Julien shook his hand and then Benson shook Skylar’s.
“Julien is,” she said. “I have a vested interest in the case.”
He offered them two seats opposite his desk then sat himself. “How can I help you?”
“We’re looking into a couple of missing person cases and your wife’s came to my attention.”
Something clouded Benson’s eyes and, no longer so commanding, his voice lowered as he said, “It’s been two weeks and the police still haven’t found her.”
He had to be losing hope she would ever be found. Julien worked with people like that all the time. If someone wasn’t found within two days, the odds of finding the person alive kept diminishing.
“I’m working with the sheriff now, so maybe we’ll get somewhere,” he said.
“Julien is an investigator with Dark Alley Investigations, so you’re in good hands,” Skylar said.
Benson looked from her to Julien. “I haven’t heard of that agency.”
“It’s the most prominent and successful P.I. firm in the country,” she said.
“Oh, well, then I am lucky to have you on my side.” Benson smiled slightly, not a real smile. He seemed to carry a constant worry underneath his professional veneer.
“I know you’ve already talked to the police,” Julien said, “but it would help me if you could go over the time you last saw your wife and what she was doing when she vanished.”
“Of course. I last saw Audrey that morning before I left for work. She said she was going shopping that afternoon. She liked to go to her favorite mall, Uptown Park. She left the mall at about five, but she never made it home.”
That corroborated what the video surveillance had revealed. Also, his paralegal, Maria Morales, confirmed to the police—with whom Julien kept in contact and had an excellent rapport—he was at work until after seven that night. No one else could say exactly when Benson left that day.
“Mr. Davett, do you know of anyone in your wife’s life who didn’t like her? Was there anyone she had any kind of conflict with?”
“Not to my knowledge. She had many friends, was active in charities.”
“Were the two of you close?”
Benson leaned back and put his curled fingers beneath his chin, elbow on the armrest. “We were when we first got married. I have to be honest and say, as the years went by, we grew apart. I suppose that’s what happens to most couples. After the passion fades, you become best friends, companions. We have a comfortable relationship. With my work here at the firm, I’m not home much. Now that she’s missing, I wish I hadn’t spent so much time away from her.”
He seemed sincere. “The case file said she usually had a driver take her places. Why did she drive herself that particular day?”
“Our driver took the day off. His wife had a baby.”
Julien nodded. He had asked enough questions. “Thank you for your time.” He stood and so did Skylar.
“I hope you have better luck than the police did,” Benson said, standing, as well.
“I’ll do my best.”
He and Skylar left the office, stopping along the way to question a few of the workers. Most had been there for years and had nothing but glowing accolades for Benson and his partner. They were both ethical lawyers with stellar reputations. Sleazy was not a word used to describe them, or anything close to that.
His cell rang and he saw it was DAI. He answered, and told by the tracker working on finding Felicia that she had been with her mother and was alive and well.
“Felicia is all right.”
“That is a relief. One less person to worry about,” Skylar said.
“Wes McKann is looking guiltier and guiltier,” Julien said after they left the building.
“I knew it.”
“Now we just have to find Charlotte.” Or whatever was left of her.
* * *
Why she had agreed to this, Skylar didn’t know. She studied herself in the bathroom mirror. No denying it—she had dressed for Julien. The shape-hugging black dress dipped low at the neckline and flared slightly below the hip. She had chosen three-inch black heels and a delicate diamond necklace with matching earrings and bracelet. The ring on her right hand was a humble garnet. She seldom wore jewelry like this and it felt good. Feminine.
After a couple of days cooped up in the apartment, she leaned on that excuse for deciding to go out on a date with Julien. He no doubt planned on citifying her some more.
Giving her stylishly pinned-up hair a few mists of fragranced spray, she left the bathroom. Emerging into the living room, she saw Julien standing with his back to her before the fireplace. He turned when he must have heard her. When he went still and his eyes devoured her, she knew her efforts had paid off.
“Wow,” he said. “You’re stunning.”
“You clean up nice, too.” He had on a black suit with a tie that subtly changed to a deep green color as the light changed.
He continued to stand there and stare.
Growing uncomfortable, unaccustomed to this much attention, she said, “Ready?”
He cleared his throat. “Yes.”
All the way to the restaurant, Julien kept glancing over at her. Skylar began to regret dressing up. The evening could only end one way if it started like this.
A hostess took them to their reserved table, a window seat with a view of the Mandalay Canals. It really was quite lovely. She forgot how her glamorous appearance affected Julien and gave herself over to the evening.
“You’re dressing up like this pretty often,” Julien said.
He must think she was a cowgirl all the time. “I go to parties with my family and friends.” Her parents knew a lot of prominent people. They threw parties at their house and went to others. “I go to plays and charity dinners.”
“What kinds of charities?”
“Alzheimer’s. Homelessness. Cancer. As many as I can.”
