MemoriesErasedTreachery

by Charlie Richards

  Chapter 12

  "Let's walk through the woods," Ewyn said tugging Devin along behind him.

  Devin came abreast of Ewyn, laid his arm across the slim shoulders, and pulled baby-boy against his side. He looked down and couldn't help but smile at the sight of Ewyn bundled up in a fur-lined lambskin jacket with a knitted cap, the exact color of his green eyes, plastered to his head. Rosy-cheeked, eyes gleaming, and wispy strands of coal-black hair inching from beneath the edges of his cap, Ewyn had a tousled, freshly fucked look about him.

  Enjoying the brisk air and the sight of the setting sun on the horizon, they walked along in companionable silence for a little over a half-hour. Once darkness had blanketed the landscape, and the wind had picked up to a buffeting velocity, they turned back toward the house.

  "Slow down, baby. Remember, I'm an old man." Devin grinned, easily keeping pace with Ewyn.

  "Old man…yeah, right." Ewyn pulled away and took off running, his breathy laughter echoing on the wind.

  Devin grinned and set out after him, catching up just as Ewyn darted into what looked like a two-story barn. After the cutting wind outside, warmth enveloped him as soon as they stepped through the double doors. Wrapping his arms around Ewyn's waist, he lifted the giggling, squirming body off the floor. He nuzzled the nape of Ewyn's neck, tongue teasing, teeth nipping, then he the lithe body slide down his to the floor.

  "You're awfully quick for an old man," Ewyn teased as he reached over and flipped on the lights.

  Devin blinked into the sudden brightness and looked around, realizing they were in a garage. "Well, this is cozy."

  To his right, in the far corner of the room, stood a potbellied stove with a sofa, two chairs, and an array of tables arranged in front of it. A stairway led to a loft. On the other side of the room, there were snow chains, shovels, and snowshoes hung neatly along one wall, with a snow blower parked below them.

  His gaze skimmed over three snowmobiles, two Hummers equipped with snow tires, and his Escalade parked next to the Hummers. What caught and held his attention was Carolyn's dark, metallic green Beamer at the end of the row of vehicles. Ewyn stiffened then went limp in his arms. He released his hold and walked toward the BMW with baby-boy trailing behind him.

  "I guess that clears up one issue," Ewyn said quietly.

  Devin opened the passenger side door, popped open the glove compartment and rummaged through its contents. He found a few maps, proof of registration and insurance, a package of tissues, and a pair of sunglasses. Closing both doors, he turned to Ewyn.

  "Nothing, huh."

  "That's to be expected, since they used Niki's car during their stay." Devin draped his arm across Ewyn's shoulders, and feeling the tension in his stance, he urged Ewyn toward the door. "Let's go back to the house. Dinner should be ready, and I'm eager to get started on Nicole's journal."

  "Yeah. As much as we needed this vacation, we need to discover the truth about her death even more. One day, Kieki will want answers."

  "True. But we can't let this get to us or we'll overlook something critical." Devin stopped moving and pulled Ewyn into his arms. "Relax." Head lowering, he teased the pouty mouth before dipping between the parted lips.

  Several moments later, he raised his head, leaving Ewyn gasping. He stared into passionate green eyes and smiled. "That was the prelude." He flung his arm across Ewyn's shoulders, flipped out the lights, and they stepped out into the cold. "If we hurry, we'll have time for a quickie and a shower before dinner."

  "Sounds good, but…if we really hurry, there's a bidet in the bathroom, Jacuzzi in the solarium." Ewyn looked up with a sly look. "Dinner can be brought to our room."

  "Bidet, huh. Feeling kinky," Devin teased.

  "You know what they say about cleanliness."

  "Hmm. Hard choices. Jacuzzi, shower--well, we don't get so involved in the shower, and I'm hungry." Devin stopped walking and his arm dropped away. Head cocked to one side, he looked down at Ewyn, grinned, and then took off running. "Last one to the Jacuzzi…tops," he called over his shoulder, his hearty laughter filling the air.

  Stunned by the swiftness of Devin's breakaway, Ewyn stood rooted to the spot, gawking. There was no denying the man's physical aptitude. Still, for someone Devin's size to be so quick on his feet… Ewyn took off after him, his laughter mingling with the echo of Devin's mirth lingering on the wind.

