Tears of Blue (Shades of Death Book 2)

by Hoffman McManus, Stephanie

  “I don’t know. That’s what we were going to talk to your mom about – find out if anyone like a housekeeper or neighbor or friend would have had reason to be in the house. I know that someone went through my stuff. I’m very particular about how I keep my things organized. My purse and suitcase were both out of order.”

  “I believe you. When was this?”

  I listened while she explained that she’d left her purse and belongings behind the night before when she and Nora went out with my parents and how she’d noticed this morning when she woke up.

  My parents didn’t employ a housekeeper. My mother took pride in keeping her own house, and besides my brother and myself, the only other person with a key was my aunt. There was no reason for anyone to be in the house last night when they were out.

  “Has Nora talked to my brother?”

  “Yes, he knows.”

  Which meant I needed to talk to my brother and my dad.

  The remainder of the ride to the sandwich shop was quiet. I didn’t want to freak Emily out more than she already was, but this wasn’t good.

  We got the sandwiches and headed back to the hospital. There was no change with my mother, but we’d only been gone thirty minutes. I didn’t want to have the discussion in front of the girls, so I waited to bring it up.

  It was late in the afternoon when Mom finally woke up. She was a little confused and out of it. Dad gently explained what had happened. The nurses came around to check on her and then the doc popped in. By the time everyone was done asking her questions and talking at her, she managed to eat a little bit of hospital food and then was back out.

  Spencer popped in and out of the room taking calls. I was itching to speak with him and my dad. I had my captain calling, worried about the impact this would have on the case. He offered to pull me off it again. I assured him this wouldn’t get in the way. I knew how much was riding on it, yet I couldn’t deny that something in my gut felt off. The gun shipment was tonight. I wouldn’t be there when it went down, but I almost wished the feds and DEA would change their minds and bust them tonight so it would all be over with.

  That wasn’t the plan though, and I couldn’t turn back now. If I walked away, everything could go south. I had to see this through. I also had to be there for my family, and help my brother track down the bastard with his sights set on the people I cared about.

  I literally felt torn in too many directions. I just had to wait to hear from Alexei and make sure I was there during the meeting.

  “Do you need to go?” my father looked up from his position at my mother’s side when I got off the phone.

  “No, not right now.” I shoved the phone back in my pocket and walked over to where he sat, holding Mom’s hand in his. They’d been married over thirty years, and I’d never seen two people as in love as they were even to this day. If anything, the years had only made that love deeper.

  I hated to see Dad this shook up. He was doing his best to hide it, be the strong one, but I knew my dad. He hated feeling helpless, and this was something he couldn’t fix or protect Mom from. What I had to tell him, would only make it worse.

  “You sure you don’t need to get going?” he asked again. “I know you’re working something pretty big and I have my suspicions about what. I don’t want you distracted and your mother wouldn’t either.”

  “It’s okay. I don’t have to go anywhere right now.” I reassured him. “Work can wait a little while and it will be fine.”

  He didn’t argue, just gave me a fatherly smile and nod that said he was grateful I was there.

  I got my opportunity to bring up the other thing when the girls slipped out of the room to use the bathroom. Spence had just come back into the room off another call. It was as good a time as we were likely to get. I’d already texted Spence to give him the heads up that I’d spoken to Emily.

  “Hey, Dad,” I spared a quick glance to make sure Mom was still out. She was. “Spence and I need to talk to you about something the girls told us.”

  He sat up straighter and we filled him on their suspicions.

  Spencer informed us he was already on it, and one of his guys was currently going through the house looking for anything clearly off.

  “But I don’t know what he’ll be able to turn up. It will be better to get you back there. You’ll know better if something’s not right or out of place. I’ve also got him checking with the neighbors to see if anyone saw someone coming or going from the house.”

  Dad was taking it about as well as expected. He was up, pacing the room. “Are we sure Emily isn’t just seeing something where there’s nothing?” Dad was skeptical about an intruder, and I didn’t blame him, but I believed Emily.

