Risky Desires (Wolf Security Book 2), page 26
“Hey.” He put the food and drink down, tugged me to his chest, and wrapped his arms around me.
Tears spilled from my eyes, and my shoulders heaved back and forth as I cried. Losing that locket was like losing Mom all over again.
“We will go back and get your locket as soon as we can, but we have to get out of here. Back to safety.”
My whole body trembled, and completely losing myself, I let the hot tears spill down my cheeks.
Tyler held me, and as I sobbed, the salty sea breeze mixed with my tears. His grip was comforting and incredible, grounding me against the chaos swirling through my mind. After what felt like an eternity, my sobs subsided into quiet sniffles.
Tyler pulled back slightly and cupped my face.
“Are you okay?” he said softly, his eyes locked on mine.
I nodded, trying to compose myself. Wiping tears off my cheeks with the back of my hand, I took a shuddering breath and managed a small smile. “Thank you.”
Tyler leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to my forehead before handing me the glass of water and the cookies. “Drink up and have something to eat. It’ll help.”
Taking a sip of water, I glanced out at the vast expanse of ocean surrounding us. My beautiful ocean had stolen everything from me. Would I ever return?
“Here, put this on.” He handed me a T-shirt.
My jaw dropped. “Hell no. I’m not taking anything from that bastard.”
“Put the shirt on, Indiana.”
“Or what?” I folded my arms.
“Or I’ll make you.” He held the shirt toward me. “Believe me, I’d rather you didn’t cover up.”
His piercing blue glare told me that I wasn’t going to win this one.
I snatched the shirt from him. “Only because you asked so nicely.”
“Good.” He kissed my cheek, and it was so sweet and unexpected, all words vanished from my mind. “Get some rest.”
He strode away.
After that, as Kane throttled Devil’s Fortune at full speed toward Rosebud Marina, Tyler made it his mission to keep Kane out of my sight.
I spent the hours in the shade of the luxury yacht, trying to work out what I would do next with my life. The sun had vanished into the horizon, and the blackness of night had swallowed all light by the time Rosebud Wharf came into view.
Even by the time Kane drove into one of the double berths at the edge of the marina, I still had no freaking idea what I wanted to do now that Rhino was gone.
After the engines of Devil’s Fortune were shut down, Kane met us at the rear deck, and Tyler shook his hand. “Thank you. We appreciate this.”
“It was the least I could do.” Kane shifted his gaze to me. “Indy, I truly am sorry about your dad and Rhino. I know how much that boat meant to you.”
“Yeah. Thanks.”
“But listen. If ever you want to go out to Pineapple Reef, I’m happy for you to use Devil’s Fortune.”
I frowned at him. “You mean you didn’t–”
“No,” he interrupted. “You got there first. Whatever is down there belongs to you.”
I blinked at him, hardly able to believe the words that came from Kane Devlin’s mouth. “You really didn’t check it out?”
“Cross my heart.” He flashed that grin that had stolen my breath way too many times.
“Oh.” I had no idea what to say.
“Anyway, I’m sure you have a lot to sort out. Give me a call when you’re ready, and I’ll take you out there.”
Yeah, I bet you just want me to find what’s on Siren’s Lure so you can lay claim to it.
“I’ll even let you keep whatever we find down there,” he said like he was reading my mind.
I couldn’t stop my jaw from dropping. “What’s the catch?”
He chuckled. “You really are too cynical for your own good. But you’re right. There is a catch.”
“Of course there is.” I rolled my eyes. “What?”
“I want you to introduce me to Aria.”
“Aria?” Tyler and I said at the same time.
“Yeah. I’ve been trying to arrange a meeting with her, but she refuses to talk to me.”
Tyler frowned. “Why do you want to talk to Aria?”
Kane wrapped his hand around a pole, and his bicep bulged, showing off muscles that weren’t there a decade ago. “Let’s just say I have some information for her that could help with her investigation into that missing Nazi gold.”
Tyler’s mouth fell ajar.
I frowned. “What information?”
