Ashes, Ashes, They All Fall Dead (13 page)

Matt let out a shaky breath and smoothed back Tessa’s bangs. If he lived a hundred years he’d never forget the look of devastation on her face right before she slid to the floor. He’d always known her career was important to her, but he’d never realized it was
this
vital,
this
critical to her sense of who she was. Her precious FBI career meant everything to her.

And he’d single-handedly destroyed it.

She hiccupped and settled more deeply against him. He smoothed his hand up and down her back, marveling that he was holding this half-naked, beautiful creature and wasn’t wracked with lust like he had been earlier. Oh, he still wanted her. Wanting her was like breathing. But what he wanted more right now was to fix what he’d broken. But how could he do that?

He held her until the sun stopped shining against the blinds on the window, until only moonlight filtered into the room, until Tessa quit hiccupping and her breathing turned deep and even. Then he stood and carried her to her bedroom. He raked back the peach-colored comforter, settled her on the cool sheets, and tucked the covers around her.

As he retreated to the living room, the same question he’d been pondering since she’d fallen asleep in his arms hammered at him again.

How could he fix what he’d broken? How could he make it up to her for destroying her dream?

Somehow, he had to give her back her dream.

Chapter Seven

Day Three

T
ESSA PAUSED ON
the sidewalk in front of the FBI building. She held her soon-to-be-surrendered badge in one hand and massaged her temple with the other. No amount of pills or caffeine had been able to touch her headache. Obviously she drank too much last night.
Way too much
. But any memories from the time she’d boarded the airplane in Charleston to when she’d awakened this morning were frustratingly elusive.

Waking up in her bed nearly naked without remembering how she’d gotten there was scary enough. Finding a cryptic note from Matt on her kitchen countertop, telling her that her gun was on top of the refrigerator and that he’d pick her up tonight for dinner, was absolutely terrifying. She could think of only one explanation for her state of undress and his assumption that she’d go out with him.

They must have slept together.

She’d started to call him several times, but every time she picked up her phone she changed her mind. What was she supposed to say? Should she be up-front and ask him if they’d had sex? That could be embarrassing on so many levels, regardless of the answer, that she’d shied away from calling him altogether.

Later. She’d deal with Matt and the fallout from last night later. Right now she had to pull herself together for the task at hand. She pressed her hand to her queasy stomach and held up her badge, rubbing her fingers across its glossy surface. Was this the last time she’d ever hold her credentials?

A kaleidoscope of memories rushed through her mind—the criminal justice courses she’d loved so much in college, studying under some of the greatest minds in law enforcement at the Quantico academy, putting dozens of criminals away over the past eight years. What was she going to do if all of that was over? And how was she going to face herself in the mirror if more people died at the hands of the Ashes Killer? Could she have solved the case in time to save more lives if she hadn’t been foolish enough to get suspended? Unfortunately, she’d never know the answer to that question. How was she supposed to live with that kind of guilt?

The front door opened. One of the junior agents stepped outside, probably on his way to lunch. He called a greeting and held the door open for her.

She gave him a bright smile, like she wasn’t dying inside, and stepped into the building.

A
S PROMISED IN
the note he’d left, Matt was standing outside Tessa’s apartment at seven p.m. His knock was rewarded with the sound of cursing from inside. He chuckled. Apparently, Tessa wasn’t thrilled to see him. When she opened the door, she clung to it with a death grip, as if it could shield her from an invading army.

Not a good sign.

“Hey, gorgeous.” He gave her his most charming smile, the one his sister-in-law said could make a nun rethink her vows. “Ready to go?”

She shook her head and smoothed one of her hands down her cream-colored slacks.

So much for his charm.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” she said. “We’re not working together anymore, and . . . last night was, um, well . . . it can’t happen again. I appreciate you making sure I got home safely, but whatever we . . . I mean . . .” Her face turned an enchanting shade of pink. “I’m not going to dinner with you.”

Ah, so she
didn’t
remember last night, and she was wondering if they’d had sex. He could smell victory already.

He leaned against the door frame and affected an injured look. “Are you saying you didn’t mean all those things you said last night?”

Her eyes widened with panic.

