by Karen Kelley
She screwed up her mouth. “That’s not what I meant.”
“I know, but you have to admit you enjoyed the hell out of watching the threesome.”
A tremble swept over her as her nipples tightened, pushing against the cotton material. He didn’t wonder why he wanted her so much. He just did. He was reaching for her when Chance popped in.
“You’re digging yourself deeper and deeper, bro,” Chance said as he casually lounged in one of the dining room chairs. The biscuits were still in a basket sitting in the middle of the table, covered with a red-checkered cloth. He flipped a corner of it back and brought one out. As soon as he bit into the flaky bread his eyes closed. “Tilly cooks almost as well as Mama Paula.”
“Who the hell is this guy?” Raine asked, hands on her hips.
“This would be Chance.” Great. The last thing he needed was his friend interfering. “He’s sort of like an older brother. He’s a nephilim. Who likes to poke his nose in where it doesn’t belong.”
“I’m wounded.” Chance took another bite, not looking a bit bothered by Dillon’s comment.
Chance’s gaze drifted over Raine, slow enough that Dillon decided he didn’t like his frank appraisal. “Was there something you wanted?”
Chance chewed the last bite, then licked his fingers. He didn’t look to be in any hurry to explain his presence. “Tobiah wants to see you. I’m his messenger.” Chance reached for another biscuit.
“Damn, these are good.”
“Who’s Tobiah?” Raine asked. “Another nephilim who’s going to make my life hell?”
Dillon cringed. “My father.”
She weaved just a bit. He put out his hand to steady her.
“Your…what?” she asked, looking a little dazed.
“My father. At least that’s his claim. I didn’t meet the guy until a few days ago.”
“That’s when Tobiah told Dillon he had to fix your life and pronto, or your grandfather was going to have a heart attack and die when you went to prison.”
Her face lost some of its color. “What’s he talking about?”
Raine turned to Dillon for answers. “Am I going to be found guilty of the bank robbery and sent to prison? Don’t lie to me.”
“You didn’t tell her?” Chance asked.
“No. I thought it would scare the hell out of her,” he ground out. He quickly grabbed a dining room chair and pushed it beneath Raine when she swayed, then guided her into the seat.
“Which it has, thank you very much.”
“You’re telling me that if we don’t find the bank robbers, Grandpa will have a heart attack and die and I will spend the rest of my life in prison,” she mumbled.
“It won’t end like that.” Dillon knelt beside her, taking her cold hand in his. He didn’t like the lack of color in her face.
“And Tilly. What will happen to her?” She looked to Chance for answers.
Chance shrugged as if to say Dillon might as well tell Raine the rest. When Dillon didn’t say anything, Chance continued.
“She’ll mourn your grandfather. A drifter will rent one of her rooms and take her for all she’s worth because she won’t be paying attention to her finances. She’ll lose everything she’s got when she can’t pay her bills.”
“And die?” She sucked back a sob, her bottom lip trembling.
“No, she hitches a ride to Fort Worth and ends up living under one of the bridges in a cardboard box. She survives under the bridge for another three years.”
Raine grabbed Dillon’s hand and squeezed until he thought his fingers would break off. “Please tell me we can catch the bank robbers.”
“We will. I promise. You won’t get sent to prison, Sock won’t have a heart attack, and Tilly won’t be living under a bridge in a cardboard box. None of that will happen. We can catch these men.”
“Unless Tobiah pulls the plug on the assignment.” Chance started to reach for another biscuit but apparently changed his mind when Dillon cast a thunderous glare in his direction.
“Will he do that? He’s an angel. Right? Angels help people.”
Raine looked between the two of them as she searched their faces.
When neither one said anything, she clamped her lips together.
Dillon felt as ill as Raine looked. “He won’t do that. He’s not heartless.”
“Except you hadn’t met him until a few days ago so you don’t actually know that much about him.” She frowned as though some new information had just occurred to her. “If not for him, you wouldn’t have returned. I’d be charged with the crime, Grandpa would have a heart attack, and Tilly would end up living under a bridge.”
“I thought you were better off without me. I didn’t know you were a suspect,” he tried to explain. He didn’t think she cared as she came to her feet, back ramrod straight.
“You’re right about one thing. I would’ve been a lot better off without you in my life. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have chores to do and bank robbers to catch. I’d rather you weren’t here when I return.” With those parting words Raine walked out of the dining room. A moment later Dillon heard the back screen door slam. He flinched.
“She’s pretty mad at you, bro,” Chance casually commented as he reached for another biscuit.
“I’m going to kill you.” Dillon started toward Chance.
“Hey, don’t kill the messenger.” But he apparently decided he’d overstayed his welcome and quickly closed his eyes. A second later he was gone.
This was great, just great. Raine probably hated him. Last night he’d envisioned a different beginning today. Searching for more clues, making love, putting the bank robbery puzzle together a piece at a time, working with Raine, making love with Raine. So much for his plans. Now he would— Something incredibly strong pulled at him from all sides. He thought his body was going to be ripped to shreds. He grabbed the chair, but caught air instead. The room began to break into a million tiny pieces right before it exploded all around him.
