Authors: Mari Carr
“Ah,” she replied as he grinned.
“Of course, I figure I was the lucky one. Same year I was born, the commune also welcomed an Oak Leaf, Dove and Wildflower.”
“Yikes, I suppose you
were
fortunate. How do you think those poor souls fared with names like those?”
“Well, Oak Leaf had his name legally changed to Oakley. Not so bad, I guess, all things considered, and last I heard, Wildflower converted to Catholicism, married a doctor and had twenty-seven kids.”
“Twenty-seven? Really?”
“Twenty-seven. Four. Same difference,” Night joked.
Carly laughed at his lighthearted comments. “And what happened to Dove?”
“Don’t know. She flew away from the compound when she was fourteen and I never saw her again.”
Carly watched the slightest bit of pain cross his face before he stuck his hand out in a friendly gesture. “Night Thomas.”
“Thomas?” The name niggled in her mind and she wondered why for a split second before dismissing it. “It’s nice to finally meet you. Jon talks about you all the time.”
“Yeah, well, everything he said is a goddamn lie.” He laughed and she joined him. Despite his jokes, she sensed he used humor to mask something he wanted to keep hidden. His laughter never seemed to reach his eyes.
“Speaking of Jon. You’ll have to forgive me for a second, but if I don’t place this phone call immediately, I run the risk of losing a limb.”
Carly gestured for him to make his call as she crossed the room to sit on the couch. She listened to his conversation. Clearly he was calling Jon.
“Hey, bud. Listen, pick up some extra Chinese. This totally hot brunette just appeared at the door and she looks like she’s starving.” He winked at her as he spoke. “Yeah, yeah, I hear you. Do me a favor, will you? Take your time. I don’t like to rush with a beautiful woman the first time. Gives her a bad impression.” He ended the call as she shook her head at him. “Figure that’ll get him here in record time. I’m the one who’s starving.”
She laughed. “It’s your funeral. For someone so worried about losing a limb, you certainly left the wrong one dangling out there.”
He hooted with laughter at her naughty joke. She felt a curious attraction to the silly man. She tried to shake the thought from her head. She had fallen hopelessly, helplessly in love with Jon and while she knew it was inappropriate to flirt with his best friend, there was something charming and irresistible about Night Thomas. He seemed very much like a lost little boy and she found herself wanting to comfort him.
She watched him cross the room in ripped-up jeans that should have seen the inside of a garbage can at least a year ago and found herself entranced by his loose-limbed, easy gait. He winked again when he noticed her watching him and she rolled her eyes. No doubt he was one of those men who knew his appeal and flirted with every woman in his path, probably even the ninety-year-old grannies.
“Oh, I’m not so worried about myself when Jon gets back,” he said.
“Why not?”
“It’s not me he’s going to come gunning after.” He spoke so seriously she didn’t doubt his words.
“Me? He’s mad at me?”
He nodded.
“What on earth for?”
“Apparently Jon wasn’t too crazy about your disappearing act today. I’m surprised his cell phone hasn’t spontaneously combusted from overuse.”
“Well, shit. I tried to call him several times, but there wasn’t any service up on the mountain. By the time I was back in the land of a signal, my damn phone battery was dead. I keep meaning to get a new one. Mine never lasts more than five or six hours.”
She was perplexed when his grin turned to something resembling a snarl. “What mountain?”
“Olson Mountain.” Her answer seemed to anger him even further.
“What the hell were you doing on Olson Mountain?”
For the first time, she sensed a similarity between Jon and his friend. His affability quickly gave way to the same darkness she saw in Jon every now and again. Both men seemed to be harboring a dangerous side. “We had a student withdraw from school last week. She was an aide in the office during her study hall and I was particularly fond of her. Apparently, she and her mother have moved into a new women’s center on the mountain. I just wanted to stop by and see if everything was okay.”
“And you went into this place?” Night’s interest in her errand seemed to overshadow his annoyance.
“Yes, I spent most of the afternoon there.”
“Excuse me.” He had his cell phone out and was dialing as he ran up the stairs. His sudden departure, as well as his fluctuating interest and anger, left her scrambling to keep up.