He almost felt sorry for her.

She squeezed her hands together. “I . . . ah, you’re very, you . . . I might have given you the, um, wrong impression about . . . us.” She cleared her throat. “I apologize.”

He blinked. Twice. “You apologize?” He cocked his head as if he was confused. “For which part exactly are you apologizing?”

Her cheeks flushed. She looked like she was about to choke on her own tongue.

He decided to show her mercy, but only a little. He took her hand in his. “Have dinner with me and I promise, if you want nothing to do with me after that, I won’t bother you anymore.”

She chewed her bottom lip in indecision.

He moved in for the kill.

“If it makes you more comfortable, we can pretend nothing happened, but only if you’ll agree to dinner.”

Her expression brightened. “Okay. I’ll grab my purse.”

He gritted his teeth at her enthusiasm. The woman sure knew how to deflate a male ego. It didn’t matter, or at least it
shouldn’t
matter. Tonight wasn’t about him. Tonight was about repairing the damage he’d done. Tonight he was bringing out the big guns—namely, his family. He had four charming brothers and a father who was a litigator. That was six against one.

Half an hour later, he drove his car up the winding gravel driveway that ran through the middle of his father’s extensive property. The long, rambling ranch house came into view.

“Um, Matt, isn’t this your father’s house? I thought we were going to a restaurant just outside of town.”

“This
is
just outside of town. And my brothers grill the best steaks in Savannah.”

She gave him a suspicious look and crossed her arms.

He grinned and studied the slew of pickups parked to the left of the drive, evidence of his father and brothers’ preference for trucks. It looked like everyone was here for their traditional Friday night family get-together.

He frowned. No, not everyone.

Pierce’s vintage GTO was missing. Had Madison been too tired to come over? Or was something wrong? With her this far along in her pregnancy, anything could have happened. Damn. He should have called and checked on her. He couldn’t count on his father or brothers calling him with that kind of news, because they had an agreement never to call him when he was in the middle of an investigation. He’d forgotten to turn off the ringer on his phone once while on a stakeout. One of his brothers happened to call him right when the guy he was snapping pictures of walked by. That had landed him in the hospital for two days.

He pressed the speed dial on his cell phone for his brother Pierce as he pulled his car to a stop. One ring, two, three.

Tessa put her hand on his forearm. “Is something wrong?”

“I’m worried about Madison. I don’t see Pierce’s car.” Four rings, five. “And Pierce isn’t answering.” He ended the call and popped his door open.

He hesitated, but his concern for his sister-in-law outweighed everything else. He took Tessa’s hand in his. “Look, I know you don’t remember what happened last night. I used that against you to trick you into coming here, mainly because you wouldn’t be able to just walk out if things didn’t go well. We need to talk.”

At her worried look, he rushed to explain.

“Not about last night. I promise, nothing happened. You drank too much on the plane. I took you home and you managed to get hold of a whiskey bottle before I could stop you. But that was it. Nothing else happened.”

Her mouth dropped open in a silent
oh
.

He winced. “Yeah, I know. I’m a jerk for using your foggy memory against you.” He handed her his keys. “Drive yourself home and lock the keys inside the car. I’ll use the spare key to pick it up later.” He kissed her on the cheek. “I really am sorry.”

He shut the door and jogged across the front lawn to the porch. He was reaching for the doorknob when the sound of the engine being shut off had him turning around.

Tessa joined him on the porch and handed him the keys. She gave him a wry smile. “Believe it or not, you just charmed me into staying.” She dropped her gaze from his. “I’ve remembered enough about last night to know that if we didn’t sleep together, it wasn’t for lack of trying on my part. You’re a far better man than I’ve been giving you credit for. And, honestly, I’m concerned about your sister-in-law too. I want to make sure she and the baby are okay.”

He didn’t know what to say to that surprising speech, so he gave her hand a grateful squeeze and led her inside.

S
HE RAN HER
warm tongue up the side of his neck in one long, wet slurp.

“Stop it, get off me.” Matt laughed and scooted back on his father’s bed, gently shoving Ginger off his lap. His golden had obviously missed him while he was out of town and she was trying to make up for lost time.