He winked. “Set up a meeting with Aria, Indy. Then call me when you want to return to Pineapple Reef.”
He turned and strode away, leaving me to stare at his back.
“What’s that all about?” Tyler asked.
I shook my head. “That’s Kane Devlin . . . full of fucking secrets.”
“Well, we have a secret of our own.” Tyler tapped the pocket of his shorts. “Let’s get this hard drive to Captain Watts. I want to know why those bastards tried to kill us.”
Captain Watts and another cop, Officer Lacey Brooks, were waiting for us at the end of the pontoon, and relief was written over the captain’s face when he finally laid eyes on us.
“I thought you two were dead.” Watts shook our hands.
“So did we,” Tyler said.
“Are you okay?” Lacey asked me. She looked way too innocent to be a cop.
“I really don’t know.” I shrugged.
My hair never looked as finessed as Lacey’s short bob. During the boat ride here, Tyler had asked if I wanted to take a shower, but I didn’t want a damn thing off Kane. Seeing how beautiful Lacey looked, I regretted that decision. I felt like crap and probably looked it, too.
Tyler offered me a lopsided smile. “We’ve been through hell.”
His eyes softened on me, and for the first time in my life, I wished I looked better for a man.
“Do you want me to take you to hospital?” Lacey asked, scooping her perfectly styled hair behind her ear to show off a cute golden star in her lobe.
“No.” I met Tyler’s gaze. “I’m sticking with him.”
I wanted to know what was on that drive, too.
The marina was a swarm of activity, but Watts led us away from the chaos to his patrol car, and the four of us climbed in. At the station, all the cops watched us as we walked through the building I had visited way too many times for my liking. This time, their eyes didn’t leer with an accusatory glare; this time, their expressions were weird, like they had a sense of awe over our miraculous survival.
Then again, maybe they were looking at Tyler, one of their own, and not me, a known criminal, though, thankfully, not convicted.
Tyler showed me where the restrooms were, and I attempted to clean myself up with water and paper towels, but it was pointless. I needed a hot shower and about a week’s sleep.
But when I emerged, Tyler had performed some kind of miracle. He’d slicked back his hair, changed his clothes, and put white joggers on his feet. He looked like he was ready for work.
Watts waited for us at the doorway to his office. We followed Watts into his office, and he went around the other side of his desk which was covered in paperwork. “Sit down before you fall down.”
As I sat, Tyler handed the hard drive to Captain Watts like it was some kind of cursed relic.
Lacey stood beside Watts’ desk, and I was curious why she was in here rather than one of the more senior cops who knew me.
Tyler sat beside me. “This is why that drone attacked us. Indiana’s father was killed, and her boat was blown up and sunk. Whatever is on that thing, they think it’s worth killing over.”
“Tell me about the plane.” Watts leaned so far back on his chair I expected him to go ass over.
“Seaplane,” Tyler clarified, then turned his gaze to me. “Indiana found it.”
I shrugged. “You gave the directions.”
I shared the information on the plane’s location and its condition on the ocean floor. Tyler detailed the pilot’s bullet wound, that he didn’t find a gun, and his suspicions over what happened.
Watts eyeballed Lacey. “I want you to find out about that plane. Someone must be looking for it or a missing pilot.”
“Yes, sir.” Lacey’s blue eyes were so pale they were almost gray.
Over the next twenty minutes, Tyler and I relayed the rest of the information about the drone attack and how we made it to dry land.
“As soon as we reached Wombat Island,” Tyler said, “a chopper arrived, and two more assholes attacked us.”
“What the fuck?” Watts drove his hand through his thinning hair.
Tyler explained his fight with Briggs and how he fell off the edge. He explained that he had interrogated Clark, and how Clark had jumped off the cliff without warning.
“Ah, Jesus.” Watts looked like he wanted to vomit. “Why would he do that?”
“He was fucking scared,” Tyler said, nodding at me.
“Tyler gave him plenty of chances, but Clark just . . .” I used my hand to demonstrate jumping off a cliff.