  He had run several yards, rapidly closing in on Devin, when the meaning of Devin's words registered and he slowed his pace. What was he doing? Devin's challenge had no merit. Born to sub, and he preferred it that way, it was a tremendous boost to his ego to know, on occasion, someone so distinctly alpha wanted Ewyn to fuck him. Hell. Top…bottom, either way, he wouldn't lose.

  Smirking, he managed to maintain a reasonable distance behind Devin. By the time he reached the chalet, his speed had decelerated to virtually slow motion. He entered the house, paused to remove his coat and cap then hung them in the mudroom. Devin was nowhere in sight. To ensure he was the winner…uh, loser, Ewyn detoured through the kitchen. He lingered for several minutes, chatting with Brigit before telling her to send his and Devin's dinner upstairs. He could have phoned those instructions to Brigit from the bedroom.

  Ewyn reached the master suite and the only evidence of Devin's presence were his clothes strewn across the bed, his boots and socks haphazardly flung against the closet, and the open French doors leading into the solarium. He stripped out of his clothes and grabbed a robe, slipping it on as he sauntered into the other room.

  Devin lay in the Jacuzzi, head resting on a cushion, looking relaxed and sexy as hell with his hair falling loosely about his face and shoulders. Mirrored in sparkling amber eyes were flickering flames from several candles illuminating the area around the tub. He held a glass of wine in one hand, while hot steamy water bubbled and swirled around his naked torso. He watched Ewyn's approach with a slow smile altering the contours of his firm mouth. "Hey, slowpoke. Bet your hyper ass struggled to move slow, huh."

  Hard-pressed not to laugh, Ewyn retorted, "You could have just said you wanted me to fuck you, instead of expending the unnecessary energy."

  "And ruin my image as alpha dog." Devin ran his hand up along one slim leg and under Ewyn's robe, palming the warm ass cheeks. "Besides, I needed the exercise. What's with the robe?"

  "Dinner is on its way. Thought this would be appropriate attire for greeting the staff."

  As if on cue, there was a knock on the door. Devin's gaze followed the enticing motion of Ewyn's ass, outlined beneath the clingy material of his robe. He heard baby-boy speaking to someone, there was the clinking of silverware and the rattling of dishes, followed by the sound of the door closing. Ewyn returned to the solarium, removed his robe, and climbed into the Jacuzzi, body sinking beneath the steamy water, he sighed.

  "Mmm, I needed this," Ewyn whispered.

  Devin pulled Ewyn on top of him. "Dinner is going to get cold," he mumbled against soft lips.

  "Not. It's a Cesar salad with prawns. It will keep."

  Devin hooted. "Planning ahead, huh."

  "Oh yeah. Make love to me, Dev. I'll take a rain check on my win."

  "Talk about satisfying." Devin picked up his glass and drained the last of the wine. "Not too much, yet I'm full." He wiped his hands and mouth on his napkin then walked to the bedside table. "You know this wearing pajamas thing isn't right," he grumbled.

  Ewyn chuckled. "You'll get used to it."

  Devin picked up the phone and pressed the kitchen intercom button. He asked Brigit to send someone to remove the used dishes. "Hold on," he added and turned to Ewyn. "Do you want anything else from the kitchen before Brigit closes down for the night?"

  "No. There's an assortment of cold drinks and snacks in the mini-fridge in the solarium. If we get the munchies, we can fend for ourselves."

  Devin nodded then spoke into the phone. "We're set for the night, Brigit, and thanks, dinner was delicious."

  Ewyn pushed away from the table an
d crossed the room, removing his robe as he went. He clambered onto the bed, propped pillows against the headboard, and settled back. Moments later, a young woman arrived with a serving tray, cleared the dirty dishes from the table and left. The minute the door closed behind the woman, Ewyn asked, "What did you do with Niki's journal?"

  "Right here."

  Devin retrieved the journal and climbed on the bed. Ewyn closed the distance between them and snuggled close, resting his head on Devin's chest. Within moments, Ewyn had dozed off. Devin had been reading for a little over a half hour when a knock on the door startled Ewyn awake.

  "What." Ewyn's head popped up. Eyes wide, he stared at Devin. "I fell asleep, didn't I?"

  Devin leaned over and kissed the tip of his nose. "Oh yeah." He chuckled then called out, "Come in."

  Mycelia entered with Kiera in her arms. "Someone wants her goodnight kisses." She handed Kiera to Ewyn. "Be back in a bit with her bottle."

