“He wouldn’t let me play,” Roxy stated, before he could ask. “He wasn’t thrilled with me touching the dead woman. He actually called me a hack.”
Bishop laughed.
“Did you hurt him?
“No, but I thought about it.”
Laird had more important things to worry about.
“Did you get all you need?” he asked.
She smiled. “Oh, yeah.”
That was all that mattered.
“What did you find inside?” asked Nate.
“Our girl went to a place called ‘Frisky Business’ and the same pub that the first two victims hit up.”
Nate knew what that meant.
They had two new leads.
“Well, we can head there, but I’d like to get Roxy and Jagger off the street. He’s edgy. I can see him stalking her in the crowd.”
They got it.
“I can get them a ride home,” he offered, “or they can take my car, and we can borrow one of the Garda’s.”
He was good with that.
Nate found Jagger in the crowd, and signaled him it was time for him and Roxy to cut out.
He nodded and pointed at the ride, and then Nate tossed him the detective’s keys. That took care of that.
“Roxy, head out. Get back to the estate, and see if you can use what you saw to help us. Our killer is up to something.”
“KILLERS,” she corrected.
“What do you mean?” Laird asked.
“When I was checking out the wounds, you had two different knives, and you had two different entry strokes.”
He stared at her.
She took the pen out of his pocket and made a downward slashing motion. “Here’s the chest wounds,” she began and then switched hands, “and here’s the neck wound.”
He watched.
“A lefty and a righty?” he asked, finally getting it.
She nodded. “Your ME likely missed it on the first two victims, but I’d ask him. He might be surprised if he goes back over the wounds. Who’s the hack now? Suck it, Mr. Cranky.”
Bishop gave her a fist bump.
“Team Girl wins again,” she teased.
Laird didn’t care who won as long as they came together to save Brianna.
“Thank you, Doctor,” he offered.
She saluted and headed off.
“You’re impressed,” Bishop stated.
“Yeah, your team is pretty damn good at their jobs,” he offered.
Nate knew it.
They’d been handpicked, and they worked well with him and Avalon. They couldn’t save people without everyone and their specialized skills.
“Go catch your coroner. Ask him.”
Oh, he would.
“We’ll wait for you,” Nate offered, still not going out where the cameras were flashing. He knew better.
When he was gone, Bishop leaned against a dumpster, and got ready for the real fun.
It was time to screw with Nate. This was her third favorite thing after her husband and working with Avalon.
“Why the hell are you smiling?” Nate asked.
“We’re going to a place called ‘Frisky Business’. Think about it.”
When he didn’t get it, she gave it to him with a big shit eating grin on her face.
“I’m going to get to watch you walk around a sex shop and get all flustered.”
“You’re not right in the head,” he said laughing. “Really.”
Oh, she had brothers.
“Are you saying it won’t freak you out?” she teased.
He knew it would.
“Bishop, don’t make me send you back to the haunted house your husband owns.”
“You wouldn’t!”
He grinned.
Two could play at the ass busting game.
Nate had a sister.
Bishop had a lot to learn.
* * * O R A C L E * * *
Graymoor
Mid-Morning
Maura was in Lucian’s office most of the morning. She’d closed herself in there, working on a map she’d stuck to the wall. In it, she was placing pushpins into the locations.
The whole time she was hiding, Luke knew what she was doing.
His wife was avoiding him.
Lucian kept telling him to give her space, and she’d work it out, but Luke was doubting that.
There was a divide there.
He could feel it.
Honestly, he wanted to tell the other man he didn’t get it. How could he understand?
While Lucian had hurt his wife with his words as he was possessed, at least he didn’t try to cut out her heart while he was balls deep and raping her.
They were fine.
He and Maura? They were not.
Luke, for the first time in his marriage, was scared shitless that he might just lose her. He’d had to chase Maura down once, and she’d tried to leave him a few times, and now she was pulling away.
He knew her.
What he’d said and done had broken a piece of her, and it was up to him to fix it. If he didn’t, he’d never be able to forgive himself.
Ever.
“You look conflicted,” Lucian said, as he flipped through some papers.
“I am.”
“Want to talk about it?”
“I tried to kill my wife. I had my hands around her throat, and I tried to stick a knife in her heart. I’m having a damn hard time with that,” Luke said, blowing his beach blonde hair out of his eyes. “How do I get her to trust me again?”
“Be yourself.”
“I don’t get it.”
“If she’s afraid of what she saw, you should reassure her that what you are, at your core, is the real man. I understand, Luke. I was really rough with Bishop. I hurt her too.”
Here they went. Luke didn’t want to be rude, but this man didn’t get it.
“But did you try to kill her? That’s what everyone isn’t getting. I really tried to kill her.”
Lucian got it.
“No, I didn’t try to kill Bishop. I still had some control. I went inside myself to stop it. Had I not, who knew what might have happened?”
“I didn’t try.”