Dillon floated through time and space, wondering if this was some kind of new punishment Tobiah was forcing him to endure.
Raine would think the worst when she returned from the barn and he was nowhere to be found. He looked down and saw her filling the horse bins with new grain. She was talking to herself but he couldn’t make out her words. The way she frowned, he wasn’t sure he wanted to hear.
She was gone an instant later. Dillon’s stomach lurched as he began to spin wildly out of control. He clamped his lips together to keep from throwing up. When he thought he could stand no more, he was plopped down onto something hard and uncomfortable. He thought at first it was a big rock, then realized it was a cloud. He’d been brought upstairs. He had a feeling he was in deep trouble.
****
Raine finished the chores and trudged wearily into the house. All the life seemed to have been sucked out of her body. She pushed her hair out of her face and looked at the dark clouds hovering low in the sky. Lightning flashed around one angry cloud. Did
Dillon live on one of them? She didn’t know. Come to think of it, she didn’t know a lot about him.
Except that Dillon would’ve left her high and dry if not for his father ordering him to right his wrongs. That hurt more than anything. Dillon would’ve let her and Grandpa and Tilly suffer.
Her rotting in a prison cell, Grandpa having a heart attack and dying, and Tilly living under a bridge. Some guardian angel he turned out to be.
No, she didn’t believe what she was thinking. Dillon wasn’t the kind of person who would leave someone hanging. She knew that about him, at least. He answered a prayer sent by an old man to watch over his granddaughter. It wasn’t totally his fault, and he had saved her from a bullet. Ninety-two percent his fault, maybe.
She walked up on the porch and stopped at the screen door.
There wasn’t a sound coming from inside. Had Chance left?
Where was Dillon? She’d said some pretty harsh things. When she thought about it, she believed him when he s
aid he hadn’t known about her troubles and thought she would be better off without him.
She moved through the house, sensing she was the only one there. It was an eerie feeling to be all alone. In the past, she always preferred her life that way. She had company when she wanted people over and not before. People knew not to drop in on her unexpectedly because she refused to answer her door. Yes, she was anti-social and she liked her life that way. If she needed something, she went out and got it whether it was groceries or sex. There were no entanglements that way. She didn’t need to worry about being in a relationship and pretending to enjoy the person she was with when both of them wanted one thing, and it wasn’t small talk.
Her cell phone began to ring. She listened, then remembered she left it in her bedroom. She hurried up the stairs and down the hallway. Her phone was still ringing when she jogged into her room and scooped it off the nightstand. Good Lord, she could barely take a deep breath. She used to go for a run every morning. That stopped when she moved back to the ranch and there never seemed to be enough time to exercise. Maybe she should find time. She scooped up her phone, glancing at the screen. Tilly. Raine slid her finger across the bar at the bottom of the screen and brought the phone to her ear. Her heart skipped a beat.
“Yes? Is Grandpa okay?”
There was a pause, and in that moment Raine wondered if
Dillon’s dire prediction might have come true sooner than he thought. Had Grandpa suffered a heart attack?
“Of course he’s okay,” Tilly said. “Why would you think he wasn’t?”
Any energy Raine had left quickly drained. She grabbed the bedpost as she sat down hard on the side of the bed. “I worry about him,” she was finally able to say. “I know the stress can’t be good for his health.”
“Don’t you worry about him. He still has a lot of life left.”
Raine certainly hoped so. “Did you need something?”
“I talked to my friend at the bank.” Excitement laced her words.
“Oh, that’s…uh…nice.” Tilly had played detective. Raine stifled her groan. Why did Dillon encourage Tilly and Grandpa?
They should be sitting on the porch at her bed and breakfast taking life easy and not adding more tension. Grandpa might not be able to take the strain.
“Don’t you want to hear what I found out?” Tilly sounded a little miffed by Raine’s lack of excitement.
“Of course, I want to know everything,” she said, trying to summon more enthusiasm. Tilly was trying to help. Dillon had been right that a person’s age shouldn’t matter as long as they felt useful. And the excitement didn’t kill them in the process.
“Good, because I have news.”
“Really?”
“You sound surprised.”
“No, I mean, I’m not at all surprised,” she quickly interjected.
“It’s as you said, you have connections.”
“Yes, I do.” Some of Tilly’s excitement returned. “My friend at the bank is still checking, so nothing yet from her. All hush— hush though, so I can’t reveal my source. If I have to take the stand and testify, her name will not leave my lips.”
Raine crossed her legs as she tried to make sense of what Tilly was telling her, but she had no idea what the other woman was talking about. “Why would you have to take the stand?”
“I’ve watched those courtroom shows and the reporter always goes to jail to keep from revealing their source. My friend could get into a lot of hot water if anyone found out she was helping me.”
Raine rubbed her hand across her forehead. Dillon did this to her. He’d gotten Tilly stirred up. The pounding in her head increased, but when Tilly began to speak again, Raine attempted to pay attention.
“She owes me a favor, you know. I introduced her son to a very sweet girl. David was twenty-five and still living at home. The boy had no direction in life. Remember that movie where the young man refused to take any responsibilities? Same situation. She was at the end of her rope with that kid. The young lady put him on the right track fast enough.”
