Wedding Bell Blues (25 page)

"Or it could be you weren't the target and your house was
simply
picked at random. And, before you say anything, I don't believe it. But
it is something Davalos has to look into."

I didn't say anything. Everything Colton said made sense. Each
possibility was just that, possible. But I didn't believe any of them
were what happened. I knew the fire had something to do with what
happened at Manny's. Why else would someone call the impound yard to
pump information from the guard on duty?

"Jessie." He reached out and gently turned my face so I'd look
at
him. "Like I said, those are all possibilities Davalos has to look
into. She isn't forgetting what happened at Manny's and, unless I miss
my guess, her gut's telling her the same thing mine is - that the fire
and Manny's murder are linked. And, like me, she is forced to wait on
lab results. But she isn't sitting still while she waits. Between the
two of us, and the rest of the detectives assigned to the case, we'll
find out who's responsible and make them pay."

"I hope you don't mind, but I'm putting my faith in you, not
her."
No way did I trust her to come up with the right answers. Not when
she'd wasted so much time looking at me as a suspect. When he didn't
respond, I looked at him and grinned, surprised by how embarrassed -
and pleased - he looked. "One more question. Why were the forensic guys
back out at Mom's and Dad's today?"

Now he simply looked uncomfortable. Worried, I waited.

"Jess, they were there trying to recover the bullets from the
drive by."

"Wait. What do you mean, trying to recover the bullets?
Shouldn't that have been pretty easy to do?"

"You'd think so, wouldn't you?" He ran his hand over his face
and
leaned back, looking as tired as he had when we left my parents'. "I
know we heard shots yesterday and I saw the barrel of a gun. But they
haven't found any shell casing or shells and they should have. If
nothing else, there should have been at least one embedded in a tree or
the side of the house. But there's nothing."

"Colton, I don't understand."

"Neither do I," he admitted. "The only logical explanation is
that
they fired blanks at us. But why would they do that? At least, why
would they do that if they're the same ones who killed Manny and hurt
you?"

"Damn, this just keeps getting more and more confusing."

"Tell me about it, Jess."

It's amazing how intimidating a bed can be. I stood just
inside the
bedroom door and stared at Colton's bed, the same bed I'd slept in the
last several nights and suddenly felt unsure. No, I felt scared and
that surprised me. It certainly wasn't as if the two of us hadn't
already slept together. So why, all of a sudden, did the thought of
sharing his bed terrify me?

Because tonight's different. Tonight is the first time you're
really accepting the fact that he's a part of your life again, whether
you want it or not.

Well, that was true enough. Still, part of me kept saying
Colton and
I would have enough hot, sweaty sex in a rather short period of time to
burn out whatever this strange attraction was between us.

But the other part of me, the realistic part, didn't believe
it.
That part kept remembering how gentle he'd been since Saturday, how
concerned and caring. More than that, I simply couldn't ignore the fact
I wanted to find out exactly where this relationship might go without
the interference of Heather and my own insecurities.

Standing there was just putting off the inevitable. It was
almost
eleven and, if the way Colton was stretching and yawning at the table
where he'd been working for the last two hours was any indication, he'd
soon be ready for bed. I most certainly was. Much longer and I'd
officially qualify as a member of the "walking dead" if I didn't get
some sleep soon. Somehow, I knew I'd sleep better with him than I would
alone.

It didn't take long to turn down the covers and change into
the
oversized sleep shirt I'd brought from my parents'. Not that I expected
to stay in it for long. Even if we were both too tired for sex - and I
wasn't putting any money on that once we were in bed - I would want to
feel him next to me and the best way, the only way, to do that was
naked. However, I wasn't yet comfortable enough with our new
relationship to go walking around his apartment without a stitch on.

"Colton," I began as I stopped behind him. "Come to bed.
You'll think better after some rest."

He drew a deep breath and I prepared for an argument. Then, to
my
surprise, he slowly exhaled and looked up at me, a slight smile on his
lips. Without a word, he shuffled the pages he'd been studying into
some semblance of order and shoved them into his briefcase.

