by D. D. Ayres
Jori nodded slowly. “I used to lie awake in my cell and think about that.”
“My guess is he was the friendly campus drug dealer. The popular frat boy, a known quantity welcome at all parties. He was safe, exclusive.” Law fed another bit to Argyle without even thinking about what he was doing. “No clandestine buys on corners in not-so-nice neighborhoods. It must have played well with everyone involved.”
Jori’s jaw began to work. “Every friend I had deserted me. In the beginning I thought it was because they were shocked and didn’t want to be associated with someone who’d been accused of dealing drugs.”
“Or maybe they just didn’t want their own secrets outed.”
She looked at him for confirmation. “They thought I was guilty because they were?”
“That’s a fair guess. They must have expected you to start naming names to cut a deal with the D.A. and save yourself.”
“But I couldn’t.”
He gave it to her raw. “They didn’t know that, did they? Not until you went to prison, anyway,” he added under his breath.
She had sharp ears. “You mean they knew I was innocent only because I was found guilty?”
Law couldn’t answer that. But it made sense. He did have another theory.
“Don’t you think it’s odd that no one else was arrested behind the revelation of Brody as a drug dealer? Not one client was discovered? Why didn’t your defense attorney at least go after Erin? She could have been drug-tested.”
Jori opened her mouth to reply then snapped it shut. For five long seconds she stared at him with a hard expression. He held her gaze with dogged determination. He owed her that.
“Why are you telling me all this now? And what’s in it for you?”
Law had to smile. She had finally caught up with him. Smart. He liked that. Liked her. A lot. He owed her his trust, even if it blew up in his face.
“I think there’s a connection between Brody, your case, and Tice Industries. Tice and I go way back to my early years as a state trooper. We’ve suspected them for over a decade of transporting drugs. Twice while I was on patrol we caught a trucker for Tice with contraband. Both times, the trucker was an independent. Tice attorneys successfully claimed the company couldn’t be held responsible for what a contract worker did in his spare time. The truckers went to prison and kept their mouths shut. That kind of loyalty requires incentive of both the financial and the physical kind.”
“You mean they were paid to go to prison?”
“And/or threatened. That’s speculation. That’s all the state police ever had.”
“What has any of that to do with me?”
“I was hoping you could tell me. Rogers was a Tice relation. And he worked for the family business. If they’re running drugs, he’d have had an inside track.”
“That can’t be true. Maybe Brody was dirty, but Luke Tice always was such a straight arrow his frat brothers called him Mr. Clean.”
“The guy now running for the state senate?” When Argyle made a move to hop up on the table and help herself, Law pushed her back into his embrace with a hand.
“Yes. I never knew Luke well. He and Brody were six years older. And they’d had a falling-out by the time we met. Brody said Luke was jealous that he was working with Luke’s dad at the company headquarters while Luke spent his time in the D.A.’s office at much lower pay. But Luke will inherit the major portion of the company, so that never made sense to me.”
“So Rogers lied to you.”
“He didn’t lie … Right. He lied to me a lot, in a lot of different ways.”
“Don’t beat yourself up about that. Sociopaths like Rogers are masters at not being caught. You never know you’re being lied to because you’re never not being lied to.”
That statement brought her up short. She turned a gaze on him reflecting her own suddenly darker thoughts. “What about you? You just said that you’re after Tice Industries for drug dealing. Is that why I’m here? You hoped I’d be able to name names and give you the inside scoop on how they deal drugs?” Her outrage grew as she said the words aloud. “Oh my God! I’m such an idiot!”
Law stood up, Argyle dumped onto the floor. “Jori, it’s not like that.”
Trembling, she backed away from him. “I need some air.” She turned abruptly away, grabbed her North Face vest off a chair, and headed out his front door.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
The chill blast of air surprised her. The weather was turning quickly, as it often did in December in the Ozarks. The evening sky was clear but there was a ridge on the northern horizon that spoke of a Blue Norther headed their way. But Jori didn’t pause to go back for hat and gloves. She tucked her hands under her arms to protect them, bent her head to protect her eyes, and hurried down the gravel pathway that led back toward the main road hidden by the trees.
Her boots made so much noise on the gravel that she didn’t realize she had been followed until a hand snagged her elbow from behind.
She swung around to meet Law staring down at her, his Henley and sweat shorts the only protection against the wind. He didn’t say anything, just stood, big and solid and powerful even on crutches, waiting for her to offer some explanation.
Suddenly she was angry, angrier than she had allowed herself to be at any point in four years because it didn’t matter. Nothing worse could happen.
She tried to jerk her arm free of his grasp and stepped away from him, putting up a hand to stop him from advancing again. “I kept thinking that if I just held on, held it in, things would get better. Or at least not get worse. I was innocent. I didn’t know anything. But that didn’t stop anything. My whole life went to hell and I couldn’t do anything to stop it. Nothing!”
Law felt her pain like a jab. He knew about how quickly things could go sideways. One second perfectly fine. The next, jagged bits of one’s life were flying away, having burst into a million tiny obscenely painful pieces that would never, ever fit back together properly. The difference was he’d known the risks, and accepted them as part of a job he wanted to do. She had never seen disaster coming.
