Wolf River, page 28
So far, the slimebag hadn’t admitted to a thing. He was refusing to answer questions until he talked to a lawyer, claiming that he was innocent, that Devon and Hank had tried to kill him, that he knew nothing about a counterfeit operation run by Mick Wheeler, he didn’t know how any of the computer equipment, the printer, or scanner got in his car. Nor did he know anything about Don Culpepper or Lily Fortune, and he wouldn’t answer any more questions until his lawyer was present.
Jase wanted to flay the bastard alive, but Farley had barred him from Wells’s room. Jase was all but ready to bust down the door when Erinn appeared at the end of the corridor and hurried toward him, looking exhausted and pale.
To his surprise, the sight of her calmed him. As she drew near, those beautiful eyes of hers studying him with concern, he felt some of the tightness in his chest ease. A trickle of warmth flowed through his bones for the first time since Lily’s disappearance. And that both surprised and scared the hell out of him.
“Has Wells talked yet? Has he told you about Lily?”
“Not a damned thing.” His face hardened. “The bastard’s lucky the fork missed his larynx and arteries. He could have been dead by now. He will be, if he doesn’t tell us where to find Lily and Culp.”
“He will, Jase. He has to.” Erinn’s heart ached for him. She knew the torture he must be feeling. His jeans and shirt were dirty, stained with blood, his eyes were bloodshot, his powerful shoulders tense. The heavy stubble along his jaw made him look like some kind of fierce outlaw on the run. Even so, he was indescribably handsome. He looked as strong and solid as always—and still nowhere near as numb and depleted as she felt herself.
Just looking at him, being with him, made her feel so much better. Stronger.
Yet in some ways she felt worse.
Because she was leaving—with Devon—flying back to New York within the next few days. Possibly even tomorrow night.
And she had to tell him.
As soon as Sheriff Farley had reviewed her complete statement as well as Devon’s, as soon as he told them they were free to go, as soon as Lily and Culp were found—and she prayed that would be within hours—she was getting Devon away from here.
It’d be so much easier for Devon to recover from the trauma she’d gone through away from the place it happened.
And Erinn needed to get away too. She’d figured that out while sitting in the ER with her hysterically sobbing sister. She’d gotten in too deep with Jase—with his entire family. She needed to pull back, leave, protect herself. And focus on Devon.
As it was, right now she was so in love with him that the thought of leaving him made her heart crack like a seashell flung against a rock. She’d fallen hard. Much harder than she’d ever thought possible.
And now she’d have to pay for it.
“Remind me again why I bothered to staunch Wells’s wounds and save his worthless hide,” Jase grated out.
“Because you believe in your heart that he’s going to tell us where Lily is—and so do I,” Erinn replied quietly, all the while praying she was right. She touched his arm. “And it’s the best shot we’ve got.”
He met her gaze bleakly. She had a knack for putting everything in perspective, for framing things in the most positive light. A soothing quality in a woman.
It was one of the things he loved most about her…
Loved? His mind froze on the word. “How are you holding up?” he asked hastily, to block that unwanted, unsought-for word from his mind, even as panic lurched through him once again. “Did Devon check out all right?”
“She just has some bruises and rope burn on her wrists. They’re going to release her soon. I’m taking her home—back to Fortune’s Way, I mean—for tonight. She feels safer there right now than anywhere else. Then tomorrow…”
She moistened her lips. “Well, as soon as the sheriff’s finished interviewing us and as soon as Lily and Culp are found…”
She hesitated, and somehow he knew what she was going to say.
“You’re taking her back to New York.”
Erinn nodded. “Devon needs…to get away from here. She associates Wolf River with Hank, and she just saw him killed. It will be easier for her to get over the shock in New York.”
“I guess that makes sense.” It did. But Jase was using every ounce of self-control he possessed right now to fight the impulse to take Erinn in his arms and ask her to stay. Ask her to stay for his sake, because he wanted her—not only in his town, but in his life.
