by Debra Kayn
"Start locking it." He turned the deadbolt. "If Paxton needs outside, he can unlock it, and lock it behind him."
Clara rubbed her forehead. "Okay. That's a good idea with everything going on."
She held out her hand. He caught up with her and latched his fingers with her's. Together, they went into the bar and sat at a booth. Gracie brought their drinks and slid into the booth across from him and Clara.
He put his arm around Clara. "You both need to leave your phones on. You never know when you need to make an emergency call."
Gracie gave him a look he was unable to comprehend beyond she questioned his right to tell her what to do. He wrapped his fingers around the glass of pop. "I'd like to think St. John's is safe, but we've had more crime lately that concerns me and should make everyone take a few extra precautions and look out for each other."
Gracie looked down at the mug of beer clenched between both her hands, then she looked up. "You're a good man."
He shook his head. "There are better men out there."
"You're sleeping with my sister." Gracie lifted the beer to her mouth to hide her grin.
Wayne's chest tightened. "About that..."
"You don't have to explain to her. I understand," said Clara putting her hand on his thigh under the table.
"No, I do." Wayne strummed the bare skin at Clara's shoulder and directed his attention to Gracie. "I want Clara in my life, and it sucks right now because I need to spend my time working and searching. After things settle down, I plan on her being with me more. I care about your sister and whether you approve or not doesn't have any impact on me or will it stop me from seeing her. But, you matter to Clara. For her, I want you to know I'm not being an asshole asking you both to take an extra step to be safe and be cautious. I care."
Gracie's lips pressed together, and she hummed. His body hardened. Clara often made the same noise, but her sister's reaction was different. It was judgmental and skeptical. Clara's was always open and honest.
"Well..." Gracie's hand on the table opened, and she spread her fingers wide. "Okay, then. We'll keep the door locked and cell phones on."
Clara leaned forward, turning sideways and looked Wayne in the eyes. A huge grin lit up her face. "That was hot," she whispered.
That was the last thing he'd expected to come out of her mouth. Amusement tugged on his lips. He brought her closer and kissed her lips. "I'm serious, sweetheart."
"I know." Clara leaned back again against the seat. "Thank you for being that way."
Wayne drank his pop, uncomfortable with the way Gracie was looking at him as if any moment he was going to break her sister's heart. "Are you going to open up the bar tomorrow?"
Clara licked her upper lip after taking a drink from the mug. "No, though we started the new schedule at the worst possible time. We both think it's important to show the customers how this is a safe and relaxing place to come into and when they see the bar closed for not two days, but three, we'll have to beat down on some of the rumors going around about why the police have been here."
"What rumors," he said. "The police haven't even made an official statement."
"We're assuming," said Gracie.
Clara squeezed his leg. "People talk."
"We never put a notice on the door on Sunday about being closed." Gracie looked at Clara.
Clara nodded. "So, there had to be some customers who came by..."
"And, found the front door locked, " said the twins in unison.
He rubbed his hand along his jaw. What they said made sense. It was hearing them in stereo that left him thinking about the conversation.
"I need to hit the road." He hooked Clara's upper body and pulled her close, kissing her. "I'll walk you out. Go home, lock the door, and I'll call you when I'm done for the night."
"You're coming over?" Clara scooted out of the booth, following him.
"Until this is over. I want you close to me at night." He waited until Gracie collected all the glasses and ran them to the kitchen, and then said, "Afterward, we'll figure out how to handle us."
Clara tilted her head.
"What?" he asked.
"You gave that awesome speech to my sister about your feelings, but you've never mentioned to me what is going on between us." She shrugged. "I wasn't expecting any kind of commitment or plans for us."
"That's because I know you want to continue seeing me." He lifted her chin. "I'm not one to fuck around."
She raised her brows. "Literally?"
Damn, her brain latched on to everything, and she ran with whatever popped into her head. Except, he had no idea what she was talking about this time.
