Running Bare

An Ellora’s Cave Romantica Publication

www.ellorascave.com

Running Bare ISBN 9781419921520 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Running Bare Copyright © 2009 Lacey Thorn Edited by Helen Woodall Cover art by Syneca Electronic book Publication April 2009 The terms Romantica® and Quickies® are registered trademarks of Ellora’s Cave Publishing. With the exception of quotes used in reviews, this book may not be reproduced or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written permission from the publisher, Ellora’s Cave Publishing, Inc.® 1056 Home Avenue, Akron OH 44310-3502. Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded or distributed via the Internet or any other means, electronic or print, without the publisher’s permission. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. (http://www.fbi.gov/ipr/). Please purchase only authorized electronic or print editions and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted material. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated. This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.

RUNNING BARE

Lacey Thorn

Dedication This book is dedicated to the following people: To David Sullivan. Thanks for being a friend. To the fans of Bare Love. Thanks for reading and for all the e-mails demanding more stories. You are the best. To great friends who keep me smiling and moving forward no matter what. You know who you are and you know that I love you.

Trademarks Acknowledgement The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of the following wordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction: Ka-bar knife: Alcas Corporation Jeep: Chrysler LLC

Running Bare

Chapter One Julia had no idea why she was here tonight. She usually didn’t venture this far from home but the case she was currently working on made her antsy. So here she sat on a barstool in a smoky tavern sipping a cold beer. She’d wanted a little action. Unfortunately none of the contenders at the bar were even in the running. Too old, too young, too few teeth. She could find a reason for dismissing all of them. Looked like she was going home unsatisfied tonight. She tilted her head back to finish her beer, and let her gaze slide up to the mirror above the bar and almost choked as her beer slid down the wrong way. When had he walked in and how the hell had she missed him? He sat in the far corner, his back to the wall and she almost swallowed her tongue along with her beer when he lifted a brow and acknowledged her gaze in the mirror. He was sex on a plate and she was definitely hungry. She let a smile tilt the corners of her lips. Her gaze flicked toward the sign pointing to the restrooms and then she let it slip back toward him. With a casual move she slid off the barstool and without glancing back at him turned toward the path her eyes had just taken. She took her time, letting him get a good look at her long legs as revealed by the tight black miniskirt she was wearing. The heels on her shoes added two and half inches to her already five-foot-ten-inch frame. She couldn’t tell how tall he was from the brief look in the mirror but she could cross her fingers and hope. She bypassed the bathrooms and stopped in front of the door at the end of the hall. If she wasn’t mistaken this would be a closet of some sort. Every bar seemed to have a storage closet in the same place by the bathrooms. Almost all of them were stacked to the rafters with supplies like toilet paper and rolls of towels for the bathroom dispensers. She reached for the knob and gave it a turn to see if it was locked and

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almost jumped when another hand appeared above hers and helped to push the door open. She glanced back and there he was, looking even more edible up close. He had close-cropped sandy brown hair and the greenest eyes she had ever seen. The shape and color reminded her of a cat but this man was definitely no tame tabby. She let him push the door open and stepped as silently as she could into the shadows. There was a soft glow in the room that made her think that someone had invested in a night light. She silently thanked them for it. She felt him move further into the room behind her and quickly turned back toward the door. He made no move to stop her. A shiver swept up her spine when his voice filled the silence, a soft whisper that seduced her senses. “Change your mind?” She clicked the lock and braced her hands on the door. She glanced back over her shoulder and met his gaze with all the lust she felt reflecting in her eyes. She heard his indrawn breath and smiled softly. “Have you?” “Hell no,” he commented and moved forward pinning her body between him and the door. She dropped both hands down and reached under her skirt giving a tug that had her panties falling down around her ankles where she quickly stepped out of them. He lifted her skirt up and ran his hands over her buttocks before reaching down further and pushing her thighs apart. One hand dipped between her thighs and a finger brushed at her wet cunt. “Just like this?” he asked her softly, his mouth so close to her ear that she could smell the whiskey on his breath. “Just like this,” she answered suddenly dying to feel the hard slide of his cock inside her. She heard the snap of his jeans, the rasp of his zipper as he tugged it down. She closed her eyes and leaned her forehead against the cool wood of the door. This was what she wanted, how she wanted it. She should know better than anyone the perils of having sex with a total stranger. She was a detective after all. But her senses were 6

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usually right and nothing was screaming at her that this was wrong. In fact everything was yelling just the opposite. She heard the crinkle of a wrapper and opened her eyes just in time to see the condom wrapper hit the floor. She didn’t know where he got it from but thank God one of them was thinking with more than their sex drive. She licked her lips as she listened to him slide it on and wondered just how big he was. God she hoped he wasn’t disappointing… “Ahhhhh…” She couldn’t stop the cry that left her lips as he pushed inside her wet pussy and continued until he was buried deep. He was thick, so thick, and just the right length to hit her G-spot if he got a good rhythm going. He leaned close again and whispered in her ear. “I’d watch those cries unless part of the thrill for you is getting caught.” She laughed, actually laughed and shook her head. “No. Not interested in anyone catching us. Not yet anyway.” His husky chuckle filled her ear just before his tongue stroked along the lobe there. He was still buried deep but had yet to move. She wondered at his ability to carry on any type of conversation at all. She was barely coherent as it was. “And what should I call you, my little blonde angel?” he murmured just before he nipped her lobe with his teeth. “That sounds good,” she managed to get out. “Just call me angel.” “Not going to give me your name,” he stated softly as he pulled his cock slowly out of her. With a hard thrust that had her biting her lip to keep from crying out, he rammed deep once more. “But you want me to give you my cock?” “Yes,” she whimpered. Whimpered, something she had never done in her life. “Please.” Ah, hell. Now she was begging.

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Two hard hands grabbed her hips and angled her so that she had to step back a bit and lean over more. Those same two hands continued to hold her as the man behind her took complete control and began fucking her like she’d never had it before.

Jack couldn’t believe that he was doing this. Not the sex, not the woman, but he usually had more control than to take a woman in a storage closet inside a bar. He should have ushered her out and across the street to the motel where he already had a room. Hell, if he had his way she’d end up there anyway before the night was over. She felt good, too good. Her pussy snugged his cock like a glove, grasping and squeezing him with every stroke. She was doing her best but he could still hear the sweet little mewling sounds she was making. Angel hell, she was like a sweet kitten ready to purr when stroked just right. And he was doing his best to stroke her just right for both of them. He held onto his control when she whimpered softly. The vixen wouldn’t give him her name. Then she whispered the magic word and there was no holding back. He grasped her hips and pulled so that she stepped back further causing her to lean over more and putting her pussy at the exact angle he wanted. One slow thrust was all he could manage. It was too good. The fit and feel of her on his cock consumed him. With a soft groan he held tight to her hips and slammed his length in and out of her tight, wet heat. She rippled around him, her sheath doing its best to hold him prisoner inside. One hand crept over to the small of her back and he used it to arch her just a little deeper. There, that was it. The perfect position he had been searching for. They both knew it and felt it. Fast and furious was the only way it could be. Jack took her, fucked her until they were both exploding in a carnal rush so all-consuming that he had serious doubts if either of them would be able to walk out of here, much less across the street to his room.

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But she surprised him. With a subtle wiggle of her hips his cock slipped free and she straightened in front of him. She pushed her skirt down and turned slowly to face him. She ran the backs of her fingers down his check before leaning close and placing a chaste kiss there. “Thanks for the ride,” she whispered and before he had collected his breath she had unlocked the door and was disappearing outside. “What the hell,” Jack muttered as he scrambled to remove the used condom and pull his jeans back into place. As he searched for a trash can his eyes caught sight of something that assured him that his pretty little kitten wasn’t quite as cool as she wanted him to think. He bent and picked up the scrap of lace that she had unknowingly left behind. Bringing the black panties to his nose he inhaled the scent of her and groaned when his cock twitched with renewed interest. As soon as his search for answers was over he’d come back and find out exactly who she was. And next time he’d make damn sure that she lacked the energy required to walk away.

***** Julia drove in silence back to her small bungalow-style home in Hidden Falls. It was a good thing that she was so familiar with the back roads she was using as her mind was definitely not on her driving. Instead she was back in the case files that she had reluctantly left behind at work. This case was driving her crazy with its very lack of evidence. Two women had disappeared without a single trace. It was as if they had just disappeared off the face of the earth. No clues to their whereabouts. No signs of foul play or struggle. No known trouble or turmoil in their personal lives. No runaway notes or calls to home. No bodies. And yet there was something about this case that had the hairs on the back of her neck standing to full attention. Something that wouldn’t allow her to believe that they weren’t connected. There was something that left a very bad taste in her mouth, one that she couldn’t wash out.

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It was that feeling, that taste that had led her to the bar tonight, to the man. She felt a wild urge to cut loose and remember, if only for a brief moment, that she was alive. And that man, that unbelievable sexual encounter had more than fulfilled her desires. All of them. She was alive and if there was indeed a God in heaven she would meet her mystery man again someday. But that was a dream, a fantasy, and Julia prided herself on dealing with reality. And the hard, cold truth was that there were two women missing from a town that had the lowest crime statistics in the state. But more importantly was the tingle that kept running down her spine assuring her that something was going on, something that would continue to haunt her. Until she found the truth that lay beneath the surface.

***** Her eyes were filled with desperation. The brown orbs were wide and wild with fear as she frantically searched the room around her for the one who had captured her. Had it only been a day that she had been kept here? She had no concept of time anymore. He had her bound and gagged with no means of escape in sight. The few times he had entered since securing her, he had toyed with her seeming to feed from the fear that rolled off her skin. And she was terrified. The tools of torture lay in plain sight just across from her and she knew that it was entirely for her benefit. He wanted her to see them, to wonder when he would use them on her. She’d lost count of the number of times she had heard footsteps in the corridor outside her door. Once or twice he would enter her room and stand by the display of knives and whatever else he had laid out there. He would pick up the big Ka-Bar knife that gleamed silver in the faint rays of light cast by the low wattage bulb that hung naked from the ceiling. Once he had crossed the room to her and stroked it over her body like the hand of a lover—over her hair, down her cheek and neck to the v of her now grungy t-shirt. He’d slid it under the material there and tugged until it ripped just enough to show the top of her bra and the deep cleavage showcased within. Yes, she was terrified. 10

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But not of rape. Not anymore. That fear had passed when she had first noticed the knives, when he had first shown them to her. No what she feared now was when he would finish toying with her and begin to cut skin instead of cloth. And she knew it would happen. He promised her that it would be soon. He explained to her in vivid detail exactly what he planned to do to her. But even that wasn’t the worst of it. No the worst was the television screens mounted on the wall just in front of her. They were blank for the moment but the sound worked just fine. They informed her that she wasn’t alone with this madman. There were at least two other woman with her, at least that was all that she could remember hearing. Their voices were distinct. Their fear was palpable. And she wondered just how long they had been here. She remembered reading about the woman who had disappeared from one of the local parks. Had even felt a moment of sorrow for her and her family. Then she had gone on about her day and forgotten all about it. Her mistake. Perhaps a fatal one. She should have paid more attention, read the article closer. She should have slept in instead of getting up for her usual early morning run. She should have done a lot of things. But now it was most assuredly too late. Footsteps sounded in the hall and she was surrounded by the terrified whimpering of her fellow captives. The door opened and for a moment she was blinded by the bright light that filled the dim room. Then the door shut and she was cast in shadow once more. Her hands and feet had gone numb long ago and her throat, blocked by the gag, was so dry that every swallow was as she imagined it would feel to swallow glass. He smiled as he crossed the room to her. She didn’t know how she knew this but some part of her felt sure that it was there on his lips. He sat beside her on the dirty mattress and only when he used a finger to wipe at the tears on her cheeks did she realize that she was crying. “No time for tears now, sweet girl.” His hand caressed her flesh making her cringe though her body refused to move. “It’s time. You have to learn to play the game now.” She managed to shake her head though it wasn’t the frantic shaking that she was doing inside. He had kept her tied in one position for so long that her body was unable

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to cooperate with her wishes. She was numb on the outside. She only wished that she was numb on the inside as well. He reached around her and clicked on the lamp that sat on the small table just to the left of where she lay. The lamp and a glass of water were all that sat on the surface of the table. And it was the water that she had fixated on the most. Just a tiny sip to wet her lips and swollen tongue was what filled her thoughts when she would glance over toward the table. He had taken such delight in describing the ice-filled cup and the condensation that trailed down the side. He would give her a drink. This she knew. Just before he started in on whatever sick game he was playing. His hands slid under her head and she cried harder, though in silence, as she felt the loosening of the gag. Yes, her time had come. And from what she had heard from the others it would not be over quickly. She shuddered as he removed the gag slowly before lifting a tube of lip balm and running it over his lips while hers remained dry and cracked. She wanted to look away, but was helpless and knew it. Just how long had she been here? How much time had passed since the time he abducted her and when she had groggily regained consciousness? He dipped a finger into the water and ran it along her lips. Again and again he did this until the need was too great and she sucked greedily at the digit, eager for every delicious drop of fluid he would give her. When he finally pulled his finger away and didn’t return it she groaned, her voice rusty and hoarse from lack of use. She had screamed in the beginning, when she had first woken, screamed and screamed beneath the gag. But no one had heard her. No one but the man who stood over her and watched as he played with the knife. “Please,” she whispered in a voice that sounded rough and unlike her normal soft tone. “Please.” He leaned close, placing his lips next to her ear. “Please what, sweet girl?” “Help me. Please help me.” She knew it was useless but the part of her that refused to give up took over. “Don’t hurt me.” 12

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He smiled down at her, almost a gentle smile. And yet a smile that sent shivers down her spine. For in it she could see the hour of her death. There was no mercy, only determination. Determination to see her play a game where only he knew the rules and every wrong move would require a painful forfeit on her part. She remembered one woman begging him not to do something and her screams when he did. “I’m going to help you. I’ll make sure you get every chance to prove your worthiness.” He turned and walked over to the display of instruments, picking up the big knife again and running his fingertip over it to show her the sharpness of the blade. Her eyes watched the drop of blood form on his fingertip and followed as it made the trip to his mouth. He sucked it clean and smiled at her with a tiny smear of red on his bottom lip. “I’ll let you play forever.” Her whimpers filled the small room echoing off the walls around her. They mixed eerily with the ones still being heard from the speakers on the wall. And everything was being recorded by the camera mounted in the corner by the ceiling. She wondered if the others could see her or only hear her. There was no doubt in her mind that before it ended she would wish that she was dead.