“It’s not that you didn’t try, Luke. You couldn’t because you’re not psychic. You aren’t to blame. Go in there, be that man she loved before this, and reassure her. The more time that goes by, the bigger the gap.”
He knew he was right.
“I’ll keep an eye on Avalon and Brianna. They’re getting tea. It’ll be okay. The house is calm for now.”
He hoped he was right.
If it happened again, he’d lose her.
Heading to the office door, he opened it and went in. Maura was sitting on the desk, writing something down on a note pad. As he approached, she still didn’t hear him.
When he touched her, she jumped to her feet.
That wasn’t his wife.
She was never startled.
“I’m sorry.”
She pulled her hair back. “It’s okay. I was working and not focused.”
“Are we going to break up and get a divorce?” Luke blurted out, afraid of what was coming.
It caught her off guard.
She wasn’t expecting that.
“Luke.”
He stepped back. “I get it. I destroyed our marriage. I forced myself on you, and I said horrible things to the woman I love. I don’t blame you for hating me. I’ll leave you alone.”
He turned to walk away.
“Wait.”
He didn’t move. “I’m afraid of that side of you. I’m afraid of that side of me.”
He didn’t get it.
“We weren’t strong enough to fight it. What if…?”
He turned. There were tears streaming down his face. “You should have just taken my life. It would have been easier than this. I put my fucking hands on my wife. I raped her, and I said shitty things while doing it. I don’t want to do this, if I can’t do it
with you. Next time, if it happens, just end me. Do us both the favor. You’re punishing me for it, so let it fit the crime.”
Her heart ached.
“I’ll leave you alone, Maura. I’m sorry. Let me know what you want me to do. I’ll pay the price.”
He wasn’t getting it, and that was what scared her. She was weak at this moment. She felt all alone.
She needed him, and he didn’t see that. Luke assumed she could hold up under the pressure, and she couldn’t. She was broken too.
“Wait.”
He stopped.
“I want you to hold me because I’m afraid. I want you to be the stronger one because for the first time in my life, I’m afraid of something. I can’t do this. I feel violated, abused, and battered. I need you to be the one that tells me it’s going to be okay. I can’t be the Major all the time. For once…for once I want to be Maura, and she’s broken inside.”
He heard her.
He was breaking through.
“You scared me, but only you can fix me. I have to put my faith in you, but you’re ready to walk away. Where does that leave me, Luke? Where is that bond, that strength, and that man that I married? Why is he sneaking away with his tail between his legs? I had to live through that, but I’m here. You’re the one leaving me, so fuck you! I’m mad. You failed me!”
He moved closer.
“I did fail you, but I’m here, Maura. I’m trying to reach you.”
“You’re not trying hard enough. I need more. I need all, Luke, and you’re too busy feeling sorry for you. Well, I’m the one who had some possessed asshole raping me. I’m the one who looked into your dead eyes and saw the hate there. Me. Not you, me! This isn’t about your needs, Luke. It’s about mine.”
He moved toward her, and she took a step back.
He didn’t care.
He followed.
Grabbing her, he pulled his wife into his body, and held onto her. She was shaking.
“I have you.”
“I don’t want to hurt like that again.”
He lifted her chin, and his mouth found hers. There was that heat, that love, and everything else that was once between them.
She gave him the opportunity, the chance to show her the way back to their relationship.
“I love you,” he said, leaving bites and kisses across her collar bone.
She pulled at his shirt, dying to feel his flesh beneath her fingers.
He yanked her sweater off, and then practically ripped her bra from her body. His hands took her lovely breasts in his, and he enjoyed the way she felt in his palms.
“You’re mine, Maura, and you will always be mine,” he vowed.
He picked her up, and carried her to the desk. With his arm, he swept everything away, uncaring if the world knew what was happening in there.
He was doing battle.
For his wife.
He dropped her ass onto the edge, and he shoved her backward.
Maura stared up at him as he ripped her pants from her body. Next came her panties, and he tore them to get them off.
She wasn’t afraid.
So far, this was her husband.
Yanking her legs apart, he found her wet, swollen, and ready.
Only he wanted something more.
He was going to rebuild that bridge.
With his mouth, he found that sweet little bud that made him want to beg. He flicked his tongue over it, making her breathe heavier.
“Lucas!”
He kept going, giving her the love she needed.
Yes, he was still here.
This would still be between them.
When she came, shouting his name, he wanted to do that all day, but he knew what she needed.
That brutality needed to be replaced.
That memory needed to be fixed.
Spreading her legs further, he ripped open his fly, and yanked himself out of his pants.
“I want you. I always want you, Maura. I’ll hold you up, I’ll keep you safe, and I’ll die to protect you.”
She stared at him. That was what she needed.
“Yes, Lucas. Yes.”
He ran the tip of his erection across the wetness. When she moaned, he sank home.
Only, that wasn’t enough.
