Erotic Deception (9 page)

Shocked silence greeted her question and Denie shifted in discomfort as it lengthened. As Jet struggled to hold onto his temper, he surmised she’d heard him on the phone making the arrangements. Whereas he was tolerant of her loyalty to Celeste, he hated this invasion of privacy. He didn’t know which was worse; her listening in on his phone calls or having the nerve to challenge him on it?

“I’ll do you a favor and ignore that,” he said at last.

He rose and returned to his office, still batting down his anger. Living in a small community had definite drawbacks.

* * * *

The abrasive attack of the towel in her hair felt good. The cool water from the shower had cleansed Lily’s body. Now all she had to do was figure out what to do with her life.

She grabbed the cotton robe, walked into the bedroom and plopped down on the bed. At least her car was fixed. That meant she could leave Windom Hills any time she wanted.

There was still the matter of totaling the sheriff’s car to contend with, but she hadn’t seen him since his Tweety Bird comment a week ago. He’d probably be happy to see the back of her. Then he could file his stupid report. It was a moot point now, however, as Lily knew what she had to do. She had to return to Kansas City. Justice for Jerry demanded it.

No one else was lining up to help convict Anthony so Lily had to tap into her only other resource. Fred, her ex-husband and his wealthy influential family. She hated asking him just as much as Fred’s mother was going to hate hearing from her. Nevertheless, Fred would help her. She placed her hand over her hollow womb, out of guilt, if nothing else.

She’d call tomorrow and wouldn’t …

All her muscles tensed in alarm.
What was that?

Lily held very still to listen again. It sounded like a board creaking directly below her. She cautiously rose and went over to her purse for her cell phone.

There it is again.

But this time it sounded as if it were coming from outside. She’d locked the front entry,
but what about the French doors?

Her bare feet made little noise on the hardwood floor as she tiptoed across the room. Her heart was in her throat as she descended the stairs, this time leaving the light off so no one from outside could view what was going on inside.

Adrenaline pumped a painful flow of heat to Lily’s temples, sending dizzying squiggly lines to impair her vision. She paused for a second until a cool aftermath cleared her focus. Shaken, she continued her trek toward the kitchen area, her grip on her phone nearly breaking it.

At the door of the kitchen, peering through the darkness to the deck was impossible. She flipped open the cell phone and flinched at the bright illumination. Thumbing in the emergency number, she put a hand over the connect button, but didn’t push it, yet. Creeping over to the doors, she extended a hand to the dead bolt, turned it and in rapid succession reached for the outside light. She screamed.

Bugger, bugger, bugger.
She hadn’t expected to see anyone! She hurriedly punched the send button on the phone and somehow it flipped out of her hand and slid across the floor.

O-crap-o-crap-o-crap.
She dropped to her knees fumbling for it, throwing fretful glances at the now empty deck.

Where’d he go? And where’s that damned phone?
With her location showcased from the outside light, Lily abandoned her mission for the phone and doggy-crawled to the living room to seek safety behind a big sofa.

Calm down, Lily. Think rationally!

He wasn’t inside and he hadn’t tried to break in. The phone had connected before it flew out of her hand but there was no guarantee without actually speaking to anyone they’d know where or if to respond. There was nothing left to do. She had to turn on the kitchen light.

She swallowed and moved to return to the kitchen when twin beams of light scanned the upper wall of the room.
A car?

She eagerly crawled to the front entry and saw the unmistakable silhouette of roof-mounted lights. Without thinking, she rushed outside and ran full force in front of the vehicle, dangerously forcing it to a skidding stop to avoid hitting her.

“Damn it, what is it with you and death-wishes?” Jet shouted, jumping out of the blazer.

Ignoring the hostile tone, Lily grabbed at the front of his shirt, her short quick breaths bordering on hysteria.

“There’s someone out there!” she cried throwing a furtive glance behind her.

“What?” Jet grabbed her arms. “Out where?” he asked, his grip tightening.

“The back deck!” She yelled as if he should’ve already known.

“Get in the truck and lock the door!” he ordered.

He didn’t wait for her to obey as he took off racing around the back of the house.

Lily was only too happy to acquiesce and climbed in, locking the door. She took deep gulping breaths.

Who was that man?
Not Anthony or anyone else she knew. Remembering the ugly face, she shivered. Why was this happening to her?

As time continued to elapse, concern for Jet started to arise
. Where is he? Is he okay?
She fought down the panic.
Of course he is
, she told herself, willing him to appear. He was probably reading the criminal his rights at this very moment.

At still no sign of him, worry played havoc with her imagination.

What if he doesn’t come back? Or what if someone else appears instead
? The keys were in the ignition so she could always take off, if necessary. But she couldn’t leave Jet behind.

Maybe I should use the radio to call for backup?
On the verge of doing just that, relief weakened her limbs when Jet came around the corner of the house. However, instead of hauling somebody by the scruff of his neck, he was alone. She pushed open the door.

“Where is he?” She looked behind him to see if he might be following, which was ridiculous in the circumstances.

“He’s gone,” Jet responded. “There’s no one there.”

“That’s not possible. He was there! I saw him!” she said, looking anxiously into his face.

When she saw his grim look, she froze. She began nodding her head up and down, giving a harsh shaky laugh.

“Oh, I get it. You don’t believe me.” Then she drew in an angry sob. “Well you can just kiss my ass!” Then to her ignominy, burst into tears.

“Calm down,” Jet said reaching for her.