He regarded her as though she might be a martyr.
Not all the events she attended were that pure on her part. “Lately my mother has been inviting me to many events. She thinks she’s my matchmaker.”
He took a sip of his water. “I wouldn’t have thought you were a play-going kind of woman.”
“I like the costumes and the creativity of the stage,” she replied. “But my favorite events are festivals. In fact, there’s a food truck festival coming up, with a country and western band and a carnival.”
He chuckled. “Now that’s more in line with what I envisioned for you.”
The way he smiled and the seductive look in his eyes stopped her for a moment. She felt warmth infuse her entire body.
“What do you like to do in your free time?” she asked.
“I like going to community events. I like to read, and it’s a real treat when I find an off-the-beaten-path museum.”
Skylar liked museums, too.
“I have a collection of antique signs,” he said.
He did? Skylar fought the impulse to show her excitement. “Can I see them?”
His somber face told her he didn’t wish to talk about this—or whatever thought they conjured. Skylar doubted the signs themselves made him upset. They must have reminded him of something.
“I’m sorry. Never mind.” She welcomed the distraction of the menu and the waitress who took their drink and dinner order.
“I have a house in a gated community,” he said.
Startled, Skyler looked at him. Why was he so vague about this? Gated community where?
“It’s basically a ghost house. Linen covers the furniture and chandeliers. I bought it when I was with Renee. When I told her about it, she confessed she didn’t want to have children.”
Oh, so he had bought the house in anticipation of starting a family. With a woman named Renee. Skylar felt a pang of jealousy. And s
he was never jealous. He seemed to have acted too quickly, however, buying the house before telling Renee.
“Why haven’t you sold it?” she asked.
“I decided to wait for the market to improve. I figured I might as well make some money on the deal.”
That made sense and was smart.
“It’s in a nice neighborhood where the houses back up to open space and are relatively far apart It’s got privacy and great views.”
Skylar wouldn’t say she was impressed, but she was. Immensely. If ever she could live in a city, it would be in a place he had just described. Renee must have lost her mind to give up a man like him. Not wanting to have babies was a big issue, though. She couldn’t imagine leaving him had been easy.
She imagined marrying him and having a baby. She had never thought this intently on that possibility with any other man. Oddly, the idea was titillating. She didn’t know what to do about this alien feeling. Could it be that she hadn’t considered having children before now because she hadn’t met a man who made her want to? But why Julien? He would force her to choose between her ranch and him.
The ranch wasn’t truly hers, though. Her parents owned it. Didn’t she want something of her own?
Like an interior design business...
* * *
Skylar had spent the rest of dinner exchanging flirtatious looks with Julien, unable to shake the fantasy of getting pregnant with him. Now she walked beside him outside, him holding her hand and keeping her close. She’d noticed him searching their surroundings as he usually did, but he hadn’t taken her hand as a safety precaution. No, she felt his own reaction to their evening together.
“We might have company,” he said.
Jarred from her floaty feeling, she resisted the urge to look around.
“Maybe it’s nothing, but let’s see if we’re being followed.”
“How would anyone know where we are?” she asked. It was unnerving how her attacker could so easily find her.
“I didn’t see anyone follow us here, but I suppose it’s possible.”
Someone very careful could have. Whoever they were up against had to be clever and experienced. Had Julien had been distracted by her? Was that why he hadn’t seen?
She got into the BMW and Julien began driving, all the while keeping watch through the rearview mirror. He took a left and then a right, heading back onto the highway.
Skylar looked in the passenger-side mirror and saw a car turn onto the highway behind them.
“We’re being followed,” Julien said.
He sped up. The car tailing them was some kind of Chevy. Julien’s BMW definitely had more horsepower. He slowed and made a U-turn. Next, he took out his pistol and rolled down the window.
Unsure if the other driver was armed, Skylar crouched low and watched Julien aim his gun as he passed by the other car. He never fired.
Skylar sat up and looked back. The other car didn’t turn around and follow them.
Breathing a sigh of relief, she faced forward and leaned her head back. Had Julien intimidated the person, or had the car simply not been following them? She felt safe with him but she really needed this to be over.
Chapter 11
Julien could see the tail had spooked Skylar. Now that they were back safely in his apartment, he decided to try to calm her nerves. And maybe a little something else...
Choosing a good red from his wine refrigerator, he poured the rich-scented liquid into two glasses. Going to where she stood at the living room window, he offered her a glass. She flinched slightly as though startled from some dark thoughts. Then she smiled and her pretty eyes lifted to his as she turned and took the wine.
He put his down on a side table and went to the television, which had a nice sound system. Navigating to a music app, he found some country music and set it to play at a comfortable volume. Then he walked back to Skylar.
“What are you doing?” she asked tentatively.
“You seem like you need a break,” he said.
“A romantic one?”
“Sure, if that’s what you prefer.”