“Exactly who are you talking to?” Madison demanded over the phone.

Matt patted his dog and she rolled over on her back, lounging across the bed as if it were her own. Judging by the amount of long, red hairs on the comforter, maybe it
was
her bed. Since he couldn’t imagine his father allowing the dog to sleep with him, he wondered where his father had slept. One glance at the recliner in the far corner, with a folded blanket and pillow on top, told him the answer. He laughed again, trying to imagine his stern father scolding the rambunctious golden retriever to get her to stay off his bed, and then finally giving up.

He’d have to make amends by getting his father’s comforter cleaned.

“Matt?”

“Sorry, it’s Ginger. She’s letting me know she missed me. I came back into dad’s room to call you and she came bounding in like a horse. I’m lucky she didn’t break the bed when she jumped up here. Are you sure you’re okay? It’s not like you and Pierce to miss our weekly family tradition. And I had to call you three times before you picked up.”

The hesitation on the other end of the line had Matt’s pulse picking up.

“Madison? Is something wrong?”

“I’m here. Sorry, I got distracted. Everything’s fine.”

“You
would
tell your favorite brother-in-law if something was wrong, right?”

“Devlin? Of course I’d tell him.”

“Ha, ha. So
not
funny.”

She laughed. “Stop worrying. I’m fine. The baby’s fine. Everyone is fine. Now go have one of those mouthwatering steaks and quit worrying about me. Pierce is here. He won’t let anything bad happen. Honestly, you Buchanan men are ridiculously overprotective. It’s so Neanderthal of you.”

In spite of Madison’s good-natured teasing, Matt wasn’t sure he believed her. His sister-in-law was ridiculously independent and didn’t like anyone to worry about her. If she thought the entire Buchanan clan might descend on her house because they thought she was in trouble, she’d probably lie to keep that from happening. He was about to insist on talking to Pierce when the door to his father’s bedroom opened.

His middle brother, Devlin, lounged in the doorway, arms crossed, a mischievous grin on his face.

That didn’t bode well.

Standing a few feet behind him in the hallway was Matt’s twin, Austin, with an equally wicked grin on his face. Matt’s oldest brother, Braedon, leaned back against the wall, as if he was settling in to watch a show.

“What have you done?” Matt demanded, images of Devlin making a pass at Tessa already having him clenching his fist.

Devlin spread his hands in an innocent gesture. “I’ve been a perfect gentleman.”

“What’s going on?” Madison asked.

“Hold on a sec.” Matt lowered his phone. “Your definition of a perfect gentleman and mine are distinctly different, Devil.”

Devlin clucked his tongue. “Such mistrust. I came in here to warn you. I shouldn’t have even bothered.” He turned to leave.

“Wait, wait.” Matt jumped off the bed.

Devlin turned around, an innocent expression on his face. “Yes?”

“Madison,” Matt said, “call me if you need anything, okay? I’ve gotta go.”

“I’m fine. Pierce is taking good care of me. Bye, Matt.”

“Love you. Bye.” He put his phone away. “Okay, I’ll bite. Warn me about what?”

“Your girlfriend is—”

“She’s not my girlfriend.”

“Uh-huh. Well, I guess it doesn’t really matter, then.”

Matt was seriously considering punching his brother’s grinning face. The fact that he’d probably end up in a free-for-all with all three brothers stopped him. Not because he wouldn’t enjoy exchanging some punches, but because his father wouldn’t approve. “
What
doesn’t matter?”

“Your hot little redhead is on the back deck. Alone. With Alex. And I’m pretty sure she’s getting one of those ‘special’ speeches of his.”

Matt cursed and shoved his laughing brother out of the way. He nearly ran Austin and Braedon over as he sprinted down the hallway.

T
ESSA SHOOK HER
head in bewilderment and leaned back against the deck railing.

“Alex, why are you asking me all these personal questions?”

“Because Matt brought you home.”

She let out a strangled laugh. “We’re not dating, sir, if that’s what you’re implying. We’re working together, or we
were
working together.” She let out another forced laugh, feeling increasingly uncomfortable. “Do you grill everyone he brings here, asking them about their families and what they do in their spare time?”