“What the hell was that about?” she muttered.
“Reilly. It’s Night. Get over to Jon’s place. Now.” He refused to let Reilly get a word in edgewise. “I’ll explain when you get here. Believe me, you’re going to want to hurry your ass up.” He clicked the phone off and slammed it down on the bathroom vanity. He tried to get his breathing under control.
He could understand Jon’s intense attraction to Carly James. Christ, the woman was gorgeous. Her long, wavy brown hair left his hands itching to touch, and those lips. Damn, he’d never seen such luscious, plump lips on a woman. What would he give to take a small taste?
Bending forward, he turned on the cold water and splashed it in his face. He needed to get a grip. Jon had no intention of sharing Carly with him and there was no way in hell he’d betray his friend over a woman.
When Night considered where she’d spent the better part of her afternoon, his hands clenched into fists. She had no idea the risk she’d taken today, but he would make damn sure Jon explained it to her. Splashing his face once more, he reached for a towel to dry off and took several deep breaths. She probably thought he was half mental the way he’d stormed upstairs.
He studied his face in the mirror and practiced smiling until he managed to look natural and unthreatening again. Once he was sure he could talk to her without revealing his anger, he went back downstairs.
He found her in the kitchen, wiping the counter. He felt slightly embarrassed about the mess. He wasn’t typically such a slob, but his mind had been on other things the past few days.
“You don’t have to clean that up.” He reached for the dishcloth in her hands but she held tight.
“Oh, I don’t mind. I have to say I’ve never seen Jon’s kitchen quite so…”
“Disgusting?” He filled in the word he assumed she was too polite to use and she giggled.
“That would be a good description.”
Again, he tried to take the cloth from her and they had a brief tug-of-war over it before she relented. He saw her glance at his hands and wondered what she saw there.
“Is something wrong?”
She seemed to realize she was staring. “No, nothing at all. Jon tells me you’re an auto mechanic.”
“Yep. I’m looking for a job in the area. Not much tying me to the city and it might be nice to settle in a small town where I’ve got friends around.” He turned and rinsed off the dishcloth before returning to tackle the sticky counters. His eyes landed on the empty whiskey bottle. The word
home
resonated in his brain.
A car door slammed outside. Jon was back. “Listen, Beauty. That’s probably Jon with the food. Why don’t you grab some plates and beer and I’ll help him carry in the bags.”
She seemed a bit nervous and he wondered if he’d scared her with his talk about Jon’s anger.
“Carly.” He took her chin in his fingers and waited until her gaze met his. “Jon loves you and would never hurt you. Besides, I’m here to protect you. Now get the plates.” Before he considered his actions, he bent down and brushed a light, quick kiss against her soft lips. Winking at her, he turned to meet his friend at the front door.
Night opened the door as Jon climbed the porch steps. His friend quickly relieved him of the takeout bags. Jon gave him an appreciative smile. He wanted both hands free to deal with his wayward girlfriend.
Just then, Carly came out of the kitchen, her arms loaded down with plates, napkins and beer, her face flushed.
“Where the hell have you been all day?” He was shouting, but the fear he’d held at bay had frazzled his nerves down to nothing.
“Hello to you too.” She placed her armload of dishes on the coffee table without looking at him and he wondered what Night had said to her. “Night suggested we eat in here. There’s something sticky all over your kitchen table. I don’t even want to know what it is.”
Night laughed at her forced joke. “What can I say, Beauty? I’m a bachelor through and through. What I really need is a good woman to look after me. What do you say? Interested?”
“Are you going to tell me where you’ve been?” Jon ignored Night’s comment and marveled he could speak at all, given how tightly his jaw was clenched.
“Told you he wouldn’t notice me.” Night gave her an encouraging look that didn’t do much to appease Jon’s nervousness. Night knew where she’d been and he could see she was more than a little leery to tell him.
“Olson Mountain.”
Jon froze for a moment, uncertain he’d heard her correctly.
“Excuse me?”
She repeated herself.
For a second, he felt as if his head was going to explode off his shoulders. Every nerve in his body seemed to be rejecting its normal pathway. Before he could figure out how to speak again, there was a knock at the door.