  “I believe her, and I’d rather err on the side of caution.”

  Spencer agreed with me. “Even given what she’s been through, Emily’s not one to overreact. She wouldn’t have told anyone unless she was certain. And I know for a fact that she’s almost OCD with her things. If she’s sure someone went through her bags, then someone more than likely did.”

  Dad still didn’t seem convinced, but he did agree that we couldn’t take a chance.

  “I think we need to talk to the doctor about running a few extra tests,” I added carefully, “to see if maybe . . .” Fuck, I hated even suggesting it, “if maybe Mom’s heart attack wasn’t natural.” I watched my suggestion bowl over my father and I almost regretted even bringing it up. “I know it’s crazy, but even the doctor was surprised by this. Mom was taking her meds and taking care of herself. It just seems like, with what we know, that there’s a chance this could be . . . I don’t know,” I faltered. Maybe I was just didn’t want my mom to be sick.

  Dad let out a weary sigh. “No, son. It probably needs to be done. We should know for sure.”

  Visiting hours were almost over, and it was decided that Dad would speak with the doctor and stay at the hospital with mom. Tomorrow, he and Spencer would go to the house together. For tonight, Spencer was going to leave a man on the house, but he wanted to take the girls to a hotel.

  “Take Nora with you, but I’ll take Emily to my place.”

  My brother’s brow shot up and he was quick to protest. “I don’t think that’s a good idea little brother.”

  “I disagree. You need a night with your wife; you haven’t had hardly a moment of privacy since the wedding and Emily shouldn’t be in a hotel room by herself. I can take her to my place. She’ll be safe there.”

  “I’m sure her safety is the only thing you’re thinking about,” Spencer’s words were laced with skepticism.

  “Don’t tell me you don’t want to be alone with your wife.”

  “I’m more concerned about why you want to be alone with Emily. We talked about this Cam. I thought you were leaving it alone.”

  “I’ll leave you two to settle this.” Dad excused himself from the argument and returned to Mom’s bedside.

  “I’m not going to force myself on her, dickhead.” I didn’t mention that I had every intention of having her willingly, if I could get her to let go for a night. That wasn’t why I was pushing for this, not entirely anyway. It was more than that. I doubted I would be able to convince Spencer of that, but I wanted her with me, not just so I could explore our attraction, but because I’d sleep better knowing she was safe with me. And not alone in a hotel room, reliving her nightmares.

  Whatever was going on, whoever was threatening my family, Emily was caught up in it. That didn’t sit well with me. Right now, I didn’t want her away from me. Not when there was so much unknown going on. Chalk it up to my Neanderthal instincts, or the protective nature that was pretty much bred into me.

  Before the conversation could go any further, the girls returned. Spence shook his head, making it clear he still wasn’t on board, but I didn’t need his permission. Emily wasn’t as fragile as he thought, even if she looked it. There was strength there, but everyone was coddling her. If they continued to treat her like glass, she would never fin
d that strength I knew was in there, buried under a weight of fear and darkness and whatever else put that haunted look in her eyes. I just wanted to lift it for one night. Get a glimpse at the woman still in there and remind her that she was still alive.

  It wasn’t long before a nurse poked her head in to let us know that we couldn’t all stay and visiting hours were ending. They’d accepted that Dad was going nowhere, but the rest of us were being pushed out the door. Without sparing my brother a glance, or giving him a chance to say anything more, I looked at Emily. “I want you to stay with me tonight.”

  She and Nora let out a simultaneous, “What?”

  On top of the confusion I heard in her voice, Emily looked downright panicked. I prepared myself for her refusal. I wanted her to trust me. I wanted her to want to go with me. But all of this was her decision.

  “We don’t think it’s a good idea to stay at the house right now. Not until we know for sure if someone broke in, and who and why. Spencer is going to take Nora to a hotel, and you can go to the hotel if you want. Or you can come stay at my house.”