The very idea stunned him. And scared the hell out of him. How had she become so necessary to him, so important? He was much too attached to this woman, much too intrigued. He knew damn well that if he asked her to stay, she’d get ideas—and who could blame her? It wouldn’t be fair to stir up any ideas about love and marriage and permanence.
Love. There was that damned word again.
I don’t love her, he thought angrily.
Quickly he reassured himself that he’d just gotten used to having her around. He was attracted to her beauty, that was all. To her sexy little smile. And to the way she cared about her sister. Not to mention the way she has of kissing a man so he forgets everything but how it feels to be with her, a troublesome voice inside him pointed out.
Jase felt sweat break out on his brow and this time it had nothing to do with his fears for Lily and Culp. He had to slow this thing down with Erinn, give both of them some space. With everything that had happened in the past few days, they were moving way too fast. Hell, he was moving way too fast. Letting her in too close, wanting her far more than he should. If he wasn’t careful, she’d get the wrong idea, and he’d end up hurting her the same way he’d hurt LeeAnn.
And hurting her was the one thing he didn’t ever want to do.
“You need to do whatever’s right for Devon,” he heard himself say in a voice that sounded far calmer and more rational than he was feeling at the moment.
He thought he glimpsed something sad in her eyes—but an instant later it was gone and he wondered if he’d imagined it. Especially when she straightened her shoulders and her chin edged up in that decisive gesture he had begun to recognize.
“Right.” She shrugged. “Which means I should get back to her. Your father’s with her now, keeping her company, but I can’t stay away for too long.”
At that precise moment, a petite nurse with short dark hair appeared around the corner and bustled toward them. “Ms. Winters, Mr. Fortune said to tell you that your sister’s been discharged. As soon as you return to the ER, he’ll get the car.”
“Thank you.” Erinn turned to leave. Devon needed her. It didn’t seem that Jase did. It hadn’t even occurred to him to ask her to stay. And he didn’t appear the least bit upset that she was planning to go. He looked weary—but as tough, sharp, and in command of himself as always.
“Where’s Colton?” she asked, turning back, despite herself. “I thought he’d be keeping you company, waiting for answers. You shouldn’t be here all alone.”
“I sent him to head up a private party of searchers—they’re branching out right now from Red Horse Cave. I figured that since Wells had all that cash hidden up there and took Devon and Hank to the cave as well, he might have Lily and Culp stashed somewhere up there too. They’ve got high-powered flashlights and they’re combing through not only the cave, but all along the trail rimming the canyon. Then, come daylight,” Jase said, grimacing, “if they haven’t found anything, Farley’s going to send a search party down into the canyon. In case…”
He paused, his eyes grim and dark. Erinn knew how the sentence ended. In case Wells had driven Lily and Culp off the cliff as he’d tried to do to Devon and Hank. In case their broken bodies were down there, smashed against the rocks and the scrub brush.
“Go ahead to the ranch,” he told her tightly. “Get Devon into bed. She’s had a helluva day. And so have you.”
So have we all, Erinn thought. Including you.
But there was nothing more to say. He knew she intended to leave Wolf River, and he hadn’t said a word to stop her.
And her sister was waiting.
“I hope there’s good news by morning, Jase,” she said quietly.
“You and me both.”
Erinn felt his gaze on her as she hurried away. She was grateful he couldn’t see her face, see the sudden, stupid tears that were blurring her vision. She wanted to chalk them up to exhaustion and stress and the aftermath of Devon’s ordeal, but she knew better.
Pain poured through her. Jase had accepted her decision to leave without a word of protest or regret. Without even a blink of the eyes.
What did you expect? she asked herself bitterly, hurrying toward the ER. He’s a man. A man who’s been burned—who’s turned his back on any serious involvements. You’ve been spending too much time in the Emerald Forest. Life is not a fairy tale.
No, her life was real. And she had to get on with it, the sooner the better—for Devon’s sake and for her own.
By the time Erinn reached the still and darkened ranch house, a limp exhaustion had crept through every bone of her body. Clay Fortune escorted them personally to Devon’s room, then left for his own in the main wing.