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Chapter Two Julia White leaned back at her desk heaving a sigh of disgust. “Another one?” her partner, Marcus Jones asked. “Yep. Missing twenty-four hours now.” This made the third woman in the last two months and Julia was sick to her stomach. Marcus reached for the file and opened it up. “Shit. How current is this picture?” “About a few days old. She had just gone to her brother’s graduation ceremony.” And the girl’s family was devastated that she was missing. She was a good girl, as her mother kept telling the police officer who took the missing persons report. “Hell, she looks like the other two. On the tall side.” She watched his eyes glance down to the height line just to be sure. Yeah, she was in the same range as the other two. “Five foot eight inches, long blonde hair and brown eyes. Well, we know eye color isn’t a factor as we’ve had one with blue, one with green, and now one with brown. But he seems to go for tall blondes.” “What red-blooded man doesn’t?” Julia said without thinking. “So says the tall blonde,” Marcus grinned at her. “Hating all the attention, Jules?” “Sometimes,” she admitted. Sometimes it was damn irritating the way men looked at a long pair of legs, long hair and big boobs and thought, “Easy.” Sometimes it was just what she wanted. Her thoughts skittered back to the tall drink of water she’d encountered in the bar a few nights ago. Fortunately most of the locals knew her and kept their distance. She was one of only two women on the police force here and she was the only one who had made detective. She was good at her job, damn good, and she meant to stay that way. Even if she had to take some ribbing from the guys and endure the nickname Jules, which often led to

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crude remarks about “family jewels”. Hell she worked with a bunch of men, jocks mostly. She could handle just about anything. Marcus had gone back to perusing the new file. “I see that this one was a runner as well.” “Is,” Julia interrupted. “Is a runner. You know it annoys me when you do that. You don’t know that anything has happened to her yet. To any of them for that matter.” Marcus just looked at her and said nothing. It was all there in his eyes. The only black man on the force, Marcus was a veteran with over thirty-five years as a member of the police department. Everyone had been surprised when he had requested her as his partner when she had made detective. Hell, Julia had been terrified. But he had taken her under his wing and taught her things that she couldn’t learn from any textbook or class. Once he had told her that she reminded him of someone but when she had asked who, Marcus had only smiled and changed the topic. Something he was really good at. After two years with him, she still knew very little about his personal life. He lived alone, worked long hours and had a big black Doberman named Bubba. Then again she couldn’t say much either. She was thirty-five, still single with no children and honestly, no desire to have them. She liked them, found them adorable as a matter-of-fact. But the thought of having one of her own terrified her like nothing else. She worked long hours, usually taking stuff home with her to pore over again and again. It was one of the things that Marcus had taught her. Repetition. Read, read, and then read again. Sift through the accumulated evidence always looking for that one piece of information you might have missed the first few times. She also had a dog, a big German Shepherd named Lucifer. She’d had him since he was a puppy and she loved that dog more than anything in her life. She’d bought him for her father when he was first diagnosed with cancer. He’d lived for a year before succumbing to complications brought on by the treatment of the disease. Now it was just her and Lucifer. And they had bonded. In fact it was scary sometimes how Lucifer

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knew her mood or what she was going to do before she did it. But she loved him and didn’t know what she would do if anything happened to him. “Prepare for the worst, hope for the best,” she murmured, quoting one of Marcus’ phrases. And he was right. The first woman had been missing for close to five weeks now and nothing. No body, no ransom note, no postcard home. Nothing. Vanished without a trace. Now there were two other women missing as well. Not a big deal in some places but in a town where the last person to go missing was Ms. Claudine and she had ended up in Vegas married to a trucker, it was a very big deal. People came here to disappear, they didn’t disappear from here. “Grab the files and let’s head out,” Marcus said nodding to the first two folders that lay on her desk. At her questioning look he responded. “We’re going to head over to the park and take a look around. Her mom reported that she always ran first thing in the morning over by her house. Our first girl ran the park where it met by her house. And number two drove over by the lake to run there. So let’s go for a walk this morning and see what we can see.” Julia grabbed the files and stood up. She was dressed in her trademark black slacks and black, short-sleeved turtleneck. With summer close it was sure to hit the eighties today and she hoped she wouldn’t melt in a pool of sweat. “You still run?” Marcus asked casually, but Julia heard the concern underneath. “Every day, usually late afternoon when it starts to cool down. Think I should start running in the mornings?” She did fit the same physical appearance as the other three women. “Still taking that devil dog with you?” Marcus held the door open for her as they left their desk area behind and waded through the chaos of the station toward the front door. “Always. Lucifer is the only running partner I can keep.” Julia grinned up at him when he burst into robust laughter. It was such a rare thing for Marcus that many people looked up and stared. 16

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“That’s cause you run like the hounds of hell are after you, girl. Never seen anyone run like you.” Marcus shook his head and used his six-foot frame to cut a path for them. She followed easily behind him. At five ten she was fairly tall for a woman. Her long blonde hair was in a French braid that she’d rolled and pinned under so that it barely hung to her shoulders. Not only practical but it kept it out of her way while she was working. Her hair was thick and heavy so by the end of the day she was ready to take it down and try to get rid of the headache that putting it up always gave her. “Hey Marcus, Jules.” Julia snapped out of her thoughts and glanced up at fellow detective Dakota James. He was a big guy, six foot four and built like the linebacker he was in college before a knee injury took him out of the game. He’d come here, like many others had, to disappear. Having majored in criminal justice while in college, and finished his degree, he’d easily got on at the department and quickly made detective. He was good at his job, good with people, and good in bed. She should know since they’d had one drunken encounter the week her dad died. He hadn’t pushed but she knew he was interested in more. But it just wasn’t there for her. She had enjoyed it but there were no sparks. It had just been sex. And she wanted more. “Hey,” she tried to sound casual as she smiled up at him. “Hey, James,” Marcus said. “You just rolling your sorry ass in this morning?” Marcus’ eyes were twinkling. He liked Dakota as much as everyone else did. “Been here and gone, old man,” Dakota replied with a grin. “Age catching up with you?” Marcus shook his head but he was smiling as he ushered Julia past and out the door. The warm air felt surprisingly good but she knew it wouldn’t last. It was going to be a hot one today. Something was in the air. She could feel it just under her skin, a sensation that something was coming. And for the life of her she didn’t know if it would be something good or bad.

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***** Jack drove into the town of Hidden Falls and pulled his Jeep over to the side of the road to admire the beauty that surrounded him. Trees were everywhere, their lush green leaves a perfect picture against the blue cloudless sky. He had to admit that it intrigued him the way that the town had been built around what had become a gorgeous park. Most places would have torn the trees down but the original settlers here had admired the wooded area and built around it. Almost every street of homes in the city touched on the park somewhere. So everyone had access to it and could not only admire its beauty but utilize it in their day-to-day lives as well. Children could easily go to the park to play and with all the trails it must be an adventurer’s paradise. Jack Madigan had researched the town thoroughly before heading here. And what he didn’t find on his own he had his best friend Roman work on from home. Roman needed the busywork anyway as he was home recovering from some minor burns and smoke inhalation. Roman had tried to save Jack’s sister from a fire set by an arsonist and had almost died with her instead. But something good had come out of the entire episode. Roman was finally able to shout to the world that he was in love with Catherine Daniels, the widowed matriarch of the Daniels family. Almost losing Roman had made her realize just how much she loved him. They hadn’t said anything about marriage yet but Jack figured it was just around the corner. Hell, his own daughter Moira was married to the oldest of the Daniels children, Gil, who was a police detective on the local force in Legacy. There were four Daniels children in all and only one of them remained single. The Daniels family was certainly unique in its ability to accept just about anything. Things that would disgust other people, the Daniels family didn’t even bat an eyelash at. They were amazing and most of it was due to Catherine Daniels. She was an incredible woman and that was one of the reasons why Jack was so happy for Roman. If anyone deserved a good woman it was Roman.

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So much had happened recently in all their lives. It was amazing that any of them was still sane let alone able to laugh and enjoy life. The Daniels family was an amazing unit. One that he was now a part of through marriage. And once someone was a member of the Daniels family, they were a member for life. He had to admit that it was a nice thing to have them on his side. And with him they had accepted the rest of his unit, as he saw his men. Most of them had been together since their Marine days. They were all honorary Daniels family members, and Catherine mothered them all when she felt they needed it. Jack’s thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of his cell phone. He glanced down at the caller ID that popped up and smiled when he saw Roman’s name. “Hey what’s up?” Jack said. “You there yet?” Roman asked immediately. “Yep, and it is just as beautiful as you said it would be.” He’d have been here a few days ago if he hadn’t wasted time searching for the long-legged blonde that he still couldn’t get out of his head. “Damn. Wish I was there with you. I could be you know. First plane out and there by evening.” Jack could hear the need to help in Roman’s voice. The man still felt guilty for not saving Jack’s sister Michelle, no matter that he had almost died for his efforts. “Catherine smothering you too much,” Jack said knowing what answer he would get. “Hell no,” Roman’s voice warmed just speaking about the woman he was so in love with. Jack was happy for him but a part of him envied him as well. There had never been another woman to touch him since Moira’s mother. He often wondered if there ever would be. His thoughts drifted again to the blonde from the bar. “Then stay there and enjoy it, man,” Jack laughed. “You’ll be back to work sooner than you want anyway.”

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“Let me know anything you need Jack. Anything.” Roman’s voice was strong and sure and Jack never for a moment doubted the sincerity. “I’m there if you need me. No matter what.” “Back at you buddy,” Jack said. “How’s Moira?” “Beautiful as ever,” Roman said. “Katie had that baby yet?” Katie Daniels Marcum was the only daughter of the Daniels family and happily married to Gil’s best friend, Ben. They were expecting their first baby any day now. “Closer every day. Catherine is more of a wreck than either Katie or Ben is. You’d think that she was having it.” Jack knew that Roman was just as anxious for Katie to have the baby. Never having been a father himself, Roman was looking forward to enjoying the baby. “How’s Cass?” Cass was Moira’s best friend and had been like a daughter to Jack since the moment he met her. She was married to the middle brother of the Daniels clan, Doug, and also to his best friend Damon who had taken the Daniels name as well just weeks after the private ceremony that united the three of them. “She’s doing great. Those two men of hers haven’t driven her crazy yet though not for lack of trying, I’m sure.” Roman laughed as he replied and Jack joined him. It wasn’t hard to imagine those two men and the antics they could get up to. “And Ally? How is she doing?” Finally the reason he was here in Hidden Falls. His niece, or at least the woman he believed to be his niece. A pyromaniac had brought her into his life. The same one who had taken his sister out of it. “Was wondering when you would get around to her,” Roman replied. “She’s good. Still with Blake. Shep’s in and out a lot. He seems to think that she’s going to stay here in Legacy. She seems happy, Jack. She seems really happy. And she and Ben seem to be healing that relationship as well.” It turned out that Ally and Katie’s husband, Ben, were cousins. “I still can’t believe that they are cousins,” Jack admitted. 20

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“Yeah,” Roman agreed. “So you’re sure of Hidden Falls?” Jack questioned. “It’s the last place that I can find any trace of your brother. If you want to know if Ally is your blood then that is the first place that I would look for answers.” “Am I crazy, Roman? Tell me that you see it too.” Jack would never forget his first meeting with Ally. It amazed him how much she resembled his own daughter Moira in the face. The most remarkable thing was the cat-green eyes they both had. The same eyes that he and his brother had. He was almost positive that Ally was his niece. He just wanted to make sure before he sprung the news on her. “I have no doubts that she is a Madigan,” Roman answered him softly. “And I think that Moira is starting to think the same thing. She’s been spending a lot of time with Ally lately, got her working at the gym with her. Asked me point-blank if she was yours.” “What did you tell her?” Jack wasn’t surprised that his daughter would notice the same things that he had. She was his daughter after all. “I told her hell no. She was the only evil spawn you created.” Roman laughed again and Jack grinned. “And?” Jack knew that wouldn’t have been a sufficient answer for Moira. It wouldn’t have been for him either. “She asked about your brother. Wanted to know whatever happened to him.” Roman said. “That girl is too damn smart sometimes.” But there was pride in Jack’s voice and he didn’t even try to hide it. Roman would know better anyway. “Gets it from her old man I bet,” Roman stated. “Who you calling old man, old man?” Jack queried. Roman laughed. “We’re getting there Jack. We’re getting there.”

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“Speak for yourself. I’m only forty-seven. Hell, I’m still in my prime,” Jack said though he wasn’t sure if he believed that anymore or not. “I know how old you are since I’m right there with you. Actually, I do believe that I am six days younger than you. Old man,” he laughingly added. Jack opened his mouth and then heard Catherine’s voice in the background over the phone. “Saved by the little woman,” Jack said. “I’ll talk to you later Roman. Keep an eye on our girls.” “Always, Jack, always.” Roman agreed and the line disconnected. Hidden Falls was sprawled before him. It was time to find some answers and this was the first place to start looking for them. He had a feeling he was going to find more than he was looking for here. It was there in the weird sensation tickling the back of his neck that he couldn’t shake loose. He glanced in the rearview mirror and watched the police cruiser pull over behind him and flip its lights on. He knew one thing for sure. Things were definitely about to get interesting.

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Chapter Three Julia was hot and tired when she and Marcus made their way back into the station and headed toward their desks. Nothing. That was exactly what they had garnered from their morning excursion. Absolutely nothing. Nothing except a closer look at one of the plethora of trails that ran through the wooded center of town. They all seemed to look the same to her. She snapped out of her thoughts when she heard the rumble of male laughter up ahead. Her eyes automatically went to the group gathered in front of her and zoned in on the back of the tallest man in the room. He was easily six foot five as he just topped Dakota standing next to him. The chief stood across from him and it appeared from the way they stood and spoke that they knew each other well. Her gaze went right back to the man who seemed the center of attention. Muscular with short cropped hair, there was just something about him that was all too familiar. She couldn’t seem to put her finger on it until he casually turned his head and she finally met his gaze. Cat-green eyes snagged her and refused to let her look away. That rakish grin tilted the corners of his mouth and awareness seemed to fill the room around them. The most amazing sex of her life stood just across the room from her and if she didn’t snap out of it quickly everyone in the room would know that she had slept with him, and enjoyed it. “Hey Marcus, Jules, come over here and meet a good friend of mine, Jack Madigan,” the chief bellowed from across the room. Marcus headed that way and Julia had no choice but to follow along. And with little effort the hunk named Jack managed to maneuver so that she had no choice but to stand between him and Dakota. Talk about uncomfortable. She almost laughed when she thought how ironic it was that she was stuck between the only two people in the

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room that she had slept with. And the way both men were standing next to her it was a wonder that no one else was figuring it out. Of course that was when she glanced over to where Marcus stood next to the chief and caught his slight grin and wink. The man knew everything, even stuff he had no business knowing. “You should have been here Marcus,” Joe Dimarka, Hidden Falls’ standing Chief of Police stated. “Casey brought Jack here in for questioning when he found him pulled off the side of the road for no apparent reason.” “The rookie was trying to make a name for himself by catching your guy for you, Jones,” one of the other detectives added. Jules just shook her head. When you worked in a male-dominated field as she did, you became use to the way you were often forgotten or ignored. But that didn’t mean that you ever accepted it. So it surprised her when instead of Marcus being the one to say something about her involvement in the case it was Jack. “I thought you said that Ms. White was one of the detectives on this disappearance case, Joe.” Jack glanced casually down at her. Down at her… And she felt a wave of heat course through her body that had nothing to do with the climbing temperature outside. “Yeah.” It was Marcus who answered. “Jules and I are partners.” It was all that Marcus would say as he was always closed mouthed about the cases he was working on. In fact, the chief usually was too. “Jack and I go way back, Marcus. Served in the Marine Corps together. Runs his own security company now. He’s here looking for a missing person.” Julia hoped it was just coincidence when the chief glanced her way. No way was Jack here looking for her. Then she felt the slight brush of his thigh against hers. Just a subtle movement that had them barely touching for a mere moment. But it seemed to drag out for her and her skin felt inflamed long after the touch was over. “Thought maybe you or Jules here could help him out a bit.” Marcus gave nothing away but Julia knew he was thinking exactly what she was thinking. Why in the world would the chief ask the detectives working the three 24

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missing persons cases to pull time on something else? Then she remembered that the chief had said that Jack was here searching for someone as well. Julia went straight into detective mode. “Did you fill out a missing persons report? Is it a woman?” Her glance darted over to the chief. “One that fits the same pattern as our other three?” “No,” Jack’s voice brought her gaze back to him. “I’m looking for a relative of mine. Just wanted to take a few minutes of your time to see if you knew anything that could help me out. From what Joe told me Marcus knows just about everyone who has been here in the last thirty years or so. And you’ve lived here all your life?” He made it into a question but she could tell that he already knew the answer before she nodded in agreement. Just how close were he and the chief? And just how much personal information had he managed to get Joe to tell him? “No problem, Mr. Madigan. I’m sure that Jules and I would be happy to help you in any way that we can,” Marcus assured him when she remained silent. He sent a questioning look her way that she chose to ignore as best she could. “Thanks,” Jack said and reached over and clapped Joe on the shoulder. “Sorry to cause so much commotion when I came to town. Guess I better let you get back to work, Joe.” Joe smiled. “You heard him everyone. Time to get your sorry asses back to work. You’re not getting paid to stand around chatting like a bunch of little girls.” The guys grumbled but dispersed to whatever task they had been at before the group huddle. “Where you staying Jack? We can meet for a drink or something later. Talk some more about old times while you’re here.” The chief spoke over the noise that was now filling the room around them. “Don’t know yet. Just got into town and have no idea how long I’ll even be here. But I’ll give you a call when I figure it all out,” Jack promised.

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“You still renting out the loft apartment your dad had, Jules?” Joe asked casually and Julia should have known better than to shake her head. “Julia used to live there until she moved into the house. It sits above the garage. Nice place, fully furnished. You’ll love it. Jules will get you the key today and then we’ll meet for that drink later.” With that Joe Dimarka nodded his head and moved back toward his office oblivious to the tension he left in his wake. Marcus just grinned as he turned to lead the way back to his and Julia’s desks. “Looks like that’s settled then. You have a nice place to stay, Mr. Madigan, and Jules here has a new renter.” Julia stood still for a moment unsure of how she had been maneuvered into this impossible situation and even more unsure of how to get out of it. There was no way that she could let this man live above her garage. They’d be in bed in less than ten minutes give or take a few. It just wasn’t possible. She glanced up at him as he fell into step beside her hoping he would understand how she felt but the smoldering look she encountered said that he felt the same way. And he was looking forward to it. “By the way,” he said just loud enough for her ears to catch. “I’ve already found the angel I’ve been searching for. And I’m looking forward to making her purr again.” There was no way to stop the blush that spread across her face and she prayed that anyone who noticed would only think that it was from her turtleneck in the heat. Heaven help her but she was looking forward to him making her purr as well. He bypassed her desk and went to sit with Marcus and chat. She tried not to pay too close attention but she saw the shake of Marcus’ head when Jack showed a picture and the frown that marred Jack’s face. They chatted for a few minutes more before Jack focused that razor-sharp gaze back her way. “I’m ready when you are,” he said. “Ready?” she stammered.