  “Why would I stay with you?” Those eyes told me that she wanted me to give her a reason to say yes. I didn’t think the whole truth was appropriate at the moment.

  “I doubt you really want to share a room with the newlywed lovebirds, and I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to be by yourself in a room.” I caught my brother’s eye roll out of the corner of mine.

  “You don’t think I would be safe in a hotel?”

  “I don’t want to take that chance, do you? And it’s more than just safety,” I added. Given recent events and the day we’d just had, she shouldn’t be alone period.

  “I could just stay with my brother.”

  Shit. I didn’t have an argument for that one, but my brother reluctantly came through for me. He looked anything but thrilled about it.

  “Actually, we sent James out of town to look into some things.”

  “Oh, I didn’t know he left. He didn’t tell me.” Emily bit her lip.

  “He only left about an hour ago. It was a sudden thing that came up.”

  “Still, I can just get my own room. I’ll be fine.” No she wouldn’t. She’d already admitted to me that she had the nightmares every night. A hotel wasn’t the place that was going to make her feel safe, but how could I convince her when she was regarding me warily like a skittish cat.

  I wanted nothing more than to reassure her and make her all kinds of promises to take care of her, but I couldn’t do that, not any that she would believe anyway, or that I could say in front of everyone else. I leaned forward in my seat and set my hand on her knee.

  “Just come home with me. You’ll be safe for tonight and we’ll figure everything else out in the morning. You’ve got nothing to worry about. I’ve got a guest room you can have, and maybe if you’re nice to me, there’ll be a complimentary breakfast. It may not be five star, but it’s better than a lonely hotel room.” I wanted her right next to me in my bed, but I’d settle for just getting her to my place.

  Twelve

  Emily

  For the second time today, I found myself sitting in Camden’s Charger. Only this time I was rethinking my decision to go with him. I’d momentarily lost my mind though when he fixed those warm chocolate and caramel swirled eyes on me and told me I’d be safe with him. I wanted to crawl into his lap and beg him to keep me forever. Now the haze of warm, mushy feelings had worn off and I was seconds away from throwing myself out of his car.

  I was going to spend the night at his place. Just me and him. The two of us. And I was supposed to keep from jumping him in the night.

  Riiiiight.

  This was going to be bad, but probably oh so good.

  Simmer down girl, I mentally chastised.

  It was hard though, when Camden’s intentions were right there on the surface. I believed him when he said he wanted to keep me safe, but that wasn’t the only thing he wanted. My face heated just thinking about what I’d seen in his eyes when I agreed to this insanity. It was like he’d telegraphed his every thought, and that boy had some filthy, filthy thoughts. And they excited me. At least they had in the moment.

  Now I mostly wanted to throw up.

  Seriously, what was my damage?

  He was a guy. I was a girl. It was simple really, like two puzzle pieces and it didn’t have to be any more complicated than that. He was the one that told me I had to decide what I wanted. I could use him to forget everything else for a night and reassure myself that I wasn’t completely broken in that department. It wouldn’t have to mean anything else. Because this weird connection – it was just physical. It couldn’t be more than that.

  Camden continued to drive us further and further away from the heart of Spokane and I wondered where he was taking me. I didn’t have the best sense of direction, so I didn’t know if we were headed east or west or up into Canada. With each passing mile, our surroundings became more rural until I was questioning whether or not we were even still in Spokane. If this was Spokane, it was a part of the city I never would have guessed existed.

  “You live all the way out here?” I asked when we turned off a highway onto another road that wound through trees and clearings. I only noticed a few drives out here with mailboxes at the end of them.

  “Yeah. Not many people besides my family know about this place, though. Because of the work I do, keeping it private is important. When I’m working a case, if it’s a major one like the one I’m currently on, I keep an apartment in the city.”

