“It looks like everyone was, including the friend, Tyler.” Wren dropped the reference just to double-check. He had his own reasons for wanting the guy to get another look. Not attractive reasons. Emery would not be impressed if she knew. “What about his parents cutting off his questioning?”
“That raised a flag, but the kid had an alibi. A cousin and another friend. They had a pickup basketball game.”
“Sounds fishy.” Wren hadn’t meant to say that out loud, but there it was. Out in the open.
The detective laughed. “Sounds like normal kids.”
Garrett closed the file he’d been studying and threw it in the box beside him. “He’s not that good with the term normal so I tend to define it for him.”
“Which brings me to my question.” Rick leaned forward with his elbows resting on the table.
The faint ringing of office phones could be heard through the walls. People walked by. The usual busy office day, except for what was happening in the conference room.
Wren longed to be back in his office where he could think. “I fear whatever you’re about to say will piss me off.”
“Why did you agree to take this on?” Rick asked.
The chair squeaked under Garrett as he leaned back even farther. “Fantastic question.”
Being the boss, Wren had the distinct advantage of deciding when to call a meeting over. He thought about it, but then took a good look at the determined expressions on the faces of the men sitting across from him. No way was he getting out of here clean by playing the I’m-in-charge card.
But he could tailor the response, keep it short. “Emery kept digging. I thought stepping in might keep her from running into trouble.”
Rick, sitting there all gray-haired and distinguished with his usual take-no-shit attitude, did not look impressed. “That’s it, then?”
But that didn’t mean Wren was ready to give up control of the conversation or the room. “Excuse me?”
“Look, I’ve known her a long time. I’ve come to care about her and about what happens to her.” Rick winced as he looked like he was searching for the right words. “I’m concerned about the intentions here and what happens next.”
Wren turned the words over then it hit him. “Wait, are you giving me The Talk?”
“This should be interesting,” Garrett mumbled under his breath.
“Her own father isn’t particularly protective.” The detective stopped there. Waited a few seconds. “I’m just making sure you’re not taking advantage.”
Wren didn’t know if the detective was worried on a personal level or on a work level, but it ticked him off. “By assisting her in gathering more information about Tiffany’s disappearance?”
Rick didn’t back down. He threw Wren one of those man-to-man looks. “You know what I mean.”
“I don’t.”
Garrett cleared his throat. “He thinks you’re being nice just so you can sleep with her.”
“I got that much.” Wren barely spared his friend a glance before looking at the detective again. “But truth is she came looking for me and that was your fault.”
“Don’t make me sorry I gave Wren’s name . . . your name . . . to Gavin.”
“That’s exactly my point. I told you not to give my name to anyone.” It was as if he’d stepped into an alternate universe where the explosion of paperwork in front of him was somehow his fault. That wasn’t even close to reality. He got yanked into this case and was staying as a favor . . . in part.
Some of the tension eased from the detective’s face. “But you’re happy I did.”
Garrett laughed. “He’s got you there.”
The game of two-against-one worked on Wren’s nerves. He didn’t know what he had with Emery, but he sure as hell knew it was private. “Emery is interesting.”
“Oh, Jesus.” Garrett kept right on laughing. “Really? That’s the word you’re using?”
“She’s not like you,” Rick said.
Garrett shook his head. “No one is like him.”
Wren wanted to threaten to fire Garrett for that, but he ignored it instead. “She seems to like me just fine.”
“That’s my concern.”
Wren admired Rick Cryer, but there were limits. “What do you think I’m going to do to her?”
“She didn’t seem to know much about you last night, yet you have men following her.”
This again. Wren thought he’d ended this issue when he explained it to Emery. Now he had to fight on a second front. “For her protection.”
Rick shook his head. “I’m just making sure your interest is business related.”
“Even though we’re not getting paid,” Garrett added.
Wren had a point to make, so he cut through the bullshit and made it. “For the record, my interest in Emery, what I do or not do with her, isn’t your business.”
“She’s been through a lot. I don’t want her to be hurt.”
Rick’s concern got through. Wren didn’t tend to dwell in emotion, but he understood the detective’s attachment to the case. His drive to see it through likely rivaled Emery’s. That kind of dedication Wren could understand. “Then we’re agreed because I don’t want that either.”
“Okay.” Rick didn’t sound convinced of anything.
Wren wasn’t convinced he’d won that round. “You still look concerned.”
The older man shrugged. “Do you blame me?”
He really didn’t. Wren knew he wasn’t an easy man to read and that sometimes his methods might seem unorthodox. “Emery and I understand each other.”
The detective’s gaze narrowed. “What does that mean?”
Good fucking question. He’d been in the process of figuring that out when Tyler arrived last night. “I’m not sure yet.”
Garrett slapped his hand against the table with a thwack. “And with that illogical comment I think we should get back to the business of suspects.”
“I’m not sure I made my point,” Rick said.
Garrett nodded. “Welcome to my world.”