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“To see where I’ll be staying while I’m here,” he replied but the twinkle in his eyes and the grin on his lips said that he was ready for so much more. And Lord help her but so was she.

***** Julia took a deep breath and held it as Jack pulled into the driveway behind her. She didn’t know what she was going to do. She was in the middle of a string of unexplained disappearances. The last thing she needed was the best sex of her life so far, constantly underfoot. She let her breath out with a whoosh when he stepped out behind her and grabbed a black bag before slamming the door and heading her way. He looked fantastic. Edible even, and man, was she hungry. He managed to open her door before she could get her body to cooperate. He just held it open and let his gaze peruse her while she stepped out. She could feel his eyes following her movements as she reached back in for her briefcase. “Thank you.” There was no way to disguise the husky tone of her voice. She wanted him and they both knew it. She didn’t even bother to pretend otherwise at this point. She just headed toward the side door to the house with him following close behind her. This time it was Julia who closed in. He had barely shut the door behind him when she was leaning into him, catching him between her thoroughly aroused body and the wooden door. Her lips found his open and willing. Teeth clashed, lips meshed, and tongues stroked and rubbed sensuously together. Her body undulated against his. She moaned when she heard the thud of his bag hitting the tile floor knowing that his hands would be on her any moment.

Jack grabbed her hips and pulled her hard against his straining cock. He wanted her right now but he’d be damned if he let her call the shots and rush him again. He

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wanted to enjoy her. Now that he knew a little more about her, thanks to his old friend, Joe, he found that she was someone he would definitely like to get to know better. Outside the bedroom. She sounded like a woman he could admire and respect. She slipped a hand down and fondled his rock-hard cock through his jeans and Jack was afraid he might come right then. “Bedroom?” he queried as he pushed away from the door backing her further into the room. “Too far,” she mumbled working her lips down his neck and trying to veer him toward the kitchen table. It looked big and sturdy, maybe oak, and he would definitely have her on it but not yet. Not this time. He wanted her stripped completely naked and spread out on a soft bed before him. “Bed, Julia,” he whispered grabbing her hips and working her on his cock loving the friction that it created between them. “I want to have you in a bed, totally naked. I want to taste every inch of your body, explore it with my hands and mouth.” She looked up at him and he took the opportunity to slide his mouth over his. It wasn’t the hot passionate plunder of before but a soft slow sharing of nothing more than lips on lips. “I want nothing between us, Julia. Just my skin on yours.” “Yes,” she moaned and seemed to have to force herself to turn from him. He let his hand glide down her arm until he felt her palm and linked their fingers together. She glanced back and smiled at him. It was the most beautiful sight that he had ever seen. She led him down the hall and pushed open a door. “Bathroom,” she said as she kept them moving down the hall. “In case you need it later.” On she moved until she reached another door. When she pushed this one open she stepped inside taking him with her. The bed dominated the room and it contrasted beautifully with her current appearance. The room was aglow with the soft shimmer of light from a bedside lamp that was on. The walls appeared to be a soft shade of rose, sponged, if he remembered the name of the technique correctly. A deep burgundy plush carpet covered the floor 28

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and he could tell just by looking that it was the kind that a person’s feet would just sink in to. The bed was draped in varying shades of the same burgundy and rose. It sat high, easily close to waist height and he wondered where she had found such a frame. The covers were rumpled, pillows thrown haphazardly around as if she had just tumbled out of it. He couldn’t wait to see her look that same way, disheveled and rumpled from his lovemaking. She dropped his hand and reached back to release her hair from the confining braid. How she had managed to put so much hair up into such a configuration he had no idea, but he couldn’t wait to see it flowing down her back again. She made a seduction of it, arching her back and pushing her breasts out, sucking her waist in and shifting her hips back. Slowly she pulled the hair down from where she had it rolled under at her neck, pulling it over her shoulder. She ran it down over her breast letting it slide against the puckered nipple pushing through her bra and turtleneck and kept going until it stopped close to her belly button. Only then did she begin to unwind the braid she had it in. With each new inch of hair her hands skimmed back up her torso drawing his eyes with it. This was one woman who definitely knew how to thoroughly seduce a man. He glanced up at her face and saw by the look in her eyes that she was enjoying herself, enjoying the sexual tease that she was performing. He moved across and sat down on the side of the bed giving her the full attention she so obviously deserved. He planned to enjoy her striptease even more. The braid disappeared and with a shake of her head all the long blonde curls spilled around her like a soft cloud. He wanted to touch, wanted to run his fingers over and through the luxurious mass. But watching her was a pleasure all of its own. Her hands skimmed down and over her body, rubbing and caressing herself. He could tell that she knew how to touch her body, how to stimulate herself and she wasn’t shy about showing it. Slowly her clothes slid free of her body revealing the very 29

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feminine lace bra and panty set she wore. His breath caught in his throat and a rough moan left as she cupped her breasts making them all but spill over the tops of her bra. Her stomach became concave, her hipbones jutting out and her panties pulled even lower. She was wet. He could see the dampness on the lace, could smell the rich musky scent that was uniquely hers. He should know. He still had the pair of panties that she had left behind. As he watched one hand slid down over her abdomen and inside the band of her panties. Her fingers moved through the curls and crept lower. She moaned and he could tell the exact moment when she plunged one finger inside her pussy. Her other hand pushed one cup down on her bra and the fingers pinched at her exposed nipple. Jack reached down and ran his hand over his rock-hard cock where it lay beneath his jeans. He was ready to throw her down and fuck her as hard as he had before, was almost crazy with the need. But he’d be damned if that was how things would play out this time around. This time he wanted to take his time, explore her, seduce all her senses. This time he wanted to make damn sure that she couldn’t walk away, didn’t want to walk away. Jack sat on the edge of the bed and watched her pleasure herself. It was almost as if she had forgotten that he was even in the room with her except for the random hooded looks she sent his way. She was close to orgasm. He could tell it by the change in her breathing, the flush to her skin, the sheen of sweat coating her body. She was close and she wanted it, was doing her best to cross into the impending pleasure. But he wasn’t ready for her to get there yet. He rose from the bed, crossed to her and swept her into his arms. She didn’t fight, didn’t push away. Instead she looked at him with the sexiest eyes he’d seen and pulled his head down for a scorching kiss that nearly had him coming in his pants. He placed her on the bed and immediately joined her, raising up so that his body was directly on top of hers. His arms held his weight off her and his legs were on either side of hers.

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Her hands were busy moving over him, making quick work of the buttons on his shirt until it hung wide open. Then she drove him crazy skimming her nails and palms over his chest and stomach. And still he held reign over her mouth. Still he consumed and possessed her with the magic of their kiss. Truth was that he didn’t want to leave her lips and tongue behind, wanted to drown in the sheer decadence of her kiss. But there were other parts of her that he was just as eager to try, to taste and explore. Slowly he pulled from her, her head following his up until she couldn’t anymore. He licked down the column of her throat, nipping and sucking every inch of the way. He paid close attention to her collarbone and the beating pulse at the base of her throat. He eased his weight down onto her and glided his hands under her and behind her back to release the clasp on her bra. He’d only felt them before. But this time he planned to do so much more. He wanted to know exactly how she liked her breasts and nipples to be touched, stimulated, enjoyed. His lips skimmed over the tops as he eased the straps down her arms and removed the material from her. She was perfection. High and firm with rosy red nipples topping her breasts. He blew his breath out and smiled as her hard points tightened further. They seemed to be reaching up to him, begging for his touch. He bent his head over to the side and took one succulent crest into his mouth. He was greedy with it, using his lips to trap it inside his mouth and then sucking fiercely on it. He tossed her bra away and moved his hand to her other orb using his fingers to stimulate and pleasure her. She moaned and he felt the sound feed the need inside him. He wanted her, God how he wanted her, but he wanted more than a fast fuck. She deserved more than that. Back and forth he moved between her breasts taking pleasure in watching hers increase. Finally when he could see the tracks of his whiskers on her skin he moved lower stroking his tongue over the flat plane of her belly. He stopped to dip into her belly button and smiled as she giggled and tried to pull away. He moved to her hips

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next, treating each side to wet kisses before moving his hand to her panties and easing them down. His lips followed, skimming over what he wanted most, what she wanted him to have most and moving to her thighs and gradually down to her feet as he followed the downward path of her underwear. When he glanced up from his place between her ankles he had the perfect view. Her pussy was wet and ready for him. The plush pink folds were dewy with her moisture and he needed to taste her. There was no slow journey this time. He simply moved up and took her with his mouth. He sucked at her nether lips licking over them and consuming her liquid heat. Her clit was a temptation too sensual to ignore, so he flicked it with his tongue and when she moaned and lifted her hips off the bed and into him he did it again. He lifted one leg high bracing his palm under her knee and holding her open and exposed to him and his touch. He used his other palm to push her other thigh a little wider and then slipped his fingers up and inside her. One finger rimmed her opening. Once, twice, three times before he pushed inside. She wrapped around him like a glove and pulled at him to keep him from withdrawing. Her juices now coated his fingers as well as his chin and mouth. She was delicious and he felt as if he were getting drunk on her. One finger became two and then her orgasm was washing through her and over him. She arched up and he removed his fingers and replaced them with his tongue. He ate at her pushing into her as far as he could and lapping her up as a cat would cream. She quivered and moaned and still he refused to move away, to be gentle and help ease her down. No, he wanted her to go higher and he kept eating until she did. One orgasm crashed fast on the heels of the other and Julia’s cries turned to screams of pleasure. She had been moaning small incoherent noises until that second orgasm. With that she did the one thing that was sure to set him off. She cried out his name and then the words, “Yes, oh, yes” and that was all it took. Like a cannon he shot off the bed and

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ripped his jeans open. Fumbling for a condom he quickly got it in place and was back between her thighs, jeans still around his knees. He had to be inside her, had to feel the snug glove of her pussy sucking at his cock. And then he was in and it was just as he remembered. She was hot and tight and so fucking wet that he knew he wouldn’t last nearly as long as she deserved. He reached one hand down to rub his thumb over her clit needing her to be there again, with him. He plunged in and out unable to slow his pace, to temper his thrusts. Hard and fast was all he was capable of right now. But he’d make it up to her, next time. She screamed his name again, her nails digging grooves into his shoulders, and with one final thrust deep into her core he exploded. Never had it felt this good. Never. It was long moments before either of them could catch their breath. He knew he needed to move, to roll off of her but she felt so good beneath him and he was too weak to try. “Oh, my God, Jack,” she breathed out, “that was incredible. I’ve never…” She seemed embarrassed for a moment. “Well, let’s just say that this was a new experience for me.” Making him wonder if she had ever experienced such a powerful orgasm before. Jack chuckled as he tried to maneuver on the bed so that he wasn’t crushing her under him. He rolled so that she stayed in his arms but they were both on their sides facing one another. “Yeah, it was a first for me too.”

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Chapter Four Jack was more than frustrated. He was downright irritated. It seemed that Julia had decided to go for a run while he was making use of the shower. She’d kindly left a note on the table that told him to make himself at home. She’d be back after she went for a nice run. So not what he had in mind when he walked out of the shower in nothing but a towel. But some things you just had to roll with. He dressed in clean clothes and investigated the cupboards for what he could find to cook for dinner. There wasn’t much but Julia seemed to have a few staples. So he set some pasta to boil and sauce to simmer on the stove and was tossing a salad when she came in the door. Unfortunately she had picked up a very protective running mate somewhere along the way. The dog barked and she had to yank on the leash to keep him by her side. “Down Lucifer,” she commanded and the dog immediately settled by her side. “Sorry about that. He was in the backyard when we got here and I didn’t get a chance to introduce him to you.” She blushed beautifully, probably recalling just how she had been sidetracked. She was wearing a pair of black running shorts and a thin tank top. Even sweaty and disheveled she looked good enough to eat. “I started dinner.” Jack smiled at her and went down squatting and reaching his hand out to the big German Shepherd she’d called Lucifer. He was a beauty, all brown and black with big eyes that were bright with intelligence. She’d chosen well in a guard dog. There were few that were as bright and protective as this breed. “Hope you don’t mind. But your note did say to make myself at home.” She blushed again and he grinned. Lucifer stayed by her side until she unclipped his leash and moved aside. She stayed close as her dog moved toward Jack sniffing and checking him out. When Lucifer seemed to deem him harmless he licked Jack’s hand

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and sat down beside him allowing Jack to stroke a hand over his fur. Jack was startled for a minute when he thought the dog nodded his head at him. “He likes you,” Julia said with genuine surprise in her voice. “He doesn’t take to most people.” “I’m good with dogs, especially guard dogs. I’ve got a guy who works for me that I swear can talk to them. He can get a dog to do anything for him.” He thought of Chetan. No need to tell her that his guy was also proficient with a Ka-Bar knife, and that there was nobody better to have around when it came to a hand-to-hand fight. Chetan was one Marine that it paid not to mess with. Jack should know. He’d helped to train him. “Sounds like an interesting guy,” she murmured as she moved to the stove and lifted the lid to sniff at the sauce. “You have no idea,” he laughed and rose to join her while Lucifer moved around the kitchen to his water bowl. Jack hadn’t noticed it earlier which was telling in how much this woman got to him. He noticed everything. It was ingrained, a way of life for too long to be anything but second nature. And he hadn’t noticed a water dish and a big bowl of kibble. “This smells delicious,” she dipped a finger in and brought it to her mouth for a taste. “Ummmm…what did you put in here?” “A little of this, a little of that,” he answered and maneuvered her away from the stove and what he was cooking. “I found some great stuff in your spice rack. Had to open them.” She blushed again and he laughed. “Okay, so I’m not much into cooking. It’s just me here and Lucifer and except for the occasional steak and baked potato, we eat out a lot. It’s no fun cooking for one.” He’d give her that. He agreed wholeheartedly. “No judgment here. I feel the same way. Dinner should be ready soon. Why don’t you go shower while I set the table and get stuff ready.” 35

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“Sounds fantastic. I’ll be back in just a few,” she promised before turning to Lucifer. “Behave,” she warned him before heading down the hall. He waited but he didn’t hear a sound from her. He wondered if she had gone straight to the shower or if she was noticing that he had moved his bag into her bedroom.

***** Julia came out to the kitchen with her hair still damp. She was more relaxed in a pair of yoga pants and shirt. Her feet were bare. Jack was just placing things on the table and she stood for a moment in the doorway to watch. She’d never had a man make her dinner before, not since she was a little girl with her dad. And it was something to see Jack in the kitchen. It seemed he looked good anywhere and was just as at ease in the kitchen as he was surrounded by the testosterone of the police station. “Just going to stand there?” he queried without taking his eyes off what he was doing. She doubted that much got past him. “For a moment,” she answered. “You look quite comfortable in the kitchen.” “I like to cook,” he admitted with a shrug. “The only takeout that I really like is Chinese and I didn’t notice any place in town for that.” “Not here,” Julia laughed. “Chinese, huh?” “A trait I share with my daughter,” Jack told her as he moved around the table and held a chair out for her. “Have a seat before it gets cold.” She watched the steam rising from the plates he’d set out and smiled. But she moved forward and let him seat her. “A daughter, huh?” “Moira,” he replied with obvious pride in his voice. “Moor-ah?” She repeated the name he had spoken. “What a unique name. How did you come up with it?” “Her mother did.” There was just a touch of sadness in his voice. “I didn’t even know about my daughter until she was much older.” 36

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“I’m sorry to hear that,” she said and meant it. “Life has a funny way of giving you a great gift before snatching something else away from you.” It made him think of how he had lost his sister to a pyromaniac and discovered that he might have a niece. Which reminded him of why he was here in the first place. But he had to get her comfortable with him first, and not just in the bedroom. And that meant taking the time to share and get to know one another. He was looking forward to it, didn’t think he would ever know too much about Julia White. “We were at odds for a bit but now we’re very close.” He kept talking noticing the way she was eating with obvious pleasure. She didn’t pick or take tiny little feminine bites but ate with a hearty appetite that he could respect. “She’s married now to a great guy, Gil Daniels. A detective.” He caught her eye and smiled. He saw the pulse flutter in her throat. “Good?” He nodded his head toward the half empty plate of pasta before her. “Delicious,” she smiled back at him. No fear from her. He really liked that in a woman. “So you have a cop in the family?” Jack thought of all his extended family, the ones he chose to have in his life. “Yeah, you could say that. With Moira and Gil the Daniels family seemed to adopt me and my men. Now we’re all one big family.” “Your men?” “I have several that I’ve known a long time. We’ve fought together in the military and other places. We’re family,” he stated with a shrug of his shoulders. “And one of them would be Chetan, who speaks to animals and is great with a knife.” She spoke from memory. Jack laughed. “Yes, one would be Chetan. He’s an amazing man, soft-spoken but always to the point.” “He sounds like a great guy to have as a friend,” she agreed.

