Desire and Protect: a small town romantic suspense novel (Heroes of Evers, TX Book 5)

by Lori Ryan

  Shane refocused on his friend. “Yeah. There’s nothing missing that I can see. We keep our client files in locked cabinets overnight and the archived files are in a locked closet or at a separate storage facility once they hit the one-year mark. If someone was looking for a client file or information on our clients, they didn’t get it.” He’d checked and the closet and filing cabinets had been locked and hadn’t been tampered with.

  “And they —”

  Shane cut in. “Didn’t get in them.”

  “Has anyone threatened you lately or been harassing you about anything? Even something small?”

  The two men turned as Sheriff John Davies entered the building. He removed his hat and nodded to Phoebe and Margaret before approaching the two men.

  “Shane, Garret,” he said with a nod. “Your dispatcher told me what happened when I stopped into the station. Thought I’d swing by and see if there’s anything I can help with.”

  John Davies had been the Sheriff in the county for several years. Before the town established its own police force the year before, he’d been in charge of all law enforcement in the area. More importantly, he was friends with both Shane and Cade, and was on good terms with Garret. Shane had no doubt his offer came from a genuine desire to help, not some competitive need to butt into an investigation where his help wasn’t needed.

  Garret seemed to take it that way, as well. He grinned, for once letting the seriousness of the situation drop. “If you could help my uncooperative witness focus on the investigation instead of his paralegal, that might move things along.”

  Shane crossed his arms over his chest and glared at the two men standing before him. “Funny.”

  It wasn’t, though. His heart was still pounding, and it showed no signs of stopping. When he’d heard Phoebe had interrupted a break-in, the panic had been immediate, nearly taking him out at the knees.

  Garret and John shared a grin before Garret repeated his question. “You were about to tell me if anyone has been harassing you or might have threatened you lately. Is anyone angry at you over any cases? Anything in your personal life?”

  Shane sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “Tim Devos isn’t thrilled with me. He took a swing at me recently.”

  “When was this?” Garret asked.

  Shane thought back. “Couple of weeks?”

  John didn’t look surprised. “He’s been unraveling since Maryann left him.”

  “I know, but it still honestly took me by surprise. I thought he was a good guy. I think he might be drinking, though. He’s been calling her, showing up at all hours. Sometimes he’s begging her to take him back. Other times, he’s agitated and angry. He’s threatened her. I had to get a restraining order for her. He didn’t like it, so he let me know that.”

  “With his fist?” Garret asked.

  Shane shrugged. “Tried. Didn’t land it. I talked to his lawyer. She said she’d try to talk some sense into her client and that was it. I haven’t heard from him since then and as far as I know, neither has Maryann.”

  “Anyone else you can think of?” Garret asked.

  “Sometimes even a small disagreement can make someone lash out like this,” John added. Garret nodded his agreement.

  “Nothing that I can think of.”

  Garret gave him the if you think of anything else spiel. He’d already told Shane there hadn’t been any prints on the windowsill or the drawer pulls in either office, but based on the smudge marks, he thought the person had worn gloves.

  To Shane, that didn’t sound like the act of a ticked off soon-to-be ex-husband. It sounded a lot more calculated and planned than Shane would have liked.

  32

  You can’t find love if you aren’t willing to risk your heart. Sadly, love simply isn’t safe and neat that way.

  Fiona O’Malley’s Journal

  Phoebe wondered if it would be wrong to admit to Shane that she’d been feeling nervous and overly vulnerable all day. Then again, he’d been in uber-protective mode and had checked on her every hour, at least. Now, as they walked home from dinner, she felt edgy. She wanted to ask him to come up and stay with her for a while, but wasn’t sure how to ask. She didn’t want to sound like she was blatantly inviting him in for sex.

  Of course, with the way he’d stroked her wrist during dinner, she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t a little interested in sex. He’d held one hand on top of hers while they talked at the end of their meal, letting his thumb trace small circles over her wrist in a move that was a lot more erotic than she though it would be. How a simple touch of his thumb on her skin could set her off so much was beyond her. She wondered if he knew what it was doing to her.

