“It’s me,” the caller said. The voice wasn’t filtered through a scrambler this time, and it was someone she recognized.
Christian.
Jordan didn’t especially want to have to deal with Christian now, but she did want to know if he’d indeed gone to the hospital. She took his call and put it on speaker for Egan.
“Why are you using an unknown number?” she asked.
“I thought it’d be smart to go with a burner cell in case someone’s trying to track my location. You know, someone like you who wants to kill me. Why do you want me dead?” Christian snapped.
She hadn’t thought anything he could say would surprise her, but that did it. “Why would you think that?”
“Because the thug who tried to kill me said you’d hired him.”
The chill that ran through her was ice-cold. Not because there was any hint that it was true but because someone was trying to set her up. Well, maybe. Or Christian could be doing like Kirk might have and grasping at straws to make himself look innocent.
With a scowl on his face, Egan dropped down next to her. “Who’s the thug? And then tell me everything he said to you.”
Christian cursed. “We didn’t exchange names or introduce ourselves. The guy stepped out from the side of the building when I was going to my car. He said, ‘This is for Jordan,’ and he pulled the trigger.”
Jordan nearly gasped. “He shot you?”
“Damn right, he did. He clipped me in the shoulder before I drew my gun. I shot at him, and he ran.”
“And you didn’t go after him?” There was a lot of skepticism in Egan’s voice and question.
“No. Because I was bleeding and needed to get to the hospital. But now that I’m stitched up, I’ll look for him.”
That didn’t make sense. “Why didn’t you call someone from San Antonio PD to find him?” Jordan pressed. “The guy will be long gone by now.”
“He’ll be back. And that brings me to my original question. Why would you want me dead?”
“I don’t, and I certainly didn’t hire someone to kill you. Why would I?” she tossed right back at him.
“I’ve been giving that some thought, and I think you might be trying to cover up something. Maybe something in one of those files you’re reviewing for The Right Verdict. You couldn’t just destroy the file because that would make them suspicious. So, maybe you’re trying to set me up.”
Jordan forced herself not to lash out, but that riled her. She hadn’t been a dirty cop, and she wasn’t dirty now. However, Christian could be.
“Your injury must not have been serious,” she said, “if they didn’t keep you in the hospital.”
Christian cursed again. “I figured you’d tried to put all of this back on me. Just own up to whatever it is you’re doing so this stops.”
“I was about to ask you to do that same thing,” Egan snarled. He ignored Christian’s profanity-laced protest and kept on talking. “Someone just tried to kill Kirk Paxton, and he’s not walking out of the ER with his injuries.”
“Did Kirk say who hurt him?” Christian asked.
“Well, it wasn’t some thug claiming that Jordan hired him. Not that we know of anyway. But whoever did it, it was probably the same person who called Jordan just minutes before that happened. He wanted Jordan to meet him so the killings would stop. You know anything about that?”
“No. I was too busy getting shot.” Christian didn’t rein in his sarcasm, but he did pause. “Did Kirk say anything?”
Egan’s eyes narrowed with suspicion, and she knew why. That question sounded more than just a fishing expedition. Christian seemed concerned, or something.
“Kirk said a lot of things,” Egan threw out there. “That’s why I tried to call you earlier. I wanted to question you about some things he said.”
Christian stayed quiet several moments. “If Kirk brought up my name, then he’s a liar. Or else his attacker wanted to set me up...hell. I gotta go. I just spotted the guy who tried to kill me.”
Jordan called out to Christian so that he wouldn’t hang up. She wanted to tell him to call for backup. But he’d already ended the call.
Egan didn’t waste any time calling San Antonio PD to let them know they might have an officer in danger. Might. Still, it was too big of a risk not to have someone at least try to help Christian.
Since she was feeling a little wobbly and her head was hurting, Jordan went back to the sofa. “Leeroy’s the only one of our suspects who hasn’t been hurt,” she said. “And Tori.”
Egan made such a quick sound of agreement that it meant it was something he’d already considered, and he sank down next to her to continue working on the laptop. “That doesn’t mean either of them are innocent.”
She nodded. “Leeroy or Tori could have intended to kill Christian, Kirk and me, and they could have simply failed.” And that meant whoever was behind this would only keep coming back until the job was done.
Jordan didn’t voice that last part aloud, but Egan must have picked up on it because he slid his arm around her and kissed her again. Like the other one, it was just a simple brush of his lips, and it landed on her forehead. She wasn’t even certain he’d been aware he’d done it because his attention stayed on the computer screen.
“We’ll have to wait for Drew’s files to be emailed to me,” he explained. “But the request is in. Any luck finding Tori’s blood type?”
“No. Sorry.” She lifted her phone to get back to doing that, but Egan took hold of her hand. At first, she didn’t know why he had done that, but then Jordan realized she was trembling.
He frowned, maybe at the trembling. Maybe because he wasn’t so pleased that he was touching her again. “You want to try to take that nap now?” he asked.