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“Then there is Shep. He’s the only one of us who came from the Army instead of the Marines. He was a Ranger before we found him and adopted him.” Jack shook his head lost in old memories. “At least you were able to forgive him that small sin,” Julia added and took another bite. Jack grinned at her humor. Yeah, he really liked this woman. “Shep is a ladies’ man, a real jokester who loves to push people’s buttons. He can read people like you wouldn’t believe.” “I’m sure he enjoys that little talent immensely,” she stated. “You’d have to meet him to see exactly what I mean,” he said, then thought how he didn’t want her to meet Shep. Didn’t want her around the gorgeous younger man right now. And wasn’t that a pisser. He’d never been jealous or insecure a day in his life before. “Then there is Roman. He and I have been to hell and back together. He is magic with a computer. Can and has done anything with them. With his recent engagement to Catherine Daniels it has only bonded us even more together.” Jack took a sip of the wine he’d found and uncorked while she was in the shower. He noticed she’d almost finished hers off and reached to pour more for her. “Thank you,” she smiled and took another sip. “Sounds like quite the group.” Jack laughed. “That isn’t even all of us. There’s the Daniels themselves. Gil’s the oldest brother. Then there is Doug, his best friend, Damon, who recently became a Daniels—” “They’re gay?” she interrupted and Jack almost choked on his sudden burst of laughter. Wouldn’t that set Doug and Damon off and make Shep laugh. “No. Actually they’re married to the same woman, my daughter’s best friend Cass. I know,” he answered before she could say anything. “But it works for them. They genuinely seem to love one another.”

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“And the family accepts them?” Julia couldn’t imagine that. “With open arms,” Jack told her. “They are a very different family. Catherine is the matriarch and probably the most open-minded woman I have ever met when it comes to her children and friends.” “But not herself?” Julia asked reading between the lines. “Let’s just say that it took her a while to let Roman in and even longer before she let anyone else know that they were together. It took almost losing him first.” And that was another story that he wasn’t willing to get into just yet. The wounds from that one were still too close to the surface for him. “Sad that sometimes you don’t realize until it is too late,” she admitted, thinking of her dad and how much she would have liked to have done with him before he died. “Yes, it is,” Jack agreed. “But things always seem to work out the way that they were meant to.” “A man of faith, huh?” she questioned. “I’ve seen too many things not to be,” he told her and left it at that. “So Doug and Damon are married to Cass,” she prompted him. “Then there is Katie who is married to Gil’s partner Ben. They’re expecting their first baby this month. I’m expecting the call any day. Griff is the baby of the family. He ran his own karate studio for a bit but works for me now. He still teaches the occasional class at my daughter’s gym.” “And what exactly is it that you do, Jack?” she asked. “I run a security company. We install and monitor security systems for businesses. Plus a few other services.” He didn’t go into detail and he could see the interest in her eyes. He could also see when she decided to let it go for now. “That is quite a group of people,” was all she said. “Oh we’ve managed to pick up a few others along the way. Shep’s Ranger buddy Tyler, fellow detective Charlie, Teddy, a police officer, and the local fire marshal Blake. I

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have no idea why people keep joining our crazy group.” He shook his head and laughed. Of course Blake made him think of Ally. And she was the reason he was here looking for information on his brother. The brother he’d thought was gone forever before seeing her. A child was all the immortality a man could need.

“I’m impressed,” Julia laughed, understanding why people would want to be a part of what they had. It would be amazing to be accepted with no questions, to be part of a group, a family. She’d never really had that. For as long as she could remember it had always been just her and her dad. “What about you? Any brothers or sisters?” Jack asked before taking another drink of his wine. The man could definitely cook. The pasta had been the best she’d tasted. “No, just me,” she admitted. “No brothers or sisters. My dad died of cancer last year.” “I’m sorry,” he said and she knew that he meant it. “Your mother?” “No idea,” she said and stood to start clearing the table. “I don’t remember anything about her. It’s been just my dad and me since the beginning.” “Sorry about that too,” he added and stood to help her. “You cooked, I’ll clean,” she told him and shooed him back to his chair and what was left of his wine. “I’m not sure if she is dead or alive. Never really cared enough either way to check.” He didn’t say anything and she was grateful for that. She didn’t speak about her mother, not to anyone, so this was new for her and she felt unsure. They enjoyed a comfortable silence while she rinsed the dishes before loading them into the dishwasher. He had already done the pans so there really wasn’t much to do. It was hard not to like a guy who cleaned up after himself while he was cooking. She’d have to tread softly with this one. He was already under her skin. Her phone rang and everything changed in a moment.

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“I’m on my way,” she answered before hanging up. She glanced at Jack as she started down the hall to her bedroom to change. “I’ve got to go out for a bit. I’ll be back as soon as I can.” She was hollering and was startled when she noticed him right behind her. “I’ve got to change and head out,” she repeated, then just shrugged when he made no move to leave. She pulled her clothes out and changed caring little that he sat and watched her. Her mind was already on the phone call and what awaited her. A body had been discovered and if Marcus was right it might be one of their missing women. And that would change everything on this case. Especially if it was murder. She sat to pull on her shoes and noticed the keys in his hand. “Going somewhere?” she queried with steel in her voice. If he thought to tag along to her crime scene they were over before they’d even begun. “I’m parked behind you,” he reminded her, but she knew that he saw what she was thinking. “I wouldn’t interfere in your job any more than I would expect you to in mine. I figured I’d run out and have that drink with Joe while you were out.” “Oh,” was all she could say, feeling chagrined. “I’ll meet you back here tonight,” he promised her, his voice going husky. He leaned in and kissed her, keeping it soft and light for both of them. But she still felt it all the way to her toes. The man could kiss. He pulled away and pointed toward his bag on her bedroom floor. “That okay with you?” She nodded and smiled softly at him. “I’m looking forward to it,” she said as she stood with him behind her and headed toward the door and their waiting cars. “No promises, Jack,” she informed him. She couldn’t, not yet. “No promises,” he agreed but she saw the look in his eyes. She’d finally found the man she’d been looking for and the case that could make her career. She hoped she could juggle them both.

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Chapter Five Julia would always be grateful that she had kept down the magnificent dinner that Jack had cooked her. It hadn’t been easy and she knew that she had paled a bit and maybe even gone a little green. But she’d held tough and earned a little bit more respect today from some of the men she worked with. “We’ll have to wait for the coroner’s report to be a hundred percent sure,” Marcus stated with a nod. She could tell by the look in his eyes that he was still not immune to what they’d come across today. “But I’m fairly certain that we’re looking at some other Jane Doe.” “Damn,” Julia murmured thinking of the body she had stared at for the last little bit. It was a vision that would be in her head for the rest of her life. “Well, well, well,” Marcus stated looking over her shoulder. “Looks like someone else has come to look at our crime scene.” Julia glanced back and her gaze immediately locked with Jack. He looked good and her body automatically heated for him. Chief Dimarka was with him. “Chief, Mr. Madigan,” Marcus said nodding as they joined them. The body was already gone but it was easy to tell where it had been. “Marcus, Julia,” Chief Joe Dimarka said. “I heard the call go out on the radio and wanted to take a look. Is it one of the missing girls?” Marcus looked deliberately at Jack, a civilian on a police crime scene. “Jack’s here at my request. We were meeting for a drink.” When Marcus just stared for a moment longer Joe snapped at him. “Hell, Marcus. His security clearance goes well beyond our small-town crime scene.”

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“I’d be more than happy to go back to the road if need be, Joe,” Jack said and nodded at Marcus. “Marcus,” Julia said and when all eyes turned to her she willed herself not to blush. Who knew what they would say if they knew what she had recently done with Jack. Marcus nodded at her and then turned back to Jack and the Chief. “If Jules says it’s okay then it’s okay.” Chief Dimarka raised his eyebrow at that but Marcus just ignored him and continued. “Female, right age range, wrong height. Can’t be certain yet but, I’d say she was a stranger. No one seemed to recognize her.” “Cause of death?” Dimarka asked. “Until we get the official report I can’t state for sure,” Marcus said dryly. “But I’d have to say the deep bruising around her throat leads me to believe that she was strangled.”

***** It was late when Julia made it back to the house. She didn’t know if Jack would be up or not. She stepped through the door and for the first time wasn’t greeted by Lucifer. She kicked her shoes off and just stood there in the dark for a moment, collecting herself. “Thought you could use this.” Jack’s voice came out of the darkness and then his body followed. He didn’t turn on the lights and for that she was grateful. He handed her a glass of bourbon and she swallowed it in one gulp needing the burn it gave her. She was cold, so cold on the inside that she didn’t know if she would ever be warm again. “Thanks,” she breathed. She wasn’t surprised when he pulled her to him and just held her against his chest. “Your first today?” he asked her softly.

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She knew what he meant and wondered if she was truly that green. “Yes, we don’t get a lot of hard crime here in Hidden Falls. First murder in…” She paused for a moment as she thought back. “Well, I’m not really sure.” “You’re lucky then,” he said and there was a world of knowledge in that voice. It made her wonder just how many times death had touched him, how many deaths he had witnessed, caused. And how in the world did he live with it? “Does it get easier?” she asked. “Hopefully not,” he said. “Death should never be easy to see, easy to accept. Especially one that came with such violence.” She shuddered against his chest and his arms closed around her giving her comfort with his touch. “I’ll never forget the sight of her. I see it every time I close my eyes.” “That’s good,” he soothed. She tilted her head up at him and the confusion must have shown on her face, in her eyes. “It’s good to see that?” He smiled softly and bent to place a soft kiss on her nose. “Not necessarily to see her like that but to remember what was done to her. By remembering that you’ll work harder to bring her justice. You’ll want that for her.” “Yes, I do. I want to find whoever did this and make sure they pay for what they did to her. I want them to spend the rest of their lives paying for it.” She buried her head in his chest. “There are at least two other women missing, Jack. Two that have been reported, probably three. Now I’m going to spend a part of every day praying that we don’t find their bodies.” “And the rest of it will be working on ways of finding the person who committed murder in your town.” He ran his hand down her head letting his fingers caress her hair. “I just want to forget,” she whispered. “For just a little bit I want to forget.”

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“Come with me,” he told her and took her hand in his leading her down the hall to the bathroom. He felt that she needed to be sheltered and taken care of at the moment and he was glad that he was there to do it. “You forgot to put your hair up,” he said as he pulled the black turtleneck over her head. “I think you threw all the guys for a loop when you showed up with all this hair spilling around you.” “I was in a hurry to get there,” she said, closing her eyes and hopefully trusting him. Jack slowly undressed her and then himself before turning the water on in the shower and adjusting the temperature so that it wasn’t too hot or too cold. He helped her in and then joined her, holding her against him and letting the water cascade over them both. He stayed that way for several moments just enjoying the feel of her against him, naked and wet. But he had no intention of taking advantage of her. For the first time he wanted to take care of a woman he didn’t consider family. He turned her so that the water ran over her hair. Her nipples were pebbled and he had to prevent himself from leaning down to lick the water that dripped from the points. He reached for the sponge instead and the bottle of body wash she had on the rack that hung over the showerhead. She had her eyes closed, her head tilted back so that the water ran over her face as well as down her back. She looked like a goddess, like a woman enjoying the moment, the water and maybe the man with her. Her eyes opened with the first swipe of the sponge on her skin. They were hooded and dark with need. Jack acknowledged it but kept running the sponge over her, caressing her skin, his free hand chasing in the soapy path left by the other. Over her shoulders and down each arm to her fingers. Then back up again to her chest and the glorious breasts that he had to touch and explore. He lingered longer than they required but he was a man who believed in doing every job thoroughly. Finally, after torturing them both for a bit, he moved the sponge over her stomach, loving the flat plane. He ran it up her sides and then down over her hips. She was all 45

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curves and dips, smooth skin blushed red by the heat of the water. He turned her and lifting her hair took time cleansing her back before kneeling to deal with the sweet curves of her buttocks. Her ass was perfection. He remembered how it had felt pressed up against him that first night in the bar stockroom. But this was his first time seeing it up close. He couldn’t resist the desire to lean forward and nip it softly with his teeth. Then his tongue dipped out and traced a line of water up one taut cheek. She shuddered and leaned forward against the tiles and that submission was all it took to have him pulling back. This wasn’t what he was in here for. There would be no quick romp between them right now. She needed more than sex, more than a hard fuck. She needed tender care, reaffirmation in the humanity that existed around them. And he was determined to give it to her no matter what the personal cost. And at this rate his balls were going to be as deep a shade of blue as her eyes. He washed over her taking the sponge down her legs. He dipped around and washed the insides and fronts of her legs as well. He gently eased her around so that she faced him once more and, lifting one foot at a time, lavished attention on each with the sponge. Then back up the fronts of her legs until he stopped at the juncture of her thighs. It was he who closed his eyes this time. He inhaled deeply, easily detecting her natural scent over that of the scented body wash. She was so beautiful, every part of her. He kept his eyes closed and moved his hand to stroke the sponge over her heated flesh. He didn’t want to look, hoped that by not looking he could fight the hunger growing inside him to take her. He washed her instead and when he finally was able to pull his hand away they were both breathing a little heavier. He stood before her and turned her once more to face the flow of the water. Putting the sponge away he took the shampoo and poured some into his palm. Slowly he worked the suds into her hair from the top of her head all the way to the tips of her hair.

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So much hair and it was even longer when it was wet. Longer and darker. He loved the smell of the shampoo, some type of vanilla scent that he found relaxing. He loved washing her hair, loved the feel of it in his hands. He turned her once more and took pleasure in helping the water rinse all the bubbles from her hair. She was relaxed. He could tell it by the softness in her face that hadn’t been there when she’d first walked into her house. “Conditioner is in the shampoo,” she said without opening her eyes. “But feel free to keep washing me if you want.” Jack laughed and she opened her eyes to him. Yes, she was indeed the most beautiful sight that he had seen in a good long while. His cock was hard and swollen with desire for her, and there was absolutely nothing he could do to hide it. She glanced down his body at it and hmmmed with appreciation. “Come on, angel,” he said taking pleasure in reminding her of what she had told him to call her that first time. “Time to step out of the shower and head into the bedroom. You need some rest.”