He wanted her to be in control too. Picking her up, he carried her to the leather couch and sat. She was on top, and he let her use him.
She began moving, driving him insane with want and need. She was torturing him, his body strained to the breaking point.
As she rode, the desire to explode became almost too hard to ignore.
“NO, Lucas!”
He held on, his eyes locked with hers. She wasn’t staring into dead eyes, but his brilliant blue ones.
“I love you,” he vowed. “I’ll love you until my dying day, Maura.”
She was so close.
His arms were wrapped around her, his erection was finding its way to that one spot, and she was content.
Here was her man.
Her protector.
He was doing the job when she needed to feel out of control. As she exploded apart, Luke held on.
She was leaning on him, breathing heavily.
“My turn,” he said. “Do you know the real way to a man’s heart?” he asked, seeing the fear in her eyes when he rolled, placing her beneath him.
“What?”
“It’s having a woman who loves him so much, she’d trust even when she’s scared. That love gets me right here,” he offered, touching his chest. “You will always have my heart, Major. You’re my girl.”
Love swamped her.
Here was her sweet man.
Luke began moving, finding his way back into the warmth. Her breath was on his neck, and his by her ear.
“You’re mine, and I’ll protect you,” he vowed.
Maura could feel the need overwhelming her. She was going to fall again.
Her mouth sought his, and with one last slide into her body, he found that perfect spot, and they both broke apart.
As they floated, him over her body, her beneath him, there was peace.
“I needed that.”
He lifted his head. His eyes showed the pain.
“Luke, are you okay?” she asked, as he pulled away from her.
He grabbed the waste paper can, and began puking.
Maura moved to hold him as he got sick.
“Concussion,” he muttered. “Orgasms and head trauma don’t mix.”
She snorted.
He looked over. “I’m glad you find that amusing,” he muttered.
“It was the adrenaline crash. It was that or cry.”
Well, in that case, he preferred her to laugh, but he still needed to know.
“Are we okay?” he asked. “Did I lose my wife?”
She touched his flushed face. “You didn’t lose me. We’re better than ever.”
“Good. I need someone to take care of me. I feel like shit.”
She gathered up his and her clothes, helped him get dressed, and she was going to do just that.
“Lie down on the leather couch, Mr. Mars. Nurse Maura will take good care of you,” she said, stroking his brow.
He opened his eyes. “You’re my foundation. I can’t be me without you, Major.”
She kissed him softly on the lips.
“You don’t have to. We have love.”
And they absolutely did.
Chapter Eighteen
Wednesday
The bog
L aird was NOT looking forward to this. After that morning’s altercation, he was expecting some shittiness from Jenny as soon as they entered ‘The Bog’. He wouldn’t be able to blame Sean for being pissed, but he was mad too.
Jenny was out of damn control.
“Before we go in there, I have to tell you something,” Laird said, getting Bishop and Nate’s attention.
“What?”
“This morning, the owner’s sister heard I was getting married. She�
��s got a crush on me, so she showed up to stop the wedding. She struck me, and Brianna kicked her ass.”
Bishop laughed.
“It’s not funny.”
“Oh, yes, it really is, Laird. I’m sorry, but I never saw that coming. Brianna reminds me of a Sunday school teacher.”
He agreed, and while he loved that innocence about her, he also hated to admit that he loved how she protected him. It was precious to him.
“Needless to say, I don’t know what will happen.”
Nate patted him on the back. “We’ll handle it. Don’t stress it.”
They headed inside, and the place was pretty empty. This was the breakfast crowd. They’d come in after a night of drinking, looking for Irish fare to cure their hangovers.
“Oh, look, it’s the detective, and he’s brought friends,” Sean said, crossing his arms.
“Yeah, yeah, I know.”
“How dare you come in here!” he said, coming around the bar.
He braced for it.
“You didn’t bring your fair wife here so I could give her a big wet kiss! What kind of friend is that?” he asked, hugging him.
Laird relaxed.
“Congratulations on your marriage!”
A cheer went up with the few drunks in the room.
Laird was nothing short of surprised, and he told the man so. “I figured you’d want to kick me out,” he offered.
“Why? Because my snot nosed sister got what she deserved? She dumped that wine on your girl. I wish I was there to see it.”
Then he saw Bishop.
“Well, hello, pretty lady. Come here often?”
“Nope.”
“Want to?”
“Nope.”
“You’re American, aren’t ye?”
She rolled her eyes and snorted at his lecherous Irish accent. “You’re a smart one. What gave it away?” she asked.
“The feck you grin,” he teased.
Laird patted his friend on the back. “We need to talk. Can you give us some of your time?”
He followed him to a booth and motioned to another waitress. She came over carrying cups of coffee.
Bishop took a sip and her eyes got big. “Well, someone likes their coffee heavy on the Irish whiskey in the morning.”
He grinned. “How do you like your men?”
“Married to me,” she said.
Oracle Haunting (The Phoenix Files Book 4) Page 31