Sipping her wine and keeping her increasingly flirtatious eyes on him, she said, “You like playing with fire, don’t you.” It wasn’t a question.
The danger of wooing her was to his heart and to hers if this all came crashing to an end. He wasn’t in the mood to think about that, though. What was wrong with having a sexual fling? They were both adults.
“Geography is becoming less and less important to me,” he heard himself say.
She didn’t respond right away but she must know what he meant.
“You would live on my ranch?”
“It’s not your ranch.” They’d best not forget the ranch belonged to her parents.
“It will be.”
After her parents died, but then she’d have to split the asset with her siblings.
He stepped closer and took her hand, drawing her to him and slipping his arm around her, feeling the warmth of her lower back under his hand. “I’m tired of fighting this, Sky.”
Her gaze went to his mouth and returned to his eyes, going all smoky. “No one but my mother has called me Sky in a long time.”
“Oh yeah?” He began to sway with the music. “Who was the last one?”
“Bryce, the executive who worked for my father and tried to marry me for my money,” she said. “It sounds a lot better coming from you.”
That was encouraging. He took her hand in his as he continued to sway. “I think we should forget our differences and conduct some more testing.”
“‘Conduct some more testing’?” She breathed out a laugh. “You think we should have sex to test out how we jibe?” She slid her free hand up his chest, sending an electrical current zipping through him.
Keeping the subject in a lighthearted context helped to air what had been bothering him. He was now certain that Skylar had been suffering the same affliction. Fighting the urge to just go ahead and sleep together.
Was she really contemplating taking him up on this? He enjoyed looking into her amazing blue eyes awhile.
“I’ve been attracted to you from the first moment I saw you,” he said.
She smiled at his direct admission. “It was the same for me.”
“Well, that doesn’t happen every day,” he said.
“No, and that could get us into a lot of trouble.”
“I would never hurt you.” He didn’t add intentionally.
“I would never hurt you, either.”
“I will always be mindful of your feelings,” he said.
“And I yours.”
Wow, they had reached an agreement. Excitement made his pulse jump into faster beats. He pulled her to him so their hips met and kept moving to the slow country song. Her smile had faded and heat had darkened her eyes.
“What did we just decide to do?” she asked.
“Let’s start with dancing,” he said. “There is no schedule to go with this.”
“Okay. That sounds safe.” She rested her head on his shoulder.
He put his head beside hers. “I’ll do everything in my power to make you feel safe.” And he would. While a far off inner voice warned he would be the one who walked away feeling vulnerable and heartbroken. He ignored it and fell into the essence of Skylar and the way she made him feel right now.
* * *
Skylar danced with Julien for several minutes, feeling his warm breath on her neck, his muscular body moving with hers, his one hand holding hers, the one on her back making her tingle with anticipation. She worried what would happen if they forged ahead with blind passion.
She didn’t have to deny herself sex with Julien. He did make her feel safe. He wouldn’t make love with her knowing they’d never work out. He would do so without knowing whether they would work out. She would risk he
r heart, probably more than she ever had, but maybe Julien was worth that risk.
She lifted her head to look at him. His eyes were low-lidded and sultry, drugged by the desire they felt for each other. Right then she fell the rest of the way into committing to taking this to the next level.
Now unhindered, the floodgate of desire opened. She was free of the shackles, the fear that had held her back before.
Tipping her head a bit, she waited for him to accept her invitation. He did, slowly and with great care. His lips touched hers. They stopped dancing at the same time.
Skylar lost all awareness except of Julien and the way kissing him made her feel. They had done this before but there had always been that hesitancy that interfered. Now that she knew where this would lead, her entire body sizzled with delicious anticipation. She moved her hands up over his shoulders and slid her fingers into his hair.
Julien put his hands on her back and gradually deepened the kiss. Skylar reached a feverish state in seconds. As though sensing that, Julien withdrew and looked into her eyes. Then she saw he’d had the same reaction. She could see it in the set of his brow and the way he breathed. She could also feel his hardness. The need to have him inside her became almost unbearable, alarmingly so.
Julien moved back and took her hand. He walked toward the hall and she went with him into his bedroom, dimly lit by a lamp beside the king-size bed. He turned to face her and his eyes never left hers as he bent to remove his shoes.
That was a good place to start. She pushed off her shoes.
He took her hand again and tugged her to him. Her hands came against his chest and his arms went around her. Then he kissed her, soft and slow, much like before. He expertly wooed her, not rushing as their passion might have them do if he didn’t keep it leashed.
When he lifted his head, his gaze drifted down the front of her. “I almost don’t want to take that dress off you. You look so beautiful in it.”
He warmed her with his words, especially since he sounded as though he meant every one. “All right, we can stay dressed,” she teased.
Chuckling, his desire came out in a rich baritone. He stepped back and began unbuttoning his shirt.
Her P.I. Protector Page 12