“Scared of who?” Lacey asked.
“Whoever hired him.” Tyler tapped his fingers on the desk’s leather top. “Another thing, Clark said he got the job through Wax.”
Watts’ eyes nearly popped out of his head. “Christ.”
He jabbed a few keys on his computer.
“Maybe their fingerprints will give us answers to their identity. I can show you where the bodies are on the island.”
“No.” Watts pointed at Tyler. “Go home, Kingsley, and get some rest.”
“But, sir, I—”
“That’s an order. I do not want to see you again until at least, oh nine hundred tomorrow. Understand?”
Tyler’s shoulders sagged. “Yes, sir.”
“This bullshit will still be here when you get back.” He tugged the plastic bag with the hard drive toward him. “I’ll get Aria’s team working on this.”
“Sir, some crazy bastards are after that, so—”
“I hear you, Kingsley, loud and clear. I want this kept between us. Understand?” He glared at all three of us.
As we nodded, I wondered if Lacey was the only cop in here because he didn’t trust anyone else in the police station.
“Lacey,” Watts said, “organize some emergency accommodation for Indiana.”
“Yes, sir.” She drove her fingers through her hair.
I glanced at Tyler, and he lowered his gaze.
My stupid heart took a nosedive.
I expected him to offer his place for me to stay.
How did I get that so wrong?
CHAPTER 27
Indiana
Watts sighed. “You two have been through hell. Go home and rest.”
Reluctantly, Tyler stood, and I did, too, feeling the weight of exhaustion, adrenaline, and, worse of all, disappointment crash over me.
“Go.” Watts shooed us away. “I’ll call you if anything urgent crops up before nine tomorrow.”
“Sir, my phone was destroyed,” Tyler said.
Yeah, well, my everything was destroyed.
Watts growled. “I’ll send a squad car for you then. Now go.”
We stepped out of his office, and as Tyler led me past the desks, a hush settled over the area as everyone studied us again.
“Indiana, if you want to take a seat, I’ll find you a place to stay.” Lacey indicated to a chair, revealing writing tattooed across her right wrist, but I couldn’t read what it said.
“It’s okay, Lacey,” Tyler said. “I’ll look after Indiana.”
His voice was edged with frustration. Like he was doing something that he absolutely did not want to do.
“No worries.” Lacey seemed relieved, and she nodded at me. “I’ll talk to Whisper about getting some clothes together for you. She did that for Piper when she lost everything when her boat capsized. In the meantime, try to get some sleep.”
“Yeah. Thanks.” I hadn’t even thought about clothes.
Tyler leaned into her ear. “Do not tell anyone what you just heard in that office, or what you’re investigating.”
“I know.” Her gray eyes looked like they would carve his head off.
We exited the building, and as I followed him to the parking lot behind the station, I waited for him to talk, but he didn’t. I needed him so much right now that my chest ached, but I was angry enough to walk away. And I would have, too, if I had somewhere to go.
Tyler was setting off some seriously negative vibes, which were a million miles away from what I’d felt over the last day or so. A chill raced down my spine. Maybe he was just putting on a show to get us through that deadly situation.
I didn’t know whether to punch him in the nose or make the annoying bastard talk.
He stopped at a car and his twisted expression confirmed that the Tyler I got to know on that deserted island was gone.
“Look,” I said, “I get it. Now that the fun’s over, you just want to get rid of me.”
“What?” Scowling, he shook his head.
“I can tell you don’t want to take me back to your place.”
“Yes, actually, you’re right.”
My jaw dropped.
At least he’s honest.
“You got a wife back there you neglected to mention?”
He rolled his eyes. “No. But it’s . . . it’s complicated.”
“Complicated.” I scoffed. “At least you have a place to go to. Just forget it, Kingsley. I’ll walk to the motel.”
I marched away.
“Indiana.” His shoes thumped on the gravel behind me. “Will you just—”
He gripped my arm and spun me to face him.
