders and shook his head in mock dismay. “Is that the best you’ve got? No wonder mom’s decided you need help, bro. Now, kindly let go of my girl’s hand before I get grumpy.”

Jared gawked at Lia and then Nick as he released her hand. “
Yours
? Not you too? Dammit, Nicky, we were supposed to stick together on this.”

“Sorry, bro. You’re on your own. Lia’s all mine.”

Lia snickered softly. “Did he just call you, Nicky? That’s adorable. I may have to start—”

“No. Not a chance. Forget you ever heard that name,” Nick grumbled, but he was inwardly grinning. He’d just staked a very public claim, and Lia hadn’t so much as blinked.

Progress.

“Nicky boy, is that you?” He recognized the boom of his father’s voice instantly and turned to greet the old man.

“Hey, Dad.”

“About time you came around. You’ve barely showed your face around here the last few months. Your mother worries, you know. She starts wondering what trouble her youngest boy’s gotten himself into this time.”

And here we go.

“No trouble, just busy.”

Brian Wilde snorted, his hazel eyes full of disbelief. “Somehow, I doubt that.”

“You shouldn’t, sir. I can attest to the fact Nick’s been very busy of late, and I’m afraid I’m the reason.” Lia smiled up at his father, and Nick watched in amazement as the old man immediately mellowed.

“No one’s called me sir since I retired. You can just call me Brian, young lady.”

“Dad, this is Lia Archer. Lia this is my father, Brian.”

“You’ve been spending time with my boy? Well, then, he’s forgiven for not coming by to visit more often.” His gaze narrowed. “I know you.”

“Not you too, Dad. Jared tried that line not five minutes ago.”

“And that’s why he’s still single.” Brian sighed. “But that’s beside the point. You’ve been here before, haven’t you, Lia?”

“Yes, sir, a few times.”

“And you were at the wedding a few weeks back too?”

“Yes, sir.”

“You’re one of us, aren’t you.” It wasn’t a question, but Lia answered it anyway.

“Yes, sir. I am.”

Jared groaned from behind the bar. “No way. She’s a
cop
?”

Nick couldn’t hold back his laughter at the identical expressions of shock on both his father and brother’s faces. “Actually, Lia’s a detective. She works with Dave.”

“Fuck me,” Jared muttered as he set their drinks down on the bar with a thump.

“A detective, dating my son. Well that’s something I never expected to see. And David knows about this?”

“I cleared it with him before our first date, Dad.”

“That’s good, but it’s not what I meant. Your mother is going to pin his ears back when she finds out he knew you were seeing someone and didn’t tell her about it. Do you want to be the one to tell her, or shall I?”

Jared cleared his throat. “Better she hears it from you, dad. She’s less likely to shoot the messenger that way. The two of you better drink up. There are three very curious women making their way over here, and once they arrive you’re not going to get a minute of peace.”

Nick ignored his beer to pull Lia into his arm for a sizzling kiss, announcing to everyone present how he felt about Lia. “Just remember, Cin. Coming here was your idea.”

“Your family doesn’t scare me, Nicky.”

“You’re going to pay for that later.”

“That’s fine. You don’t scare me, either.”

Chapter Ten

Lia almost bounced into work, she was feeling so happy. She and Nick had spent the rest of the evening eating, drinking, and spending time with his family, and she’d enjoyed every second of it. Meg Wilde was just as much a matriarch as Lia’s own mother, ruling her family with love and kindness mixed with laughter. Lia had liked her immediately, and by the end of the night it had been clear to her that Nick had inherited his artistic temperament from his mother.

She could see now why he was sometimes at odds with the rest of the family, but he was far from being the black sheep that he thought he was. His father looked at him with quiet pride when he thought no one was looking, and the rest of his family loved him very much, they just didn’t seem to know how to tell him. Lia hoped that she might be able to help Nick reconnect with the rest of the Wildes.

Being out with Nick as a couple had been easier than she expected. No one had so much as batted an eye at their pairing. She’d even run into Bill Nayer and some of the other guys from the office playing pool in the back of Leo’s, and they’d just waved and gone on with their game. It forced Lia to finally accept that the only one who expected her to be a perfect professional night and day was herself. Nick had been right when he’d told her she never let herself be happy. That was all going to change, now.

Her good mood lasted until she spotted her desk and the smirking faces of the rest of her shift, all of them watching her intently. When she got closer, the laughter started, and then she saw what they’d done. Every inch of her desk was plastered with pictures of Nick, and he was barely dressed in most of them. He had a deep tan, oiled skin and fewer tattoos, but it was still him. The name “Nick Raven” was on two of the pictures, and in one he was standing with his back to the camera, grinning over one shoulder as he showed off the wing tattoo she loved so much.

Son of a bitch.
That man had some serious explaining to do.

Somewhere in the office a tinny rendition of Tina Turner’s “Private Dancer” started to play, and the laughter got louder.