  Dressed in one-piece, pink fleece pj's, looking cute and cuddly, Kiera had a white bib tied around her neck and nestled beneath her chin. Ewyn held her securely under her arms with her little feet braced on his thighs. Cooing and gurgling, blowing spit bubbles and drooling, she bounced up and down then did a little two-step as if she were marching in place. Laughing, he teased, "Hey, girlfriend, where are you running off to."

  He leaned forward, rubbed noses, and blew air bubbles on her stomach while making loud growling noise. She giggled and squirmed until he pulled her close and hugged her against him. Nuzzling her neck, he inhaled her sweet baby-fresh scent, kissed her smiling mouth then placed her on the bed.

  "I love these bedtime moments with her," he said looking over at Devin. "And don't ask me why, because I can't explain it."

  "Hey, I feel you." Devin reached over and tickled Kiera's tummy, kissed her forehead, settled back and returned to reading the journal.

  "Anything of interest so far."

  "Not really. Calabria wasn't lying about him and Nicole being like brother and sister. So far, she writes about him, Kathy, and Jen as if they were siblings. Along with Caro, the five of them spent most of their free time hanging together."

  "Hmm. I still don't like him."

  Mycelia knocked on the door, entered, and handed Ewyn the baby's bottle. "Call when you want me to come and get her."

  "Don't worry about it tonight, Myce. I'll put her to bed," Ewyn said.

  "Okay, thanks. Goodnight."

  "Night," Ewyn and Devin spoke simultaneously.

  Ewyn turned onto his side, and with his head resting on the pillows, he put the nipple to Kiera's lips and she latched on. With both hands resting on the bottle, her eyes closed.

  Devin glanced at her and smiled. "She'll have total control of holding her bottle soon, huh."

  "Uh-huh. And Myce already has her sipping from one of those baby cups, preparing for her first teeth, and baby-girl biting through the nipples." Ewyn yawned. "She's already chewing on them like they're teething toys."

  "Oh…now that ought to be fun," Devin remarked then returned to reading while keeping a watchful eye on the other two occupants of the bed. True to form, it wasn't long before Ewyn's hold became slack, both he and Kiera were asleep. Removing the bottle from Ewyn's hand and Kiera's mouth, Devin placed it on the nightstand, pulled the covers up over both of his babies, and returned his attention to the journal.

  At three a.m., Devin scrambled out of bed, snatched up his robe, and stuffed the journal into its pocket. After retrieving his phone, he walked into the solarium, grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator, and settled down at the table. He flipped open his cell and pressed #3.

  "Hey. What's up?"

  "Tim, I'm bringing Ewyn and Kieki back to town, the day after tomorrow. Would you get hold of Mick and Tag? Tell them we're upping the timetable. How soon can they move in?"

  "What happened, Devin?"

  "I read Niki's journal."

  Ewyn came awake with a start and sat up, disoriented, he glanced around the unfamiliar surroundings. It took a moment for him to recognize the setting and to realize Devin wasn't in bed, but Kiera was there, lying on her stomach, sound asleep. Easing out of bed, he slipped into his robe, carefully lifted Kiera into his arms, and carried her to the nursery. He flipped on the baby monitor and returned to his room. Hearing Devin's voice in the solarium, he headed that way. Devin looked up and winked when he entered the room.

  "Hold on, Tim. Ewyn's here. I'm putting you on speaker."

  "Hey, Tim." Ewyn leaned down and kissed Devin, proceeded to the refrigerator, and grabbed a bottle of orange juice. He sat down and propped his feet on Devin's thighs. "So, what's up?"

  "Unless we find something definitive to indicate Cecilia is involved, for now, we can rule her out as a possible suspect," Devin declared as he fished the journal from his pocket.

  Ewyn frowned. "Why?"

  "Are you sure?" Timothy asked.

  "No, I'm not positive. But according to Niki's journal, she married someone she only refers to as he." Devin flipped through the pages of the journal until he found the entry he wanted. "Niki wrote, Went to the party tonight and met the man of my dreams. Tall, handsome, polite…different from all the plebs I've met over the years. Where has he been all my life? I think I'm in love.