By
the time he climbed to his feet, I knew I'd been right to make him
stop. I don't think I'd ever seen him so tired. More worrisome was how
discouraged he looked. Concern, more for him than for myself, flared
and I slipped my arm around his waist and snuggled in.

"Are you all right?"

"Just tired." He draped his arm across my shoulders and led me
toward the bedroom, turning out the lights as we passed.

"And?" I prompted.

Something
told me he needed to talk. But past experience made me well aware of
the fact I couldn't come right out and ask him what was bothering him.
He'd just deny it as his macho sense of pride kicked in. So we'd dance
around it until he was ready to tell me what was on his mind.

Or, he'd surprise me yet again and show that he'd changed much
more than I'd expected in our time apart.

"That's it, really," he commented as he began stripping off
his
shirt. "And, when I get tired, I get frustrated if things aren't going
fast enough to satisfy me. Which they aren't in this case."

"I'm sorry you got dragged into this, Colton."

"Jessie, it's not like you planned any of this." He unbuckled
his
belt and pulled it from the loops. My heart gave a little happy beat,
pushing back my own weariness.

"No, but I can't help feeling that you're taking this a lot
more
personally than you would if I weren't involved." Seeing the denial
springing to his lips, I smiled and shook my head. I had to say this.
"Colton, you're a good man, one of the best I've ever known. Even when
I was so mad at you, I knew that. Because you're such a good man,
you're an even better cop. It also means you feel responsible for me,
not only because of our history but because of whatever it is we have
now. And, standing here, seeing how tired you are, how frustrated this
is making you, it worries me because I know you'll push yourself to the
limit to try to solve this case."

Bare-chested, the jeans he'd changed into when we returned to
the
apartment unzipped and hugging his hips, he dropped onto the bed and
pulled me down at his side. His hand reached out and turned my face to
his. We were so close; I only needed to lean in a bit to kiss him. I
resisted the urge, barely.

"You're right. I am taking this more
personally than I would if I didn't know you. It's more than that,
though. Whoever is doing this is unpredictable, which makes them more
dangerous. They've already killed Manny and hurt you. They've torched
your house. So why didn't they use real bullets when they shot at us?
None of it makes any sense and it's driving me crazy."

"Then let it go for the night," I told him. "We both could use
a
good night's sleep. Maybe in the morning, we'll think of something."

"I hope so." He gave me a quick hug before climbing to his
feet
again to finish undressing. "Don't you have on too many clothes this
time?" he asked a few moments later, a lascivious smile on his lips.

Grinning, I got to my feet and dragged the sleep shirt over my
head.
Maybe I wasn't too tired for a few games before bed. From the look of
things, Colton had certainly found his second wind. I was still
grinning when he pulled me close and we fell across the bed. After all,
what better way to forget what's bothering you than some hot, sweaty
sex?

"Jessie, wake up!"

Heart pounding, lungs straining to work, I desperately tried
to claw
my way back to consciousness. My fists pounded against something; no,
someone. They were holding me, pinning my arms to my side. Panic rose,
threatening to close off the air my lungs had finally started drawing
in.

"Jessie, it's all right. You're safe."

Colton? No, it couldn't be. I wouldn't be so scared if it was
him
and it wouldn't be so dark. It was a trick. It had to be a trick of
some sort.

Whoever held me shifted, one hand freeing me, letting me
strike out
with my right hand. There was a grunt of pain, a curse and then light
flooded the room.

Relief filled me and I looked around, still
not sure where I was or what was happening. Then, seeing Colton, his
expression worried even as he tried to soothe, I collapsed against him.
I was safe. Whatever had scared me was gone.

Or was it?

"Jessie?" He sounded so worried. But his arms came around me
as I all but climbed into his lap and he held me close.

"Sorry." I swallowed once and breathed deeply, trying to still
my racing heart.

"That must have been some nightmare." He attempted a smile but
failed. Still, I had to give him points for trying.

"Yeah."

"Want to talk about it?"

"Not yet. Give me a few minutes."