She sighed and let him turn the water off and open the curtain. He stepped out first and wrapped a towel around his waist before reaching for another for her. She stepped onto the rug and he dried her from neck to toe before wrapping a fresh towel around her hair and reaching for the brush. He sat on the closed toilet lid and pulled her onto his lap. She could feel the heat of his erection against her buttocks and a shiver went through her. “We’ll have you dried and warm soon,” he promised and she smiled anticipating how she might talk him into accomplishing that. He used the towel to dry as much of her hair as he could before tossing it aside and reaching for the brush. He ran the brush through her hair again and again and she was soothed and lulled by it. His hands were magic and she could easily fall asleep under his ministrations. “Do you want me to dry it?” he asked her. 47

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“No,” she said knowing that it would take far too long to dry it even with the blow dryer. Her hair was too long and too thick for it to do anything but take the majority of wet away and leave it slightly damp. “I’ll just braid it back until morning.” “I’d do it for you if I could,” Jack said. “But I’m afraid my daughter was too big for me to learn to do her hair by the time we met.” “I’m sorry to hear that,” Julia murmured as she reached back to begin braiding. “It worked out okay in the end,” Jack stated. “Moira and I are very close now. I’m a lucky man.” She smiled as she finished off the braid and reached for a rubber band to hold it. “Getting luckier by the minute,” she told him and wiggled just enough to torture him before standing up and heading toward the door. “Are you coming to bed with me, Jack?” “Yes, Julia,” he told her. “I’d like to hold you tonight. Hold you and maybe keep the nightmares away.” She softened, a piece of her heart opening like a flower at his words. All her life she’d never had anyone to just hold her when she needed it. She and her dad had been close but he’d never been an overly affectionate man. This time it was she who took his hand and led him to the bedroom. She shut the door behind them and, turning toward him, let her towel drop to the floor before reaching to release his as well. “I want you to hold me, Jack. I want to lie safe in your arms if only for tonight.” She placed a finger on his lips to stop the words that he would have spoken. “But first I want you to love me. I want to know that I’m alive. I want to know that I still feel. And I want to feel it all with you.” She looked up at him and saw the fire in his eyes. “Can you do that for me?” “It would be my pleasure,” he assured her before lifting her in his arms and taking them both the last few feet to the bed. He placed her gently on it, before bending to

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retrieve a condom from the box he had placed on the side table. She had no idea when he had done that but was grateful nonetheless. He opened the wrapper with what seemed practiced ease and it was like visual foreplay watching him roll the latex on his length. She wanted to do that, wanted her hands on his flesh. Lord she wanted her mouth on his cock sucking him as far into the back of her throat as she could. Then he moved toward her and she lost her thoughts at his gentle touch. She closed her eyes and reveled in the slow glide of his hands over her flesh. She loved the way he took his time bringing all of her senses to life. His lips and tongue followed in the wake of his hands until her flesh burned. She wanted him, needed him and was tired of playing so complacent a role in their lovemaking. She needed him and by God she was going to do the taking for a change. She rolled beneath him and he turned with her until she sat astride his hips. His rock-hard cock nudged at her slit and she slid her hips forward and back teasing them both with the possibilities of what was to come. “So you like to ride?” Jack queried with a wicked gleam in his eyes. “Oh, yeah,” she stated and slid back and forth again letting his cock nudge at the opening of her pussy before sliding away. Jack groaned and Julia felt a giggle building up. A giggle for Christ’s sake. What was it about this man that made her feel so young and alive? He grabbed her hips on the next pass and held her in place with his cock at her pussy. “No more teasing please.” He lifted his hips so that the head of his shaft slipped further up inside her. “Ride me. Fast, slow or any way in between. Just ride me until we both come.” Julia groaned and, grabbing his hands, laced their fingers together before slamming her hips down on him. His cock filled her and pleasure rocked through them both. She could see it in his eyes, feel it in the tension of his body. She threw her head back and using his hands as a brace she rode him. Hard. Fast. She could feel her hair, the braid 49

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bouncing down her back tickling along her buttocks where it touched his thighs. Somehow it added to the eroticism of the act. She felt him brace his feet on the bed and then he lifted his hips. She opened her mouth and screamed her release. His cock was so deep inside her that she could swear she could feel him touch her womb. The orgasm rocked through her leaving her limp and pliant against his chest. His arms wrapped around her and one crept around her hips holding her close while he rolled them so that she was now beneath him. He moved inside her slowly and sweetly, taking his time and allowing her to catch her breath. When she was able to open her eyes he was there, staring right back at her. There was so much emotion in his eyes, things she didn’t think either of them were ready to confront yet. She wondered if her eyes were showing similar emotions. She suspected that they were. And that was a scary thought indeed. Jack picked up the rhythm, their hips slapping together as she lifted into every thrust. All coherent thought left her mind as her skin seemed to come alive. Every nerve ending along her body was burning with a pleasure so intense that it was painful. She’d had an earth-shattering orgasm earlier and now he was leading her on the path to a mind-shattering one. Jack’s body tensed further. His hips slammed into her body. He groaned holding himself flush against her, his hips making small pulsing movements. Julia lifted her legs and wrapped them around his hips pulling her body tighter to his. It was just what they needed, just the right touch, moving to the right angle to send them both spiraling into the waves of pleasure. It was a long time before either had the energy to move. Jack held Julia close against his chest spooning her while she fell asleep. He couldn’t believe it. After Moira’s mother, he had sworn he would never bring love into another sexual relationship with a woman. But it was too late for those promises now. He pulled Julia more securely to him, slipping one leg between both of hers. He ran one hand down her hair and placed

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a soft kiss on top of her head. She sighed contentedly in her sleep. Jack Madigan was in love.

***** She groaned in agony as her aching muscles screamed for release. She had been so wrong, about so many things. She was still alive and that was very important. Because a dead woman couldn’t exact revenge. And after the last few hours spent on his games she was dead set on making him pay. She had learned that a knife could be used for a great number of things and that there were many ways to feel pain. She was also sure now that she was not alone wherever she was. The screens had come alive after he had left this time showing her the rooms of two other women. But the irony was that now that she had a picture the sound had disappeared. She could no longer hear them. She wasn’t sure which was worse. Hearing them or seeing them. Both were naked. One was tied to the bed as she was. But the other was only tethered to it with some sort of chain. She couldn’t help but wonder what that luxury had cost the woman. She could see the fear on their faces, the way they cowered when they heard his footsteps. And now she knew that they could see her too. If the layouts of the rooms were the same as they appeared to be, then they were watching the screens as well. But the sick bastard had made one mistake. He’d left them all alive. Somehow she’d find a way to get off this bed and out of this room. She would escape. She’d get out and if she could she’d take the other two with her. A part of her wanted to crawl into a hole and die of shame for the things he had done to her, the games she’d been forced to play. But an even stronger part of her wanted to make sure that he could never do any of those things to another woman again. It was that part that she would hold tight to, that part which would see her through the rest of her time here. She would either escape or she would die. Who knew what other sick games he had in store for her. She bit back the sob that wanted to leave her

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mouth. There was no time for tears and feeling sorry for herself. She had to find a way to live.

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Chapter Six Her eyes flew between the monitor and the door to her room when she heard the unmistakable sound of footsteps. Where was he headed to this time? He had turned her monitors on so did he now want her to watch what he was capable of doing with one of the others? What sick game did he have in mind this time? She held her breath and then felt remorse when she felt relieved that it wasn’t her room that he entered. She watched the monitor as he entered the room of the woman who was only tethered to the bed. The woman dropped to her knees when he entered and subjugated herself onto her belly on the floor. It was sickening to watch a naked woman cower that way before a fully dressed man but from the smile on his face it was exactly what he wanted of her. He approached the woman and using his foot lifted her chin. She dropped her lips to his boot and placed kisses on top. Lindsey watched and recoiled at the thought of doing such things. How long had the other woman been here with him? She kept her eyes glued to the screen no matter how hard it was to witness just how far a woman could be broken. And this one was broken. The things she did, the acts she willingly participated in were heartbreaking to watch. Even if they somehow managed to get out of here alive, she had serious doubts about this woman being able to cope with what she was enduring. She glanced toward the monitor that showed the other woman, the one still bound like she was. She was glad to see the horror and disgust on her face. She knew it must mirror her own. But more than that was the look of such intense hatred that marred the woman’s beautiful features. Here was a kindred spirit set on revenge. If—no, when— they managed to escape this woman could prove a valuable asset. Now all she had to do was come up with a way to communicate with her.

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She glanced straight at the camera mounted in her room and mouthed at it. “I am Lindsey.” She glanced to the other woman’s monitor doing her best to avoid looking at the one where he still played his sick game. The woman didn’t seem to have seen her. “I am Lindsey.” She looked again and saw the woman looking at one of the monitors. She nodded at something and then seemed to look right out of the set at Lindsey. “I am Stacy.” Lindsey smiled at the screen then quickly turned to the camera. She wanted to make sure the woman caught her next silent words. “We have to get out of here.” She glanced back at the monitor and saw that Stacy was nodding in agreement. She shrugged her arms and legs as if to remind Lindsey of their bound position. She seemed to ask how and Lindsey felt her own frustration mount. She shrugged as well letting the woman know that she had no ideas at the moment either. But she didn’t want her to give up hope. So glancing fully at the camera one more time she mouthed the only thing she could think of. “Pray.”

***** Julia wasn’t surprised to see Jack enter the police station the next afternoon. He walked straight to Marcus’ desk and sat down across from her. “Looking for Marcus?” she asked as casually as she could. “I was supposed to meet him today. He’s helping me with my search.” Jack leaned back as he spoke. Julia seemed startled for a moment. “I’m sorry, Jack. I forgot you said that you were here searching for someone. Can I help?”

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He lifted his hip and pulled out his wallet taking a picture from it and sliding it across to her. “Depends. Does he look familiar to you at all?” She picked the picture up and looked at it closely for a few moments. The man looked a lot like Jack, those remarkable green eyes would be hard to miss. She looked closer still and shook her head with frustration. “What is it? Do you recognize him?” Jack came to his feet and moved around to her side of the desks. “Have you seen him before, Julia?” “I’m not sure. But there is something about him that is so familiar.” She looked up at him and hated that she couldn’t give him more than that. “I’m sorry, Jack. I just can’t seem to put my finger on it.” “If it comes to you, no matter what time of day, just give me a call. I forgot to give this to you,” he said as he slid a business card in front of her. He had penned his cell phone number on the bottom. The card read Midnight, Inc and listed what she assumed was a business number. “I promise I will.” She slipped her hand into her pocket while casually looking around to make sure that no one else was paying a lot of attention to them. When she was fairly certain no one was watching she slid a key to him. “You forgot this when you left earlier. You need to put it on your key ring.” He grinned down at her. “Could come in handy.” “Yeah, I thought so too.” She looked up and lost her train of thought as he turned and she took in the hard lines of his body. The man was truly a perfect specimen of what the male physique should look like. He was hard in all the right places and yet possessed a soft touch when needed. She felt like a schoolgirl mooning over the captain of the football team, not that she’d ever done that in school. No, it seemed that she had waited until her thirties to do it. She groaned when she heard someone clearing their throat and wanted to die when she looked up and it was none other than Dakota standing there. There was no doubt that he had noticed exactly what she had been looking all girly eyed at. He nodded and 55

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she cringed at the slight touch of sadness that came and went so quickly in his eyes. He’d been a nice distraction when she needed one but she felt no guilt at not continuing a relationship with him. It wouldn’t have worked out for either of them. Dakota was a great guy but he was definitely no Jack Madigan. Shaking off her obvious feelings she smiled at Dakota. “What’s up, Dakota?” “I just got a call on your dead girl.” He placed a paper in front of her. The woman had gone missing over three weeks ago from a town more than thirty miles away. The coroner had placed her death at between two and three weeks ago. Whoever had killed her, one thing was certain. She had fought like hell. Julia glanced at the name on the paper. Chandra Dukess, age thirty. She was blonde, just like the other three women and had green eyes. But she was only five feet four inches. Much shorter than the others. According to witnesses she had planned on coming to Hidden Falls and exploring the woods and the falls that they enclosed. She’d never returned home. “How come we weren’t notified when she went missing?” Julia asked. “According to her mother, she and her boyfriend had a big fight that morning and it was common for this girl to just take off for a few weeks at a time to cool off. The mom didn’t get worried until she got back from her own vacation and realized that no one had heard from her daughter since before she left. The boyfriend thought she had gone with her mom.” Dakota shook his head and sat on the edge of her desk. “Well, isn’t that just lovely. So this girl has been out there in the woods all this time and no one even cared enough to look for her.” Julia slapped her hand on the desk, aggravated for Chandra. Dakota patted her shoulder and leaned toward her. “It’s not your fault, Jules. Besides she doesn’t exactly fit the profile of the other three.” “But what if she was the trial run? What if something with her made him decide to go for a taller woman? She was left out in the elements for so long that it is doubtful

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that we’ll be able to get anything else from her. If we had known then we could have at least been looking for her.” Julia was mad. Life could be so unfair. “She couldn’t have been left out that long. There would have been more decomposition if she had been outside all that time.” Dakota shook his head at her thoughts. “Then where was she? Who moved her there? And how long was she there?” Julia’s mind was going a thousand miles a minute. “I hadn’t thought of that,” Dakota admitted then glanced up over her shoulder. She felt Jack there and the way Dakota stood up and moved a little away from her made her wonder just what Jack was expressing without words. “Have time for lunch, Julia?” Jack asked and she turned to face him. His eyes were hooded and unreadable now. She shook her head and stood, grabbing her purse from the drawer and the printout from the top of her desk. “Not right now. I’ve got to find Marcus and head out.” In her mind she was already going over possibilities on how this girl matched with the others. So lost that she didn’t think when she leaned up and kissed Jack on the lips murmuring that she would see him later that night.

Jack and Dakota both stood and watched her walk away. “So that’s how it is,” Dakota said and Jack heard the envy in the other man’s voice. “Yeah,” Jack agreed thankful that no one else had seen the impromptu kiss. Julia would probably regret such a public display when she realized what she had done. “You’re a lucky man, Mr. Madigan.” Dakota stated and turned to leave. “Make sure you don’t hurt her.” Their gazes locked and Jack knew that Dakota had hoped to make Julia his. He was not upset that he had prevented that. Julia was quite a woman and he planned to do everything in his power to keep her. He was in love for the first time in too long and it

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felt strangely great. He wanted to take her home with him, to introduce her to his daughter and his friends. He wanted her, forever. He took a deep breath and smiled in a way that lit his eyes up. “I don’t intend to,” he promised the other man. “Then good luck,” Dakota told him and reached out to shake hands with Jack. “She deserves all the happiness in the world.” With that Dakota was gone and Jack was left standing at Julia’s desk. Her scent still lingered in the air around it. He was in love. His search for his brother had led him to much more than he anticipated. Problem was how to convince her to leave Hidden Falls behind. Or maybe he would have to be the one to leave home behind. For the first time in his life he was willing to put someone other than his daughter first. He was in love. Now he just had to make sure that Julia loved him as well. Whistling, he left the police station behind and headed out to put together the most romantic evening he could think of. He had a woman to win.

***** Julia was hot, sweaty and exhausted when she finally arrived at her house later that evening. She’d been unable to get a hold of Marcus and that frustrated her more than anything. She’d always been able to get Marcus when she needed to, no matter what time of day. She wanted to know where the hell he was that he couldn’t answer his damn cell phone. She’d spent a fruitless afternoon interviewing the mother and boyfriend of Chandra Dukess. She’d gone ahead on her own to contact them and let them know that Chandra had been found. It was never a great part of the job. And it was her first time having to notify family. She’d have liked Marcus to be there with her. Instead she’d gone by the local police department and paired with a local. He was a nice guy and had even invited her out for drinks. She’d declined, anxious to get back to Jack. There was a time

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when she would have taken the guy up and maybe even had more than just a drink with him. But since Jack, the thought of another man didn’t even enter her mind. She sighed. She was in love. For the first time in her life she was in love with a man. More than sex, more than lust. Love. It was terrifying. How would she talk him into staying in Hidden Falls with her? What if he didn’t want to? He had a life somewhere else. A business, family and friends. He had a lot to take him away from her. And what did she have to keep her in Hidden Falls? A job? A house that was as empty now as it had been when her dad lived there? It was enlightening to see her life as others probably saw it. She had no real ties to the community. No family living anymore. At least none that she knew of. What was keeping her in Hidden Falls? The sad truth hit her square in the face. Nothing. Just a few friends and her job. Even her friends weren’t particularly close though. Not even Marcus. There was nothing to prevent her from following Jack back to where he was from. Julia stepped from her car and straightened her spine. She had no idea how long Jack planned on hanging around Hidden Falls. But one thing was certain. Before he left she had to make sure he fell for her. She loved him and she’d be damned if he would escape the emotions tearing her up. This was all new to her and the uncertainty was not a welcome emotion. She reached up and hurriedly took her hair down so that it fell around her trademark short-sleeved black turtleneck. Love was indeed a battlefield where all was fair. She planned to win her man. No matter what it took. She needed to find out where Jack was from. She just might be following him there. She gave a deep sigh. At least she wouldn’t have much to pack. Lucifer met her at the back door and after a few moments of petting and chatting she noticed the little things around her. Like the fact that even though she knew that Jack was there, no lights were on. But there was a soft glow coming from the bedroom. Giving Lucifer one last pat she went to see what Jack was up to.