He didn’t know what else to do so he held on to her arm. When she tried to pull away again he applied only as much pressure as was necessary to hold her in place.
She looked down at his grip that completely wrapped around her upper arm, and then her cinnamon-brown eyes met his in blazing anger. “Let me go.”
“I believe you, Jori. I. Believe. You. Are. Innocent.” He said the words separately, hoping they would sink in and take hold in her thoughts.
She held his stare a moment longer. “I was okay when people dropped me as a friend. I’d done something stupid. So maybe I deserved what happened to me. But not my family.” The wind was whipping her voice away but she didn’t seem to care. “Many of my parents’ so-called friends disappeared, too. They found themselves abandoned at so many social functions they simply stopped going. My dad is a director of academic affairs at UAMS so it didn’t really make a difference in his professional life, but my mother’s clothing boutique suffered. People came to spy on the mother of the felon, but they didn’t leave their money. She nearly closed her doors that first year after I went inside. I brought that shame on them. And they did nothing to deserve it.”
“Jori.” She backed up a step as he took one toward her. “It’s over.” He took another step. This time she didn’t retreat. “You’re safe. It’s over.”
“Don’t think I’m feeling sorry for myself. I’m just so damn angry!” She gasped in a breath of icy air as she stared up at him. “I don’t know what to do with all the anger.”
“Get even.” He said it calmly as he reached out and caught a strand of her hair flailing in the wind. He brought it back to tuck behind her ear but it wouldn’t stay. Poor ear. It was red with wind and cold. He covered it with his big palm, fingers diving into the hair behind to cradle her head. He didn’t know about a woman’s pain. Or the death of a lover’s dream. But he did know about evening the
score. That had been his job all his life, protecting the innocent and getting justice for victims. He was a great avenger.
She still stared at him, but something was kindling behind her eyes. Hope.
“How?”
“We can begin by finding out what really happened the night Rogers died.”
“Can you do that?”
“I can.” The only way he knew how to seal that promise didn’t have words to go with it. He brought her in so that he could cradle her head against his chest. “I’d really like a chance to ask Erin Foster a few questions.”
She didn’t fight him as he held her close. She was shivering in his arms so he tightened his hold, wanting to give her as much of his body’s surface heat as possible. If it was too much, she didn’t protest.
“What kind of questions?”
“Erin’s affidavit says that Rogers left you and went to see her. You thought she was a little too flirtatious for an ex. Maybe that’s what they both wanted you to think. That she was jealous. You said she was always hanging around, trying to get his attention, drag him away on some pretext. Maybe he was her dealer. Or perhaps they were dealing together.”
“I never thought.” Jori lifted her head and looked at him. “But Erin’s married to Luke Tice now.”
“Mr. Clean. I wonder. It certainly ties things up in a neat bow.”
He watched the scenario play out behind her bright gaze until the pieces began to lock together in a new design. “You want to meet Erin? I know how to make that happen.”
“I thought you weren’t in touch with your former friends.”
“I’m not. But I have an invitation to the biggest social event in northwest Arkansas this weekend. It’s happening Saturday in Eureka Springs.”
“What’s that?”
“My brother’s wedding. I told my parents not to expect me.” Her expression sobered. “I didn’t want to spoil it with my presence.” She told him briefly about the call from Erin a week earlier. “But now I see why my presence might make certain people uncomfortable for a very different reason. I’d be a reminder of all the lies they told.”
Law was moving ahead with different calculations. He knew that if they were about to tangle with the Tices, there would be consequences. “Are you sure about this? You’ve moved on in your life. Nothing they did or are doing can hurt you anymore.”
Jori nodded, letting the heat and strength of him shear into and through her fears, making her feel stronger than she had in a long time. She knew not to rely on this feeling between them to last. The one that said they had crossed some barrier between a one-night stand and friends. They had a mutual interest. When that was gone, he might be, too. But for now, when she needed him the most, Law was here smiling down at her. And it was like standing in a spotlight. “Let’s do this.”
Law saw again the glimmer of admiration and awe that had been on Jori’s face after he chased down Hoodie this morning. It felt so good his chest expanded in determination. He wanted to be every single thing he saw reflected in her gaze. He wanted to be that guy. He wanted to be her hero.
Law kissed her with a fierce determination to stamp out, for the moment, every other thought in her head but him. He was pretty sure he was succeeding when he felt her sigh into his mouth and then her tongue slide forward to tangle with his. He could feel hands creeping up under his shirt onto his back, exposing his lower spine to the chill of the wind. Everywhere else in his body the heavy thick tide of desire was rolling through, pumping him up in every vital spot.
When they finally paused to breathe he asked, “What was your college major?”
“Criminal justice.” She slid a hand down into the back of his pants and gripped a naked butt cheek. “I wanted to be an attorney. Do something for the greater good.”
He hissed in a breath as she slid that hand forward. “And now?”
She smiled against his warm mouth. “I just want to be bad.”
He could definitely help with that.
