Darkness Of Truth (An FBI/Romance Thriller~ Book 6) (67 page)

“Kane?” she whispered, as his mouth found hers in a scorching kiss. What was she to do? Christina allowed herself to enjoy it.

Soon it would end. All really good things did.

As he broke away his breath tickled her ear as he spoke. “I missed you, Chrissy. It’s been hard to concentrate today.”

Her heart pounded in her chest. “Kane, we need to talk,” she began and found her mouth being met with his again. Unable to resist, she fell into the kiss and rode it out. His hands wandered her body, and she shivered at his touch.

Then she remembered what they just discovered and Christina pulled away. “We need to talk.”

That didn’t sound good. “About?” part of him expected her to tell him it was all a mistake and that she wasn’t doing it again.

“Someone told my boss that we went back to the hotel together. She confronted me today. I can’t do this.”

He was right. “I see.” Immediately, he took a step back.

The energy in the space changed. “I can’t carry on a relationship with someone I
’m working with on an assignment.”

He said nothing.

This wasn’t going well. “Can we pick up when we’re both done? You’re distracting me from my work, and that’s a huge since generally a nuclear bomb couldn’t do that.”

Kane paused, mulling over her words. She wasn’t telling him to take a hike, simply that they had to be off the assignment. “So no more tequila until then?” he asked, laughter in his voice.

She giggled. “No more tequila period. I have a headache.”

In the dim light of the little space, he could see her face. When she laughed, she was breathtaking. “Okay, I won’t accost you until it’s over.”

Christina went up on her toes, kissing him gently on the lips. Her whole body rested against his and her heart began pounding. The man was a HUGE distraction. Briefly, she stared into his dark eyes and saw the flash of something. “Are you okay?” Christina questioned.

“Yeah, I am,” he answered, breaking away and opening the door.
“I have work. Bye Chrissy.”

She watched him walk away and her heart
sunk. He was hiding something. If she didn’t know any better, she’d think he’d just lied to her.

                                          *   *   *

Julian pulled into their driveway
and sat there staring out the windshield. It took everything in him to not hunt down the man he believed killed his father and enact retribution. The only reason he didn’t was the woman sitting beside him. They were starting their lives together, and jail didn’t seem like a good way to begin it.

“What can I do
for you,” she asked, touching the hand he rested on his knee. “Let me help you.”

“Come for
a ride.”

Tori would have shaved her head bald for him. “Okay.” Once out of the vehicle, she started towards the horses.

Julian stopped her. “No, on the motorcycle.”

This was a new thing. They both rode and as of yet, they’d not gone out together. “Okay, I’ll get my keys.”

He shook his head. “Want to ride with me?”

She didn’t mind either way. The prospect of being wrapped around the back of Julian wasn’t exactly a disappointing thing. “Sure thing, Jules.”

Rolling his bike out of the garage, he slipped into his leather jacket and handed Tori hers. “Do you want a helmet?” Julian asked.

Obviously he wasn’t planning on wearing his. “Are we going far?”

“No.”

“Then I’m good.” Tori watched him swing his leg over the bike and slide forward. When she was on, he started it up. She wrapped her arms around his waist and left a few kisses on the back of his neck.

Julian enjoyed the feeling of her pressed against his body. Why they hadn’t done this sooner, he’d never know. Reassuringly, he ran his hand up and down her leg before they pulled out.

It was turning into a gorgeous day. The sun was out, the birds were flying in the sky and the air was losing its chill.
Tori would have had a better time if she wasn’t completely worried about Julian. He was brooding and moody. Something had to give soon; she only hoped it wouldn’t be him losing his mind.

He knew right where he wanted to take her. Pulling up to a large hill, he parked his bike at the bottom and shut it off. “We’re here.”

Tori dismounted.

“Take a walk with me?” he asked, holding out his hand. Right now he felt the need to take her to see his father’s grave, and share that part of him with her.

After all, she was going to be his wife.

“I come here when I need to think, or I want to talk to my dad. I know it’s crazy, but sometimes I need to feel that connection again.”

Tori tucked a strand of his brown hair behind his ear and squeezed his hand. “It’s not weird. It’s normal. I’ve done the same thing, Julian. It offers peace, and that I understand completely.”

They climbed the hill to the crest that overlooked the burial grounds. It sat nestled between trees and some rocky cliffs.

“It’s pretty here,” she said, not sure what she expected, but this wasn’t it. The grounds looked nothing like a cemetery where her family was buried. There were few stone tombstones, but many handmade markers. Each was decorated with feathers and beads. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to the pattern of graves, unlike in a customary site.

“I like the silence. I think that’s why they picked this location over a century ago. The first marker here is really old.” Julian led her through the grass and around graves. He came to stop at a wooden
marker that was surrounded by white rocks in a decorative pattern. Hanging from the ornately carved square were beads and feathers.

Julian sat on the grave
, focusing on his father’s name. “I miss him.”

Tori went to her knees beside him and st
roked his cheek. “I know, Sweetheart,” she crooned, understanding that pain. “I’m sorry he was taken from you.”

“Sometimes I wonder if he’
s proud of me. Justin and Claire are the warriors. Liana and Connor gave him grandchildren, and then there’s just me.”

