Deadly Secret

by Tara Thomas

  She couldn’t help it, she giggled. Because as much as she’d missed his kisses and the passion in his touch, she’d missed this, too. The playful banter. The shared smiles and laughs. The everyday giggles and the simple joy of just being together.

  It wasn’t until that moment that she realized how very lonely the last week had been.

  “God, I missed you so much.” Knox pulled her into his arms. Not for a kiss this time, but to hold her. “I missed the feel of you in my arms, the way your hair smells, how soft your skin is. I missed us.”

  She blinked back tears. “Me, too. And I’m not going to do it again. I don’t know what we’re going to do, but I can’t do it without you again. I can’t live like that.”

  A sob escaped her throat and he gathered her tighter in his arms. She sighed and put her head on his chest, hiccuping around another sob. She took a deep breath, inhaling his smell.

  “Shhh,” he said, stroking her hair. “You don’t have to. Ever. I’m here and I’ll do everything within my power to protect and keep you safe. I promise. I’ll do anything except live without you.”

  And in that moment, in his arms, it seemed like it would be just that easy.

  She sighed. Why was it that when she was in his arms, everything made sense? Or maybe it was just that she didn’t care one way or the other, as long as he was holding her.

  “Let’s go sit down,” Knox said. He kissed her on the forehead and took her hand.

  “I totally killed the mood, didn’t I?”

  “No, of course not,” he said. He stroked her cheekbone with his thumb and gave her another kiss, but on the mouth this time.

  “If that’s the case, why are we heading for the couch and not my bed?”

  “I want to sit and talk.”

  She raised an eyebrow at him. “Are you serious? You want to sit and talk? Instead of going to bed?”

  He still had her hand and he lifted it to his lips and pressed a kiss against it. “What I want and what we’re going to do are two totally different things. Do I want you? Hell, yes. Every day in every way. Forever. But, I want to be good for you and for you to be ready. Not just rushed through in the heat of the moment.”

  It was hard to argue with him when he put it like that. So she decided not to even try. If he said that eventually they would end up in bed, she knew they would. Besides, he was here. That was really all that mattered. She did want talk to him about the case.

  They walked to the couch and sat down next each other. He looked at the laptop and papers she had spread out on the coffee table. He picked up a paper and read it.

  “You’ve been busy.” He put the paper down.

  “It’s a combination of insomnia and sexual frustration.” She gave him a half smile and scooted closer to him.

  His fingers brushed her knee, then ever so slowly, his fingers started inching their way upward. “You won’t have to worry about the sexually frustrated part after tonight. And hopefully, I’ll wear you out so thoroughly, insomnia won’t be a problem, either.”

  “All these promises.”

  He cocked an eyebrow at her. “You don’t think I can deliver?”

  “You’re the one who said it’s been a while. Who’s to say you’ll have any stamina?” She asked with a smile.

  “I know you didn’t just question what I think you questioned.”

  God, she’d missed teasing him. “All I’m saying is that talk is cheap.”

  While they talked, his fingers continued to work their way upward. But his touch had been so gentle, she hadn’t realized just how close they were to where she ached for him. Maybe if she held perfectly still, they’d keep moving.

  “Talk is cheap, huh?” he asked. “I seem to remember you liked my talk. Especially that time we were in your office, not long after you agreed to go out with me. You were on top of the desk and I was telling you all the things I was going to do to you.”

  It was as if the room grew fifteen degrees hotter as she remembered the day he was talking about.

  He leaned in even closer. “Do you remember how wild I made you? How you were desperate to come? And I had barely touched you?” He whispered in her ear, “What made you that hot? Was it my fingers?”

  She closed her eyes and focused on the sensation of his fingers as they teased her inner thigh. In her mind, she recalled the way he’d been talking that day in the office. Before then, she’d had no idea he could talk so dirty. Nor did she know how much hearing him talk dirty would turn her on.