Heaven help Shirley Cowan if Tilly was ever questioned about a source. She was the only woman who worked at the bank with a twenty-five year old son named David.
The incessant bomp— bomp— bomp inside her head grew steadily louder, and Raine could’ve sworn there was someone poking little needles at the backs of her eyeballs. She had to end this before her head exploded.
“Tilly? Your news?” Raine redirected her back to the conversation.
Tilly’s laughter tinkled. “I do occasionally lose the thread of what I was talking about. Sock is always fussing at me. Just the other day— Oh well, that’s not important. What I called you about is that another friend of mine told me Ethan bought the old car dealership. He said Ethan paid cash.”
The blood rushed through her veins making it impossible to think, but it didn’t matter because only one thought was going through her mind. Ethan was the one who robbed the bank.
Why was she surprised? His name and Leo’s were at the top of her list of suspects. But she never really thought they might be the robbers. Ethan always preached, no matter the situation, that a deputy has to abide by the law. The badge would stand behind the deputy. It hadn’t, though. Not for her, anyway.
“Are you still there, Raine?”
“Yes, I’m here.”
“The finger is pointing right at him. He’s not from around here. I heard he was from the Galveston area. I knew there was something fishy about him.” She realized what she’d said and laughed at her own humor. “Not that him being from a coastal area or being a criminal is funny,” she quickly put in.
Guilty until proven innocent? No matter how damaging the evidence, it proved nothing. “We don’t know he bought the building with stolen money. If we accuse him without proof, we’re no better than the ones who pointed the finger at me and Grandpa.”
There was a moment of silence before Tilly’s deep sigh came over the phone. “I much prefer everyone pointing the finger at him than at you and Sock.”
So did Raine, but just because he’d bought a building didn’t mean he was guilty. “I’ll do some more checking.”
“I suppose you should.” Tilly sounded deflated.
Raine had to give the older woman credit for what she’d discovered so far. “Your information has been a lot of help. We only need to dig a little deeper.”
“You think so?”
“Immeasurably. I’ll see what I can find out on my end and you do the same, but be careful when you ask questions. I don’t want anyone getting hurt. And Tilly…”
“What, dear?”
“Thank you for everything you’ve done.”
“No, thank you. I haven’t had this much excitement in a long time.”
Raine could do without this kind of excitement, but she didn’t voice her thoughts. They said good-bye, but Raine didn’t move. All she could think about was that Ethan might be guilty.
The thought didn’t bring her any relief. Her gut feeling didn’t make things any better because it kept telling her that Ethan was innocent. If she couldn’t trust her gut, what could she trust?
Chapter 19
“Did you have to be so melodramatic?” Dillon came to his feet.
He was right about being on a cloud. He was surrounded by them, but they weren’t the soft marshmallow kind. These were dark and ominous with the occasional lightning bolt sending jagged streaks through them.
Tobiah stood a short distance from him looking equally ominous and dangerous. Today he wore all black. Dillon never realized angels were so into drama.
“I can show you theatrical if you like,” Tobiah warned as his eyebrows drew into one bushy slash across his forehead.
Damn. He’d fought demons who didn’t scare him as much as his father. And that was another thing: he was still having a hard time wrapping his brain around the fact that this angel was his father.
He’d also dumped ice-cold rain on him and Dillon would jus
t as soon not get soaked again. “Was there something you wanted?” he asked with a bit more respect, but he wouldn’t apologize for the way he felt.
“Raine’s future is still the same,” Tobiah fumed. “Nothing has changed except you’ve shown yourself to another mortal.”
If his father knew Raine’s future was still the same, then he must be watching them. He wondered what else his father saw. For the first time in his life, Dillon felt a flood of warmth crawl up his face. This was an awkward moment. He might not accept Tobiah as his father, but he didn’t want an angel seeing everything he did.
“No, I didn’t watch that,” Tobiah said as though he read his thoughts. “As soon as you two arrived at that house, I tuned you out. Sometimes the nephilim need to remember what they are,” he chastised.
“I’m half man,” he defended himself, standing a little straighter.
“I would say more than half. You inherited more of your mother’s side than mine,” Tobiah complained.
“You were the one who descended to earth and seduced a mortal.”
Some day he needed to learn to keep his mouth closed.
Pointing out the fact Tobiah impregnated Dillon’s mother might not have been wise, since he was already on his shit list. But it was the truth. Angels were as susceptible to sin as anyone. Tobiah was no exception.
“You will do well not to try my patience. And stay away from
fairies. They’re more trouble than they’re worth. Once they reach their twenty-sixth year their sexual appetites are out of control.”
“They can’t help their nature. Besides, I heard if they don’t have sex, the hot flashes they suffer can disintegrate them, so they’re not really to blame.”
“What are you doing about Raine’s future?” Tobiah asked, changing the subject.
Dillon didn’t mind Tobiah’s redirected line of question.
Talking about the birds and bees with his father was one thing.
Since his father was an angel, the subject matter took on a whole new meaning.
“We’re trying to find the real bank robbers. We have a few