Jordan didn’t even have to think how to answer that. “No. I wouldn’t be able to sleep. Besides, I need to work on getting that information about Tori.”
Egan stared at her, maybe trying to come up with some argument that would cause her to give in. But there was no good argument for that. Or at least that was what Jordan thought.
Until Egan kissed her again.
This time it wasn’t some mindless peck on the forehead. It was a real kiss, and she immediately felt the heat and sensations that went along with it. Of course, she always felt that way whenever Egan got close. He was obviously doing this to comfort her, though, and she figured he would stop after only a few seconds.
He didn’t.
The kiss continued, and he slipped his arm around her, pulling her closer to him. More heat came. More of that fire that’d been simmering between them since they were teenagers, but this particular fire was already flaming much too hot.
Jordan eased back, meeting his gaze. She expected to see some doubts there. But there were none. There was only a moment of silence before Egan pulled her back to him and kissed her again.
* * *
EGAN WAS ABOUT 90 percent certain that this was a mistake, but he held on to the remaining 10 percent as if it were a lifeline. Even if this was wrong and something he would almost certainly regret, it was what he needed.
And what Jordan needed, too.
She proved that when the sound of pleasure purred in her throat, and she kissed him right back. He hadn’t needed anything to up the ante on this and make it feel like foreplay, but that did it.
He forced himself to think of the logistics of this. There was a CSI crew on the grounds, plenty of ranch hands, too, and any one of them might come to the door at any second. If that happened, the foreplay would end, and Jordan and he would have another chance to think this through. But he figured if that decision was left to either of them, stopping and rethinking just wasn’t in the cards.
He put his phone on the coffee table to free up his hands. Jordan had the same idea, though, because she put aside her phone as well before she hook
ed her arm around the back of his neck. She pulled him down lower so that the kiss raged on, and she didn’t leave things at that. Her other hand went to his chest, and she started to undo the buttons on his shirt.
The memories came. Not of the past two years but of when they’d been lovers. When they’d been very good at what they were doing right now. And his body reacted, all right. Egan got rock hard, and there was a sudden urgency to take this up a notch.
So he did.
He lowered his head to her neck so he could kiss her there, and he went after her buttons, as well. Once he had a few of them open, Egan dropped the kisses lower. To the tops of her breasts. He’d remembered that Jordan liked to be kissed there, and since she reacted with one of those sounds of pleasure, apparently she still did.
The breast kisses put some urgency in her, too, because she started to fight with his shirt. She managed to get it off him, and Jordan must have also remembered where he liked to be kissed because her mouth went to his bare chest. Egan hadn’t needed anything else to fire him up, but that did it.
She went lower to his stomach. Another sensitive spot for him. Too sensitive. And he knew if she kept this up that this was all going to end much too fast. That was why he took hold of her, easing her back up so he could take off her top.
Oh, man.
He’d forgotten just what an amazing body she had, but he was sure as heck remembering it now. Remembering even more when he took off her bra, and her breasts spilled into his hands. This time when he pulled her back against him, he had the pleasure of feeling her bare skin against his.
He kissed her mouth again and got her moving toward the bedroom. Thankfully, it was only a few feet away, but even that short distance was enough time for the flames to rise even higher. Yeah, this was wrong, but Egan suddenly wanted her more than his next breath.
And speaking of breaths, Jordan pretty much took his away when she slid her hand over the front of his jeans. Touching him. Reminding him that it had moved from the “want” stage to the “need,” and what he needed was Jordan.
He stripped off her top, all the while backing her toward the bed. Still kissing and touching, they fell into a heap on the soft mattress. All in all, the alignment was darn good considering he landed on top of her, and he went after the zipper on her jeans. Egan succeeded with the zipper, but when he went to slide the jeans off her hips, he felt something he didn’t want to feel.
Jordan went stiff.
Egan immediately stopped and looked down at her. Her face was flushed with arousal, her breath gusting from her mouth.
“The scar,” she said.
This crazy need for her had obviously dulled his mind because it took Egan a couple of seconds to figure out what she meant. She had a scar from her kidney surgery, and it was clearly visible now that he had her partly naked. She’d figured that the scar would remind him of Shanna.
And it did.
But it wasn’t a reminder that cooled down his body enough to stop this. He hoped Jordan would feel the same since he was aching to have her.
With Jordan staring at him, Egan waited. Not long, though. She muttered a single word of profanity, slipped her hand around his neck again and pulled him back to a long, deep kiss. Egan was sure he would have felt some relief if she hadn’t slid her hand into the waist of his jeans. No relief. Just a higher notch for the heat and need.
Egan did something about her jeans. It wasn’t easy with her kissing him, but he finally managed to get them off her. Her panties, too. And he got another jolt of just how beautiful she was. He managed a single kiss on her stomach before Jordan flipped him onto his back so she could rid him of his jeans.
Years ago, they’d had sex in this very room. This very bed. Neither of them had known what they were doing then. It hadn’t mattered, though. The only thing that had mattered was satisfying that hunger for each other. Just like now.