  “You’re remembering, aren’t you?” he asked, and the hand that wasn’t driving her mad on her thigh was slowly inching toward her breast. “Remember how badly you wanted to come and how close you were?”

  “Like I could ever forget that,” she said, but kept her eyes closed.

  “I told you I didn’t think it was a good idea with your boss in the office and right across the hall.”

  God, but it had been enough to get her fired, probably, if her boss had found out. And at that moment, when she’d been on top of her desk with Knox whispering all the dirty things he wanted to do in her ear, she hadn’t cared one bit. She’d been so carefree then, so in love. And his hands. His hands were magic.

  “What did I do, Bea?” Knox asked.

  “You covered my mouth with your hand, so I wouldn’t freak out the entire office.”

  Feeling his hand over her mouth had only turned her on more. His hands weren’t rough, but they were big and strong and every touch conveyed the power he held. Even now, with those same hands barely touching her, she was well aware of his strength. For some reason, it made it all the more arousing when he was gentle.

  “Did you come that day?” he asked.

  She had. So hard and fast and she’d been so grateful for his hand over her mouth, because she knew without it, everyone in a five-mile radius would have known exactly what was going on in her office.

  “Did you?” he asked again.

  “Yes,” she managed to pant out in a half moan.

  “I remember,” he said. “You were so beautiful when you finally came. The way your back arched and your hips lifted. The way you groaned into my hand. All for me. So beautiful.”

  “Yours,” she repeated. “Always and only yours.”

  He pulled away and dropped his hands. Her eyes fluttered open. Why had he stopped? He wasn’t even looking at her and he was frowning. She followed his gaze as unease began to build in her belly. “Knox?” she asked, unable to keep the worry from her voice.

  “Is that smoke?” he asked. “Or am I imagining things?”

  She didn’t think they were both imagining the faint swirls that seemed to be coming from the front of the house. She sniffed. “I smell it, too,” she admitted as dread filled her chest.

  He ran to the front door. “It’s locked,” he said, twisting the doorknob. He tried to flip the deadbolt to unlock it, but it didn’t move. He kept trying. And it still wouldn’t move. “Bea?”

  She stared in horror at the door. She stood up as he ran back to her.

  He looked around. “Where’s another door?”

  “Come on,” she said, motioning for him to follow. She led down the hall, through the kitchen, to the back door. It was locked, too. He cursed and tried it himself.

  “It’s the craziest thing I’ve ever seen.” She kicked the door, but it didn’t budge. “I’m calling the police.”

  She was nervous. Knox had been very quiet. She realized as soon as she stopped talking that he wasn’t at her side anymore and she heard water running from the bathroom. She jogged down the hallway to join him.

  “Knox?” she asked.

  He came out of the bathroom with two washcloths. They were extremely wet. “Put this over your mouth and nose,” he said, handing her one of the washcloths.

  He pointed to the front door and she gasped. On other side of the door unseen before now were two small canisters that were emitting some sort of smoke.

  “I don’t know what it is,” Knox said. �
��It could either knock us out or kill us. Or it could blow the house up.”

  This wasn’t happening, she told herself. There was no way someone was trying to blow up her father’s house. Much less, trying to kill her and Knox.

  Except she knew they were.

  She covered her nose and mouth with the cloth. Was it her imagination, or was it already hard to breathe? Her heart started to race … was it because of fear or the gas? How were they going to get out the house?

  Beside her, Knox didn’t look scared at all, or worried. “Dial 911. Don’t say anything when they answer. It’ll take too much time.” She picked up her cell phone. He shook his head. “Use the landline. Easier to trace.”

  She ran to the kitchen and dialed the number, then left the phone. She happened to glance out the back window and saw a black SUV, with a man standing outside. He wore sunglasses, so she couldn’t tell if she knew him or not. From the way he stood, he appeared to have a gun. She wondered if they’d killed Tom.

  “They’ve covered the front door,” Knox said. “In the back as well, I see.”

