Dark Moon Falls: Volume 2

by Bella Roccaforte

  He said, “We’re far enough away from the town’s illumination. Let’s sit, listen to the forest, and look at the stars.”

  She didn’t reply, but followed him.

  When they reached it, Grimm sat and patted the wood beside him. Lacy joined him, scooting close. He wound an arm around her and pulled her nearer to share his body heat. She fit perfectly into his side.

  She murmured, “This is so cozy.”

  “Um-hmm.”

  “So much better than the bar.”

  Lacy pointed to the night sky. It was bright, twinkling with thousands of lights. No clouds marred their view of the expanse.

  “It’s so big! I’ve never seen anything like this!”

  “That’s why I love this area. I’ve no desire to visit the big cities, much less move to one. I’d lose all of this.”

  “I wouldn’t either, if I were you. This is amazing.”

  They fell into silence, and after a bit, Lacy whispered, “Looking at it, I feel so small.”

  “Like the problems you have are nothing compared to the vastness of the universe that keeps churning no matter what?”

  Grimm turned to direct his gaze towards her at the same time she did to him.

  She said, “Yeah, like it never really mattered, Grimm. At least for now. Maybe I should come here every night we’re booked to stay.”

  “I’ll bring you if that’s what you want.”

  Lacy snuggled closer to him. “I’d like that.”

  Wanting Lacy to say the reason why she was as near to him as she was, he asked, “Are you cold again?”

  “Oh,” she replied, as if she hadn’t realized what she’d done. “I’m sorry.”

  He tightened his hold on her, keeping her where she was.

  “Don’t be. Stay.”

  Chapter Ten

  The night was beautiful, and Grimm was a wonderful companion guiding her through it. When he’d approached her at the bar, she hadn’t known what to think, and though she still didn’t, she was enjoying being with him.

  The heat coming from Grimm’s body was enough to keep her warm at a distance, much less as near to him as she was, but she’d still inched closer to him without her having realized she’d done it. Lacy was enveloped in warmth, but not an overwhelming one. The chill from the air, combined with Grimm beside her, was comforting, like she should be camping and making s’mores.

  She asked, “Do you really run the hiking company?”

  “Yeah.”

  “That’s really cool, Grimm. I love being in the outdoors, but it’s been a while since I’ve been able to.”

  “What kind of trails do you like?”

  “Where I can see a lot. You know, the views from cliffs, waterfalls, that kind of thing.”

  “We have all of those, but getting to some of them can be a demanding venture.”

  “I might be tiny compared to you, and I’m in no way as strong as you are, but for my age and weight—for a human—I’m fit. I do some sort of physical activity every day.”

  Grimm peered down at her. “For a human?”

  “Well, I thought I should qualify it. I’ve read a bit about shifters and those articles said that your kind are vastly superior to mine.”

  Grimm seemed to bristle. “Does that intrigue you?”

  “It’s just that I understand we have different capabilities. For me, I’m sure that I can walk with you, a bit slower for sure because I’m short, but I could keep up on a hike for ten miles or so, maybe more with rest breaks. Jumping, climbing, running… No way. I can’t do that as well as you.”

  His voice relaxed, and he said, “No, you couldn’t, but I’ll make sure you get wherever you want to go. I know where all the right spots are.”

  Lacy was growing to like Grimm, and quite a bit. He’d taken her to look at the stars instead of trying to ply her with alcohol. He wanted to bring her to that spot the next night so that she could enjoy her time there again.

  Oh, my heart.

  Chapter Eleven

  The moon had hung long in the sky and, though it didn’t bother Grimm, he was mindful of her human frame and her desire to hike the mountains.

  “If we want to go out on the trails tomorrow, I should escort you to your room so you can get your rest.”

  “You’re right.”

  She let go of him at an unhurried pace, as if she was hesitant to do it, didn’t want to. When they stood, he urged her to his side and wrapped an arm around her waist. She laced the fingers of her hand in with his, with his at her hip.

  Sooner than he liked, the motel came into view.

  Grimm walked her to her door and, tipping her chin with his finger so that she would see his sincerity, he said, “You’re beautiful, Lacy.”

  Their gazes locked, and he watched as emotions flowed through her. Lacy was easy for him to read, and he was certain that she was experiencing the same pull to him as he was to her.

  Deciding to take a risk, he whispered, “I want to kiss you.”

  She ran her tongue over her lips. “You should do it then.”

  Not needing anything else to be said, Grimm lifted Lacy into his arms once more, stepped into her room, and kicked the door closed behind them. He sat on the edge of the bed with her in his lap, cupped the back of her head, and urged her to his mouth. Her hands delved into his hair, her fingers gripping him. Their lips met, a gentle joining, as Grimm pulled her to him tighter. She shifted to sit on his thighs with her knees on either side of him, and he could hear the quick pounding of her heart. Her mouth parted slightly, and Grimm slipped his tongue between her lips, tasting and enjoying her.

  His dick had thickened, grown hard to the point of pain, but he ignored it, choosing to allow Lacy to lead the way through the next steps. She groaned, rotating her hips, and he released her head to grip her at her waist and hold her onto him there.