At Devon’s request, Erinn slept in her sister’s bedroom, sharing the queen-size bed. She awoke instantly when Devon sat up sobbing in the middle of the night, and wrapped the weeping girl in her arms.
“It’s okay, honey. You’re safe. It’s over, it’s all over. Wells is never going to hurt you again.”
“Hank…” Devon wept. “I k-keep seeing Hank. He was trying to save me—”
“I know, baby. I know.” Erinn could only hold her, and remind her that she was safe, just as she had when Devon was a toddler and beset by nightmares.
But now Devon had lived a nightmare. It was over though, she told the girl, reassuring her again and again throughout the night.
Tomorrow will be better.
And, she thought as at last Devon’s breathing evened out beside her, and the sister she’d both lost and found escaped for a time into sleep, it will be better for everyone—if only Wells will talk—if only Culp and Lily are found alive.
She awoke again at ten minutes to four in the morning when she heard the slam of a car door. Fortunately, the sound didn’t awaken Devon, but Erinn slipped from her bed and padded to the window in time to see Jase striding up the porch steps.
Is there news about Lily and Culp? she wondered, hurrying from the room and down the stairs—barefoot, clad only in a black camisole and white sweatpants.
Jase glanced up when he saw her, his face drawn.
“Any news?” Erinn’s hopes fell as she reached the bottom of the staircase and studied his grim, gray face.
“Not a word. Wells is out for the night, doped up on painkillers. And Colton’s still searching.”
“Then why are you here?” she blurted, suddenly conscious of his nearness, of her sleep-tousled hair and bare feet, of the stillness of the house where the only other occupants were deep in sleep. “I mean, I know it’s your house, but—”
“I just wanted to check in here first, make sure everything’s under control before heading to the barn.”
Under control? Hardly, she thought, studying his powerful, weary frame with inexplicable sadness. “We’re fine. You look exhausted.”
“I’ll survive. I just hope Lily and Culp will—”
He broke off, his face bleak. More bleak than Erinn had ever seen it. She couldn’t bear it. Reaching out, she touched his beard-stubbled cheek.
“They will, Jase. They’ll make it. Have faith. Somehow, we need to have faith—”
She broke off suddenly as his hand encircled hers. His fingers were warm and strong. A hot sizzle of need spiked inside her like a streak of lightning.
Then Jase yanked her toward him, his face full of darkness and need and pain, and Erinn crashed against his solid chest, her heart beating in her throat. Her lips sought his as his arms clamped like iron bars around her waist.
He drank her in like a man wasting in a desert, devouring her with a violence that had Erinn’s knees trembling. Her entire body burned with a craving that was beyond thought or reason.
“Jase,” she gasped as they came up for air. Then his mouth drove against hers again, sucking her in still deeper, to a place of craving and raw desire. She was swallowed up by a rushing physical need more intense than any she’d ever experienced before. With it came a rush of tenderness that wracked her heart.
Then he pulled back and for an instant she felt lost. Bereft. But even as she reached for him again, he was bundling her down the hall, his breath quick and rasping in the quiet of the house.
He shoved her into his office and kicked the door shut. Erinn’s heart raced at the intensity in his eyes as they drifted over her. Then she and Jase were tumbling together onto the dark brown leather sofa, kissing once more, their bodies locked together even as they struggled to undress.
Erinn’s fingers fumbled over the buttons of his shirt, then flung it aside. She groped for his zipper, tugged at his jeans. Meantime he was stripping off her camisole, his mouth seeking the softness of her bare breasts beneath.
When he lowered himself onto her, Erinn opened herself to him, shaking with need, knowing only the dark musky taste of him, the scent of leather and sweat, the way he made her feel alive, like no one else ever had.
Slick with sweat, they made love. Not slow, gentle, heated love—but fierce, no-holds-barred, red-hot love. A furious joining born of heat and thunder and despair, of blinding need and emotion that swelled like a driven sea. Passion jolted between them like waves of nuclear energy that could do nothing but explode.
