by Rebecca Deel
“It doesn’t make sense,”James said slowly. “I don’t know what to do, Remy.”
“Dog Mouton into doing his job. He’ll lumber along, might find a clue. In the meantime, if the person who took Christine is keeping an eye on what’s happening around town, he won’t be surprised at the sheriff poking around a little more.” He also wouldn’t be a bit worried. Mouton couldn’t find anything unless he was handed a map with a big red X marked on it.
“What about you and your girlfriend?”
Hearing Lily called his girlfriend kicked his heart into a faster pace. Just pretend, he reminded himself. Problem was, he didn’t want it to be a fake relationship. He’d have his work cut out for him to convince Lily to give him a chance, though. After hearing a little about her childhood, he understood why she was slow to form attachments to people.
Remy smiled. He always enjoyed a good challenge and winning over the little elf would be his greatest challenge yet, one well worth the trouble. “We will keep asking questions.” His smile faded. “James, you need to level with me.”
“I already have. I’m not hiding anything.” His former friend’s voice sounded defensive.
“You said Christine became restless a couple months ago. Is there any chance she was involved in an affair?”
“I told you we weren’t having problems, except for the money issues. No, my wife isn’t having an affair. Do you think so little of her? Maybe it was a mistake to call you and ask for help. You’re still mad about Christine choosing me over you. And that’s petty, Doucet.”
“No, it’s realistic. Christine was two-timing me with you. Who’s to say she’s not doing the same to you?” Silence greeted his statement. “James, I don’t want to hurt you. After twelve years, I’m over Christine.” Oddly enough, the pain had dissipated since he met his prickly Lily. “Much as we might not like tugging on that line of reasoning, we have to do it anyway. It’s the only way to eliminate that possibility and move on to the next theory.”
“Then you must consider me a suspect. If I knew about an affair, maybe I killed her and dumped the body.”
Remy leaned up against the porch column. “You are a suspect until we can prove otherwise.”
“I see.”
“Do you? By the time Lily and I are finished, there won’t be any secrets left for you or Christine to hide. Now, are you going to help me find her or will Lily and I need to do this without you?”
“What do you need?” James’ voice was tight, anger evident in every word.
“A list of her friends, people she would confide in.”
“You’re going to pursue the affair angle? You’ll destroy my reputation and standing in the community.”
“If it’s true, the shame is on her. Look, we have to investigate a possible affair to rule it out. It’s that simple.” Remy gave James his work email address. “Send me the list and where I can find these people. What about her parents?”
“They’re both dead. Car accident in Europe.”
Remy’s eyebrows rose. His parents hadn’t told him. “I’m sorry about that. They were good to Christine.” Not so much to him since he was from the wrong side of the bayou. Bob and Rochelle were glad to see the last of him when he’d left for NYC. They’d always had greater aspirations for their daughter than for her to marry a poor sweet potato farmer’s son.
“I’ll send you the list.” And the call ended.
He blew out a breath, let himself settle. He didn’t like pursuing that line of inquiry, but it had to be done. If he was wrong, he’d apologize for ruffling feathers. If he was right, Christine may not be missing at all. She may have walked away of her own accord.
The door behind him opened. Remy glanced over his shoulder, smiled at his partner. He patted the stair step. “Come enjoy the night with me.”
“As long as the mosquitoes and Lucifer don’t eat me.”
He chuckled, glad to have something to laugh about after the contentious call with James.
“What are you doing out here?” she said as she sat beside him.
“Just talked to James. I told him what we found. Mouton didn’t bother to contact him about Christine’s SUV.”
“Not surprising. He doesn’t inspire confidence in law enforcement.”
“His type of cop makes all of us look bad.” He folded his arms across his chest. “I asked him if it was possible that Christine was having an affair.”
“I can imagine how well that went over.”
“Oh, yeah. Accused me of still holding a grudge after all these years.”
Lily turned her body toward his. “Are you?”
“A few months ago, I would have said yes. Not now.”
“What changed?”
“Someone else caught my interest.”
“Oh,” she murmured.
Remy nudged her shoulder with his. “You, Elf.”
Her body jerked. “Me?” Lily shook her head. “I’m a bad bet, Doucet.”
“Not from where I’m sitting.”
“You don’t have enough trouble already in your life so you decided to add more?”
“I didn’t have enough excitement,” he corrected. “You’re definitely not boring, sweetness.”
She snorted. “You must be an adrenaline junkie.”
That inelegant noise made him chuckle at the little firecracker sitting beside him on this warm, muggy night. Holding her gaze, Remy called Zane. “Z, it’s Remy. I need information.”
“Go.”
“Check into Christine Elizabeth Wilder’s financial records. I want a look at her credit and debit transactions.”
“Anything else?”
“Her husband will be sending a list of her friends to my email account shortly. I’ll forward it to you. Do a preliminary run on the names. It’s possible one of them may know something about Christine’s disappearance.”
“I’ll take care of it. By any chance, is Lily handy?”
Remy stilled. “Yes.”
“Let me talk to her a minute.”