“Just what?” I hated the emotion swirling inside me. I hated that I thought we had something going on between us.
His shoulders sagged. “I, um . . .”
I yanked my arm from his grip. “What?”
“It’s embarrassing, okay?”
I jerked back. I wasn’t expecting that. “You scared I’ll find your sex toys in your closet, Officer Fancy Pants?”
He grabbed my hand.
“Come on, you’ll see,” he murmured, almost too low for me to hear, but I caught the resignation in his voice.
“Now you have me intrigued.” I grinned.
He squeezed his warm palm to mine as he led me back to his car. We climbed in, and he shot out of the parking lot like a man who had to do something before he changed his mind.
A dozen questions raced through my brain as he threaded through the streets, heading back toward the wharf. He turned off the main road before he reached the wharf entrance and drove along the street that ran parallel to the beach. At the end, he stopped at the boom covering the entrance to the Rosebud Caravan Park. He lowered his window and swiped a key card over the scanner to lift the boom.
In the light of his dashboard, his eyes were like the color of the ocean after a storm.
Maybe he was taking me to a safe house or something, where victims of crime were kept until more permanent housing was arranged.
He slowly drove through several streets where rows of permanent and casual trailers were set up. Some sites were empty, too.
He paused several times for kids on bikes and for families to shift their street games of cricket and soccer out of the way.
At the end of a street, he pulled his car alongside a small trailer home and turned off the engine.
“Here we are.” He heaved a sigh.
“Where are we?” I cocked an eyebrow.
“My place.”
“Oh.”
A trailer home. I was not expecting that for Officer Fancy Pants. I climbed out of the car, and sea breezes drifted up from the nearby beach. At the base of the three steps, he removed his shoes, and I did the same. He placed our shoes in a row next to a pair of gumboots and a pair of flip-flops.
At the top of the steps, he pushed a key into the door and offered for me to lead the way inside. The interior was neat, everything in its place, not even a dirty cup in the sink. The tiny space was the exact opposite of the chaos I usually thrived in. It felt like him—orderly, restrained.
“You live here?” I said, unable to mask the surprise in my voice.
“Yep.” He tossed his keys onto a blue bowl on the tiny table nestled between two booth seats. “Let me show you around.”
He flicked a switch on the wall to turn on strip lighting that ran along the ceiling corners of the short hallway, giving the area a warm glow.
“There’s the bed. Bathroom is in there.” He pointed at a door along the hallway. “And here’s the kitchen.”
He swept his hand to the sink and microwave.
I chuckled. “Well, well, Officer Fancy Pants, aren’t you full of surprises?”
“It’s only temporary.” A shadow crossed his face. “But it’s home for now.”
“It’s nice. Better than our accommodation last night.” The small cave was already a distant memory.
He huffed. “That’s true.”
A faint scent of quality coffee mingled with the salty air. “No coffee machine though.” I nodded toward the small kitchenette.
“I forgot about that. Those bastards are going to pay for destroying my prized possession.” A tiny smirk crossed his lips, and then he turned and marched toward the bed at the end and reached for something I couldn’t see. He turned with a folded towel in his hand. “You can shower first. I’ll order some food. You like Indian?”
He opened the door to the bathroom and held the towel toward me.
I took the towel from him. “Thanks. And I don’t know about Indian.”
His eyebrows jumped. “You’ve never tried Indian food?”
I shrugged. “Nope.”
His smile took my breath away. “Then you’re in for a treat. Take as long as you want in the shower. I’ll go next.”
His gaze swept me into heaven.
The urge to tell him to join me lingered on my tongue, but he seemed too distracted to give my body the attention that my mind was craving.
Inside the tiny bathroom, I stripped out of my salt-stiff clothes and tossed them into the base of the shower to wash with my feet. The shower hissed until the hot water kicked in. I stepped into the cascade, and the spray scalded my skin. It seemed like forever since I’d had a shower and washed my hair. I used the suds to wash my bikini, but I planned to throw away Kane’s shirt, so I didn’t waste time on that.