  They stopped at the bottom of her stairs and he pulled her into his arms. She was quickly realizing she loved this man’s arms. They felt so amazing. She’d dated plenty of strong men but somehow, his arms always seemed to feel stronger to her. Like he could hold the world and not let things spin out of control.

  But then he dipped his head and kissed her and things spun very much out of control. In a good way.

  Her whole body reacted to the touch of his mouth on hers. He ran a hand up her back, cradling her head and tilting her as though he wanted her just so. Just so, so that he could deepen the kiss and drive her mad.

  And she had zero problem with that control.

  Phoebe moaned, and she heard a deep growl come from his chest in response.

  He moved to her neck and Phoebe took advantage, whispering in his ear. She suddenly didn’t care one bit if it seemed like she was inviting him up for sex. She was.

  She didn’t care about anything other than feeling his hands all over her right now. And that wasn’t going to happen if they stood at the bottom of the stairs much longer.

  “Take me upstairs, Shane.”

  She’d scarcely spoken when he lifted her feet a few inches off the ground, still connected at the mouth, arms locked tightly around her. She would have laughed if he hadn’t stolen her breath with the move. He took them up, one step at a time, cranking her arousal higher still as he teased and taunted with kisses, licks, nibbles.

  At the top of the stairs, he set her down and spun her toward the door so she could unlock it. When she did, he lifted her off the ground again, this time scooping her up in his arms with a grin.

  Phoebe laughed this time, and wrapped her arms around his neck. He was being playful, and it was somehow almost as sexy as his moves on the stairs had been.

  He shut the door with his foot and headed to the right, toward her bedroom. The apartment was nothing more than a large box, but it had windows all around, making it bright in the daytime. The living room was in the front, with her bedroom off to the right at the front of the space. At the back, the living room blended into a kitchen with windows lining the whole room and a back door that led to a narrow staircase out into the yard.

  She didn’t much care about any of that now. She cared about the bedroom, and he seemed to be in sync on that. He set her down in front of her bed and framed her face with his hands. “I had planned to wait, Phoebe. I thought we would wait until we were sure this was headed someplace, but then you went and wore that dress.”

  His gaze swept over her coral red dress and it might as well have been his hands for the effect it had on her. She heated and her belly thrummed with anticipation.

  As though he’d guessed at the effect of those words, he ran his fingertips lightly down her arms, but let his words continue to do the work. “Through the entire meal, I watched these straps—” he ran a finger under each of the spaghetti straps—“I watched them and wanted to know what it would feel like to run my tongue along the soft skin beneath them. To feel you shiver when I moved to your neck.”

  She shivered in response. She couldn’t help it. It was as if her body had ceded control to his words.

  “Or maybe you’d rather I moved down.” He ran his fingers down to her breasts, letting them glide lightly over the cups of her breasts.

&
nbsp; She let out a small moan and his eyes flared with heat.

  “I wondered if you’d be angry with me for tearing your dress. I wasn’t sure I had the patience to take it off carefully.” He slid his hands up and slipped the spaghetti straps from her shoulders. “But now, seeing the way your body responds to slow teasing—” he shook his head —“I find I have the patience after all.”

  “Please,” Phoebe whispered, and he only gave a wolfish grin in response. He loosened the two buttons at her breasts and let the fabric slide down to expose her skin.

  Shane knelt then, worshipping the globes he’d exposed. First with soft touches of his hands, then with his breath, blowing gently on her skin. She would swear she had burst into flames. The heat of his mouth was on her, exploring the swell of her breasts and she stopped breathing.

  “God, Shane, please.” She whimpered it as prayer and plea. He moved to her nipple, still covered by the lacy demi bra she’d worn for their date. His tongue swirled over her and she cried out.