“Anything I should know?”
Lily’s eyebrows rose at that.
Yeah, so he sounded edgy. Did he have competition? Zane was a great guy. Any woman would be lucky to snag his attention. Remy didn’t want Z noticing Lily as a woman. Might be petty because Z was his friend and deserved a good woman in his life, just not Remy’s.
“That’s up to her. Either hand her your phone or I’ll simply call her cell.”
Though his fingers tightened on the cell for a few seconds, he forced himself to loosen his grip and hand it to Lily. “He asked for you.”
She frowned, pressed the phone to her ear. “Hey, what’s up?” Lily listened without saying a word. As Remy watched, her face lost all expression. “You’re sure?” More listening, then she sighed. “Thanks for checking into it for me. I’ll let you know what I decide to do.”
After she handed back his cell, Lily faced forward a moment, then stood. “Good night, Remy.” Her voice came out flat.
“Wait.”
Lily fought to draw in breath. It couldn’t be true, no matter what Zane found out. There had to be some mistake. “I need to go.” No, she needed to hide, get her equilibrium back. She couldn’t do that with Remy Doucet watching her. He sabotaged her balance.
Remy stood, clasped her upper arms. “I know you’re upset. Let me help.”
She shook her head. “No one can. This is something I have to deal with myself.” Or not deal with. She could ignore the email and the summons. Despite what Zane had said, maybe this was a hoax.
Lily sighed. Z didn’t make mistakes like that. She’d never allowed herself to hide from the truth. Though not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, she was always honest with herself. She didn’t want to deal with this because it might very well be true. Whoever said the past could rise up and bite you sure knew what he was talking about.
“You promised to talk to me about what’s bothering you when Z finished the research you needed.” He tilt
ed his head. “Are you welshing on me, Stanton?”
Stubborn man. “I…don’t know if I can talk about this.” Not sure she could force the words out. How could this happen? She’d created her own life out of nothing, her foundation built from a life with no family. This would change everything. She didn’t know if she could handle it.
“Try me, sweetness. I’m a very good listener.”
Still she hesitated. As stupid as it sounded, if she said the words, it made everything real.
“Come here,” he murmured. Remy gently wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against his chest.
Lily resisted at first, but he was nothing if not persistent. Her partner didn’t say a word, didn’t push. He simply held her, one arm around her waist, the other cupping the back of her head. The stiffness gradually left her body and she allowed herself to lean against him, resting her head over the steady beat of his heart. That, more than anything, grounded her. After long minutes, she sighed.
“Please, talk to me, Elf. You don’t have to carry this alone.”
“Why do you care?”
“You matter to me.” The arm wrapped around her back tightened.
Oh, man. He was so dangerous to her heart. If she let him wiggle beneath her protective barriers, Lily would never get him out with her heart still intact. “I told you I didn’t have any family.”
The hand cupping the back of her head began stroking her hair. “I remember. Broke my heart. No one should be that alone in the world.”
That made her pause a minute. She’d survived, though it hadn’t been easy after she started living on the streets. “Turns out I’m not alone, just abandoned.”
“The email?”
“From a woman who claims to be my birth mother.” Lily’s hands fisted in Remy’s shirt.
“Z checked it out?”
His calm voice settled her racing heart, dousing some of the adrenaline rush Zane’s news had brought. “Yeah. The woman’s legit.”
“What’s her story?”
“She’s dying of cancer.” Her voice broke.
Another tightening of the arm at her waist. “What does she want?”
“To see me before she dies.”
He was silent a moment, the hand on her hair continuing the soothing stroking motion. “How do you feel about the request?”
Lily pressed closer to his chest. How did she feel? Too many emotions to sort them all out. Anger, fear, bitterness, disappointment, anguish, loss and, oddly enough, pity. “I don’t know what to feel.”
“That’s not what I asked, sweetheart.”
She got the sense that he didn’t care what convention said she should feel, just her honest emotions. “Angry and hurt.”
“Legitimate feelings. You’re going through a grieving process, Lily.”
“I thought my parents were dead and there were no other relatives alive to take care of me.” A bitter laugh escaped. “Turns out my mother had a whole other family she loved. She just didn’t want me.”
“I’m sorry, honey.”
More minutes in the soft night with Remy holding her, comforting her. Man, this could become an addiction if she wasn’t careful. But right now, she needed what he offered. Comfort. Support. Stability.
“I don’t know what to do, Remy.”
“Take your time and think about it. How critical is she?”
“I’m not sure. The email didn’t say and Z didn’t dig that deep into the medical records.”
“We could ask him to do that if you want. You don’t have to decide tonight, Lily.” The hand stroking her hair slid around to cup the nape of her neck. “Just know whatever your choice, I’ll support you.”
“Even if I decide to ignore the summons?”
“Yes.” Remy raised her chin with the edge of one finger. “At some point, you’re going to have to forgive her, Elf.”
She scowled. “Why? She dumped me like yesterday’s garbage, Remy.”
“Holding the anger and resentment, no matter how justified, only hurts you. It will fester and eventually poison your whole life. I don’t want that for you. I don’t want that poison to leach into our relationship.”