"I want you." He looked into her eyes. "You want me. I'm too old to play games. I've got no plans for tomorrow with you or myself. I just know that today, I want to end the day with you."
She swallowed and nodded. He dropped his hand from her face when Gracie returned. Then, he walked them out to their car and followed them two blocks before he turned to meet Chuck, Thad, and Glen.
Megan Hillard went from Point A: Her house to where her clothes were found at Point B: Vavoom's. Somewhere in the middle, the story of what happened to Megan would be told. He only had to find the signs and read them.
Chapter 16
Even in sleep, Wayne carried the stress he was under on his face. Clara used the pad of her thumb to smooth out the lines on his forehead. Over the last four days, he'd worked, searched, and dropped into her bed to slip into a fitful sleep until the alarm on his phone woke him up to start the whole process over again.
He couldn't continue wearing himself down, or he'd break. She lowered her hand and rubbed his chest, letting the short hair tickle her palm. Five minutes ago, she'd shut off the alarm on his phone before it could go off. She had a better way to wake him up.
She sat up on the bed, facing him, then leaned over and kissed his mouth, licking the slight crack between his lips until he stirred. His jaw relaxed, and he reached over and grasped her waist, sitting her on top of him. She stretched, sliding her hand under his pillow, and grabbed the condom he'd put on the bed last night before he'd fallen asleep. Straightening, she fingered the package and groaned. It was an empty wrapper.
"Shit," she mumbled. "We're out."
She was hungry to have him back inside of her, to share that connection before a busy day tore them apart. Over the last week, her need for him rose. Scared that everything would end too soon. That the time to tell him what she needed him for would arrive and she'd lose him or be arrested. But, then when he was with her, she pushed the fear away and became selfish.
She thought of him all the time, wondering what he was doing. If he needed her, and how their lives could change for the better if they stayed together. He went out of his way to help others, strangers, those needier than her. Her desires had her holding on to him tightly, not wanting time away from him where her doubts crept in.
She caught herself on the mattress as Wayne slid out from under her and left the bed. What if he believed being with her was all about sex and comfort?
Wayne picked up his jeans off the top of her dresser and pulled a condom out of his wallet. Her stomach fluttered. Men always confused her. Some wanted a demanding woman to prove how much they were wanted, others hit the door at the first sign of a high maintenance woman. Wayne was a hard one to read.
He'd stepped into her life before she could set her plan in motion, and he never asked her for anything. Almost as if he wanted her to take their relationship for granted and yet, she felt like he gave her the security to know he wanted more and they only needed time to make things permanent.
She quite liked him taking control and leaving her to enjoy what was happening, considering she'd planted herself in his path and orchestrated meeting him.
He rolled the condom on and returned to the bed, pulling her to her feet in front of him. Standing, she sprawled her fingers on his thigh and ran her hand around to squeeze his ass. His hardness pressed against her stomach. S
he loved his extra height and yet found herself wishing she had on heels or was taller.
As if reading her mind, he picked her up and slid her down on his cock. She wound herself around his body, locking her ankles together behind his back. Her breath came back faster at the fullness of him, and her weight pushed her down completely until every single inch of his cock was buried inside of her.
It was the completeness that came over her that had her latching on to his neck and drawing hard on his skin with her mouth. Her teeth nipped him in her exuberance.
His cock pulsed, touching her from the inside.
She removed her mouth from him. "Let's stay here all day."
"Can't, sweetheart." He widened his stance and rocked her.
His hands cupped her ass, keeping her firmly planted on him. He neither pumped inside of her or stroked her. He simply rocked as she swayed back and forth in his arms. Impaled on him, in the early morning, did more for her than lazily coming as he fingered her awake the way he had yesterday.
The room warmed with Wayne's heated body. She panted through the tightening in her pussy. There was nothing she could do to slow the pleasure or speed up to the release. Wayne controlled the ride, the timing, the moment. Her feelings.