  His hands came up, cupping her bottom and he squeezed gently. “You’re killing me, Phoebe.” He whispered, and she wanted to object. To tell him he was the one doing the slaying, but she couldn’t find the words. They caught with the breath in her throat as he moved to the next nipple.

  By the time he moved them to the bed and lay by her side, she was a quivering pile of mush. He ran a hand up her thigh, spreading her legs and slipping his fingers into her panties. She knew she was wet and swollen and so damned ready for him, it was almost embarrassing. But she couldn’t feel any embarrassment. She could only feel him. Feel what he was doing to her. How he’d teased her into a frenzy.

  Shane slid down her body and tugged her panties to the side, licking and teasing until she thought she might lose her mind. She fisted the comforter and bucked beneath him. She lost count of how many times she’d said please, and then his fingers entered her. When he sucked on her clitoris, she came in a hard-rushing wave.

  She emerged from the haze he’d left her in to find he’d stripped himself bare and was sheathing himself in a condom. She had the errant thought somewhere in the back of her mind that they should be taking this more slowly. It didn’t last. As she watched him, she lost all will to put this off. She wanted him, wanted to be with him. In so many ways.

  It wasn’t only physical, although obviously at this moment, the physical part of things was ruling her thoughts. But with Shane, her feelings seemed to go so much deeper. When he moved over her on the bed, capturing her mouth again as he entered her, she would swear the connection went so much deeper. Much deeper than any she’d had before. And she lost herself to it.

  Emotion and sensation and, maybe, magic, seemed to combine to sweep her away. Phoebe cried out as a second orgasm mounted and Shane groaned her name in her ear. She could feel his orgasm gathering. She ran her nails down his back and he tensed, saying her name again as the orgasm took hold. The sound of her name on his tongue capped the moment as they rode through the orgasm together, pleasure and happiness coursing through her.

  When it was over, she snuggled into him, and he pulled her into his arms and turned onto his side next to her.

  It wasn’t until hours later that she awoke to find Shane getting dressed in the early morning light.

  He looked over at her, a slow smile spreading on his face. “I didn’t want to wake you,” he said, as he leaned in to kiss her.

  “You’re leaving? What time is it?”

  “It’s almost six. I have to run home and shower and shave. I’ve got court this afternoon, so I need a suit.”

  She nodded and he smiled down at her. “Get some more sleep.”

  She shook her head. “I’ll walk you out.”

  He pulled her into a one-armed grip when she stepped from bed. “You’ll tempt me right back in there.”

  Phoebe laughed. “I was thinking of showering and getting an early start.”

  He groaned. “You’re killing me, Phoebe. Killing me.”

  33

  May the saddest day of your future be no worse than the happiest day of your past.

  Irish proverb recorded in Fiona O’Malley’s Journal

  Two hours later, Phoebe looked up to find Laura headed toward her on the sidewalk outside the office. Phoebe hadn’t fallen back to sleep after Shane left, so it seemed a waste to sit at home.

  “What are you doing out and about so early?” She asked as Laura approached and hugged her.

  “Meeting Cade for breakfast. He had to drive a few towns over to drop off a dog he was working with so we’re going to meet for breakfast at the diner.”

  Phoebe smiled.

  “Listen,” Laura said, “I was so shocked the other day, I don’t think I thanked you properly for helping Shane track down the information on my brother.”

  “Oh, you’re welcome. I was happy to do it. My dad said he’ll talk to more people when he gets back. I think he’s taking it really personally that James might have been left behind without the Army going in to get him out.”

  The new security system began the countdown beep letting Phoebe know she had thirty seconds to enter her code. She punched in the digits with a glance at Laura. Shane had paid extra for a company to install the system the day before. She didn’t want to know how much he’d had to pay for that, but she did have to admit, it made her feel better.

  “I heard about the break-in. It’s a good thing you weren’t here any earlier. You might have gotten hurt.”

  Phoebe nodded. She had to admit, she was still a little freaked out about that. She had thought she was being stupid, walking out and going to the police station, but now she was glad she had.