“Who said we had a relationship?” Yeah, she sounded waspish. Seems she was grumpy when she hurt, whether physically or emotionally.
Remy’s gaze dropped to her mouth. The hand at her nape tugged her closer. His head bent to meet hers. Between one beat and the next, Remy’s mouth covered hers in a heart-stopping kiss.
Shock held her still for a few seconds. Then her lips softened and she began to respond. Lily’s arms crept around his neck and she pressed closer. When he finally lifted his head, her eyelids fluttered open.
A smile curved his lips. “We have a definite relationship, sweetness. Lily, if you decide to go see your mother and her family, I’ll go with you.”
“Why would you do that? She’s a stranger to you.”
“But you aren’t. Your mother has had a family around her for years. You have me. You’re not going to face this alone. I won’t let you.”
Lily stared into his dark Cajun eyes, amazed. No one had ever done anything like that for her before, never cared enough about her to put themselves into an awkward situation. “You’re serious.”
“Very.”
She blinked rapidly against the gathering tears. “Thank you.”
He dropped a quick kiss on her lips. “You’re welcome. Will you be able to sleep now?”
Lily evaluated her internal emotions, found to her surprise, the shock had dissipated. A small corner of hurt and anger still existed, but it was manageable. “I think so.”
He inclined his head toward the front door. “Go on, then. I’m going to check on the beagles before turning in myself.”
“Good night, Remy.”
“See you in the morning, Elf.”
With one last glance his direction, she went inside to her room. Zane said he’d sent all his research to her email account. She should review all of it tonight. But she wasn’t going to. Her lips twitched. Like Scarlett O’Hara always said, she’d think about that tomorrow.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Remy turned at the light footsteps in the kitchen behind him. Lily. He eyed her critically. No dark circles, color normal. Good. His elf had gotten a decent night’s sleep. “Hungry?”
“Starved.”
He motioned her to the breakfast bar. “Eggs and bacon okay?”
“I don’t want to put your mother to any trouble.”
“You won’t.” He smiled. “I’m cooking.”
She stared a moment. “You’re joking.”
“Afraid not. Marie Doucet made sure every one of us boys could fend for ourselves in the kitchen. According to her, we spent enough time in it, we ought to know how everything worked.”
“Smart lady.” Lily climbed on top of a stool and sat watching him as he cracked eggs into a bowl, added a little milk, salt and pepper, and whipped the mixture together. “I had to learn to cook the hard way. I burned everything I tried for months.”
“Me, too. Mom wasn’t sure I would ever learn to fend for myself in here.” Remy pour the mix into a heated skillet. “How did you sleep?”
“Good, actually.”
“You sound surprised.”
“I am. I was pretty sure I wouldn’t sleep much at all.”
“Good country air,” he said as he stirred the contents of the skillet.
“No, good friend.”
He glanced at his beautiful partner over his shoulder. “James sent that list I asked him for. Z did the research overnight and forwarded the results.”
“Does he ever sleep?”
“I’m sure he does sometime.”
“I don’t know. Every time I call in for anything, he answers the phone.”
Huh. Hadn’t thought about it before, but Lily was right. Z always seemed to be on duty. Did he have a life outside of Fortress? Remy shifted the skillet off the burner and scraped the eggs onto a waiting plate. He pulled th
e plate of bacon from the warmer and slid a few pieces beside Lily’s eggs. He pushed the loaded plate across the breakfast bar and handed her utensils. “Coffee?”
“Perfect.”
After pouring her a mug of the hot brew, Remy refreshed his own coffee and sat beside her. One thing about Lily that always fascinated him. She didn’t pick at her food like most women of his acquaintance. Of course, with her high energy workout routine, she needed the extra calories. He knew she burned them off much as he did. To do their jobs, they needed to be in peak physical condition and that entailed aggressive workouts. They trained hard in order to protect themselves as much as their principals. He settled back to enjoy watching her eat.
“Did you already have breakfast?”
“An hour ago.”
“Where are your parents?”
“Mom’s in town at the grocery store. Said something about replenishing the food supplies after the Doucet invasion last night. Dad’s in the fields already.”
“So what’s the plan for the day?”
“Showing my girlfriend around town, introducing her to some old friends.”
“Ones who happen to be Christine’s friends?”
He grinned. “Exactly.”
“Think they’ll talk to you?”
“Guess we’ll find out soon enough.”
In town, Remy parked in front of the coffee shop. “Hope you want more coffee, sweetness.”
“Is there such a thing as drinking too much coffee?”
He chuckled. “I lived on the stuff during stakeouts. Same deal with Fortress ops.”
“Ditto for me in the Army. Most of the night watches were so slow we needed something to keep us alert. Who are we here to see?”
“Lynne Adams. She’s been best friends with Christine since elementary school.”
“Am I the dumb blond girlfriend again?”
Remy slanted her a look. “Never. You’re too intelligent to pull that off for long, honey. Anyone with brains would take one look in your eyes and know the truth.”