  "That was three months before this entry. Today, I let him know I'm pregnant. He insists we marry so baby will be legitimate. I refused. When I told Caro, she laughed and said I didn't have to marry anybody to give my baby a name. She insists baby has a last name--Calderone. Have to love the Calderone arrogance, but she's right. Who would dare repudiate a Calderone?

  "I can only assume she didn't mention the man's name because she didn't want someone to come across her journal and discover the identity of the father," Devin remarked.

  "What is it Niki didn't want anyone to know about this man?" Ewyn asked.

  "My guess--he's from a prominent family, and neither he nor Niki wanted the families getting involved. Although, we know Niki could care less about our opinions, and rightfully so. Once she gained control of her trust fund, she had the family's seal of approval, and their vote of confidence in her judgment."

  "True," Ewyn stated. "There was never a doubt."

  "So we'll assume it's his family they didn't want involved," Devin added. "His family probably wouldn't be amenable to mob connections, hence the concealment."

  "Damn," Timothy exclaimed. "Kieki's father remains our prime suspect."

  "Oh, hell yeah. Yet somehow, he changed Niki's mind about marrying him. So he had a lot more to gain than Cecilia," Devin explained. "Except now, the new will negates both of them as beneficiaries. Besides, there is no mention of Cecilia in the journal," he concluded.

  "I'll get right on it and see if I can find a marriage license," Timothy said.

  "That's going to be tough," Devin remarked. "She doesn't say where they were married. She noted, Realize the logic of his arguments. Wedding arranged, flight booked, flying out next week. Caro coming with me. He's meeting us there.

  "So where do you start?" he asked.

  "I'll get Patterson involved. Have him check her cell phone records. Give him something to do, keep him in the loop," Timothy said. "Niki must have been communicating with this man somehow. We can backtrack from there."

  "Correct. However, there's an entry dated a month after she mentions the wedding. I've made a serious mistake. I thought he understood the marriage was only to avoid any conflict. Since we married, he thinks he owns me. Should have followed my instincts…listened to Caro. He has become belligerent and annoying because I refuse to tell him where I'm staying. Who the hell does he think he is? This is not going to work. I don't trust him. Changed my cell number."

  "I remember that." Ewyn sighed. "She emailed the new number to me, and I never thought anything of it." Then he added, "Even if he's not involved in the deaths, why hasn't he come forward to claim Kieki?"

  "Good question," Devin responded. "Family issues or something more sinist
er--Niki did write she didn't trust him. Whatever he did or said disturbed her enough to make her revise her will, eliminating him as a beneficiary, even as Kieki's father. His silence gives us good reason to take precautions regarding Kieki's safety."

  "Damn right," Timothy asserted. "His family may consider Nicole's pedigree less than estimable on their social scale, so he might not want them to know about Kieki. But I doubt he would be averse to Niki's money. Her estate is a substantial incentive for removing any obstacles to inheriting."

  "True," Devin agreed. "Except he's not thinking clearly if he's involved in Niki's death and believes he'll inherit. We don't have proof now, but if he comes forward, we'll sure as hell scrutinize every aspect of his life."

  "Damn it!" Ewyn exclaimed. "If he threatened her, she should have contacted me."

  "Ewyn, please. Threats," Devin scoffed. "As her father's daughter, what would have been her fear factor? She wouldn't have acknowledged the bastard as a threat. From the tone of her notes, she never considered him anything more than an annoyance. She stuck it to him by removing him from her will. Although, at one point, before she changed her number, she made this entry, He doesn't know who he's messing with. Caro and I talked it over. Told him to back off or I'll have my uncles deal with him. He should consider himself lucky Daddy and Patrick aren't available.

  "But get this," he added. "Niki mentions getting an annulment in her next entry, Realize I made a serious error in judgment; need to rectify as soon as possible. Drawing up new will. Need to talk to a lawyer about annulment. Can't use family attorney without Gem and Ewyn getting involved. Gem not well enough to handle any drama.

  "Unfortunately, she probably died before she had the chance to get the annulment."

  "Hell," Ewyn whispered. "Do you think Niki told him about the annulment and the accident was the result of him trying to stop her?"

  "Doubtful. Remember, she wrote she didn't trust him," Devin remarked and paged back a few pages. "Besides, she didn't mention the annulment in her journal until after she changed her phone number. So unless they were emailing each other, how were they communicating? This was the week before her final entry, Talked it over with Caro--managed to get appointment with an attorney. Filing papers for annulment.