For the first time in what felt like forever, he had hope, and that scared the hell out of him. But he was going to make it right for her. Because he could.
He kissed the tip of her nose. “I’ll stand here with you all night if that’s what you need, Jori. But my balls are turning blue. Can we take this indoors?”
* * *
“Just so you know. There’ve been no other women. Since you.”
Jori frowned at him. They were back in the cabin, in that moment between decision and deed. “You don’t need to say things. Just don’t lie to me.”
“I’m not lying.” The look on her face made him blush. “I tried. Okay? I picked up a woman but—it didn’t feel right.”
Jori just folded her arms and waited.
Law shook his head. ‘Try to tell the truth.” He should have kept his big mouth shut.
He went toward the fireplace. He’d meant to light it when they came in but his stump was hurting something fierce. He’d had to take the prosthesis off. Now he wanted to set the mood.
The wood was all laid out. He often preferred a real fire to the more efficient central heating. All he had to do was reach down and get the electronic starter. He shifted both crutches into one hand and balanced on one leg as he bent down.
Sam came running. She saw what he was reaching for and swooped in and scooped it up and turned to him, tail-wagging proud.
Law felt his face go red a second time as he snatched the starter. “I can light my own damn fire without help!”
“Sam! Come here, girl.” Jori clapped her hands. Sam’s tail drooped as she turned toward the female.
Jori bent down and gave the dog some long heavy strokes that began at her head and reached all the way to her tail. It was a comfort rub, much as Sam and her littler mates would have gotten from their mother’s tongue. “Good girl, Sam. You’re such a good doggy. Yes you are.” Over the top of Sam’s body she aimed an arched gaze at Law. “A fire is a nice idea. But won’t we be spending the evening under the covers?”
Law had been leaning against the mantel, willing the kindling to catch fire. He looked up and caught her gaze. It was he who combusted. Grinning, he reached down and grabbed the pail of sand he kept for emergencies. In about ten seconds, the kindling was out.
When he looked up, Jori was gone. But there was a vest lying on the floor that led to the bedroom on the main floor. He grinned. Thank goodness he wasn’t going to have to haul himself up the spiral staircase again.
She was already under the covers when he got there. He could see the straps of her bra. Her boots and jeans were on the floor. Shirt? He didn’t give a flying flip where it was. It was off her.
He shucked his Henley and reached for his waistband.
“Wait.” He looked up.
She was watching him very intently. “You still go commando?”
He froze. What was the right answer? Hell, he couldn’t change it now. “Yeah.”
A very naughty smile spread very slowly across her mouth. “Then I want to do that.”
He grinned like a man who’d hit the jackpot. “Oh, hell yeah.”
He dropped the crutches and dived for the bed.
Jori came up on her knees to meet him in the middle.
He didn’t kiss like other men. There was no smooth seduction. No playful interest. No hint of weighing this kiss against the memory of many others. There was something fierce and hungry in Law’s kisses. It was like having the front seat on the Batman roller coaster. The overpowering sensation was that of being swept up by a primal force and taken for a ride.
That didn’t mean he didn’t care about arousing her. He did that, with every urgent stroke of his tongue. In the way he fit and refit their mouths together as if they were a puzzle he was trying to work out.
He drew in a breath, sucking in her lower lip as his tongue swept into the canyon behind the fullness. She, in turn, bit his upper lip, tiny little nibbles that sent shivers through the powerful heavy body under her hands. They weren’t movie l
overs, trying for the right angle, the perfect cinematic kiss. They were raw and hurried, a little uncoordinated. They were bumping noses and swirling tongues as they each vied to get enough of the other.
Finally, both breathless, they pulled back for a second of air. Jori opened her eyes first. His were still closed. He kissed with his eyes closed! That moment of knowledge broke her heart. He looked beautiful. Gorgeously male. His mouth glistening with the succulent loving of her own. And she knew, with certainty, that he could break her heart if she weren’t very careful, and very smart.
Her stunned realization lasted only a fraction of a second. Then his burning gold-black eyes blazed blowtorch-hot on her face.
Afraid to think about her feelings, she kissed him hard and reached for his waistband.
She heard him groan in relief as his erection was freed. She looked down between them. She’d seen him before. But this time was different. She could barely breathe. He was so hard. Gorgeous, proud, and all hers.
“Condom. Left pocket.” Law wasn’t a talker. He just went with the basics. He pulled her in, palmed her butt to haul her closer, and returned to kissing her like his life depended on it.
His hands were at her back, releasing her bra, and then he was dragging it off the ends of her fingers. He stared at her so long she began to shiver. Then he looked up at her and the things most men say were all in his eyes. She didn’t need the sound. And then he was on her, pushing her back onto the bedding, pushing his knee between hers as he balanced himself over her on his hands.
He paused. “I’m going to need a little help here.”
“With what?”
“Your panties.”
Jori looked down her body and then up into his face just inches from hers. “Use your teeth.”
She didn’t think his gaze could get any hotter or his breath harsher. But every muscle in his body flexed as he hovered above her and then he was back crawling on hands and knee down the bed, using his tongue to leave a long wet trail down the middle of her body.
