Heard it Through the Grapevine (10 page)

“That wouldn’t solve anything. You’d still be by yourself. What about Deena?”

Lainey opened her mouth to respond then quickly closed it.

“What? Deena has a four-bedroom house. Surely, one of those is not in use.”

Lainey narrowed her dark eyes. “A long time ago, I told Deena I saw Mike with another woman at Billy Bob’s. When she confronted him, he made up some bullshit excuse, and she believed him.” Lainey paused. “I don’t blame her. They’d only been married a little over a year. I should never have told her. Anyway, Mike hasn’t spoken to me since.” She shook her head. “It has to be the Hilton.”

Colt drew a breath. “You can stay in the guest quarters at the ranch. It’s close to the main house, and the dogs guard the perimeter like they own it. You’ll be safe there.”

Lainey’s eyes widened. “I can’t do that, Colt. Really, I’ll be fine at the Hilton.”

“It’ll only be for a few days.” He rose from the chair. “It will give Gracie a chance to get to know her long-lost aunt.”

Nice touch
, he thought, mentally patting himself on the back. He couldn’t resist adding, “Besides, it’s obvious I need to keep my eye on you in case you decide to do any more of your Nancy Drew impressions.”

“Ha!” she exclaimed, throwing a stack of blouses into the
suitcase. Suddenly she froze when there was a loud knock at the door, a gasp escaping her lips.

Colt’s eyes met hers, and he put his finger to his lips to silence her. For the second time, he reached for his gun. “Who’s there?” he asked, inching toward the door.

When there was no answer, he waved his arm signaling Lainey to go into the bathroom. Cautiously, he opened the door, but no one was there. “Hello,” he yelled down the hall.

Nothing.

“Police! Come out slowly, hands in the air.” He was about to head down the hall to investigate when a man appeared from around the corner by the elevator.

“Can’t find my room.” The words were slurred. “Could have sworn it was on this floor.”

Just then, the elevator stopped and the man disappeared. Colt stood in the hall, debating whether to go after the guy and question him further. Unwilling to leave Lainey alone, he walked back into the room and shut the door “You can come out now, Lainey. It was just a drunk from the bar who can’t find his room.”

Even as he said it, he couldn’t stop the feeling that it might be more than that. He punched in a number on his phone and waited. Lainey emerged from the bathroom, her face still ashen. He related the details to a sleepy Flanagan and instructed him to call Rogers and get down to the Conquistador ASAP.

“I’m through arguing, Colt. Let’s get out of here.”

_____

­­­­The moment the elevator door closed, the man blew out a sigh of relief.
That was a close one
. He wasn’t getting paid to go head to head with the law. No sir! The two grand in his pocket only covered scaring the TV bitch back to wherever the hell she came from.

Too bad that’s all he was supposed to do. He’d watched her all night in the dress that barely covered her ass. He would have loved a couple of hours with those legs wrapped around his neck.

He had no idea why they wanted her gone, but who was he to ask questions? He was only getting paid to put the note under her door, wait for her to return, then knock once to scare the shit out of her. The money didn’t cover a hayseed sheriff with a big-ass gun. He’d reached for his own automatic when the guy surprised him, then smartly reverted to the old, I-can’t-find-my-room bullshit.

When the elevator stopped in the lobby, he exited toward the bar, shrugging uncomfortably in the suit. He hated suits, never wore them, but tonight he needed to blend in with the other businessmen in the bar. He’d eyeball Porter one last time so he could include it in his report, then he’d head to Dallas and pick up a quick blow job on Harry Hines Boulevard before driving back to Waco. He patted his wallet, fatter with the extra grand they’d given him for keeping tabs on the oilman who was now so drunk he was having trouble staying upright on the barstool.

They wouldn’t be happy when they heard that. The quick and
easy job he’d signed on for now involved the local pigs and a drunken
cowboy. In his vast experience, that always spelled complications. He reached into his pocket for the phone and flipped open the receiver, his eyes trained on Porter, who was now proclaiming his intentions to kick the sheriff’s ass loud enough for everyone in the bar to hear.