  “Those are the only two doors,” Bea said. “Should we try a window?”

  “They’ll be expecting that.”

  Of course they would. Suddenly she remembered the origins of the house. The open breezeway on the roof that added so much value, but that the reverend thought of as a security hazard. “There used to be a widow’s walk. The reverend had it removed when he remodeled the house. I told him he was an idiot.”

  “Did he leave the stairs?”

  She started to get excited. They might actually get out of the house alive. “Yes,” she said. “He had the widow’s walk made into an attic. We should be able to get out that way. I know there are windows.”

  “The air should be better, too.”

  “But wouldn’t whoever did this think that we would go to the attic?”

  Knox shook his head. “Not unless they knew about the renovations he did. Besides, I don’t know of another way to go out. These stairs?” He pointed to the main staircase.

  “No. The ones at the back. Come on.” She grabbed his hand and led him down the hallway to the very back of the house. “Only way to the attic.”

  They’d just started their way up when something crashed from the front of the house. She jumped, but forced herself to remain calm.

  “What was that?” she asked.

  “I don’t know and I’m not sticking around to find out.”

  They reached the second-floor landing at the same time smoke detectors started going off.

  She raced up the stairs. Her heart pounding as she realized that going back down was not an option. It was up or … well, she didn’t want to think about it.

  They raced up the stairs. More crashes sounded from downstairs and each one made her jump.

  They reached the attic level and Bea had never been so happy her father was a pack rat. Once they made it inside the walk-up space, she pulled a trunk in front of the door.

  “I know it won’t keep them out forever, but it might buy us some time,” she explained to Knox. “Can we drop these?” she asked, indicating the wet cloth she still had pressed against her nose and mouth.

  “Not yet. Not until we’re outside.” Knox jogged to a small window on the side of the house and looked out. “Never thought I’d be so glad someone built houses so close together, but I am now.”

  Bea joined him in looking out the window. “We go out the window to the trees and to the neighbor’s widow walk?”

  “That’s what I’m thinking. Otherwise it’s too far to the ground.”

  Bea eyed the window. She wouldn’t have any trouble fitting through, but Knox was a different story. He yanked the window open. “You go first.”

  She wanted to argue, but knew it wouldn’t do any good. She climbed up onto a stool and eased herself out the window. A crash from the first floor almost made her lose her balance and fall, but she caught herself.

  No sooner had she made it to the trees, when Knox emerged from the window. “The fire is on the stairs. Hurry.”

  She stood on a sturdy-looking tree branch and scooted as close to the neighbor’s house as she could. She jumped and for a terrifying second, she feared she wasn’t going to make it. But she landed with a soft thump onto the neighbor’s deck and seconds later Knox followed.

  They scurried across the deck and peeked over the edge. Both breathed a sigh of relief when they saw the ladder-like steps leading to the ground.

  When their feet hit the ground, Knox took her in his arms and in the distance, came the sound of sirens.

  CHAPTER 3

  God, he’d almost lost her. He pulled her closer. Again.

  He didn’t care what she said, this time she was moving in with him. And if she wanted to fight him, he’d simply tag along wherever she went. Either way, she wasn’t leaving his sight for the foreseeable future.

  “Looks like the police finally showed up,” Bea said, looking over his shoulder to where patrol cars and a fire truck came into view.

  “We can talk to them later. I’m going to call Kipling and have him pick us up. We’ll call Officer Adams once we’re at Benedict House.”

  She didn’t argue, but rather nodded in agreement. Now that they were more or less safe, he expected shock to set in. Already, she was looking a bit pale.

  “Just be strong a few more minutes, okay?” He rubbed her arms. “Can you do that for me?”

  “They blew up my dad’s house,” she said in a deadpan voice.

  He looked around. He didn’t think whoever set the fire was still around, but he didn’t want to take any chances. “I know, baby. And we’re going to find out who did it, but we need to get out of this neighborhood first.”