Tori turned his face to stare into her eyes. “You’ve accomplished a great deal, Julian. You’ve done an amazing job. Your mom told me that without you, she would have been lost. You went by daily to check on her
when your last sister went off to the Navy. You stayed here for her. That alone would make him proud. Then look at your life. You were a deputy and risked your life, trying to help people. Now you own your own business and seek justice. You are a warrior.”

He closed his eyes. “I love you.”

Tori kissed him gently. “I love you too, Jules.”

Julian pulled her into his lap and simply held her against his body as they sat there. Visiting his father this time, he found peace and it was most likely because of her.

“Wait until we buy a building and start the business. He’d be proud to see ‘Littlemoon’ on the sign. You’re going to make a success out of it, and I can’t wait to be there for the ride.”

Julian kissed her throat. “I’m going to be able to buy a building because of you
selling your house to reside on the Rez. You do realize sane people don’t willing move here, right?”

Tori grinned at him. “The reservation is really peaceful and perfect.”

“I’ll owe you forever.”

She laughed. “Don’t worry. I’ll make you work off your debt in sexual favors.”

At first she caught him off guard, and then came the laughter. “I can’t wait.”

Tori loved when he smiled. “I think for every one time we have sex I can take a dollar off the total for you.”

Now he was grinning, and it was bordering on laughter. “That’s a lot of sex.”

“Yeah, I know and I can’t wait!
It’s going to take you years and possibly the rest of our lives.”

He kissed her again, enjoying the way they fit together. It was as if she was made for him.

“Want to go home and get naked, Julian?” she asked, trying to cheer him up.

He nodded. “Can I have a minute with my dad?”

Tori kissed him and climbed out of his lap. “I’ll be on the bike waiting for you.”

Julian waited until she walked away before he
moved closer to the marker. Placing his hand on it, he spoke to his father. “I pray she’s right, Dad. I hope that where ever you are, you’re proud of me. I got very lucky and found a great girl. That’s Victoria, and she’s tough, ballsy and a soldier like Justin and Claire. I’m marrying her in the fall, and I wish you could be there.”

He stood, kissing his fingers and tapping the marker, like he’d done a million times before. As he walked away, the cold breeze brushed his neck and drew goose bumps across his flesh. It was his sign that his father wasn’t far away. “Love you
, Dad,” he said, as he continued walking.

It was time to go home and
roll around with his fiancée.

Pulling up to the cabin
, not a soul was in sight. There was not a single house to be found near Chief Soaring Eagles homestead. Apparently, the man enjoyed his privacy.

Once out of the Denali, both men practically hovered over h
er. The last cabin they went to someone shot at them. Neither man was willing to take that chance.

“I know what you both are doing,” she said, glancing from man to man. “Do I have to tell you that it’s irritating as hell?”

Blackhawk ignored the scowl on her face and kissed her. “If I didn’t irritate you, you’d think something was seriously wrong.

Callen kissed her next. “I irritate you because it fires you up and makes for better sex.”

She shook her head, starting for the front door. “Let’s question the man and then regroup. I don’t like being out here in the open.” What she wanted to admit was she didn’t like either of them out in the open after finding that feather.

“Okay, Lyzee,” answered Blackhawk.

Banging on the front door, the three waited a few moments. When there was still no answerer, Ethan peeked in the front window.

“There’s a light
on inside, and his truck is here. I’m going to go around the back. Maybe he didn’t hear us.” Blackhawk began trotting down the steps.

Elizabeth dropped her voice low. “Cal, go with him. This could be a trap.”

The man didn’t hesitate; he went after his brother around the back of the cabin.

She stood there inspecting her surroundings. Everything looked normal. There was one thing she could ascertain. The man liked to hunt. Just inside the door w
ere two shotguns and a bow and arrows with a full quiver.

At the shout, her attention was drawn to the men
at the back of the house.

“Better get back here, Angel!” called Callen.

As she raced around the back of the house, Elizabeth wasn’t sure what she was going to find. What was waiting for her was nothing out of the ordinary. Patio furniture, a grill and yard gear. “Are you both okay?”

Ethan nodded
, pointing to the back window. “You’ll need a boost up, but you need to see this,” he replied, as he lifted her off her feet so her head peeked over the window sill.

She let out a breath. “Call in the tech team. We have another dead body.”

                                          *   *   *

It di
dn’t take them long to find him, and that alone pleased him immensely. It meant that all his work and stealthiness had paid off. It wasn’t easy to get the FBI to do what you wanted, but a body… that was the surefire way to get their attention.

Did he feel bad for manipulating the man into taking his own life?

Yes and no.

Justice had a price and it was his job to protect his people. Serve and protect t
hem until the bitter end. Well that end had come, just not for him. He couldn’t say the same thing for the man inside the cabin.

Looking down at his watch, he knew he needed to make an appearance back at work. If he was gone too long then there would be too much proof he was doing the killing.

It was a very fine line to balance between working man and skinwalker. As soon as he could, he’d slip into the basement and start flipping through more case files. After all, that’s how he figured out that Chief Soaring Eagle was indeed a killer.

Now he’d paid for his crimes, just as the outsiders he killed had paid for theirs. There wa
s one last target, and then he’d stop his work until the feds gave up in frustration.

It was a
shame; there was that pretty one he liked looking at. Oh well, everything in due time.

For now, he had a job to do and no inclination to stop until he’d taken his flesh, swallowed his energy, and became more powerful.

The Great Spirit had blessed him with the knowledge and now he was planning on giving back what was owed.