After several rings, a gruff voice answered. “Yeah.”

“We’ve got trouble. He’s been talking to the pigs.”

ten

“Damn it! I knew
h
e was a loose cannon.” He slipped out of bed, careful not to wake up the woman spooning him. Once the door closed behi
nd him, he spoke into the receiver, his voice low. “Where is he now?”

“In the bar downing double scotches like he’d just spent three weeks in the Sahara. What do you want me to do?”

“Get him out of there before he starts shooting off at the mouth about our deal. I don’t care how you do it. Just get it done.”

“Not a problem, boss, but I only stopped back to check on him before I left for business in Dallas. I’ve already earned my pay tonight. Anything extra will cost you.”

He frowned, the lines creasing his brow. This wasn’t the first time this joker had come back with his hand out, and it was starting to be a problem. But the extra money didn’t even come close to the millions that would go down the toilet if Porter fucked up the deal. “Don’t I always make it worth your while? Keep him in sight and call me the minute he’s back in his room.”

“Can do, but I expect the compensation to be worth what I’m giving up.”

“You know I’m good for it,” he said, more annoyed than he wanted to let on. “Just do it.”

He slammed the receiver and opened the bedroom door. “Goddamn it,” he swore under his breath as he crawled under the covers. There would be no more sleeping until after the next call.

_____

Jerry Moretti stared at his wife as she sashayed out of the bathroom wearing a long dark fur coat. When she was directly in front of him, she did a slow turn to give him a better look.

“Isn’t it gorgeous, lambkins? Russian sable.” She ran her hands down the rich brown fur provocatively. “See the silver threads? That’s how you can tell how expensive it is.” She made a graceful pirouette in front of him. “I got it for a steal.”

Jerry took a deep breath, trying to calm down before he spoke. “Do you really need one more mink coat to go with the other four hanging in your closet, darling?”

Roxy pouted, her lower lip protruding in the cute way that usually made him putty in her hands.

Not this time!

“Vladimir was only in town one day. The trunk show at Market Hall was by invitation only. It’s an honor to be on his short list.” She opened the front of the long coat to allow him a peak at what she was wearing, or more correctly, what she wasn’t wearing.

His mouth watered at the sight of his naked wife, still turning him on after two years of marriage. Quickly, he looked away. “Goddamn it, Roxy. Where were you the other night when I explained money would be tight for a while?”

Roxy stepped toward the bed until she was standing right over him. In a quick motion, she heaved herself on the bed and straddled him, moving her hips suggestively as she touched the expensive mink to his cheeks. “A man like you deserves to have a woman
next to him wearing the most expensive fur in the world, doesn’t he?”

She purred as she replaced the fur rubbing his cheeks with one of her breasts. “A coat like this tells the world you must be one
helluva stud to have a woman like me. You do want people to think that, don’t you, angel face?”

Damn her!
She knew he couldn’t resist those tits. He opened his mouth and suckled the huge brown nipple.

“See, baby, I’m worth every penny you spent on this coat.”

“You are, Roxy. No argument there,” Jerry said between licking and sucking. He wiggled her other breast out of the coat and squeezed. “It’s just that until we get Tessa’s brat paid off and I get the vineyard back in my family where it belongs, we need to go a little easy on our spending.” He closed his mouth on the second nipple, tracking his hand past her cleavage and down the length of her body. “You’re wrong, though, dumpling. This is the most expensive fur in the world,” he murmured as he grabbed her crotch.

“Ooh,” she squealed. “You can’t have one without the other, sweetheart. You knew the day you met me I wouldn’t come cheap.”

Tell me about it,
he thought, right before her hand snaked down
and stroked him. “Oh, Christ, keep the fucking coat,” he said
between
fast choppy breaths. He flipped her on her back and positioned himself above her. There was something to be said for sleeping buck-ass naked.