She fought him off, but his tight hold restrained her and he gave her a gentle shake.

“Lily, I believe you. He was there. I found wet tracks on the patio. He’s gone now, but he left a trail.” When she still struggled, he shook her a little harder. “Did you hear what I said?”

As his words began to sink in she stopped struggling, looking up between wet lashes.

“You saw him?” she asked, but he shook his head.

“I saw his tracks, but there was no sign of him. He must’ve run off. Was it Capriccio?”

She sniffed. “No, but now do you believe I saw someone from my basement the other day?”

“Yes,” he said to her surprise. He released her to grab his keys from the truck. “Let’s go inside and maybe you can provide a description.”

He took her arm and guided her toward the house. Lily stepped into the house, but stopped abruptly. Nearly careening into her, Jet cursed, steadying them both.

“There are too many windows in this house,” she said. “He could be watching us.”

Jet frowned. “I doubt he’s still hanging around, but since I’ve already checked the back, let’s go into the kitchen.”

When she still hesitated, Jet asked in a mocking voice, “Where would you suggest we do this? Your bedroom?” She drew back, but he grabbed her arm again and pulled her forward. “Come on, I told you it’s clear.”

Jet pushed her toward the kitchen and turned on the light. Not waiting for an invitation, he settled on the end of the small chaise lounge and removed a notebook and pen from his pocket.

It was then Lily saw her phone against the far wall.

“How did you know to come here?” she asked, walking over and bending down to retrieve the blasted thing.

“Your call to 911,” he said absently, glancing at his watch and making notes on the paper.

Lily made a face and pulled her robe tighter around her. She glanced down, conscious that the robe was all she was wearing. Then she did a mental shrug. The cotton was relatively thick and reached almost to her ankles. She sat down at the other end of the small couch, tucking one leg beneath her, keeping a cautious eye on the French doors.

Was he still out there somewhere? Was he watching them? She shivered.

“Let’s start from the beginning,” Jet said, drawing her attention back to him. “Did you recognize him?”

“No,” she said.”

“Do you think there’s a connection to Capriccio?”

She pursed her lips, pondered the idea and then shook her head.

“This was too Peeping Tomish for Anthony’s style. More pervy than violent.”

Jet nodded as if in agreement. “Tell me exactly what you heard and saw.”

She drew in a deep breath and filled him in on the details up to his pulling into her driveway. He was writing as she spoke, his dark head bent down again. The light above cast a shadow of thick spikey lashes over his cheeks. A five o’clock beard darkened his jaw and Lily could swear his tan was deeper than the last time she’d seen him.

“What about a description?” he asked.

She thought for a moment. “His hair was a dark blond color.”

Jet dotted down that information.

“Height?” he asked.

“I guess a little taller than I am?” It was more of a question and Jet looked up at that.

“Do you think it could’ve been a kid? Teenager perhaps?”

Her response was negative; her voice steady with conviction. “He was much older. He might’ve been stooped over.”

“What about his face?”

“It was ugly.”

Lily caught the twitch of Jet’s mouth. “What?”

“Ugly isn’t a very helpful description.”

“I didn’t get a clear view,” Lily replied defensively.

“Did he look like one of those guys at the convenience store your first night here?”

She scowled at the memory. “Not even close.”

“Okay. How was he dressed?”

“Kind of strange. He had a long-sleeved checked shirt buttoned all the way to the collar.”

Jet frowned. “It’s gotta be eighty five degrees outside.”

“He was also wearing long khaki pants,” she added.

“What about shoes?” he asked.

“I didn’t notice his feet.”

“Can you think of anything else?”

“No,” she ran a hand through her tangled damp hair. “It all happened so fast.”

He nodded, wrote down a few more things before putting his pen and notebook back in his pocket.

He reclined against the back of the chaise lounge. “Off the top of my head, I can’t think of who you’ve described as being one our locals. I’ll do some checking around tomorrow. Maybe ask some questions about the guests staying in the cabins.”

The realization that he couldn’t do anything tonight sent out a wave of panic.

“Do you think he’ll come back?” she asked anxiously.

Jet rubbed a hand over his face. “I don’t know. It’s possible.” He smiled at her reaction. “I can sleep outside in the blazer.”

She frowned before answering in a flat tone. “I can’t let you do that.”

“Why not? Believe me, it won’t be the first time.”

Lily hesitated, knowing she was stepping into dangerous territory.

“The living room sofa is comfortable.”

The silence was thick and laced with meaning before he finally said, “I don’t think that’s a good idea.” He paused before adding, “Dr. Delaney.”

Her gaze narrowed impatiently and she brushed aside the tension with a wave of annoyance.

“Crikey, call me Lilly, would ya? And if you’re going to protect my person, offering you a sofa is the least I can do.”

The corners of his eyes crinkled. “Yes, ma’am.”

Lily averted her attention.
Damn the man is sexy
.

“Can I get you a beer?” she asked as a distraction.

“Officially I’m on duty until midnight.” She waited and he openly smiled. “A beer would be great.”

Self-conscious, she rose to retrieve the bottle. And although the robe concealed more than the short skirt she’d worn the first time she’d met him, the room was filled with an unexpected intimacy not experienced before.

As she removed two bottles from the refrigerator, she couldn’t help skipping down memory lane at the last time he’d been in her kitchen.

She took the beer to him and resumed her seat a few feet away, making a face.

“You must be getting tired of my constant drama.”

He lowered the beer bottle and sucked the drops of moisture from his upper lip.