Jamie (21 page)

Wondering what had turned normally recalcitrant Lamar so chatty, Scott said, “A black mask, huh?”

“Yep. Covered his whole face.”

“That's a little hard to believe.”

Knute lifted his dingy T-shirt and showed several purpling bruises on his ribs and lower near his hip. “I'm tellin' you, some lunatic in a disguise came and beat me with a stick and then stole my dog.”

Scott rocked back on his heels. The ramifications left his brain churning and his temper rising. “Why didn't you report it?”

Shrugging, Knute dropped the shirt and laughed again. “He threatened to kill me. ‘Sides, I don't give a damn that the mutt is gone. Good riddance. Dog wasn't nuthin' but trouble anyhow. Always barking or howling—”

Scott stepped closer, interrupting. “Give me a description.”

“I jus' told ya, he wore a mask.”

“Right. But was he tall, short, thin, fat?” Scott absolutely hated mysteries. Clint might have taken over as Visitation's sheriff, much to Scott's relief, but Scott was more familiar with the town and the people in it.

He felt a responsibility toward them.

And because he felt responsible, he'd made a point of knowing everyone in his town. As he'd already told Alyx, he had his suspicions. He only hoped they proved wrong. “You said he threatened you, Lamar. Did he have an accent? Any identifying marks like a tattoo or scar?”

Lamar scratched his grizzled head, thinking about it. “I'd say tall, least taller than me.”

That told Scott little, considering Lamar was a stump of a man. “As tall as me?”

“Can't say. I was busy dodging blows, not measuring the man. I know he weren't fat, no sir. But he was strong as an ox. Damn near killed me with that stick. He just kept hittin' me and hittin' me and—”

“I get the picture.” Both Kyle and Knute, punished by a masked assailant capable enough to inflict physical harm, and one who didn't hesitate to do so. It sounded like something out of a cheesy comic book. “Anything distinctive about the speech?”

“Can't recall no accent or nuthin'. I think I was too scairt for my life to pay much attention.”

“Did you notice the color of his eyes? And what about his hair? Ponytail, crew cut, blond, brunet?”

“Mean eyes, I can tell ya that. The kind of eyes that'd cut right through a man. And he wore a hat that covered his head, but I think I saw a peek of dark hair.” Lamar lifted bony shoulders. “That's all I remember.”

“So he beat you, and then you just watched him take your dog?”

“No. He beat me, and I went back inside soon as I could. He must've taken the dog after that.”

Damn. Scott knew only one man in Visitation with penetrating eyes and dark hair. But Jamie Creed stayed on his mountain. At least, he used to. But maybe that was before Clint saw him carrying a naked woman up to his cabin, before Alyx confessed to seeing the woman there still.

Jamie had a lot going on, most of it unexpected and out of the norm. He always wanted to right wrongs and to help the innocent. But never before had he allowed anyone else to move into his cabin.

Scott decided that he just might have to make a visit himself, to see Jamie before anyone else did. He had no doubt he'd offend a lot of people, most especially Alyx, if he started pointing fingers at Jamie. But ... he'd have to at least talk to Jamie about it.

Knute screwed up his face, narrowed his red-rimmed, dilated eyes, and Scott could see him conniving. He waited, and finally Knute sneered, “Why you still standing there, boy? You should be out looking for the guy that attacked me, not badgering me.”

Scott stared until Lamar began to squirm. In his most serious deputy's voice, he said, “If I find out you're lying to me, Lamar, I'll be back with an arrest warrant.”

Bloodshot eyes flared. “Arrest warrant? Why would you want to do that?” He giggled nervously. “I ain't broke no laws.”

“Why? Because you're an abusive drunk, and I'm not about to take you at your word on anything important. So understand this. Badger is with another family now, and I expect you to leave him be.”

“I said I don't want him. Dog wasn't nuthin' but trouble anyway. I'm glad he's gone.”

Red anger clouded Scott's vision. “I saw Badger, Knute. He was hungry and dirty, and trust me, nothing would make me happier than to beat the hell out of you.” Scott drew a calming breath. “But I'm not going to do that.”

Knute snickered, secure in Scott's legal limitations.

Scott stepped closer until Knute began backing up. His reasons for crowding the smaller, older man were twofold. He wanted to intimidate him, to make sure he never touched another animal. And he wanted a better whiff of him, which was about enough to bring up the contents of his stomach.