Egan took a condom from his wallet before she peeled off his jeans and boxers, but Jordan played a little dirty. She kissed him as she made her way up his body. Egan was already primed and ready, and that didn’t help. However, it did feel darn good.
They switched positions again, and he tried to be mindful of her injury. Jordan wanted no part of gentleness, though, because she took hold of his hips and pulled him to her. Until he was deep inside her.
Exactly where he wanted to be.
Egan stilled for a moment just to give her body time to adjust to him. Like the hot, melting kisses, it didn’t last, either. The need took over, and he began to move inside her. Jordan moved, too, meeting him thrust for thrust.
Yes, he remembered this, too. The way they’d always fit together. And the fit was just as good now. Maybe too good. Because it didn’t last. He felt Jordan’s climax ripple through her. Through him, as well. Even though he tried to hang on as long as he could, he knew he couldn’t. Egan pushed into her one last time, and he let himself go with her.
Chapter Fourteen
Jordan was afraid to even breathe for fear that Egan would move off her. She wanted to hang on to this close contact with him for as long as possible. Especially since they might not ever be together like this again.
The thought of that twisted away at her, but she had to be realistic. Egan might never be able to forgive her or get past what had happened to Shanna. In fact, he could already be regretting this.
Or not.
He lifted his head, looking down at her, and he kissed her. That certainly didn’t seem like something a man with regrets might do. He pushed her hair from her face, continuing to stare at her before he groaned. Now the regrets would come. Except they didn’t. He kissed her again, rolled off her and then headed for the bathroom.
“I’ve got work to do,” he added in a grumble.
That was true, but she still wasn’t convinced that Egan would use work as a way of distancing himself from her.
She sat up, watching him as he went into the bathroom, and she got a great look at his backside. She wasn’t sure how the man managed to look good from all angles, but he did.
Since she didn’t want to be sitting around stark naked when Egan returned, Jordan forced herself to get up, and she started to gather her clothes. They were scattered all over the floor so it took her a couple of moments to do it, and she was still dressing when Egan came out of the bathroom. He was still butt naked, which gave her a good look at the front of him.
Yes, definitely great from all angles.
The corner of his mouth lifted as if he’d known what she was thinking, and he began to pick up his clothes. However, he didn’t start dressing until he went to her and kissed her again.
“Just in case you’re having doubts about this,” he drawled.
Well, she certainly didn’t have doubts with that chrome-melting kiss, but Jordan figured the postorgasmic glow would wear off soon for both of them. Then reality would put things in perspective. They had a killer after them, too many suspects, few answers and, as Egan had already pointed out, they had work to do.
Egan continued to dress as he made his way back into the living room, and he cursed when he got to his phone on the coffee table. “I have a missed call from Court,” he grumbled.
Jordan groaned. She hadn’t heard it ring, which was probably the best argument for them not to have landed in bed. Now she only hoped that Court hadn’t been in some kind of immediate danger that would have required Egan’s help. If he had, then there was no way Egan or she would forgive themselves for that.
Egan put the call on speaker as soon as Court answered. “Are you okay?” Court immediately asked. “I was worried when you didn’t answer.”
“I’m fine.” Egan’s jaw was so tight she was surprised he could speak. “What about you?”
“Better than I was about fifteen minutes ago. We got some good news for a change.”
Jordan released the breath she’d been hol
ding and went closer to Egan so she could hear Court better.
“The dead guy at the ranch is Donald Brawley,” Court continued a moment later. “His prints were in the system because he has two priors. One was an arrest that happened at a chop shop, and it was owned by the same guy who built the custom truck where Kirk was found.”
She doubted that was a coincidence, and judging from the sound Egan made, he didn’t believe it was one, either.
“But the chop shop arrest is just for starters,” Court went on. “Donald is on Leeroy’s payroll. He’s been working as a ranch hand for him for the past two years.”
Jordan’s first reaction was relief because they finally had a solid connection that Egan could use to make an arrest. But it didn’t take her long to look at this from a different angle. If Leeroy was going to do a murder for hire, then he probably wouldn’t have used someone with such a strong link back to him. That was probably why Egan groaned and scrubbed his hand over his face.
“I’ve already requested financials on Donald,” Court explained. “But I’m figuring this was a cash transaction.”
“Yeah, but maybe Leeroy got stupid and sloppy and withdrew a large amount of cash in the past forty-eight hours.”
“We can only hope. In the meantime I’ll have Dakota go out to Leeroy’s place and question the other hands there. Dakota’ll be able to do that as soon as he finishes with the CSIs at the ranch.”
Jordan hadn’t even known the reserve deputy was nearby, but it made sense. With a sniper still at large, the CSIs would have wanted police protection while they processed the scene.
“Is Leeroy still there at the station?” Egan asked.
“No. He left a couple of minutes ago after Griff took his statement.”
Too bad because if Leeroy had still been in the building, Court could have detained him while they searched for more evidence surrounding his dead employee.
Lawman with a Cause Page 13