Wayne's skin glistened under the strain of going slow. Her body slid down an inch. A swift kick in her arousal left her breathless. She locked her arms behind his neck.
He walked with her in his arms and pressed her against the wall. She squirmed at the extra movement. "God, yes."
Pinned against the wall, she wasn't prepared. She wasn't expecting. She wasn't breathing.
Wayne pumped inside of her. The pressure between her legs intensified. She couldn't stop the spiraled explosion that started big and fluttered throughout her body.
She couldn't stop.
She couldn't.
She.
Her gasp filled the room. Her legs came undone. Her arms fell from Wayne. Her head hit the wall behind her. Suspended in air, she was only slightly aware of Wayne nailing her against the wall, holding her up, and his body hardening against her and his cock pulsating inside of her, soothing her orgasm down to a level where she could breathe.
That breath was a gift her body needed to feel alive, loved, wanted.
She opened her eyes and stared straight ahead into Wayne's warm, dark gaze. She shivered and leaned forward, hanging on to him and taking her weight off his arms.
Then, she jolted back to reality.
"Shit, you're late." She squirmed down off him, missing him inside of her when his cock slipped out. "The time. I shut your alarm off. You need to get to work." She flipped the light switch on and found her phone on the dresser. "You only have twenty minutes."
"No worries. I'll make it in time." He walked into the bathroom.
She watched his bare ass walk out of sight and sighed. He looked good in her room. Comfortable. Right.
Pulling on a pair of shorts and a T-shirt, she hurried down to the kitchen and started the coffee maker. While she waited for the pot to fill, she made two turkey sandwiches with all the trimmings and wrapped them in foil.
The thump of Wayne's boots on the wooden floor forced her to hurry. She opened his thermos he'd brought into the house last night, rinsed it out, and filled it with fresh coffee.
She caught sight of him in the room. "All done. I made you two sandwiches since you don't have time to eat before you leave."
He walked over to her, kissed her hard, and grabbed his lunch and thermos. "I'll swing by the bar after work."
"Will everyone from Notus be with you? We can feed you all." She followed him to the front door.
"If we have time, we'll eat there. I don't know what will be going on until I check in with Gomez." He turned at the door, kissed her again, lingering on her lips. "Lock up behind me."
She lowered her chin. "Okay."
Standing in the open doorway, she watched him get on his motorcycle. The roar of the engine made her smile. Her neighbors probably hated her seeing Wayne. Most of the people in the neighborhood worked a nine to five job. They hadn't even woken up yet. Or, they hadn't until he'd started his bike.
She shut and locked the door, then went into the kitchen to pour herself a cup of coffee. Knowing she wouldn't be able to go right back to sleep, she carried the mug to the living room and sat on the couch. Once she finished, she'd take a shower, and hopefully, the hot water and steam would relax her. A nap before she had to head to work would be wonderful.
"Why couldn't you have picked a boyfriend who walked to work or even rode a bicycle." Gracie slid her feet across the floor, wrapping her robe tighter around her body. She plopped down on the couch. "My God, the noise from his motorcycle reaches inside of me and shakes my soul, and it's not a good thing, sis. It's a bad thing. A very bad, bad thing. I need my sleep."
"You're getting more sleep than me," said Clara.
Gracie snorted. "You're getting sex and big arms to sleep with each night. You're so far up the lucky tree, you can't even shake a stick at me."
Clara laughed and slouched down on the couch. "You like him, don't you?"
"Wayne?" Gracie paused and sighed. "He's a member of Notus."
That loaded statement spoke volumes. Not an hour went by when she wasn't aware of Wayne's lifestyle, his commitment to his club, and his close relationships with law enforcement.
Gracie looked at her. "How do you think he'll react when we finally ask him? Can we trust him?"
Deep in her heart, she believed Wayne would understand. "If we go slow like we planned, making sure we stay smart and look at every angle, we'll just know. I'll know when it's the right time."