  When she talked to her dad by phone, he’d been glad she had, too. “That’s my girl,” he had said. She only laughed in response. He had drilled safety into her as a child and that was one of the lessons. You leave, you go get help.

  Phoebe smiled at Laura now as they walked into her office. “Shane made me promise not to come to the office before eight unless he’s meeting me here. Actually, he was pushing for nine since he never comes in later than that, but I talked him down to eight.”

  “I bet he was freaked out.”

  Phoebe’s smile was rueful. “A little.” Searching for a subject change, she went with the next obvious choice. “So, did you go see your mother-in-law? I mean your former mother-in-law?”

  Laura nodded. “Honestly, I was surprised by her reaction. I know she’s changed a lot, but when I told her what you discovered, her immediate response was that we needed to get him out of there. She had picked up the phone before I could say another word. She’s calling in as many favors as she can.”

  “I hope it helps.” Phoebe sank into her chair. She didn’t have a brother, but if her dad was missing and she didn’t know if he was dead or alive, the pain would kill her. She looked up at Laura. “I’m sorry. I don’t even know if it’s easier or harder now that you know he might be....”

  Laura seemed to understand what she was saying. She smiled a little, but it was the kind of smile that held sorrow. “It’s harder in some ways, but if there’s even a chance he’s alive…” She shook her head as though she couldn’t find words for what that would mean to her, and Phoebe imagined she couldn’t.

  Phoebe stood and wrapped her arms around Laura and hugged her again.

  “Thank you,” Laura whispered. “Thank you for giving me the possibility of finding him.”

  When Laura had left, Phoebe thought about going in to see Shane but then thought she might surprise him with coffee and pastries from the diner. She could be down and back in a few minutes, and she really needed the coffee. They could sit and have a breakfast of sorts together before Margaret got into the office.

  She smiled to herself as she walked the short distance to the diner.

  “Well, don’t you look pretty today.”

  Phoebe turned to see June Leary—or maybe it was June Jubie—smiling at her.

  “Hi June,” she said. “And thank
you. I feel pretty today.” Phoebe almost laughed to herself.

  “I should introduce you to a friend of mine. You’d love him, and I think he’s just your type. He’s an artist. He does the most incredible sculptures.” She winked at Phoebe. “Good hands, you know. That’s the key to a good man. Of course, Jake and I would never date. We’re too much like brother and sister, but you would just adore him, I think.”

  “Oh.” Phoebe didn’t know what else to say to that. She and June moved to the side as a group of tourists made their way through the diner door. “Thanks, I um…”

  “Oh! I’m sorry. Are you still seeing Shane? I just assumed that was over already. Shane doesn’t like commitment. He’s one of those men.” She looked at Phoebe with a conspiratorial grin. “I mean, don’t get me wrong. He’s fun and as far as I’m concerned, you should ride this one out as long as he’ll have you.”

  She laughed as though she had made the funniest joke in the world and Phoebe choked out a laugh with her, all the while feeling like her face might crack. Much the way her heart was cracking.

  June didn’t seem to notice. In fact, for a minute, she seemed lost in sadness herself, as if she were the one of them putting on a brave face. “I’ve decided, that’s the way to handle a man like Shane Bishop. Walk away before he can walk away from you!”

  Phoebe wasn’t sure she was breathing.

  The other June—whichever one she was—and Mindy walked up, all smiles.

  “What are you two laughing about?” Mindy said with a quirk of her head.

  Phoebe opened her mouth, wanting to say nothing and nip the conversation in the bud.

  June—the first one—had other ideas. “We’re commiserating about Shane Bishop and his unmarriageable ways.”

  “Oh, honey.” June the second shook her head, but then gave Phoebe a wistful grin. “Enjoy it while it lasts. It’s a hell of a ride.”

  Phoebe blinked at the similarity of the comments from the two Junes. She’d been an idiot.