Shoving her spread legs over her head, he entered her. Slowly, at first, before he pumped, rocking with her in perfect harmony.

He stopped grinding and looked at Roxy after a shrill ringing nearly scared him out of his skin. “Shit!”

“Don’t answer it,” she whispered hoarsely. “You’ve got me wetter than an ice sculpture in the middle of a Texas heat wave. Keep going, Jerry, please.” Roxy tightened her ankles around his neck and pushed her lower abdomen into his.

“I have to take this call,” he said, raising up and reaching for his cell phone. “I’ve been waiting all night.” He walked into the hallway before he gripped the receiver. “Yeah.”

“You remember that problem we talked about today?” The words
were slurred.

It was all he’d been able to think about.

“I had a nice visit with your new partner tonight before the sheriff interrupted. I think he wanted some of that action himself. Before they left, she mentioned needing money to get out of Texas. She’ll be an easy sell.”

He took a deep breath as he flipped the receiver shut. The man was three sheets to the wind, but if what he said was true, if he could get full ownership of the vineyard before the big deal, Roxy could get ten of those damn coats if she wanted.

“Where was I?” he said, walking back into the bedroom. The unmistakable anger in his wife’s emerald eyes wiped the smile off his face. He would have to grovel.

“Goddamn it, Jerry, you know how hard it is for me to get off without a vibrator! I was almost there when you had to go answer that stupid phone. What could be more fucking important than me coming all over you?”

He raised her legs up again and entered her for the second time. “Right off the top of my head, I can think of two million things.
All green.” He reached for the vibrator that stayed permanently plugged in and turned it to the highest mode. “Get ready, sugar. Daddy and his Big Mac are gonna make your day.”

_____

As soon as Colt drove through the gate, the dogs appeared out of nowhere, barking in near harmony as they escorted the car down the gravel driveway like Secret Service protecting the President.

“How many dogs do you have?” Lainey asked, remembering Colt had always loved animals, had even planned to go to veterinary school before his father died.

Colt laughed. “Only two, but they’re fiercely protective. Once they decide they like you, they won’t even let me get close.”

“Maybe that’s a good thing,” she blurted before she could stop herself.

That was stupid!
All night there’d been this electricity between them, especially when he’d held her in his arms at the hotel, but whatever she’d felt, it was gone now. He was simply the town sheriff doing his job to keep her safe. She was an idiot for bringing it up when he obviously blew if off. Keeping her distance was definitely a good idea until she left for Florida in a few days. The man had generously offered his home to her. The last thing she wanted was to make him uncomfortable.

“That probably is a good thing,” he answered, turning to flash that drop-the-panties grin Tessa had warned her about. “The sooner we get you out of that dress, the better.” He stopped the car in front of a small brick cottage situated a few feet from the main house, then turned to her, a touch of mischief in his eyes. “That really didn’t come out the way it should have. I meant—”

“I know what you meant,” Lainey interrupted. She opened the door and slid out. Forget getting out of the dress. The faster she got away from him period, the better. The faint smell of his musky aftershave was messing with her mind. “Nice place. Who lives here?” She bent down to pet the two dogs lapping at her heels and was immediately subjected to the wettest kisses she’d ever received.

“Fred! Ginger! Leave her alone,” Colt commanded as the dogs jockeyed for her attention and now had her flat on the ground. “I’m so sorry. They aren’t usually this overwhelming.”

When the dogs finally moved away to sit obediently next to Colt, Lainey sat up, swiping at the slobber that covered her face and pulling at the dress that had ridden up her thighs. “Some watch dogs you have, Winslow.”

His shoulders relaxed when he realized she was kidding. “They don’t get to see women out here very often. Apparently, they like that dress as much as the suits at the bar did.” He grabbed her arm and helped her up before walking back to the car and opening the trunk. “Come on. I’ll give you a tour of the place.”