  Grimm moaned into her mouth, “Mmm, Lacy…”

  She clutched him to her closer and cried out, “Grimm!”

  Just then, the door banged hard. Grimm pushed Lacy behind him, with a hand on her ribs in protection.

  “Are you in there?”

  Chapter Twelve

  Lacy took deep inhales as she tried to get her body’s reaction to Grimm under control. No man had ever kissed her as thoroughly as he had done. She suspected he would make love to her with the same intensity, and the thought of it left her reeling.

  The knocking at her door hadn’t stopped, and Lacy needed to respond.

  In a shaky voice, she told Grimm, “It’s okay. That’s my friend, Carla.”

  She slid off of the bed and walked to the entrance on wobbly legs to open it.

  Carla said, “Hey, girl! Why’d you run off?”

  First feeling warmth at her back, and then Grimm’s arm around her waist, she said, “The bar was loud, so we left. Sorry I didn’t find you to let you know.”

  Grimm let her go and held out his hand.

  Flitting her eyes up to Grimm, Carla shook his palm. “I see you found her.”

  “Yes, thank you. My name’s Grimm.”

  “Carla.”

  Then, Grimm surprised her by saying, “I’d like to take Lacy on a trip tomorrow. Is that alright with you? Will you be okay being without her for the day?”

  Carla gave him a wink. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll find something to do. You two have fun.”

  Trying to find space for Carla and not shut her out of the vacation that she had organized, Lacy said, “We can have breakfast together in the morning.”

  Carla looked at her like she was crazy. “No. You go with him and have a good time. I’m a big girl. I’ll be perfectly fine. Remember those walls we talked about.”

  “I do.”

  Grimm said, “Huh?”

  Carla faked a yawn, holding a hand to her mouth. “Well, I’m tired and headed to bed. Maybe you should go to his place. Noise and all, and I’m right next door.”

  Grimm said, “We could. I live with my mom, but she wouldn’t ca
re if we went there.”

  Carla almost shouted, “What?”

  He gave a short laugh. “I take care of her.”

  Lacy said, “That’s sweet.”

  Carla jangled her key, went to the next room over, and Lacy closed herself inside.

  Facing Grimm, she sighed. “I suppose it is late.”

  “Does it bother you?”

  “What?”

  “My housing situation.”

  “Why would it?”

  “I don’t plan on being there long term, and I have my eyes set on a piece of property to move to. I’ll show it to you tomorrow and see what you think.”

  Lacy wondered what her opinion mattered to him, but she nodded in agreement.

  Cocking his head to the side, Grimm peered at her to ask, “Do you regret kissing me?”

  “No, but honestly, I’m glad things stopped when they did.” Lacy cast her gaze away from Grimm. “I didn’t expect…”

  “What?”

  “To enjoy it as much as I did.”

  When Grimm spoke again, his voice was guttural and deep. “Imagine what it will be like once you’re naked and underneath me. I have... in explicit detail.”

  Lacy’s breathing came quicker, her nipples beaded, and she felt the moistening of her panties. She was drawn to Grimm more than any other man in her past, even Joe. The way Grimm spoke to her set her body on fire. But in the back of her mind, she was reminded that she would be leaving, returning home in a few days, and leaving Dark Moon Falls and Grimm behind.

  Could she allow herself to spend more time with him, grow to care for him as she knew she would, be intimate with him and then survive the separation afterwards? She doubted he would have any trouble moving on, but it was her heart that she was concerned about, and breaking it over what in reality would merely be a tryst for him.

  “Lacy?”

  “Sorry. I got distracted.” She blew out a breath. “What time are we going on this trek?”

  “I’ll pick you up at 8:00 a.m.”

  “Do I need to bring anything, or do you provide everything?”

  “Dress for the elements.” He glanced at her feet, and back into her face with a smile. “No heels. I’ll cover the rest.”

  Lacy laughed. “I won’t make you carry me up and down the mountains.”

  “I wouldn’t mind. You feel good in my arms.”

  She took a step away from him and sighed at her apparent naivety after being absent from the dating world for as long as she had been. No guy talked to women the way he did without practice.

  With another sigh, she said, “You must be a winner with all the ladies that visit here. You’ve got the best lines.”

  “I’m not sure what you mean.”

  “You know, making women think that you’re really into them.”

  Grimm shifted on his feet. “Do you think I’m faking my interest?”

  “Well…”

  “Look and listen to me, Lacy.”

  She realized that she’d said those things to him while letting her eyes wander anywhere other than at him, and she returned her gaze to his face.

  “I’ve never spoken to a woman the way I am to you.”

  “Right.”

  “I probably shouldn’t be telling you this as early in our relationship as I am, but since you’re assuming I’m not serious about you, I have to. You were shopping with Carla when I saw you, and my intentions towards you were cemented in my head and heart. Ask your friend what happened at the bar. I went directly to her to ask where you were. You’ve captured more than my attention, Lacy.”

  Lacy stood dumbfounded at what Grimm had said to her.

  “I don’t think I’m following.”

  “Yes, you are. You understand everything I told you.”

  “I do?”

