by Lyn Brittan
“Mr. Wyatt called to say you were on the way. Give me one minute,” she said, looking back over her shoulder as she turned away.
Johanna wanted several more than that. Her panic from the walk lingered, heavy and smothering. It followed her in here, but she wasn’t ready to venture outside again either.
“Anything else? Perhaps a cup of tea? Shall I call someone?”
“Don’t worry about me. I get a little overheated.”
“In this weather? Dear, it’s about to rain buckets and you’re sweating bullets. I’ll give Mr. Wyatt a call.”
“No, please. I’m sending him a text that I’m on the way right now.”
The woman’s brow pinched, but the bell over her door twinkled and she turned to her next customer.
No choice now. Johanna forced herself back into the world long before her lungs started working, but she’d be damned if she kept Baron from doing what he needed to. She’d put him through too much already. He deserved a break from her freakouts. A few city blocks wouldn’t defeat her.
World still closing in around her, she didn’t leave the small space in front of the building until Baron responded to her text. The aprons had been stored in a light, though oversized box. Its awkward shape left her walking blind. She shifted it constantly, peering over the top, or leaning around one side to watch her next step.
The feeling of being watched crept back and weighed down her steps. Full blown paranoia constricted her breaths. She glanced around her unwieldy bundle at the next crosswalk, but stumbled.
A helpful stranger shot out a hand to keep her upright. Her unknown assistant disappeared before she could thank him, but his scent hung around. She’d been pushing too hard. To her jacked up mind, he smelled just like the man she’d bumped into on the way over.
Rest. That’s what she needed.
Lots of rest and lots of Baron.
Soon, his thick and sweet aroma reached around the corner, pulling her in and quickening her feet. He met her at the door, arms crossed and eyes wide.
“There’s my girl. I knew you’d be fine. No problems, right?”
Johanna dropped the weight in hands and tried to shake off the invisible one on her shoulders. “Nope. All good. I told you not to worry. I’m here for whatever you need.”
Chapter Twelve
What he needed was for Johanna to get the hell inside. Her fear snaked around him so cold that he shivered with it. Respect for what she was trying to do kept him from running down the street and meeting her halfway.
His nose tingled as she passed.
A sliver of dread drilled itself into his mind. There it was again. He shifted through smells around her, dialing in on one out of the many. Baron prayed his nose was wrong again, but knew it wasn’t.
Wyoming.
Not a lot.
But enough that she wouldn’t walk alone again. “So you didn’t run into anyone?”
“Nope. I bumped into them. It’s crowded out there. Guess everyone’s rushing to get things done before those clouds open up. Did your deliveries come in?”
“One. Take this.” He put her to work updating the financials from the latest round of invoices. When he was certain that no one was looking, he went back and did a loop around the building to double check the locks. Nothing yet.
Back inside, he folded cloth napkins on the tablet next to Johanna.
She rapped his knuckles with her pen. “I can do that.”
“I don’t mind. It’s my business. Doing little things like this sets a good example. All work here is noble.”
“I know what you’re doing. Are you going to hover all day?” She cut him a look with her fingers paused over the calculator.
“Maybe.” Yes.
“I’m fine.”
“I know.” He kept his voice even, but it didn’t change a thing. He stayed close to her, letting his hope and his head struggle to the same terrible conclusion. The man who’d killed his ex-girlfriend was here. No way could he tell Johanna about this. She’d come so far and with so many new demons to fight, she didn’t need this one.
No point anyway. He’d find and kill the bastard before he had a chance to touch her.
“You’re worried.”
Baron cupped her dimpled face and laid a kiss across her cheek. “Either everything is going to work out better than I’d imagined, or everything I’ve been building is about to crash down around me.”
“The restaurant looks great. I’m betting on the former.”
“I’m betting on you.”
A call from the back pulled him away, but worry kept him from concentrating on his work. He twitched when he should have been teaching his staff and scowled at every new noise from outside. The distracted feeling plagued him for the rest of the day. The cause of his distress was also his salvation. Johanna led the staff and picked up the slack. It almost soothed him. He had a good team behind him and once this…obstacle…was out of the way, they could march forward together.
He ended work early. Through careful orchestration, he kept everyone together long enough that they left at the same time. Tomorrow he’d get a designated block of parking spaces in the nearest public lot. Human or not, this was pack now and he’d keep them all safe.
Somehow.
He fumbled with the radio until all of his employees’ cars pulled out. After another quick check around the block, he took the long way back to Johanna’s apartment, weaving through traffic, unable to tear his eyes from the mirrors. He saw nothing, scented nothing, but his own heartbeat drummed an anxious rhythm. Terror. It wasn’t something he was used to.
Out West, his father would have corralled the pack and set up a perimeter. Here, his troops consisted of his angel, a witch and a dragon.
Ugh, the witch.
The decision didn’t come easily, but if someone wanted his woman, they might mistake Kate for her. Johanna would never forgive him. He had to come clean.
Johanna called him out before her apartment door closed. “Spill it. Your emotions are all over the place and Ray Charles could see you looking over your shoulder.”