He hauled her small suitcase out with one hand and closed the trunk with the other. “And to answer your earlier question, no one lives here. It used to house the ranch foreman, but after I bought the place from Josh Keating, I turned it into guest quarters. My mom stayed here after her knee surgeries.”

“You run the ranch by yourself?”

“Not hardly,” he said with a grin. “I rent out the back pasture to a neighbor who raises longhorns. We passed his place when we turned off the main road. The arrangement works for both of us. He gets to have more cattle, and I make a little extra without all the hard work.” He pointed to the barn on the other side of the house, his face lighting up with pride. “I use the revenue for the upkeep of my horses. Gracie is becoming quite the quarter horse expert.”

“Her mother loved horses, too.” As soon as the words left her
mouth, Lainey wished she could take them back. “I’d love to see
Gracie ride,”
she added, hoping to get his mind off the earlier remark. From what everyone said, Tessa and Colt’s friendship had been a casualty of the divorce.

He met her gaze momentarily before walking up the two steps. At the door, he turned. “Come on in. You must be exhausted.”

_____

He answered the phone before the second ring, springing out of bed and racing to the door. A backward glance confirmed she was still asleep. Must be all the wine she’d drunk earlier. “Did you get him to the room?”

“Yeah, but there was a problem.”

Dammit!
It was too late in the game for problems. “What kind?”

He heard the other man laugh nervously. “I told you he was shit-faced, didn’t I?’

“You mentioned it.”

“Well, when I finally got him to his room, he started fighting me. He wanted to toss back a few more with another drunk he met downstairs. I poured him straight bourbon from the mini bar, but he wasn’t interested.”

He rubbed his forehead, trying to ward off the migraine now building on his left side. “You got him in bed, right?”

“Not exactly. With all that booze in him, he thought he was Muhammad Ali.”

His head started to throb. “I’ll deal with him in the morning.”

“Ah, boss, like I said. There was a problem.”

“Spit it out. What kind of problem?” He never did like this guy. Never really trusted him.

“He’s dead.”

The color drained from his face. “What the fuck did you do?” he screamed, then opened the door to see if he had awakened her. Her gentle snoring was a testimony to the wonders of alcohol.

“He came after me like a fucking bull. Even took a swing at me and busted my lip. When I shoved him, he fell into the nightstand and cracked his head. There was blood everywhere.”

This morning everything was right on track. A dead body definitely changed things. “Are you sure he’s dead?”

“His head was split wide open. Brains and shit were hanging out. I nearly puked.”

“Where are you now?”

“In the hotel parking lot trying like hell not to smear his blood all over this rental car.” The man paused. “By the way, my fee just went up another twenty-five grand, and I need it now so I can skip town and lay low until this blows over.”

The rage only made his head pound harder. “I don’t have that kind of money lying around.”

The man laughed. “Sounds like you have a problem then. I’d hate to have to tell the cops about you if they catch up with me.”

“Is that a threat?”

“Take it any way you want. I just need my damn money.”

After a moment he said. “Meet me in the alley behind the hotel in twenty minutes. I’ll bring the cash.”

“Wise move. I’ll be waiting.”

He disconnected and walked back into the bedroom. His clothes were strewn across the chair exactly where he’d thrown them last night while she was still sober enough to be worth anything. He didn’t bother to wake her to tell her where he was going.

Porter was never really a player in the deal. He’d just let him think he was, promising to allow the drilling if he got Tessa and Jerry to agree to sell. His plan was to make Moretti think the Houston man was the only one interested in the vineyard because he knew neither Tessa nor Jerry would consider what his investors would do with the land. He should have known Porter couldn’t keep his mouth shut, should have realized making him part of this was a mistake, especially since he was one of only a few who could identify him. Now he was dead and there were other problems to contend with.

He pulled out the hidden compartment in his nightstand and grabbed the Beretta on his way out the door.