CHAPTER 15
Emery carried two water bottles and tried very hard not to drop one and bounce it across the family room. It had been that kind of night. She got home from work, paced around. Turned the television on and off again. Changed into lounge clothes then the fumbling really began.
She should have gone down the street to the gym or eaten dinner. Anything to burn off the excess energy zipping around inside of her. But none of that happened. Nope, she jumped in the shower, changed into jeans and called Wren, after searching the Brian Jacobs name a hundred times today. She’d used every database available to both law enforcement officials and to regular people hunting down information on someone. And nothing helpful popped up.
When she started working the keyboard she’d feared she might be playing the grown-up equivalent of scribbling his name in her folder. By the end of the day she was frustrated by the lack of information. It was as if the name existed only in Wren’s head.
But that didn’t explain who the very real man sitting in her family room was.
She handed him a water bottle and sat down on the opposite end of the love seat, as far from him as possible, which amounted to a half-cushion away. “I wasn’t sure you’d come over when I called.”
The bottle made a crinkling noise when he grabbed on to it. “Why not?”
He didn’t mention that she’d used his emergency private number for a nonemergency, so neither did she. “You kind of ran out of here last night.”
Then she’d thought about him all night while Tyler sat there talking about his new job and the new city he loved. Emery had been happy for him, even as a part of her grumbled that it had been so easy for him to move on and never mention Tiffany.
For most of the night she’d been guilty of the same sin. As he talked, her mind switched to Wren. The sound of his voice. The way his muscles felt through his shirt. She certainly wouldn’t have won any Good Friend prize for her mental wa
nderings.
When Tyler finally did get around to talking about Tiffany again it was to declare her gone and it time to move on. Emery had ushered him out the door right after that. She heard enough of that nonsense from her dad. Another voice wasn’t really welcome.
“You had company. Something and someone else to occupy your time.” Wren didn’t look at her as he set the unopened bottle on the coffee table.
She took in the stiffness of his shoulders and the fact he hadn’t even bothered to take off his suit jacket. He walked in and went to the couch because she told him to have a seat. Very little else had transpired except for her why-am-I-doing-this panicked race to the kitchen for water. “Don’t do that.”
He leaned back on the cushions and faced her. “What?”
Gone was the easy flow of conversation from last night and the touching. Yeah, he didn’t look even a little interested in touching, which was a damn shame. “You sound all haughty and businesslike.”
“You may have just summed up the majority of my personality.” He smiled but the gesture didn’t quite reach his eyes. It looked forced and disappeared right after it happened.
She tugged on the wrapper around her water bottle. Picked at the end until she could rip off a nice long piece. “I don’t buy that. Not anymore.”
His gaze bounced from her hands to her face. “What changed?”
“I don’t even know. Maybe it’s a sense or a hope.” Of course, neither of those explained why the air in the room was all but suffocating her.
“Ah.”
Talk about an unhelpful response. She put the bottle on the table next to his and sat back again, just inches away from him. “Does that mean you get what I’m saying?”
“Not even a little bit.”
She would have laughed at that if the tension strangling her in a bear hug would ease. “Any chance I could get you to take off your jacket? Maybe loosen that tie.”
“You still seem overly concerned with my wardrobe.” But he relaxed a little. Sank back into the cushions and rested his arm across the top.
“It’s like armor.”
His fingers tapped against the love seat. “It’s wool, I believe.”
“Now you’re being a gigantic pain in the ass, just because you can.” The guy could not take a hint. She was dying to get him out of the suit. She could pretend this had to do with wanting to know he was human and to loosen him up. Yeah, there was some of that, but this was really about wanting more from him.
She liked sex and didn’t apologize for that. But she had no interest in random hookups or one-night stands with strangers. That meant getting to know a guy and she hadn’t made time for that in more than a year. The last relationship, if she could even call it that, ended with him leaving for the west coast and graduate school. Neither of them cared that his shipping out meant them ending, which said something about her ability to handle any sort of serious dating.
She hadn’t been heartsick when he left, but she had been lonely. She filled in nonwork time with friends, but truth was she worked a lot more these days. She buried herself in it. She made connections all day, traced this missing person to that John or Jane Doe photo. The detail-oriented work was both satisfying and infuriating. She could go for weeks without making any progress so that when she did, it spurred her to do even more, to push harder.
That amounted to a lot of late nights. Plus, not many guys wanted to hear a woman on the other side of the dating table talk about dead bodies, and the ones that did were not the type you wanted to date. Ever.
But little by little she discovered that the man in front of her did interest her. Not just in a what-makes-him-tick way. No, this went deeper. She truly wanted to dig around and get him. To figure out how that complex mind worked. “If it’s any consolation, I’m kind of used to the pain in the ass thing. It’s oddly endearing on you.”
He stood up and she was sure he was going to leave. She toyed with the idea of being sensible and letting him go. Abandoned that entirely and shifted, about to jump in front of him when he stopped.