“That’ll be Reilly.” Night seemed unsurprised by their boss’ sudden appearance.
Carly must have sensed something was seriously wrong because her wary gaze lifted to his. “Jon?”
“Why don’t we have a seat?” Night led Reilly into the living room and started organizing the meal as if they were two opposing countries entering peace talks. He placed Reilly in the recliner, gesturing for Jon to share the couch with Carly before plopping himself in an empty armchair.
Once they were all seated, Night dropped the rest of her bomb on Jon’s head. “Apparently, Carly spent the better part of this afternoon at the Olson Mountain Women’s Retreat Center.”
Jon and Reilly both stood up at the same time. It appeared Night hadn’t bothered to fill his boss in on the particulars of this emergency meeting either.
“Jesus,” Jon said when he finally found his voice, pacing across the room as his heart started to race.
“You were inside the main building?” Reilly’s voice was tinged with such excitement, Jon was perilously close to punching him. She had walked right into the lion’s den. He was two seconds away from dragging her up the stairs to his bedroom. Only he wasn’t sure which part of him would win once they got there. The half that wanted to spank her ass until it glowed in the dark or the half that wanted to tie her to his bed and keep her there for the rest of her life. Unfortunately, he didn’t think she would appreciate either gesture.
“What the hell is wrong with all of you?” She looked at the three men in the room. Jon realized how bizarre their reactions must seem to her.
As far as she knew, Night was his mechanic buddy here for a visit, Reilly was an old advertising colleague and he was nothing more than an English teacher. Fuck. How was he going to explain their interest in a women’s facility? How was he going to get out of this situation without having a lot of his lies about the past exposed?
“I beg your pardon, Ms. James.” Reilly moved to sit on the other side of her. “I’m afraid I misrepresented myself in our earlier introduction.”
“Reilly.” Jon tried to invoke a warning with that one word, but either his boss didn’t hear it or he ignored it. He suspected the latter.
“I’m actually here undercover.” With Reilly’s response, he could see the lies they were all about to tell her swarming above their heads like bees. He hated lying to her, but honestly he knew the truth would be a thousand times worse and he was too big a coward to take a chance on losing her now.
“Undercover? You’re a policeman?” She looked confused, yet he could see a spark of interest below the surface. Damn woman never missed an episode of
CSI
and was probably thrilled at the prospect of some sort of intrigue.
“No. I work in the private sector as an investigator. A woman came to see me a few weeks ago. She claimed her sister had gone to the Women’s Retreat Center on Olson Mountain after an argument with her husband. Neither the sister nor the husband has heard from the woman since. There are no phones at the center and their letters have been returned as undeliverable. The sister is beside herself with fear and hired me to investigate.”
“And I take it you haven’t been successful getting in?”
Night’s head flew up at her astute comment. “We can’t so much as get our little toe on that compound.”
She glanced at his friend with curiosity. “So you really aren’t a mechanic, are you? I have to admit, I wondered. Your hands are too clean. I have a cousin who works on cars and he always complains about the fact it’s next to impossible to get all the grease out from under his fingernails.”
Jon groaned as he saw more than friendly interest on Night’s face. She was observant and intelligent, two of the main things that drew him to her. It was little surprise Night found those same attributes appealing. Their years spent side by side had molded them basically the same. Reilly had remarked on it more than once.
He’d known how Night would feel about Carly right from the beginning. It was one of the reasons he’d hesitated to introduce them. It was simply inevitable that Night would feel the same attraction.
The need to share with Night would never truly leave him. Jon could see that now. Ever since his conversation with his friend the other night, Jon couldn’t shake the image of Night taking Carly in his arms. Touching her as Jon kissed her. His fantasies of the three of them together were so overpowering, they were affecting his relationship with her. Just last night, she’d remarked how sometimes she didn’t feel as if he was completely with her. He’d dismissed her fear as foolish, kissing her senseless in hopes of driving her perceptive comment out of her mind.
“Touché, Ms. James. I work for Reilly. Usually we don’t make up such elaborate stories to cover our tracks, but since Jon lives and works here, we thought we could use the situation to our advantage.”