“You should call Kate. I’ll tell you two at the same time.”
Hands went to hips, brows shot to the sky and her lips curled. “You’ll tell me now and if I need to call my sister, I’ll be the one to make that decision.”
“Sometimes I forget how tough you are.”
“Tell me.”
“I didn’t mention everything about Wyoming.”
“The murder?”
“Her name was Nikki. She was filthy rich, never had to work a day in her life. Maybe that’s what made her so fun. Not a care in the world. Get this, the nanny who raised her, Theresa, became her maid when she grew up. That lady was probably the only person Nikki loved. Anyway, when the woman died, Nikki handled it with more partying and sleeping around. She got in thick to the drug scene and I bailed. None of that made it into papers when she died. Just me – the new guy.”
“Didn’t anyone stick up for you?”
He shook his head. “The oligarchs circled the wagons. What they hadn’t counted on was my father being a sheriff and having some contacts. He worked them hard to get my uncles out to investigate. Someone managed to get us onto the scene the night before the county released her house back to the family. We sat in that room for hours, embedding every scent into our memories. Some things you never forget. I may not know his face, but I know the killer and he’s here, Johanna.”
“Why would you keep this from me?”
“I didn’t know if it was coincidence or something more. Until I was certain, I didn’t want to worry you…or Kate.”
“What does my sister have to do with this?”
“If…if…he’s following me, he knows that we’re close. She looks just like you.”
“Minus twenty pounds…”
“You’re doing this now? Really?”
“I think I’ve proven myself enough of a survivor. If it involves me, you tell me. If it involves you,
you tell me. And heaven help anyone stupid enough to go after Kate.”
“I never doubted you.”
Johanna’s hand landed on his chest. Her heat seared through the fabric of his shirt, scorching the skin over his heart – the one she now controlled.
“You did. I forgive you because I know it came from right here. But whatever happens next, we’ll work through it together.”
The impossible happened after she kissed him. His heart grew, filled with a love he hadn’t known. He’d kept her like a thing to protect, something soft to keep safe. Apparently, that wasn’t what he wanted. This was. A partner. Someone he could trust to fight for him and stand at his side. She was the kind of woman you didn’t let go of.
Even if she came attached to a sociopath for a sister.
“I’ll leave you alone to call Kate.” He almost made it to the hallway before the guilt gnawed him to the point of pain. “There’s one more thing.”
“I’m not liking this whole fear and foreboding look you’ve got going on.”
“I’m really glad you’ve been avoiding the media.”
“Because?”
“Because…hell. They haven’t caught the third guy.” He waited for an explosion that didn’t come. She turned away from him and that ended up being a whole lot worse. “Say something. I need you to tell me you understand why I did it.”
“It, meaning lying to me? Kate must have been in on it too, then?”
“Yes.”
“And Jack?”
“In case he called I needed him to—”
“Back you up when you weren’t here to lie to me,” she said, voice thin as autumn leaves. “You talk all this crap about Mates and fairy tales and—”
“You’re afraid of your shadow. I knew…I know we’ll catch him. I only wanted to give you a little peace.”
Her cell started ringing which was just as well since he had no clue where to go from here. He turned to leave and got smacked in the back of the head with her phone.
“It’s Kate. You can tell her yourself, since you’re so chummy.”
He almost did, but he didn’t want any more secrets between them. Silently, he walked her cell phone back over, left it on the pillow next to her and closed the bedroom door behind him.
Chapter Thirteen
She woke up tired, scared, pissed off and knowing she was loved. Last night’s call to Kate started with raised voices, progressed to cursing and ended with crying. All three from Kate’s end of the phone.
She made it clear to her sister that neither she, nor Baron, were to EVER withhold anything from her again, but she’d heard the pain in Kate’s voice and seen the heartache in Baron’s eyes when she’d sent him to sleep on the couch.
Her two know-it-alls cared. Annoying, but loving.
And both surprised her.
She’d always suspected Kate loved her because she had to. Not anymore. And while Kate had refused to uproot her life, she promised to turn on her alarm system and call first thing every morning.
Unfortunately, that meant getting a 4 a.m. wakeup call. Baron grumbled about it being better than not getting one and rolled out of bed. She mostly agreed.
Usually, she couldn’t go back to sleep after speaking with Kate. She either decompressed, cried, or rocked in a corner hugging herself. Today, she laughed.
Baron’s breakfast tray at the edge of the bed doubled down on her swelling heart.
Baron.
He’d skipped right past infatuation and into love, bringing her along for the ride. And what a roller coaster. All fun and dizzying highs and when it dropped low, he held her hand the whole way through.
“I’m glad we made up. I like sleeping with you,” he said, holding a sausage above her mouth. “I like feeding you too. I even love how you love your sister.”
She took a bite and leaned against the headboard. “Love? Because you nose tells you to?”
“It’s not as broken as I thought it was. Is yours?”
“Never was. I only needed to learn how to trust it. C’mon. Let’s go to work.”
Baron shoved in a forkful of eggs. “This early?”