He stripped off his jacket and folded it. Laid it across the arm of the chair. Then his long fingers went to his tie. He tugged on the knot and slipped it open. The slide of material against material filled the room as he peeled it off and dumped it on top of the jacket. Next came the shirt button. He undid the top two, until the tip of a white undershirt peeked out.
His eyebrow lifted as he looked down at her. “Better?”
Lordy. That sort of slow striptease should be illegal. Should but thank God it wasn’t. Her only regret was that it stopped. “Do you sleep in the suit?”
“Are you asking for personal reasons or are you taking a poll of some sort?”
“You make me want to scream.” His name . . . over and over. She dug her fingernails into the seat cushion next to her to keep from doing anything even remotely like that.
She’d never had need shoot through her like this. She’d had great sex before. A guy in college was into the up-against-a-wall hot-and-dirty type. She sure didn’t hate that. But Wren seduced in a much more subtle way. His presence wound around her until all she could think about was how it would feel to have his hands all over her.
“Interesting.” He sat down again, this time closer and angled so he faced her. “How was your visit with Tyler?”
The quick change in topic threw her for a second. She got whiplash as she struggled to keep up. “Random.”
“I’m not sure what that means in this context.”
“I didn’t know he was in town. I didn’t expect him . . .” She’d come to the go-for-it point in the conversation and decided to plunge ahead. “I didn’t want you to leave.”
She slipped her hand over his knee. Thought about telling him that she didn’t get why and she shouldn’t even like him, but she did. All those comments and arguments went through her mind. In and right back out again when he slid his hand over hers.
“Let’s talk about that last part.” He lifted their joined hands.
“It’s a mystery, to be honest.”
He kissed the back of her hand. “Maybe you find me charming.”
More so with each passing second. “Every now and then.”
“That seems about right.” He laughed against her skin.
The rich sound vibrated through her. “Thank you for coming to the rescue last night.”
She let her fingers brush over that scruffy chin she adored so much. Then he ran his free hand down the soft inside of her arm and an explosion went off in her head. The tingling reached every nerve ending.
His mouth followed his hand in a trail of nibbling kisses that extended to her elbow. “I get the sense you don’t need rescuing very often. In fact, you strike me as the rescuer rather than the rescuee.”
She wrapped her arm around his head and plunged her fingers into his hair. The strands slipped between her fingers. “Do you need to be rescued?”
“From the darkness you think plagues me?”
“That seems like a dramatic way of putting it, but is it a fair statement?” The air conditioner clicked on, but there was no other sound in the room. For a second she thought she heard a song, but realized the sound likely escaped from an open window from the floor below.
“I made the choice of this life long ago.”
She let her arm drop and sat back a little to get a better look at him. “So, you came out of the womb wearing a suit and barking orders.”
“Hardly.” The warm sound of his voice filled the room. “I was the soccer-playing, drinking-behind-the-school type in high school, but eventually grew up a bit.”
“Wait.” Her mind went blank for a second. Not a single thought bounced around in there until a rush of young Wren images ran through. “You’re saying you were a bad boy?”
“Very.”
She might never get that image out of her head. “I’m trying to imagine you with a naughty side.”
“Oh, I can still be naughty. I just get my th
rills in other ways now.”
Her heart did this weird bouncing thing. She was pretty sure in any other situation she’d need a surgeon and a hospital, but this bounce hit her with a rush that she didn’t want to end. “I think you’re flirting with me.”
He put their joined hands on his lap. Right there on his upper thighs. “Is it working?”
She could feel the outline of his muscles through the material. That was just impressive. No other way around it. So much so that she almost got lost in the feel of him. Only the thought of all her fruitless investigative searching today and the very real sense she still didn’t know his actual name stopped her.
“Yes.” She squeezed his hand but didn’t let go. “But . . .”
He made a humming sound. “I had a feeling there would be a ‘but.’ ”
“Let’s say I wanted you to keep stripping those clothes off.” She shook her head. That is not at all what she meant to say.
She had a little speech prepared about them needing to be honest with each other and how he could trust her. Forget all that. She leapt over logic right to the naked issue that kept running through her mind.
“Do you still?” he asked.
His voice sounded deeper, but she decided that was all in her head. “Am I too forward for you?”
“I like a woman who knows what she wants.”
From another man that might come off as a line. Not him. He sounded genuine, maybe even a little excited. That didn’t surprise her. He was different from other guys in so many respects, why not this one. “Some men don’t.”
He rolled his eyes. “Some men are fucking idiots.”
“No argument there.” The amusement in his voice, his smile—the combination sent a bolt of happiness shooting through her. It took every ounce of control she possessed to stay on track. To not waver and drag him into the bedroom with her. “Well, before one stitch more comes off of either of us—”
“Wait, are you talking in hypotheticals or are you serious about the undressing thing?”
He still held her hand. The heat radiated off him contrasted with the cool air blasting through the room from the air conditioner. “I got the impression you were attracted to me.”
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