  “Uh-huh.” Grimm leaned down and kissed her on her forehead before righting himself. “Get some rest, and I’ll see you in the morning.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Several weeks earlier

  “He doesn’t give a fuck that you’re behind bars, Joe. That’s your problem. The boss man wants the money you had stashed for him.”

  Gripping the phone in his hand, Joe’s voice stammered when he replied to the burly man on the other side of the protective glass, “The Feds emptied my bank accounts. All of them! They were even able to find the ones I’d opened in Lacy’s name without her knowing it. That’s why she got picked up when I did. They thought we were partners, but we weren’t. She walked away free, but I got locked up. I still don’t know how her lawyers finagled that. She didn’t have any information or evidence to hand over to them for leniency.”

  “You want her in the slammer too, Joe?”

  “No, I wish she was dead for divorcing me. I gave that bitch anything she asked for.”

  “Like jewelry and furs?”

  “Donations for land conservation and trips to national parks, mostly.”

  “Yeah, you can’t get that money back.”

  “Not that I minded her being away, since I didn’t have to watch my back with the chick I was fucking on the side.”

  “What happened with her, Joe?”

  “She’s still around.”

  “Conjugal visits?”

  “She says she’s into me, but I think she’s trading her pussy for my tax and investment advice for her upstart company.”

  “Do you care?”

  “Never mind that! Where the hell am I supposed to get five million dollars, Mike? I’m broke!”

  “You’d better think of something quick.” Mike paused, looking around to see if anyone was watching. He cleared his throat before continuing. “Accidents take place on the inside all the time. It’d be a shame if something happened to you.”

  The threat on his life couldn’t have been clearer to Joe. He’d lived at the top of his game until his underhanded deeds caught up with him, and even the highest priced attorneys were unable to keep him out of the slammer for the next fifteen years. Joe wanted to be able to walk out at the end of his sentence, rather than be carted out inside a box during it.

  “I’ll figure it out. Tell him I will.”

  “Hate to see it come to this, Joe. I really do, but business is business.”

  “I understand. If I need outside help, do you think that can be arranged?”

  “Yeah, I’ll broker whatever I need to because we’re friends. Frank just wants the cash. End of story.”

  “Alright.”

  “Get a hold of me when you’ve got your plan together.”

  “I will.”

  Mike hung up, stood, and exited the room while Joe began wracking his brain for a way to get the money to his former mob boss. There was no doubt that there were guys on the inside who would kill him if the order came down. It was a crazy thought that the syndicate would spend funds to do him in if Joe weren’t able to repay the debt and not see a dime of what was owed, but that’s how it worked. It served as a message to anyone who found themselves falling out of favor with the mob.

  After following the guard back to his cell, Joe dropped onto the thin mattress and put his head in his hands.

  “What’s going on?”

  It was George, his cell mate. He was in the joint for a hit job gone wrong in the planning of it. His client had actually been an undercover cop, but George thought he’d been communicating with a disgruntled employee.

  “Got five million laying around anywhere, man?”

  George whistled through his teeth and rubbed the back of his neck. “They want their money, huh?”

  “Yeah, or I’m going to have an accident.”

  “Got anybody you can borrow it from?”

  “Are you kidding? Of course, I don’t. Everybody left me as soon as the cash dried up, even my wife.”

  George sat on the bed at the opposite wall and leaned back against the cement blocks. “Well, you know my modus operandi.”

  “It got you caught too.”

  “The one and only time I mes
sed up after being in the business for most of my life.”

  “How many did you kill before they nabbed you?”

  George’s eyes went to slits.

  “None that I wasn’t brought up on charges for, or any I would admit to you.”

  “Alright. I shouldn’t have asked that. I’m still learning what to do and not do in here. But will you please help me figure this out? I think you might know what needs to be done to get me out of this. I was just an accountant for the family, George, not deeply involved in the crimes.”

  George sat straight and then leaned forward towards Joe, and Joe did the same to him.

  “Okay. I’ll plead ignorance if anybody tries to tie me to this scheme, and if I hear you ratted me out, I’ll kill you myself and make it look like a suicide. Got it?”

  “I won’t breathe a word to anyone, except my people who’ll make the arrangements. They’re made men so they know to keep their mouths shut. I just need a way to get the cash.”

  “You said that bitch, your ex, took your money?”

  “Yes, she did.”

  Joe didn’t bother mentioning exactly how little it had been. After court costs, and what the Feds seized, there was barely anything left to split in the divorce. But if Lacy could somehow get him out of that predicament, he wouldn’t lose a wink of sleep over it.

  “With the right tools and resources from your world, you could take a life insurance policy out on her. As crafty as those guys are, they could backdate when it was purchased so it wouldn’t be viewed with any suspicion. The Fed’s case is closed, right?” Joe nodded. “They’ve settled with you, so they wouldn’t come for any of the money.”

  “We had to disclose all of our finances during the trial and divorce though. Won’t this raise suspicion?”

  “Stuff like this gets glossed over or forgotten. Just make sure it’s a clean hit, like a real accident that happens to her, or make sure the policy covers death by homicide, and it’ll work out.”

  “Keep talking. I like where this is headed, and I think what you’re suggesting would be possible through my acquaintances.”