“Hey, Archer. Does he still do private shows?” someone called out from the crowd, and then Bill Nayer appeared in front of her, grinning broadly as he started to bump and grind in time to the music. It took her a second to realize that he had his shirt unbuttoned and a couple of dollar bills tucked into the ample waistband of his pants, completing her descent into hell.

“Want a lap dance, Detective Sweetheart?”

“Oh, hell no. Not on your best day, Nayer. Now, would someone like to explain why my desk is covered in half-naked pictures of my boyfriend? I know what he looks like without clothes on already, thank you.” She pushed past Nayer and started taking down the offending images, mentally cursing Nick with every one she added to the stack. The asshole might have mentioned that he used to be a stripper, for fuck’s sake. She was going to kill him for this.

Then I’m going to ask for a private performance.

“Damn it, Nayer, no one wants to see that this early in the morning. Actually, no one wants to see that, ever. Show’s over, people, get back to your desks and put all that impressive investigative skill to work finding bad guys instead of digging up old pictures of my brother.”

Lia’s head snapped up and she found herself standing toe-to-toe with her boss. “You knew about this?” She demanded, waving to the pictures of Nick wearing nothing but a g-string and a smile.

“Well, yeah. He never kept it a secret.”

“He kept it a secret from me,” she snapped and David’s eyes widened.

“Shit, I’m sorry. I figured it wasn’t my place to say anything about it. It’s not like he was doing anything illegal. Stupid, maybe, but not illegal.”

Lia saw red. “You’re right, it wasn’t your place to say anything, but no one here should have said anything either. I don’t like having my personal business plastered all over my desk, and I sure as hell don’t need a lap dance from Nayer before I’ve had my second cup of coffee!”

She drew in a sharp breath and took another step toward David. “You were the one who told me to keep my personal life out of the office, sir. I did that. But since you and I are now talking personal shit at work, I don’t like hearing you call Nick stupid. He’s not. He’s a damned good man and smart, too. Did you know he’s going to finish his degree this coming semester? Of course you didn’t, because he didn’t tell anyone. He’s taking night classes while running his own business, and he never mentioned it to any of you. Why do you think that is? I’ve got a few theories, and let me tell you, none of them make you look good.”

There wasn’t a single person within ten feet of the by the time she was finished speaking, but she didn’t care. She might have just shot her career in the foot by yelling at her boss, but it didn’t seem that important at the moment.

“You done?” David asked.

“I think so.”

“Good.” He raised his voice so that it carried the length of the room. “Then we can all get back to work before Human Resources gets wind of what happened here. Seriously, people, do you
want
to go to another mandatory session on Sexual Harassment in the Workplace? Archer, walk with me.” Everyone groaned and scrambled to get back to the desks. Within seconds keyboards were clicking, phone calls were being made, and the office was a flurry of activity.

Lia fell in beside David as he headed back toward his office. “I wouldn’t have filed a sexual harassment complaint, sir.”

David glance down at her and actually smiled for a second, and Lia was struck by how much he looked like Nick when he did so. “Who said you would have? Frankly, I was considering it myself. After witnessing Nayer’s bump and grind routine, I’m feeling more than a little violated.”

She opened her mouth to speak, but David interrupted her, speaking much softer this time. “You were right, by the way. Nick’s not stupid. I don’t like knowing he didn’t tell any of us about school either. You’ve given me something to think about.”

“So, we’re good?”

“We’re good. Promise me one thing, though.”

“What’s that?” she asked as her anger slowly cooled.

“If you’re sticking with Nick, swear to me you’ll kick his ass as hard as you just kicked mine when he needs it.”

“I promise.”

David chuckled. “Excellent. Then I’ll leave you to your work.”

Lia nodded and headed back to her desk. She had things to do, and plans to make.

****

By early afternoon Lia had everything arranged. David had given her the time off she had asked for, and Janie had happily agreed to watch the shop so that Nick didn’t have to come in. Lia was just hanging up the phone after talking with Jolena when a shadow crossed her desk, and she glanced up to find Bill Nayer standing there.

“You got a minute?” he asked. Lia nodded, expecting the older man to start in on another of his countless jokes. Instead, Bill pursed his lips together and frowned.

“Is something wrong?”

“I’m not great at apologies, is all. Look, I’m sorry if I crossed a line this morning. I didn’t know that you didn’t know…you know?” he said.

“It’s okay. Just, don’t quit your day job, Bill. Dancing is not going to pay your alimony.”

“Don’t I know it.” He went quiet again, his fingers plucking at the worn edge of his sleeve.

“Something else I can do for you?”

“No. I think there’s something I can do for you though. We’ve met before, long time ago. I don’t think you’d remember…I had more hair back then.”

Lia frowned and tried to think if she’d ever worked with Bill before coming to Robbery, but she couldn’t come up with anything. “I don’t remember.”