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She caught her breath as she paused in the doorway. Her entire bedroom had been transformed into an oasis of sorts. She had no idea where he had managed to find everything she saw but somehow he had. There were several potted trees as well as some lush flowering plants, one of which was a gorgeous pink rose bush. A soft blanket was lying across the floor with a picnic basket on it. The soft glow was from the multitude of candles that filled the room adding to the romantic atmosphere. The basket was open and several items were laid out on the blanket. Fresh strawberries and a bowl of what looked like chocolate sauce were just in front of the basket. A tray containing slices of varying types of cheeses was displayed as well. There was another tray that looked like it might be meat but Julia had never seen it sliced quite so thinly before. And next to that was a basket of what smelled like fresh baked rolls. “It’s ham, very thinly sliced and glazed in honey.” Jack’s voice, deep and husky. He stood on the other side of the room in nothing but a pair of jeans with the top button undone. His body was unbelievable. “How old are you?” She could have slapped herself when the words left her mouth but Jack just laughed and lifted the bottle of champagne he held along with two flutes. “Here I am hoping to romance you off your feet and you pick now to ask me how old I am?” His laugh rippled over her skin and his rugged grin left her breathless. “I’m forty-six which I realize is a little over your thirty-five,” he crossed the room toward her. “But I was hoping you wouldn’t put much stock in age.” “No.” She shook her head then thought to clarify. “Age has never been a big issue with me.” “Good to hear,” Jack whispered as he leaned down to gently brush his lips across hers. “Champagne?” he asked bringing her attention back to what he held. She nodded and watched in awe as he poured the glass and handed it to her before bending to place the bottle and other glass on the blanket at their feet. He knelt there

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and she startled when he gently lifted her feet one at a time onto his leg and removed her shoes and socks. “It’s a picnic, Julia.” He looked up at her with a feral smile. His eyes made her feel like she was his food of choice. “You’re a little overdressed but we’ll work on that.” She smiled back at him and relaxed letting him guide her. She’d never been on a picnic in her life. Sad but true. She’d seen others on them and always wondered what the pull was. Now she understood. It wasn’t so much the food or the atmosphere though she couldn’t imagine ever having a better one than right now. No, it was the person you were with. It was that quiet magic which was created when you became lost in the one you were with. It was something that had been sadly lacking from her life until Jack came along and opened her eyes, opened her heart. He reached for her free hand and she let him guide her down to the blanket beside him. “I thought of sand, but thought you might not appreciate me going that far.” His eyes were twinkling and she laughed with delight. “I don’t know what to say,” she said instead. “No one’s ever done anything like this for me before.” He leaned closer, took the glass from her hand and set it aside. He kissed her softly with a gentleness that stole her breath faster than any fiery kiss could ever do. He ran his fingers through her hair and spread kisses over every inch of her face. She closed her eyes and shuddered in an effort to hold back the tears. And yet, this man who was so very new to her life, sensed it. “What is it, Julia?” He pulled slightly away and still she could feel his lips on her eyelids. She opened them and knew that they shone with moisture she couldn’t conceal. “All my life I’ve been content. I’ve never questioned or wished for more than what I had. My mom left when I was a baby and it was just my dad and me. He wasn’t very emotional and so I learned to be that way as well.” 61

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Jack pulled her to him letting her cuddle against his naked chest and she wanted to melt and stay there forever. “I’ve been with other men, most women have by thirty-five.” She pulled back and looked into his eyes, wanting him to see the sincerity of what she was confessing. “But never in my life has anyone done for me the things that you have. Never has anyone made me feel the way that you do. I’ve never had the grand girl dreams,” she stroked her hand down his cheek. “But you make me dream.” “And what do you dream?” he whispered, turning to place a kiss on her palm. “I dream of you and me, of what it would be like to not think of when you’ll leave and how I’ll handle it.” It was a confession she wasn’t sure she should make. Honestly, they had known each other such a short time in the grand scheme of things. And yet she had never felt closer to another person in her life. “What if I confessed something of my own?” he queried. She looked at him and he continued. “What if I said that I didn’t want to leave, at least not without you? What if I said that I wanted you to go with me, to meet my daughter and my family? Would I scare you away? Would it be too much too soon?” She was afraid to breathe, afraid that she would wake to find that this moment, this man, was all a dream. “I’ve waited my entire life to find a man like you. I have no idea what lies ahead for either of us. But I’d like the chance to see where this could lead.” “So when the time comes for me to leave,” he prompted. “You might consider going with me?” “I’ve never really had a vacation,” she said and smiled. “Where exactly are you from?” For the next hour they sat and ate and he told her about Legacy and the people who lived there. He fed her and she fed him and between them they emptied the bottle of champagne. The ham was as good as he promised and the strawberries seemed to bring out the champagne or maybe it was the reverse. By and far it was the best evening of

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her life, a moment in time that she would always treasure no matter what path lay ahead. By the end she was lying on the blanket and he had managed to maneuver her out of her slacks and turtleneck as well. She wore nothing but her bra and panties and she had never been so grateful for the fact that her one vice was sexy underwear. She was in red lace and he was still in a low-slung, unbuttoned pair of jeans. She was full and a little drunk on the champagne and the entire experience, but mostly on the romance. He loomed over her and she knew that the night was far from over. They’d talked and learned even more about one another. Truth be told, she knew more about him than she did about many of the people she had grown up with, and he about her as well. It was just so right, the two of them together, as if fate had decreed that he was the one. “What are you thinking?” he asked running his fingertips around the lace cups of her bra. “How perfect tonight was. How right this all seems,” she confessed. “The night is only just beginning,” he promised and the carnal fires were back in his eyes.

Jack leaned down and took her nipple into his mouth, sucking it through the red lace of her bra. He’d almost lost it when her black clothes had revealed this hidden splendor. She was a gorgeous woman and it angered him that no one had ever really taken the time to make sure she knew that. And yet the thought of her with another man made him as jealous as hell. She was his now as he was hers. And tonight he hoped to bind them just a little bit closer. They’d talked and shared and now it was time to let his body talk for him. And with his cock like a steel rod in his pants he was surprised the zipper hadn’t exploded. Her skin was fire beneath his touch. She was exquisite. A soft rosy blush covered her body adding to the allure that was all her. He could smell the sweet scent of her 63

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arousal and had to grab his control to keep from diving for her pussy and a taste of what was teasing him. She made him feel like a randy boy. She woke his soul and made him feel alive in ways that he had thought he never would again. She made him feel young and invincible when he knew better. She soothed the harsh edges that he knew he had. She cleansed the dark places inside that held memories of acts committed in his years as both a soldier and a mercenary. He’d done things, seen things. And yet with her he found a peace he’d never expected. He reached beneath her and undid her bra. He eased the straps down her arms taking the cups with it until he could toss it aside. She was perfection. Her breasts still firm and high, tight nipples blushing a darker shade of red. He bent to them sucking and nipping each in turn while she writhed under him. This was the stuff that fantasies were made of. How had he gotten so lucky? He licked down her belly, laving at her bellybutton and tickling her sides so that she giggled. He loved that sound. He wanted to hear it often. He had a feeling it wasn’t something she had done a lot of in her life. He stopped at the lace edge of her panties. They sat low on her hips and he let his tongue trace the lace. She moaned and arched her hips up to him. But Jack wasn’t ready to give in to either of their desires at the moment. Instead he tortured them both by leaving her panties on and running his tongue over and around the edges. He licked her through the lace and she was just as hot, just as tasty as if it was her naked flesh against his face. He breathed deeply of her letting it fill his lungs. She moaned again and he groaned in defeat. With a shudder he bent and ripped the gusset of her panties baring her flushed pussy to his eyes and his mouth. He licked up her slit stopping at her distended clit and lashing it with his tongue. She cried out and surged her hips up toward him. He gripped them in his hands and held her down on the blanket while he fed on her. No mercy. No matter how much she begged. He took her to one orgasm after another slowing only to let her catch her breath before he sent

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her flying again. He sucked her clit, sucked the puffed lips of her cunt and fucked her with his tongue while he held her hips still. When she came a third time he still hadn’t had enough. He could eat her all night long and still crave the taste of her. But his cock was screaming with a need of its own. He eased up and lifted her into his arms carrying her to the bed. Several of the candles had burned out and the room was draped in shadows. He eased her back on the side of the bed leaving her legs to dangle over the side, her pussy right at the edge of the mattress. He reached for a condom with one hand while shoving at his jeans with the other. He wouldn’t manage to get them off, was so close to the edge he was lucky to get them down to his knees. He ripped the condom open with his teeth and groaned as he rolled it over his throbbing erection. He was so close that even that almost sent him into orgasm. What this woman did to him. He glanced down at her, the lazy satisfaction in her eyes and he knew that it would have to be more than the quickie he felt capable of. He wanted to bring her to another orgasm, to see her eyes glaze again with completion. He wanted her with him when he found his pleasure. So he took a deep breath and placing the head of his cock at her pussy he slowly eased inside. She was tight, her sheath still rippling with the tiny shudders of her last orgasm. And she was wet, so hot and wet that it was all he could do to keep from grabbing her hips and pounding into her until he came. He took it slow and easy instead, savoring the snug pull of her cunt with every outward stroke of his cock. Slow and easy until he heard the change of her breathing that told him she was back with him on the road to spine-tingling pleasure. He picked the pace up. Each stroke of cock to cunt was a little faster, a little deeper, a little harder until they were both panting. Sweat trickled down his face, his chest, his back. She lifted her hips pulling her legs up and lifting them to him. He used one hand to guide them up and over his right shoulder…and was lost. The angle, her cries, everything leading up to that moment. It was all there and he looked down and

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groaned when he found her eyes wide open and watching him. It was the most erotic thing he’d ever seen. He was close, so close and when she screamed his name and he saw the glazed look come into her eyes he was with her. They came together, the orgasmic spasms of her pussy milking his cock until he didn’t know how the condom could contain it all. He eased her legs down and slowly pulled from her body. He bent and kissed her hip whispering that he’d be right back before turning on shaky legs to head to the bathroom. After disposing of the condom and washing his cock in the sink he wet a washcloth and headed back to her. He wasn’t surprised to find her asleep exactly as he had left her, legs dangling over the side of the bed. He gently washed her, being as careful as he could. She groaned a little but he was quick and the cloth was warm. After putting it in the laundry basket he eased the covers down on the other side before maneuvering her under them. When he climbed in beside her she automatically turned into him, cuddling against his side. “I love you,” she murmured and even though he knew she was asleep he kissed her temple and said the only thing that he could. “I love you too, Julia. I love you too.”

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Chapter Seven He was gone before she was up the next morning. She missed him. The bed felt empty without him. And those were both really weird sensations for her. For the first time in her life she was in love. And it was an incredible feeling. She wanted to wallow in it. But life called and she couldn’t spend the day in bed, especially alone. With a laugh she actually jumped out of bed. After a quick shower she would head into the station and see if she could track Marcus down. Maybe he was already at work. She was still curious where he had been yesterday that prevented him from answering his phone. They were on a hell of a case here. And with the discovery of the body of Chandra Dukess, it added a whole new layer as far as she was concerned. She’d played with different scenarios in her dreams all night long and they were still fresh in her mind. She’d put a call in to the medical examiner’s office this morning and see if she could catch him before he got sidetracked with other things. She wanted his opinion on a few ideas she had before taking them to Marcus. Either way she believed that Chandra was linked to the disappearances of the other three women—Diana, Stacy and Lindsey. The similarities were just too overwhelming to ignore. And if what she thought was true than they were really looking at a sick individual. Only one way to find out for sure. Shower, grab a quick breakfast at one of the fast food places and head toward the station while she made some phone calls. Then she’d sit down and go over what her gut was saying with Marcus. Together they would figure out the next move they should make.

***** Jack had purposely left early so that he could talk to Marcus before Julia made it in to work. There was something that Marcus wasn’t telling him. He could feel it. The

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other man had recognized the picture of Jack’s brother. Jack knew that, no matter what the other man said. So Jack wanted a little time alone with him to see just what he might be willing to admit. As he looked across the room his gaze zoomed in on his target. Marcus was sitting at his desk and as if he felt Jack’s eyes on him he glanced up and over. They stared at one another for a long moment before Marcus gave a sign and stood stacking papers and placing them back in a file folder before moving them over to Julia’s desk. He palmed something that appeared to be an envelope and tucked it into his pocket. Then with that taken care of, he headed across the room toward Jack. “Let’s take a walk, Madigan,” was all he said as he moved past and Jack willingly turned to follow him. When they were outside Marcus started down the street. “I feel like a good cup of coffee this morning. That shit at the station sticks with you all day.” Jack laughed. Bad coffee seemed to be universal in police stations. “Coffee huh?”

Marcus looked over at him and shook his head. “You’re not going to let this go are you?” Jack could tell that it was a rhetorical question but he answered it anyway. “No, I’m not going to stop until I get some answers.” “What are you looking for? What kind of answers do you need?” Marcus stopped walking and turned to face Jack. “I want to know if you knew my brother. I want to know if you know anything about him. I want to know everything that you can tell me.” Jack held Marcus’ gaze wanting to convey the truth behind his words with his eyes. “And you need to know this now? Why the sudden interest?” Marcus looked mad for a moment.

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“Sudden?” Jack parroted before he leaped on Marcus’ words. “You did know my brother. I knew that this was the first place to look, the place to start. When was the last time you saw him?” Marcus ignored his question and asked his own, which annoyed Jack. “Why is this the first place to look? Why Hidden Falls?” “Because this is the last place that we can find any sign of him. After this he just seems to disappear.” Jack shook his head and closed his eyes for a moment. “He just disappears without a trace.” “So you think your brother is dead?” Marcus asked and when Jack looked at him strangely, he added, “You keep referring to him in the past tense.” “I don’t know what to think. My people are good, the best there are available and they can’t find him. I can’t find him. So please, I’m asking you to help me by telling me what you might know.” Jack hoped that Marcus realized the sincerity of his words. “I did know Brock, once a long time ago,” Marcus admitted. “How long ago?” Jack wanted every crumb of information that he could get. Marcus just smiled and shook his head. “Years,” was all he would say. “I need to know what you can tell me about him, Marcus. Did he ever mention a daughter?” Jack might never find his brother but he needed to be certain that Ally was his niece before he turned her life upside down once more. “A daughter,” Marcus sighed and then reached into his wallet and slipped a photo from behind some cards. He held it out to Jack. Jack took it and felt his heart clench at what he saw. It was a picture of Brock holding a little girl up in the air. She was maybe one or two, still little and she and Brock were both laughing. It was a beautiful moment caught on film. “Where did you get this?” Marcus sighed and turned to walk again. Jack turned and joined him still holding the photo in his hand.

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“He carried it with him everywhere he went. Always had that photo on him. He called her Ally. His little Ally tabby. Said she had his cat eyes and need to scrap built into her. Said she would be a fighter with gifts that would cause her pain even when she used them for good.” Marcus stopped again and faced Jack once more. “Your brother was a hell of a man and I considered him a friend. I was damn proud to know him. He came here to disappear.” Marcus let his eyes wonder so that he was looking toward the center of town, toward the forest that led to the falls the town was named after. “And then one day he did just that.” “How did you get the photo then?” Jack wanted to know. He couldn’t see Brock just leaving it behind. “It was in an envelope for me.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out the envelope Jack had seen him grab and tuck in his pocket before leaving his desk. Marcus handed it to him. “He always said that one day someone just might decide to come looking for him. He wasn’t sure who it would be but he left that for them.” Jack took the envelope and noticed that it was sealed. “You didn’t open it?” “It wasn’t for me,” Marcus replied. “I had my own. And now that one is for you.” Marcus stopped again and Jack glanced up and realized that they were at the coffee house. “Keep the picture, Madigan. I have to think that Brock would have wanted you to have it.” He reached out and touched Jack on the shoulder. “He was the best of friends.” With that he left Jack on the sidewalk and went to get his decent cup of coffee. Jack headed back to his car. He needed some privacy to look at the letter his brother had left. He had no idea what it would say. But now he knew one thing for certain. Ally was a Madigan. And that was what he had come here hoping to ascertain. So why did he feel like there was something that he was missing?

***** Julia looked up when Marcus entered the office. Finally. She’d been going over and over the files that he had placed on her desk. New cases that were coming their way as

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well as the files on the three, now four, women who were either missing or killed in Hidden Falls. Life was certainly getting interesting in their small paradise lately. Marcus headed over to the desk with two cups of coffee in his hands. She recognized the cups and sighed gratefully that she was his partner and that he always remembered her. He sat one of the cups in front of her before taking his seat across from her. “I see you finally decided to get in touch with me,” she quirked an eyebrow at him even as she breathed deeply of the divine coffee in her hand. “You do remember me, right? I’m your partner. The one who tried unsuccessfully to get in touch with you before I went to inform the family of the death of Chandra Dukess.” “And I’m sure you did a fine job on your own.” Marcus shrugged his shoulders. Julia glared at him. “That is not the point. Of course I did fine. I learned from the best. But it would have been nice to have you with me for my first.” Marcus smiled. “No it wouldn’t.” He gave a weak chuckle at her look of incredulity. “I promise you it wouldn’t have been good for me to be there. It’s time for you to take the lead more. You’re a good cop. You’ve got great instincts and it’s time that you follow them more. Which isn’t always the case with us.” “What are you saying?” Julia asked in a quiet voice. “I think you know what I’m saying.” Marcus leaned forward and braced his arms on the desk after setting his coffee cup down. “I think we both know that you won’t be around much longer. You have better things on your horizon than staying here in Hidden Falls.” “I don’t know anything of the kind,” she started to say but he just shook his head and smiled. “Don’t kid yourself, Jules. Madigan means more to you than this. You’ve let him closer than you’ve let anyone else in your life.” He grinned again. “Except for maybe that dog of yours. He’s found the answers he was looking for.”