  It wasn’t another mile before he turned off onto another road, this one unpaved. It was a slow and bumpy ride over the gravel. It reminded me too much of another place. If I closed my eyes, I knew I’d be back in Will’s trunk, jostling around with every bump. I fought the flashback, trying to hold on to the present.

  Camden wasn’t him.

  I was here willingly.

  I was safe.

  None of this was a normal reaction to a gravel road and some trees, but my compass didn’t point to normal. Just one more reason I wanted to pretend for a night. I wanted to be a girl who wasn’t so damaged, and I wanted a man to look at me like he didn’t see something broken. The way Camden looked at me like he found me irresistible, like I was something to be adored and he wanted to pay homage to my body.

  I wanted to let him.

  If I didn’t throw up or have a panic attack.

  The car slowed and the knots in my stomach tightened. He rounded a slight bend in the road and the trees cleared, revealing a wide-open space and set in the center of it all, under the fading light of the setting sun, was a beautiful, two-story home, with a wide front porch that dropped down into every little kid’s dream yard. Lots of running room and a few good climbing trees.

  “This is where you live?” Awe replaced everything else I’d been feeling.

  He pulled the car right up to the front of the house, but didn’t pull into the attached garage. “Do you like it?” He asked, shutting off the engine.

  I practically choked out a laugh, “Like it? This is beautiful.” It reminded me of my parent’s place in Bellingham, only this property appeared larger than theirs.

  “Thank you. I enjoy it out here. It’s peaceful and I have my privacy.”

  I could picture him on his front porch sitting in the rocker with a cup of coffee and a book in the mornings. I didn’t even know if he read, but a man with a house and a porch like that should. I wanted to curl up on the porch swing that hung at one end with the steamy firefighter novel I’d started at the hospital.

  “Seriously, this place is incredible.” The house was painted a slate grey with white porch columns and trim and red doors on the front of the house and the garage. I hadn’t even been inside yet, but everything about it said ‘home.’ There was a chimney on top and I hoped that meant there was a big fireplace inside.

  “So, do you actually want to come in, or just stay out here all night?” he teased, waiting on me. He’d alr
eady pushed his door open.

  I opened mine, climbing out of the car. Camden retrieved my bags from the back and led the way up the stone path to the front steps. He set my bags down to unlock the door and then carried them inside. I followed him in and he hit the light in the entryway. My eyes immediately started roaming excitedly.

  There was a staircase almost directly in front of me leading up. To the right, the house opened up into a large living room and the rest of the downstairs.

  He tossed his keys down on a small stand just inside, and set my bags at the foot of the stairs, then made his way deeper into the house.

  “You can make yourself at home. I’ll show you around and then see if I can scrounge up something from the freezer to make for dinner. We probably should have stopped off somewhere, I don’t know what we’ll find. I haven’t stayed here in a while.”

  “That’s fine.” I was still taking in the cozy, but masculine décor. Dark woods, rich, warm colors. There wasn’t a lot, it bordered on minimalistic, but it fit Camden. Simple, but what furnishings there were, were incredibly nice. The rooms were big and open. The back side of the house featured huge windows and glass doors that let in what little twilight was left of the day.

  “Living room, obviously,” he indicated. And it had a fireplace. “Dining room and kitchen there. There’s a bathroom down that hall on the right. Pantry and laundry is there too if you need it. There’s a den down there. It’s mostly a man cave and somewhat of an office. I’ll show you upstairs so we can put your bags in one of the bedrooms.”

  I followed him up the stairs to the second level of the house and he led me past two closed doors, one of which was another bathroom and the other he indicated was a second, unused bedroom. There were two more rooms.

  “This one is my room,” he indicated one of the closed doors, “and this one,” he pushed open the one across from it, “is all yours.”

  It was nothing fancy, painted in the same warm, neutral colors as the rest of the house, but it had a big comfy looking bed and all the basic necessities – nightstand with a lamp, dresser, closet and a big window that looked out over the side yard.