"You need to start asking him questions." Gracie stood. "Not just getting to know him on a personal level."
"Like what?" Clara scooted to the edge of the couch. "Hey, Wayne, how do you feel about punishing people who do bad things?"
"That would be a start." Gracie planted her hands on her hips. "You can work your way up to asking him what he's going to do if he catches the killer of that young girl."
She groaned. "He only searches for missing persons. He hasn't mentioned what the police are doing to solve the murder of the little girl from a couple weeks ago. His focus is on finding Megan Hillard. If he has any feelings toward Annie Morgan's murderer, he hasn't said anything to me."
"But, you could ask him if he finds Megan and if she was kidnapped and he happens to meet the kidnapper during the rescue, would he kill him to save the girl?" Gracie tilted her chin and raised her eyebrows. "That's it. He won't think that's strange coming from you at all. Everyone in the community is keeping up on the information about the search and is wondering the same thing about what will become of the kidnapper. I've heard the talk at the bar. People want to kill the person who took her and string him up by the balls."
Clara pursed her lips. Her sister had a point. Wayne was tired, overworked, and stressed about finding the Hillard girl, he wouldn't think twice about her question. "Okay, I'll do it."
"Tonight." Gracie inhaled deeply. "It's the perfect timing."
Clara whispered, "Tonight."
She wandered back upstairs, stripped, and got into the shower. Every step forward with Wayne put more at risk. She didn't want to lose him.
Closing her eyes, she turned around and let her head fall back and the water run over her hair. Her whole body filled with tension at the thought of ruining things with Wayne. Not only would her happiness be taken away from her, but there was also a good chance that she could end up in prison.
Wayne was close to law enforcement. She'd viewed his tight working relationship with Lieutenant Gomez. One wrong move or saying the wrong thing, and it wouldn't be Wayne ringing her doorbell late at night. It'd be the police.
Chapter 17
Lieutenant Gomez's radio went off, and he walked away from the booth at Vavoom's with his head cocked toward his shoulder mic, listening to the call. Wayne caught dispatch announcing a possible code 187 and slid out of th
e booth, following Gomez.
"ETA five minutes." Gomez turned to Wayne. "Keep your phone close."
"Will do." Wayne walked Gomez outside, staying out of his way as he hurried to his patrol car.
The code coming over Gomez's radio gave Wayne enough information to know what was going on. He stopped on the sidewalk and shoved his hands in his pockets. An unresponsive female was found in a locked car on Marine Drive and Thirty-Seventh Street. Possible murder.
Multiple sirens filled the air. The flashing lights on Gomez's car disappeared around the corner followed by another squad car. Wayne inhaled swiftly through his nose and exhaled with a grunted, "Fuck."
Thad, Glen, and Chuck flanked him outside next to the street. Wayne scratched the back of his neck. Invested in finding Megan Hillard, he hated the odds. A senseless murder only took the innocent. No one deserved that kind of fate.
"Did we hear correctly?" asked Thad.
Wayne nodded. "We can stay here and wait for Gomez's call or get as close as we can to see for ourselves what is happening. If it's not Megan, I'd like to follow the train tracks again. There's a reason why the killer picked this area. It's human nature for people to want to stay close to home."
"So, we're giving up thinking that she's alive?" Glen shook his head. "Fuck that."
"We never give up." Wayne turned to his MC brother. "But, it's time to start thinking like a serial killer."
"Law enforcement hasn't mentioned there being a connection between the two cases." Chuck latched the chain holding the front of his leather vest together. "When I brought the subject up with Gomez, he shot me down. If they have something linking the two cases, they're not letting us know."
"He told me the same thing and said if that's where we were going with our theory to let him know if we have any solid evidence supporting one killer." Wayne looked at each of them. "After we find out what is going on over on Marine Drive, think about that. We need to put the pieces together."
"I'm on the wrong side of recovery," muttered Glen. "Right now, I'd like to put a bullet in the killer's forehead."