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“What?” Julia sat up straight her grasp tightening on the cup in her hand. “The answers he came here for,” Marcus said. “He has them. Soon he’ll leave, head home. And I wouldn’t be much of a detective if I didn’t see that he was going to ask you to go with him.” “I don’t know what to do,” Julia confessed. Marcus was like family in many ways. They weren’t overly close but he was her sounding board, her safety net. Maybe she had been depending on him too much in their job. “You do,” he stated with a calm she envied. “Listen to your heart for once, Julia. I promise you if you don’t there won’t be a moment of your life where you look back and wish you had.” “You sound like you’re speaking from experience, Marcus.” He looked lost in thought for a moment. But it didn’t escape her notice that he had called her Julia instead of Jules. He smiled sadly and seemed to shake himself back to the present. “Sometimes, for some people, love only comes once. So when it does come your way, you need to grab it with both hands and hang on tight. Follow your heart, Julia, and let tomorrow take care of itself.” “Love.” It was all so new to her, so how was it that Marcus already knew? He shook his head at her. “Like I said, I wouldn’t be much of a detective if I couldn’t see what was right in front of my face.” He looked her straight in the eye. “You wouldn’t either.” She just held his gaze and took a long drink of her cooled coffee. Her thoughts were tumbling through her head. She’d had all these tangled feelings inside her lately. Should she stay or should she go? And it wasn’t as if Jack had even asked her yet. Jack. That brought her back to what Marcus had said. “Jack has his answers?” she queried. “Did you know the man in the picture? Who was it?”

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“His name was Brock, Brock Madigan. He was a great man,” Marcus stated matterof-factly. “Brock?” Julia said the name but although the face was familiar, the name wasn’t. “I can’t place him.” “You were younger when he was around, about twenty years ago or so is when he first came around. Brock stayed for a few years.” Marcus seemed lost in memories for a moment before he added as if in afterthought. “Then he just disappeared.” “That is why most people wind up in Hidden Falls,” Julia stated. Marcus smiled at her. “Leave the folders on your desk, Julia. Forget the job for just a few hours and head home to that man of yours.” Now she was alert. “Why? What did you tell him?” “Not me,” Marcus denied. “Brock left a letter for him. I’m not sure what it says. I never read it. And my gut says that Madigan won’t discuss it. But he just might need someone there to hold onto for a little bit.” Julia was already up and grabbing her purse. “Cover for me, Marcus,” she said as she headed out. But she stopped and surprised them both when she paused by his desk long enough to place a kiss on his cheek. “And thanks. For everything.” He watched her walk away with both pride and pain. Pride because no matter where she went, he would always know that he had taught her everything he knew about being a cop. And pain because it felt like he was losing a daughter. Because Julia was leaving Hidden Falls with Jack Madigan. It was only a matter of when.

***** Jack crumpled the note in his hands. He wanted to hurl it against the wall. He wanted to tear it into a million pieces and then burn it for good measure. It was just like Brock to leave such a note. Wherever he was the sneaky bastard was probably laughing his ass off at the thought of leaving Jack chasing in circles. But if what Brock alluded to

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was true it was better off that Jack didn’t search for answers, that Ally didn’t know her father was still alive. Brock was once a powerful man, and powerful men often made powerful enemies in their lifetimes. His brother had been gifted with the sight like Ally. Even when they were young Brock had been able to pick items up and tell you things about them that he shouldn’t have known. But unlike Ally who used her gift to help the police solve crimes, Brock had sometimes used his for not so good purposes. So when threats came his way, he’d done the only thing he could think of to save those he loved. And had died anyway, or so Jack was to believe. But some things just didn’t add up. Brock had done a good job if he had faked his own death. So good that Jack had almost believed it himself. But like he had told Marcus earlier, his men were the best at their job. And one of their jobs was to find people, sometimes those who didn’t want to be found. So his search had led him here, to Hidden Falls. To an obscure letter from his brother and to the beginning of the rest of his life. But could he honestly walk away if there was even a slim chance that Brock was still alive? With lives at stake, just maybe he could. Now there was Julia. She was important to him. More important than he had ever thought to let another woman get, save his daughter. Julia was a part of him now. And he didn’t want to leave here without taking her with him. So how did he persuade a woman to leave all she knew behind and just pick her life up and take a chance. It might help if he told her how he felt, and found out how she felt when she wasn’t sleeping. She’d said that she loved him but only while she was asleep. Hell she could have been dreaming about someone else though he seriously doubted it. He had the answer he’d come looking for. Ally was family. But he’d found so much more as well. Julia, and with the letter, more questions. He needed to get a hold of Roman as soon as possible and get him started looking into certain avenues.

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He pulled his phone from the clip on his belt and then put it back when he saw Julia pulling up in the driveway and running toward the back door. He met her there and pulled her into his arms when she barreled into him. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?” he asked immediately. She shook her head and snuggled closer. “Marcus said you had the answers you’d come looking for and that you would probably be leaving soon.” He tilted her head up to meet his gaze. “Not without talking to you first.” She smiled and pulled a little away. “I have some things to say to you, Jack.” ”I have some things to say to you as well,” he replied. “But ladies first.” She paced away from him absently stopping to stroke Lucifer on the head. It was amazing how well Lucifer and Jack got along. Her dog tended not to like anyone. But Jack had him eating out of his hand within minutes. She looked back over to Jack who was patiently waiting for her to say something and it just came out of her mouth with absolutely no lead-in. “I’m in love with you,” she confessed. “I don’t know how or when or anything. I just know that I’m in love with you and I don’t want to see you walk away from this, from us, without trying to find where things might lead.” “Are you asking me to stay in Hidden Falls?” Jack asked. “Just for a few days longer,” she admitted. “While I wrap some of my open cases up and take care of a few personal things.” “And then?” he questioned. “I’d like to go with you, to Legacy. I’d like to see all the people you’ve described to me. Get to know them.” She was nervous and she automatically started pacing again. “I know that it is sudden but—” She stopped when he reached out and pulled her snug against his chest once more.

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“No buts Julia,” he said. “Because I love you too. I think I have from the first moment in that bar when you left me with nothing but your panties to remember you by.” Julia groaned and buried her head once more rolling it from side to side. “Not one of my best moments,” she confessed. “I could barely stand upright.” Jack laughed. “You could have fooled me, and did. Hell, I was weak in the knees and you just walked out like the sex hadn’t been…” He paused at a loss for words. “Earth-shattering,” she supplied. “Mind-blowing. The greatest orgasm of my life.” “Those will do,” he agreed with a wicked grin. “Yeah,” she answered. “Those definitely cover it.” “So what happen to ‘no promises’?” He needed to know where she stood now. “I won’t ask for any,” she replied. “But I will give you one. I promise to love you with all of me for as long as you will let me.” “Oh, Julia,” Jack said and bent to take her lips with a soft kiss that was a promise all of its own. “A man could ask for no more.” He paused to kiss her once more. “And give no less.” She took control of the kiss, opening her mouth to his and then sucking his tongue inside. Passion exploded between them until they were both panting for breath. “Make love to me, Jack,” she said. “Always,” he answered and sweeping her up into his arms headed down the hall.

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Chapter Eight They’d barely made it into the bedroom when she was sliding down the length of his body rubbing against all the hard planes before her feet touched the floor. This was perfection, being in Jack’s arms. This was what she had been searching all her adult life for. All the one-night stands, the sexual encounters, had been in anticipation of this man. She was so lucky to have found him. She’d always favor a smoky bar and the taste of whiskey. They’d always remind her of the night she’d first seen Jack. She lingered over the kiss they were sharing, taking extreme pleasure in the play of his tongue over hers. Her hands moved under his arms and then up and around his shoulders. He was solid and muscular and she couldn’t wait to get him naked. And yet she planned to savor every moment of this experience. This was the night she’d looked him in the eye and said those three little words that changed everything. It was a night she planned to make sure they never forgot. “I love the feel of your skin,” he whispered against her neck his tongue tracing a wet path down the column. “So soft. Like velvet.” “I feel the same about you,” she assured him as she arched her neck further granting him full access. “I’m soft?” he queried with a low chuckle. She reached down to cup his rock-hard denim-encased cock and gave it a squeeze. “Hard,” she emphasized with another squeeze that brought a groan from him. “But soft as well. Like velvet-covered steel.” “God, Julia, the things you do to me.” He rubbed against her hand his own never ceasing their quest to strip her naked. He had her shirt and her bra off while she only had his shirt opened. But she couldn’t wait. She wanted a taste, was dying to feel the brush of his cock between her 77

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lips. She wanted to lick and suck every inch that she could. She fell to her knees in front of him. “What?” He glanced down at her seeming to come out of a trance. She planned to send him right back into one. “Just relax, Jack,” she whispered as she nuzzled her face against his cock while she worked on getting him out of his clothes. Finally she had the zipper undone and the denim spread wide. With a slow tug she had his cock free and bouncing up toward his belly. She licked her lips with anticipation and Jack groaned again. Just the sound made her feel powerful, in control. She took his cock in her hand and explored it from root to tip with a glide of palm against flesh. Her fingers tried to wrap around the width but didn’t quite meet. She licked her lips again and leaned in to swipe her tongue over his scrotum. There was a slight salty taste to him that only served to make her hungry for more. She’d always had a taste for salt. She licked and sucked at the globes while her hands continued to stroke up and down his shaft. The best part was when she looked up and locked eyes with him. There was something so naughty, so sexual about him watching her use her mouth on him. And the look on his face was invigorating. She pulled the cock head down toward her mouth and licked up his length until she was swirling her tongue over and around the mushroom shaped crest. The same salty essence was there and she wanted more of it, wanted to feel it burst over her tongue and wash through her mouth. She took the head and sucked softly at it before nipping it with her teeth. Jack’s hands buried in her hair and she smiled. He was trying not to hurt her but she could feel the tension in him, the need to take and fuck her mouth. And she wanted him to, eventually. But first she wanted to be the one in control, the one to decide what step was next.

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She pulled back so that her lips covered just the small slit in the top of his cock and she sucked at it. She was rewarded with another groan from Jack and a tiny drop of fluid from his cock. It brushed past her lips and slipped onto her tongue. She pulled back so that he could see it, so that he could watch the way she savored the taste of him. There was heat in his eyes, heat in his touch. “You’re playing with fire here, Julia,” he warned while he brushed a finger gently down her cheek, stopping to slide it across her bottom lip. “Burn me, Jack,” she whispered against his flesh. “Make me burn.” And she leaned in and sucked him deep, taking as much of him as far into the back of her throat as she could. She loved the taste of him, loved the feel of him gliding in and out of her mouth. She sucked greedily and used her hand to wrap around the base of his cock and work the inches she couldn’t manage to take in. Up and down she moved, sucking and laving with her tongue. His control seemed to break and his grip tightened in her hair. His hips moved and he was fucking his length in and out. One slow stroke followed by several faster, shallower strokes had them both panting, each balancing on the precarious edge of desire. She slipped her tongue into the notched slot just underneath the head and stroked him there while continuing to suck. She swirled her tongue and rubbed the notch again and Jack seemed to buck against her. “Fuck, Julia,” he rasped and then he was pulling away from her. He grasped her shoulders and jerked her up against him making quick work of the rest of her clothes. He pushed her over toward the bed but kept her from climbing onto it. With a nudge he had her lying back, buttocks on the edge. “You’re so fucking beautiful,” he said as he ran his hands over her naked body. “You take my breath away.” “And I thought that was just my oral skills,” she said with a grin.

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“Oh, those take my breath away too,” he agreed. Then with a wicked grin of his own he was on his knees in front of her. He used his hands to open her legs wider, to lift her ass and put her cunt perfectly on display. Then his mouth was there and it was her turn to cry out. He licked her sex from tip to anus and then pressed his tongue against the small pink pucker. She shuddered and felt her legs trembling. Yeah, this was the man she’d been waiting for. He spread her nether lips wide with his fingers and then used his tongue like a tiny sword against her clit. She could feel her juices slipping free to coat her inner thighs and his fingers. He worked two inside her pussy and continued manipulating her clit. Her hands fisted in the comforter and she buried her face in it crying her pleasure. And still he worked her, still he pushed her higher. Then his fingers pulled free of her pussy and moved down to coat her anus with her own juices. Using her natural lubrication he fingered her. Then with some reaching, he opened the drawer of the bedside table for the tub of lubricant he’d placed there. He worked the lube generously into her ass. He was slowly making sure that she was well lubricated before pressing inside. And when that first finger pierced through, his lips wrapped around her clit and sucked eagerly throwing her into orgasm. And as her muscles tightened and then softened with release he worked in and out of her ass. He brought her to yet another peak when he plunged the fingers of his other hand into her pussy and rubbed it against the two that rode in and out of her ass. His tongue flicked against her clit and she was screaming as she came. She was weak, so weak, the pleasure turning her limbs to the consistency of cooked spaghetti. And that was when he pulled back. That was when he stood and turned her around on the bed so that he was behind her. She felt the brush of air as he spread her cheeks wide and pressed his cock against the opening of her ass. He had a condom on and once again she was grateful that he had thought of protection.

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And she wanted it, wanted to feel him there. He’d made her want to feel him inside her ass. He pressed forward and it was pure instinct that had her pressing back into him. He slipped past that first tight ring of muscle and then slowly all the way inside. They both held still when he was buried to the balls in her ass. Neither willing to move just yet. Both wanting to savor the new sensations they were feeling. Julia had never taken another man there. It was the one place that she was still virgin and though she had heard differing opinions on anal sex, she’d never wanted to try it before. Now she was glad that she had waited, glad that Jack was the first. She felt full, dominated in a way that regular sex didn’t make her feel. Then he shifted her hips so that her clit rubbed against the edge of the mattress and she was lost. Slowly at first he moved in and out giving her as much time as he could to adjust to the feel of him in her ass. She was hot and tight, like a velvet glove made a size too small for him. He wouldn’t last long. He had her pinned against the mattress and her clit felt every stroke. He wanted her to come like this, wanted her to enjoy anal sex as much as he was. And the way she was gripping the covers, the little noises she was making assured him that she was more than enjoying it. He couldn’t stop himself. He pumped a little faster, panting as he fucked her sweet little ass. It had never felt this good. His cock was in heaven. He reached around and rubbed her clit with his fingers until she was bucking beneath him, nearly incoherent as she climaxed yet again. And as her ass closed around him like a vise his cries became just as incoherent. His last sane thought as he felt his cum explode from his cock was that he’d found the right woman. No woman since Moira’s mom had ever twisted him up so much with so many thoughts and emotions. He needed to discuss birth control with her. God help him but he really wanted to feel her pussy with no condom between them. But only once they were sure of each other and where they were headed. And had discussed where they had been.

*****

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Julia awoke to the soft caresses of Jack’s hands on her bare back. She was lying on her stomach on the bed with the bed throw tossed over her bottom half. She leaned up on an elbow and smiled at him. “Hey gorgeous.” He smiled at her. “I was wondering when you would wake up.” He was freshly showered and his hair was still damp. “You showered without me,” she pouted. “You were sleeping so peacefully that I hated to wake you.” His fingers brushed over her cheek and he sat carefully by her side on the bed. She lifted up to embrace him and there was an erotic edge to the brush of her bare breasts against his shirt. He must have felt it as well for she was soon on her back once more with Jack over her, his kiss reigniting the lust that never seemed far away. And when he pulled back, their lips still damp, his face still so close, it was just natural for her to say what came to her. “I love you, Jack Madigan.” His eyes dilated and then he was kissing her again. “I love you too, Julia,” he breathed the words into her. “I love you too.” “Stay?” she asked. He shook his head but she could see the regret on his face. “I have some things that I need to take care of. And I thought you might enjoy a nice long soak in the tub.” “Ummm…I would like that,” she admitted then squealed when he scooped her up and held her naked against his chest. “Good,” he grinned. “As I’ve already run the water for you and put some really nice oil in it.” He eased her to her feet just inside the bathroom door and brushed a finger along the bridge of her nose. “Relax for a bit. Just take a little time for yourself. I’ll be back in a few hours and we can talk some more about what you want to do.” “Okay,” she promised and pulled him close for one more kiss before she watched him walk down the hall. She heard the door open and close as he left the house and

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finally with a sigh of contentment she lowered into the blessedly hot water. Jack Madigan was one hell of a good man.