“I’m not surprised. You were still a kid at the time, and it wasn’t exactly the best day of your life.”

Lia’s stomach twisted. “What are you talking about?”

“The night your brother got shot. I was there.”

“You’re name isn’t on the report.” She should know. She’d memorized every word that had been written about the investigation. Bill’s name wasn’t listed.

“Back then I was still a beat cop, I was knocking on doors, looking for witnesses, you know the drill. Anyway, I never made the connection until last night. When you showed up at Leo’s dressed in civvies, it hit me that you looked familiar, It took me a bit to remember from where, though. You don’t look the same when you’re at work, you know?” He grinned. “Hell, none of us knew you were that hot.”

“Behave yourself, you’re too old for me, anyway.”

“Says you. Look, there’s something I couldn’t tell your parents at the time, but I think you should know. The guy who killed your brother…I think I know who it was.”

“But no one was ever arrested! There isn’t even a suspect on file.”

“Yeah, I know. I knew that neighborhood pretty well, and I had a good idea who might have done it, but there wasn’t any proof. The investigators were trying to connect the dots, but then the kid got himself killed a few days later in a car wreck. Poof, no more suspect, no leads. Anyway, I thought you’d like to know. If I was you, I’d want to know the guy wasn’t around anymore.”

Lia couldn’t make her lungs work. She needed to breathe, but she couldn’t because of the bands of iron that seemed to be wrapped around her chest, squeezing hard.

“You okay, Archer?”

She managed a shallow breath, then another one. “Yeah. Just…processing.”

“I bet.”

“You’re sure it was him? Do you have a name?”

“As sure as I can be. Right after the accident, the robberies stopped. Hell, the whole damned neighborhood quieted down for a while. Joey and his crew were troublemakers, and no one missed their sorry asses when they got themselves killed. That was his name, by the way. Joey Carson.”

And there it was, the name she’d been looking for her whole career. The bands around her chest vanished, and a weight she hadn’t even known she carried lifted from her soul. “Why didn’t you tell my parents this at the time?”

“Tell them what? That I had a hunch? You know that’s not how things work. I’m only telling you now because you’re one of us, and I thought you deserved to know. It’s been a long time, so if you think your parents need to know, then tell ‘em. Justice was served, it just wasn’t by the Chicago PD.”

Lia was on her feet before she really knew what she intended, and then she was hugging Bill tight. “Thank you.”

“Whoa, jeez. Don’t go getting emotional on me now, Archer. You’ll ruin my rep…and yours. I’m just sorry it took me so long to twig to who were. Anyway, you’re welcome.”

She hugged him again, ignoring the strong scent of his cologne despite the fact it was making her nose itch. “You’re a good man.”

“Tell me ex-wives that, will you? They don’t share your opinion.”

“Next time we’re at Leo’s, I’m buying you a drink,” she told him as she let him go.

“Considering you’re banging the owner’s son, I think that’s the least you can do, sweetheart.”

He wandered off, grinning like a school boy and Lia dropped back into her chair, still trying to wrap her brain around what had just happened. Her promise to Alex had been fulfilled at last. She’d gotten the name of his killer. All her promises and secrets hadn’t helped find Alex’s murderer. Bill would never have recognized her if she hadn’t let go a little bit and finally let the world see the person she really was, the one she’d been hiding since the day they’d buried her brother.

The time for secrets was over.

****

Nick couldn’t stop pacing. He was driving himself and everyone at work to distraction, but he couldn’t help it. Everything had been fine until just before lunch, when he’d received a brief but disconcerting text from his brother, Dave.

Heads up. She knows about Nick Raven.

After that, the day had gone to hell. Who the fuck had told her about his time as a stripper? Was she mad? Would she ever speak to him again? Nick had called Lia’s cell right after that, but she had sent the call straight to voice mail instead of answering. It was another hour before a text came in, and by then he was prowling the office like a caged bear.

We need to talk. Will call you later. L.

Well, at least she was still talking to him. Sort of.

When Janie’s client arrived he’d gone upstairs to avoid disturbing them during their session. Nothing good was going to come from having him stomping around the office, making the client edgy and disrupting Janie’s focus. He tried to work, but every time pencil touched paper, whatever he drew morphed into a sketch of Lia’s face. He should have come clean about his past sooner. It’s not that he was ashamed of what he did to pay for college, far from it. There simply wasn’t an easy way to break the news that he used to take off his clothes for a living. Not when Lia was looking for reasons to run. He sighed and stared at the sketches in front of him. That wasn’t really true though. He could have found a way to tell her, but he didn’t because it was easier not to rock the boat when things were finally going smoothly. He’d been having too much fun spending time with Lia to say anything. Now, that decision was going to cost him. Whatever the price, he’d pay it. Lia meant too much to him.

Somewhere along the way, he’d fallen in love with her.