And when it was over they collapsed in each other’s arms.
“I love you,” Erinn whispered dazedly as she nuzzled his throat.
The next instant, the realization of what she’d just said hit her. And so did the silence that greeted her words.
She sat up, reeling with shock. To her horror, Jase looked equally stunned.
“Forget I…said that,” she managed, trying hard to sound offhand. “It was…a mistake…just the aftermath…”
She scrambled off the sofa and lunged for her clothes, humiliation burning through her entire body. “I know that what just happened…we were blowing off steam. It didn’t mean anything,” she gulped hastily, as she yanked her camisole over her head and pulled it down to cover her breasts.
“Erinn—”
“Don’t say anything,” she pleaded, tugging on her thong. “I was just being stupid.”
“Well, I was as stupid as you.” Jase swung his feet to the floor. His hand shot up as she flung his jeans toward him, her cheeks the color of fresh roses. “Look, Erinn, we’re both out of control. We’ve been…under a lot of stress.”
He felt like an idiot as those eyes of hers nailed him. “I mean, it was great and everything,” he said hastily, “and—”
“Shut up, Jase. Just shut up.”
He could have kicked himself. Man, what was wrong with him? His brain had completely shut down. He was saying all the wrong things. Doing all the wrong things. He never should have laid a finger on her tonight. He’d been playing with fire.
But she’d touched his cheek and he’d just gone nuts. Dragged her down here like a Neanderthal. Not that she hadn’t wanted it, all of it. As badly as he had.
Panic coursed through him. He was losing control—of everything. His life, his emotions, his senses. His entire family and his best friend were in danger and he was here with Erinn Winters, making love to her in his damned office in the middle of the night after he’d already decided to back off of her—of them.
“Look,” he mumbled, trying not to sound as unnerved as he felt. “Don’t get me wrong. This doesn’t mean—”
“Anything,” she finished for him, her voice tight as she yanked on her sweatpants with trembling hands. “I know that. You don’t have to spell it out for me. If you say another word about it, I’ll…I’ll throw your boots at you. Just forget it. We both have to forget it.”
“Right.” Relief flooded him. “I agree. But Erinn—”
She was gone, though, the door gaping in her wake, the memory of her shimmering eyes, of her soft, sleek body curled against his, of the tender way she’d cried his name when they climaxed only that—a memory.
Jase sank down on the sofa again and scrubbed his hands over his face. He was too shook-up right now; it wasn’t the time to think about what had happened between them. How good it was. How much he’d needed her at that moment when she’d reached out to him in the hall. Yet he couldn’t stop thinking about it. And, he realized with a gulp of fear, he hadn’t needed just any woman. He’d needed her.
Erinn.
Grabbing his shirt, he clutched it in his fist and stalked from the office. He let himself out of the house and headed to the barn.
Too many emotions were swirling through him. He had to shut them down. He had to focus on Lily. On Culp.
But first he had to find a way to stop thinking about Erinn.
Chapter Forty-one
The next morning, Erinn showered and dressed quickly, quietly, determined not to awaken Devon. Finding that she’d run out of clean clothes at the ranch, she pulled on the black cami and sweatpants she’d slept in, grimacing as she remembered how swiftly Jase had dispatched them from her body last night.
But she pushed that thought from her mind. She couldn’t bear to remember the frenzied need of their lovemaking, or her stupidity afterward. She forced herself to think about Devon.
Devon needed clean clothes too—donning the bloody garments she’d worn yesterday would only serve to remind the girl of everything that had happened outside Red Horse Cave.
After breakfast, she thought, heading downstairs into the kitchen, I’ll drive over to the cabin and pack fresh clothes for both of us to wear today.
She could also start packing her suitcase. This afternoon would be a good time to check out flights to New York and see what was available within a day or two. The sooner she put some distance between herself and Jase, the better.
She made fresh coffee and poured herself a cup, noticing that Jase’s Explorer was still parked outside. He must still be asleep, she thought. And Colton too.