"Good. I need a few minutes. You scared the hell out of me."

I looked at him, worried.

"Jessie, you screamed and then started fighting. I wasn't sure
I'd be able to wake you before you hurt yourself."

"I hurt you instead." I reached out to lightly touch the red
spot on his cheek just below his left eye.

"I'm fine." Now he did manage a grin. "I'll just tell anyone
who
asks that I got this during some hot and heavy sex with the prettiest
girl I know."

"Really? You sleeping with someone else besides me?" Now I
grinned and the tension in my chest eased a bit.

"No way." He bent and kissed the top of my head. "Are you sure
you're okay?"

"I am." I wrapped my arms about him and gave him a hug before
carefully climbing to my feet.

When
I returned from the bathroom, I expected Colton to have gone back to
sleep. Instead, he stood before the bedroom window. He'd pulled on a
pair of gray sweatpants. A quick glance at the bedside clock showed it
was a little after five. Damn. We both needed to sleep some more, not
that I could. Not after the nightmare. But I had hoped he'd at least
try. But, seeing him standing there, I could almost hear his mind
working and knew it was useless to suggest he go back to bed.

"I'm going to make some coffee. Do you want breakfast?"

"No. Thanks." He turned, his expression troubled. "Jess, are
you sure you're okay?"

"I am." Well, if being okay means suffering acute
embarrassment,
then I was. I hadn't awakened screaming from a nightmare since I was a
kid. The fact I'd done so now, with him, didn't exactly make me feel
good. I didn't want him to think I was scared of my own shadow. "But I
could use some company and an ear. I think I need to tell you about the
nightmare."

"I'll make the coffee. You talk." Before I could protest, he
grinned devilishly. "Jess, face it. My coffee's better than yours."

Well, he had me there. He did make better coffee. Of course,
he
bought the good stuff to begin with, while I tended to buy whatever was
on sale. To watch him make coffee was like watching an artist.
Everything was done just so. Not me. Measure it out. Pour the water in
the reservoir and hit the "on" button. Three minutes later, there's
coffee.

"Colton, I think I've remembered something," I commented
softly as
we entered the kitchen. I dropped onto a chair at the kitchen table and
angled so I could watch him.

"Start at the beginning and talk it out."

"It was as if I was reliving what happened Saturday. I'd left
my
parents' house and was stopping at Manny's for Maryanne's order for
tonight - God, I can't believe it's Thursday already - and I was going
to get a bottle of single malt for myself. I felt I deserved it. I
hadn't killed my sister for making me wear that horror of a maid of
honor dress. Nor had I killed Mom for ambushing me with talk about my
own love life, or lack thereof. Not to mention not killing Janie
Bickerstaff for being, well, herself.

"I pulled in at Manny's and parked. I took a moment to switch
off
the engine, grab my purse from the back seat and then check the list of
what Mom and Maryanne had ordered. I knew Manny wouldn't have messed up
the order, but also knew Mom would ask if I'd checked it.

"It
was only when I got out of the car that I realized the parking lot
wasn't as full as it usually is, especially now, with football season
in full swing. I recognized Manny's old Mercedes. There were a couple
of other cars there as well. One looked like it might have been there
overnight because the pavement was still damp underneath it from the
rain we had Friday night. Other than a couple of small puddles, the
rest of the parking lot was dry.

"There was one more car there. Actually, it was one of the
small
SUVs. I remember noticing the parking sticker on the back window and
wondering if any of my students were trying to buy liquor with a fake
ID."

"Wait!" Colton produced a pad and pen from a drawer and moved
to sit
next to me. "Why did you think it might be one of your students?"

"Because the SUV had a sticker the seniors get that allows
them to
park on campus. Our parking is so limited, only seniors get to park
there. Sophomores and juniors have to park off-campus."

"Do you remember if it was this year's sticker?"

"It was either this year's or last. They didn't change the
color of
the stickers this year, only the year. Year before last, the stickers
were white. They were changed to black last year." I closed my eyes and
tried to recall the details on the sticker but couldn't. All I saw was
the shape and color.