“We have a business to run. That man won’t ruin our lives. We’ll set things up for the boys and dip out to find him.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
The drive over to the restaurant was quiet, but calm. The unease she anticipated didn’t stand a chance. She was too close to Baron and knew to her very core that they’d keep each other safe.
So when the stench of old blood hit her nostrils the hot second she stepped out the car, she didn’t initially panic.
“You stay here.”
Yeah right. She kicked open the swinging rear door of the restaurant, daring him to say something.
He picked her up, feet still kicking, and dumped her behind him. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“What happened to us making mutual decisions?”
“Do you want to die?”
“No.”
“Mutual decision.”
“Doesn’t work that way. You leave me here and I’ll follow. Simple as that.”
Baron paced by the door and poked his head inside. “At least stay behind me. And you can uncross your arms. You won. If you call walking into a dark building dripping with blood winning.”
“If there’s anyone, or anything here, they heard us during your dissertation.”
“Sorry. I’ll keep it brief. Blood. Lots of it. My restaurant. Our first fight can wait.”
“Second. Actually, third, because you lied twice.”
“Baby, you need to work on your timing. Let’s go.” Baron grabbed her wrist and forged ahead into the faint aroma of decay that permeated the air. No, not quite decay, more like meat left thawing a little too long in the sink.
Baron didn’t flip the switch in the hall. Neither of them required it to see in the dim light and they needed every advantage. The narrow path forced her to walk a step behind. She shuddered, now thankful that whatever scene lay ahead, Baron would cross it first.
New smells and familiar ones suffused her nostrils. Two of them. She closed her eyes, blocking out everything until she honed in and gave one of those scents a name. So bent on concentrating, she didn’t realize Baron had stopped moving and she slammed into him. He didn’t say anything, but her nose did. “It’s Belinda.”
His grunt confirmed it.
Bile stung her throat. She tried to sidestep Baron anyway. She needed to see Belinda with her own eyes, but huge arms locked her in place.
“There’s no point.”
“Let me see her.”
“She’s not…she fought him. Okay? She fought hard. Now go outside and call the police.”
She didn’t move, her feet cemented to the floor and knees locked in place. “And that other scent belongs to the man from the sidewalk. I know it.”
Baron drew her head into his chest and tried turning her around for the second time in as many minutes. She dug in her heels, but it got her nowhere.
“I’m not moving from this spot and you’re not moving pass me. Don’t fight me on this one, Johanna. Please.”
“Why her?”
He didn’t answer, but a final gentle push motivated her back down the hall. Her sandaled foot hit Belinda’s cell. She picked it up with trembling hands. While they shuffled back to the door, her mind played out the scenarios. He’d call the cops and they would come to take Belinda away.
No…
They would take away a woman from a restaurant expected to open by the end of the week.
A restaurant owned by a man with one dead woman in his rearview mirror already.
A man who happened to be seeing the dead woman’s boss. A boss everyone knew she hated. Johanna skidded to a stop and whirled around.
“Baron, this is a set up. You call the cops and it’s all over for you. That’s what whoever did this is counting on. There’s only one nonhuman in our police department, at least that I know. There’s no way he can hand
le two cases involving me and not fall under suspicion. We have to solve this ourselves before turning her in.”
Baron’s eyebrow twitched. “I must have misheard. I almost thought you said that we’re hiding bodies now.”
“It’s just the one…”
“Oh, well hell then. No problem.” Baron leaned against the wall, arms crossed. “We can’t. The short answer is that normal people don’t hide bodies. So, no.”
“This person is good, Baron. They know all about you and me and this place. They have to know that you’re about to have a grand opening. They want to ruin you. They’ll throw you in jail if they can, but if not, they want to make sure no one eats here. It’ll financially destroy you.”
“I can’t believe I’m saying this. And I’m not agreeing to anything, but where would you put the body?”
“You have a freezer.”
“I am not putting your dead boss next to the ribeyes!”
“This killer is expecting us here in a couple of hours. We’re only early because of Kate’s call. If we’re lucky, he’s not back yet. If he’s smart, he’s left town already to watch the damage play out on the news. If we’re going to move her, we have to do it now.”
“That’s a lot of ifs.” Baron paced and sighed, but succumbed. He refused to let her see Belinda uncovered and placed her in one of the rolling baking ovens set aside for resale. Meanwhile, she backed up the borrowed van to the rear of the restaurant. With not another word spoken, they hoisted Belinda in and sped away.
Baron sat in the passenger’s seat, shaking his head and swearing. If his mind processed this as hers did, it worked at warp speed trying to think of a place to put a body. Belinda had to be kept safe, cool and protected. The time to feel bad about this would come later, but for now, they had to look out for themselves.
She checked behind her every few blocks to make sure they weren’t being followed. Most of the streetlights hadn’t turned on yet and the roads were near empty. Still, she kept looking.
“Maybe we go down by the water,” Baron said. “We can’t put her somewhere too accessible. Are there any abandoned factories? Old churches? C’mon, baby. This is your town. We need a place that’s drafty, cool and shielded from the elements.”