***** Lindsey watched the camera warily. Every chance she got she would try to send messages of hope and encouragement to Stacy. She still didn’t know how but somehow, some way, they would make it out of here. She had to believe that. She had to. She saw a movement on the screen that showed the other woman. She looked closer and realized that he had left her completely untethered. How in the hell had that happened. She hadn’t been tied down like Lindsey and Stacy but she had still been tethered to the post of the bed. Now there was nothing. She was wandering the room looking confused. Lindsey wanted to grab her and shake some sense into her. Of all of them to be left free it would have to be the one who appeared to have already lost her mind. Lindsey groaned with frustration as the woman kept going in circles around the room. Do something, she wanted to yell. Open the door if you can and let us out. Finally she did yell with frustration, unable to hold it in any longer. She glanced at Stacy’s screen and saw that she was feeling the same way. The woman kept wandering around the room never once making a move toward the closed door. She seemed to catch a glimpse of the screens in her room and holding her hand out moved toward them. But there was his display of knives and other things in the way. Even as Lindsey watched in horror the woman bumped into the tray sending knives flying in all directions. And that seemed to shake her out of whatever stupor she had been in. She fell quickly to her knees and scrambled around trying to pick them all up and get them back on the tray in the right place. Footsteps sounded and they all knew what that meant. The woman panicked and began shoving items randomly on the tray. There was terror on her face and once again

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Lindsey wondered what she had been through that they didn’t know about. No woman should ever be possessed by a fear as powerful as the one that seemed to have a hold over this woman. The door opened and she cowered before him, their tormentor. She was shaking and Lindsey could hear her mumbling over and over again that she was sorry. She subjugated herself on the floor in front of him and still her body trembled. He squatted down in front of her one hand reaching to caress her hair while the other pushed the tray away. “There is no need to fear, my sweet girl,” he murmured. “It was my fault for not tying you back before I left. I enjoyed our session too much. But I’m here now and I’ll see that you’re not left like this.” He placed his hand under her chin and lifted her head from the floor but still she kept her eyes lowered to the floor and mumbled her apologies. Lindsey wanted to hit her, wanted to strike her down. This was a moment when they could all be free and yet this woman didn’t possess the strength for anything. She kept saying she was sorry over and over again as he stood and lifted her to her feet in front of him. She stumbled into him and his eyes went suddenly wide. He glanced down at the woman now flush against him with a surprised look in his eyes. And all she said was, “I’m sorry.”

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Chapter Nine Julia headed back to the station after spending an hour soaking and pampering herself. Jack was right. She had needed it and she did feel so much better now. More soothed and relaxed. Now she had a plan of what she needed to wrap up and go over before she could leave Hidden Falls with a clear conscience. She needed to speak with Marcus first, then the chief, of course. And she wanted to speak with Dakota. There were a few things she really wanted to say to him before she left with Jack. And that was just what she was going to do. Leave with Jack. Hell, she was even looking forward to it. It was amazing how life could change in just a few days’ time. But when it was right, it was right. She had a smile on her face and a bounce to her step when she entered the station. Marcus was at his desk, appearing to be deep in thought. She sat at her desk across from him for a few moments before he even knew she was there. It finally took her speaking his name several times to get him to snap out of where ever he was. “Marcus? Marcus?” she queried finally getting his attention. “How long you been here, kid?” he asked automatically reaching for the files on his desk. “Just a few minutes,” she informed him. “Want to tell me where you were?” “In the past.” He looked away for a moment and then with a shrug of his shoulders seemed to shift it away from him and return to the here and now. “So when you leaving?” She just laughed. “As soon as I get things wrapped up here. Two weeks at least. And I want to make sure that I don’t leave you in the lurch on any of our cases.” “I’ll be fine. Heaven knows there is always something to keep me busy here at work.” It was the truth. No matter where you lived there was always crime. 85

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“Still, I’d like to do things by the book. See if there is any possibility of transferring to the police department in Legacy where Jack lives.” When Marcus just looked at her she shrugged. “What? You didn’t really think that I would be willing to give this life of glamour and fortune up did you?” Marcus laughed at that. They both knew very well that while a police officer’s life could be many things, glamorous and full of fortune wouldn’t be among them. They were both still laughing when all hell broke loose. Dakota was the one who rushed over to their desk. “You two had better hurry. Your three missing women just walked into the station together wearing nothing but towels. One still has blood stains on her face and hands, her hair and maybe a few places the blankets are hiding.” “What?” Julia said as both she and Marcus jumped up to follow Dakota to where the women had been placed. “I have no idea yet,” Dakota stated. “Wanted to get you both before we took any statements of where they’ve been.” He stopped and turned to look at them both. “One thing is for sure. They’ve been through hell. None of them looks too good. None of them has any clothes. And one of them is covered with blood. It must be one hell of a story.” They all headed out each thinking their own thoughts. Julia was happy to see that each of the women was now dressed in police issue gray sweats and t-shirts. And each of them was sitting at a different area of the table. None really looking at the other. What in the world had these women been through?

***** Lindsey kept staring at the screen. What was wrong? His face…it was changing. The calm was gone and she was sure that there was a bit of both panic and surprise in his eyes. And all the woman kept saying was that she was sorry. A drop of blood

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appeared at the corner of his lips and he seemed unable to get his breath. Her hand moved again and time seemed to stand still for a minute. Then he fell. And the blood was everywhere. The woman turned slightly, just enough for Lindsey to get a glimpse of the blood stains on her hands, on the knife she was gripping tightly enough that her knuckles appeared white. Blood was on her body. His blood. She dropped to her knees beside where he lay and put her hands on his chest. Lindsey couldn’t believe her eyes. And yet it was impossible to look away. This woman, this person she had wanted to slap awake, had wounded, possibly even killed their tormentor. She was checking for a pulse it appeared but sobbing and shaking as well. Lindsey just prayed that the woman had the presence of mind to recover enough to get them all out of this mess. Lindsey and Stacy were still tied down and unable to do anything. Whoever this woman was, she was their only chance of escape. The woman reached up and closed his eyes. Lindsey knew then that he was dead. This woman had killed him. Then with a heaviness that the screen easily conveyed the woman gained her feet and headed toward the door.

“And that was when Ms. Mallone found and released the two of you?” Marcus was the one asking the question. Ms. Mallone had refused to speak as yet. But the other two women had answered everything that they could. “Yes,” Lindsey Davis answered. She and the other woman, Stacy Holins were anxious to answer what they could so they could get home to loved ones. “Ms. Mallone?” Marcus tried once more. “Do you have anything to add?” The woman looked up at them but shook her head. This time she actually spoke though. “The tapes will show you everything you need.” A shudder ran through her that she didn’t even try to contain. “They’ll show you more than you ever wanted to know. Much more than you need to know.”

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“No one will judge you because of what happened to you,” Dakota James assured her. And Diana Mallone laughed but the sound was raw and grief-filled. “Please. Who are you trying to fool with that, Detective? Me? I know better. As soon as those tapes are found and viewed every man on this force will know what I’m capable of. And some of them will be sick enough to be turned on by it. They’ll think of me as a whore. And they’ll treat me as one.” “Never,” Dakota tried to say. “Women will as well, once word gets out as it inevitably will.” She turned to the other two women at the table, the ones who had been held in captivity with her. “Hell, even those who were with me looked down on me.” Lindsey and Stacy looked at her with shock. “Did you think that I didn’t see you? Did you think that maybe the screens weren’t on in my room? I saw the way you two mouthed words to each other. I saw the pitying looks you threw my way whenever he came to me. I saw the loathing in your eyes, on your faces when I played his games.” She was shaking now. Her hands were wrapped around herself as if she were doing everything possible to hold herself together. She took a shuddering breath and though her voice broke once she held it together and went on as if now that she started speaking she couldn’t stop. “I played his sick twisted games and I was good at them. I had to be. I didn’t have a choice. Neither of you were there when the first girl was killed. He never touched her. Just stared at her. Had her lying out as if in a coffin. He’d tell me how he killed her accidentally and that if I was good the same wouldn’t happen to me.” “Chandra Dukess,” Julia whispered and Marcus nodded but everyone’s attention remained on Diana Mallone. “You were repulsed, willing to die for your pride. Not going to be broken as I was. Well who got your asses out of there? Who saved us all? I played the game and I won. I.

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Won. And if I can’t walk away quite as unmoved as you? Well, I’m okay with that. At least I get to walk away. You never saw that dead girl. But I’ll never forget her.” “So why did you say that you were sorry?” Lindsey asked in the silence. “Why are you sorry for hurting him?” “I’ve spent my adult life saving lives as a trauma nurse in the emergency room. No matter how unlikely it seemed I did everything in my power to save lives, every life. So, yes, I am sorry that I had to take a life. His blood will stay on my hands and my soul until the day I die. But that is my trauma to live with. And I will. I’ll find a way.” She turned to Marcus then. “I punctured both of his lungs. He died drowning in his own blood. I’m sorry for what I did but I really didn’t see any other choice at the time.” She held her hands out to him, hands bent, wrists up. “I’m ready to go when you are.” Dakota was the one who stood up and shoved out of the room. Julia glanced at Marcus and followed him out. “What’s up?” she asked him. “If this woman goes to jail for that I’ll never hold a badge and a gun again.” He said the words softly and somehow that made them much stronger. “I doubt that anyone will hold her accountable for this. If the tapes show what they say then no one will press charges, especially the district attorney.” Julia reached out to him and placed her hand on his shoulder. “You okay, Dakota?” “How many people do you think will see those tapes?” he asked not answering her. “We’ll keep it as discreet as we can,” she assured him. “Burn them when you’re done,” he said his eyes straight on her. “As a woman, Julia, don’t let them go to an evidence room where some will take them out like their own personal porn tapes. For me? Please?” “I’ll do what I can,” she promised wondering why he cared so much about a woman he didn’t really know.

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“There’s just something about her. A strength that I don’t even think she realizes that she has. I don’t want to see her broken, not completely. She deserves better from us.” “I agree,” Julia said. Truth be told she wasn’t looking forward to seeing what they found either.

***** Marcus and Julia stood in front of the burned-out shell of the house which the three women had so recently escaped. Though all three of them had denied setting the fire they believed that one of them must have. Luckily they were still in the station when the call came in and the address was recognized. All three had been tested for traces of accelerant of any kind and been found clean. There was certainly nothing left in the charred remains that could be used as evidence. Whoever had set the blaze knew how to ensure that. “This was our last open case,” Marcus said. “No reason for you to hang around the full two weeks.” “I should,” Julia started to say but Marcus interrupted her. “You should grab this chance at happiness with both hands and go.” He turned to face her. “Take vacation and tell the captain you’re planning to relocate. He’ll let you. Hell the only other time you’ve used vacation is when your dad died. You deserve this, Julia. Go. Be happy.” Julia looked at him and saw so much more in his eyes than he probably meant her to see. Leaning forward she kissed him on the cheek before pulling back and meeting his eyes once again. “What was that for?” he asked. “For taking such good care of me,” she told him. “You didn’t have to take me as your partner. And you sure didn’t have to teach me everything that you know. But you did. And I’ll be grateful to you for the rest of my life. Thanks, Marcus.” 90

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“Go on home, little girl,” he said. “Give that man some good news and get the hell out of this town. You don’t need to disappear, Julia. You need to live.” “I will,” she promised and with one last embrace turned and walked away. Marcus stared at the house with a heavy heart. He had one more stop to make tonight. One more confrontation before calling it a day.

***** “I wondered when you’d get out to see me again.” The man stood in the entrance to the rustic cabin he called home. It was in the middle of nowhere, a mountain to the back of him. It was hell of a hike to get to and that was just the way he liked it. “I hate this damn cabin,” Marcus commented as he always did when hiking up. “It’s home,” the man said. “Did you make the delivery?” “Yes,” Marcus sighed. “And?” the man prompted. “He’s heading out…soon.” Marcus pushed into the cabin and went to get a drink of water. The man followed him. “Are you sure this is what you want?” “This is the way it has to be,” the man said. “You could take a chance,” Marcus tried to convince him once more. “This is family. Your brother. Your daughter.” Brock Madigan stood straight and tall his black hair long and shaggy adding to the mountain man mystique he portrayed. His cat-like green eyes, a family gift, were hard. “Both are better off without me. I died a long time ago as far as they’re concerned. Some things are best left dead and buried.” “She’s a beautiful girl.” Marcus reached into his pocket and pulled out a printed sheet of paper with a paper clipping of Brock’s daughter, Ally. She was petite, with long black hair and her father’s eyes.

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Brock took the picture and tossed it on the table without glancing at it. “Let it go, Marcus. Just let it go. You know why it’s best no one knows where I am or even that I am.” “It’s been a long time since there was an attempt. Maybe it would be safe now.” Brock knew that Marcus didn’t believe that any more than he did. “Never. If I reappeared, so would they. And it would only be a short time before the killings started up again. I can’t risk it again. I won’t.” Brock turned and led the way back to the entrance to the cabin and held the door wide. “Yeah, yeah,” Marcus said as he headed toward it. “Always so nice to see you on these visits of mine. You’re such a great host. Can’t imagine why there aren’t more people coming to see you. By the way, nice job on the house today.” “Couldn’t let what he did be seen. Those women deserve better than that.” Brock had been horrified when Marcus had brought him something from the dead woman the other day. He’d clearly seen where she had been held and some of what she had endured. He’d gone to help but the ones still captive had managed to free themselves. He’d known what the tapes would show and had taken the initiative to ensure no one else ever saw them. Those women had been violated enough. “You did a good thing. Makes climbing up to see your sorry ass acceptable.” Marcus shook his head as he reached the door. Brock actually lifted a corner of his mouth in a smirk, the closest thing Marcus had ever seen to a smile on his friend’s face. “Thanks for the favor. I owe you, Marcus.” “You don’t owe me a thing and you know it,” Marcus said and took Brock’s hand in a firm handshake before moving out the door to start the hike back down to his car. “I’ll be seeing you, Brock.”

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the table and leaned into the wall releasing a latch that swung a section open. He went down the stairs and entered a state-of-the-art office that no one knew existed, except for the two men who had helped build and install it. He flipped a switch and the panel of screens lit up showing him everything he needed to know about the world around him and the people he needed to keep tabs on. He had one man in each place that needed to be watched and his men were good. One was already in place in the small town of Legacy where his brother Jack would soon be heading back to, where his daughter now was. He took the paper in his hand and added it to the dozens of other photos of Ally that lined one of the walls down here. He could still remember the sound of her giggle. Still hear her say “Dad” in that sweet voice of hers. But he couldn’t be there for her, not if he wanted her to live. She had her old man’s gift as well as his eyes and if the wrong people ever put two and two together, she’d be dead. So he’d sit in his fortress and watch over everything to keep those he loved alive. And he’d do it all alone. Those were the cards he’d been dealt. Fate had given him three of the greatest women as treasures in his life. And he’d had to leave them all behind. Two had found untimely death anyway. But Ally. Ally was thriving for them all. And no matter what it took, he would see that she always did.

***** Julia moved into the shower behind Jack slipping her hands up his shoulders and slowly working them down to the top of his great ass. “So tense? How does that feel?” she asked him. “Wonderful,” he said and let his head fall over onto his shoulders. “Done for the day?” “Done period,” she said with a laugh. She wasn’t surprised when he turned to face her. “My three missing women showed up today. Weird case, weird ending. But somehow they’ll all get through it.”

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“And?” Jack prompted when she seemed to get sidetracked by his growing erection. “And I went to see the captain, put in for some vacation time and told him that I might be checking out the force in Legacy. He said he’d miss me but that he’d make a few calls.” She ran her hands down his chest to his waist and left them there. “They’ll be lucky to have you,” Jack said wrapping his arms around her and pulling her closer. “That’s precisely what he said,” she told him. And then there were no more words, only mouths meshing and mating as bodies soon would. She lifted the condom she had palmed before entering and worked it slowly onto his erection. He grasped her waist and lifted her high, bracing her back against the tiled wall before sliding her down onto his cock. They both groaned at the feel. Her hands went to his shoulders and his slipped down to cradle her ass. Then it was all slow movement and the soft slide of wet flesh against wet flesh. His lips moved from hers to brush kisses along her jaw before streaking a path down her neck to her collarbone. She arched as best she could in the confined position she was in and was rewarded with the tug of his mouth on her nipple. She cried out as he sucked in earnest moving back and forth between her breasts. One finger brushed along the seam of her ass just teasing her anus. His cock was rock-hard and heavenly thrusting in and out of her wet pussy. This was living. This was loving. And she prayed they would be doing it every chance they got. “I love you, Jack,” she cried as the first ripples of pleasure washed through her. “I love you too,” he whispered against her skin. Soon they would be leaving Hidden Falls behind and Julia would miss it and the people as well. But suddenly it felt as if her life was just beginning with Jack. And if Legacy was his home, then that was where she would find home as well. With Jack.

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About the Author Lacey Thorn spends her days in small-town Indiana, the proud mother of three. When she is not busy with one of them she can be found typing away on her computer keyboard or burying her nose in a good book. Like every woman, she knows just how chaotic life can be and how appealing that great escape can look. So toss aside the stress and tension of the never ending to-do list. For now, sit back, relax and enjoy the ride with Lacey as she helps you to unlace and unleash the woman inside.

Lacey welcomes comments from readers. You can find her website and e-mail address on her author bio page at www.ellorascave.com.

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Also by Lacey Thorn Bare Love 1: His Bare Obsession Bare Love 2: Bare Confessions Bare Love 3: Bare Seduction Bare Love 4: Bare Devotion Ellora’s Cavemen: Jewels of the Nile III anthology Island Guardians 1: Earth Moves Island Guardians 2: Fanning Her Flames Island Guardians 3: Washed Away Island Guardians 4: Breathing Her Air Merciful Angel One Good Man with Cindy Spencer Pape Seducing Sampson

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