  She nodded. He took a step toward the next street over and stopped. Would it be safer to move or stay where they were? He hadn’t spotted anyone nearby and he couldn’t say the same for another street.

  It didn’t feel safer, with the stench of the fire so close. And to think about how close they were to being trapped inside …

  He squared his shoulders, knowing he couldn’t give into his fear. He had to be strong for Bea. He took his phone. He’d gotten them this far. He’d get them the rest of the way.

  Kipling answered his phone on the first ring. “Knox, what’s going on?”

  “Kip, I need you to come pick me and Bea up. We’re at the house beside her father’s. Do you know where it’s at? Let me give you the address. Ready?”

  “Got it,” Kipling said after the information was given.

  “We need you to come now. Someone tried to blow us up. The house is on fire and there are first responders. They don’t know we’re here, and I don’t want them knowing. I don’t trust most of them. I’ll call Alyssa when we get back home. Her I do trust.”

  Kipling cursed. “Are you okay?”

  “Yes, we just need to get home. Quickly. I’m not sure where the assholes are that did this and I don’t like Bea being so exposed.” She shivered beside him and he feared shock was settling in.

  From the other side of the phone came typing. “On my way. I’m at the downtown office, so it should only take me ten minutes to get there.”

  “Thank you.” Knox hung up and turned to Bea. Her coloring didn’t look any better. He put his arms around her. “Kipling will be here in ten minutes. Just give me ten minutes.”

  But standing in the yard next to a burning house, knowing you were supposed to be in that house, and not knowing where the people were who wanted you dead, made ten minutes feel like ten hours. Especially when the only thing you had to hide behind was an azalea bush.

  Bea sat beside him, silent and stoic, but tears were rolling down her cheeks. So strong and yet so fragile.

  Knox had his arms around her. “You know, we never went on a proper honeymoon after we got married. We should go somewhere. Where do you want to go?”

  But the distraction didn’t work because the tears started falling faster. He pull
ed her closer. “Don’t cry, baby. I’ve got you. I’ll keep you safe. And Kip is on his way. We’ll get to Benedict House, take a shower, change your clothes. Just be strong for me for a little while longer.”

  “You know where I want to go?”

  “Where? Name it and we’re there.”

  “I want to go to Washington to see Brent and Janie.”

  “Of course.” He knew she hadn’t seen her brother and his fiancée since they’d moved to DC earlier in the year. “We’ll call them tonight and see when they’re free. Sound good?”

  “Thank you,” she whispered, leaning her head on his shoulder. As he listened to her soft sobs, he vowed he’d do whatever it took to find out who was responsible and shut them down completely. And if it was in his power, as painful as possible.

  Knox kept on the lookout for anything suspicious, but he didn’t see either the black SUVs or the men who’d been waiting outside the house by the time Kipling pulled up.

  “Get in, quickly,” he said, as Knox helped Bea into the car. “You don’t need to be seen at the moment. Duck down.”

  Knox wasn’t sure what was going on, but he knew Kipling wouldn’t have said anything unless there was a good reason. He and Bea stayed low in the backseat until Kipling gave the all clear.

  He didn’t wait for either of them to question him, but explained. “Primary report, according to the news channel, is that Bea was inside when the explosion went off.”

  Knox put his hand on her knee and squeezed it. “What about me?” he asked.

  “What about you?” Kipling asked.

  “Do people think I’m dead, too? My car was right outside the house.”

  His brother was quiet.

  “Kipling?” he asked again.

  “I assumed you took a cab or arrived with Bea,” Kipling finally said. “Your car wasn’t outside. There were no reports about you.”

  Damn, but it was enough to make his head spin. What he said made no sense. “They stole my car?”

  “It appears that way,” Kipling said.

  “How about the security guard, Tom?” Bea asked.

  “There are reports of a man found unconscious in his car.”

  Knox cursed inwardly. ‘Pretty sure that’s him.”