But it also confirmed what he thought—Knute wasn't just drunk. His clothes held the sickeningly sweet scent of marijuana. “I'll be writing up a fine for you, based on the treatment of that dog. I suggest you get it paid right away. And if you step out of line even once, I won't hesitate to toss your sorry ass in jail and leave you there until you rot.”

“For what?”

Scott flexed his fists, hoping to ease his tension before he lost his temper and repeated the work of the vigilante. Nothing would make him happier than to knock some much-needed compassion into Knute.

But officials didn't take the law into their own hands, and besides, he had a feeling he'd learn more from Knute if he left the man free to bungle around. But that didn't mean he wanted the fool to end up hurting someone else. “Drunk driving, most likely.” Scott looked at him with disdain. “I'm going to be watching you, Knute. If I catch you drinking and driving, that's it.”

Sputtering, Knute bumped into a tree—the same tree where he usually kept the dog tied. “You
threatening
me, Deputy?”

“Just reminding you of the law—and that I enforce it.” Scott glanced at Lamar's house again, then at the overgrown land surrounding it. Yep, definitely time to do some snooping. He tipped his hat and turned to leave.

When Scott got back in the car, still rigid with mind-numbing anger at Knute, and poleaxed by the possibility of Jamie's involvement, Alyx slid over next to him.

Just having her near somehow made him feel better, when he'd always preferred to stew in isolation. Being alone made it easier for him to rationalize, to think things through. With Alyx around, he tended to have a one-track mind.

“Scott?” Her voice was a soft, soothing whisper, filled with admiration. “You look ready to explode.”

“Just pissed.” He took a deep breath and let it out slow. He had no intention of taking his bad mood out on Alyx. Not that she'd let him anyway. “Thank you for staying in the car.” It surprised Scott that she had, especially when Knute, acting so strange, had showed no remorse for the dog.

Alyx inched closer, her gaze warm, her touch warmer. “Have I ever told you how hot it makes me when you're all macho?”

God love her, the woman could make him nuts. He'd worried about offending her with his temper, and instead she claimed to be turned on by it. Scoot shook his head. In every way imaginable, Alyx was different from any other woman he'd known. Others had kept their distance when noticing his temper. But Alyx just went toe to toe with him, trusting in his control and knowing his basic nature well enough to understand that he'd never abuse a woman in any way, not even verbally. He enjoyed her confidence in him, and her fearlessness.

Much of his anger evaporated. Alyx often had that effect on him—when she wasn't the one infuriating him.

Scott started the car, wrenched it into drive, and made a U-turn to leave Knute's property. Thinking of Alyx's fearlessness, he suddenly wished he hadn't brought her along. He meant to talk to her, to compare the pros and cons of shacking up to marriage.

Now he realized that he should have just driven back to get her after he'd finished with Knute. She'd been too docile during that confrontation, which didn't bode well at all. “Listen to me, sweetheart.”

“Sweetheart?” Smiling, Alyx stroked his shoulder. “Does that mean you're a little hot and bothered, too?”

“No.” What a lie. Around Alyx, he was always primed. “And put your seatbelt back on.”

With a sigh, she slid back to her own seat and buckled up. “Spoilsport.”

Alyx never seemed to take him seriously. “For just once, will you listen?”

“I'm all ears.”

No, she was all sexy legs and female cockiness and mile-a-minute excitement. “Alyx, I want you to stay away from Knute.”

She stared out the windshield. “Now, why would I want to be anywhere near him? He's disgusting.”

Oh God, he could almost hear the wheels turning in her head. “Because he's mean, and you don't like mean people, that's why.”

“No, I don't.” She tipped her head toward him, smiling again, one brow raised. “But then, neither do you.”

“It's my job to deal with those people. Not yours. ”

“And now we're back where we started, with me telling you what a great job you do, and how exciting I think it is.”

Scott glanced at her, and she smiled.

God, she worried him.

Alyx reached for his thigh, her busy fingers teasing him while she whispered in that special, husky voice, guaranteed to push him over the edge, “How long will it take to get to your place?”

Damn. They really did have to talk. But maybe he could put that off till later. Like ... until tomorrow morning.

With the sudden rise of an erection, Scott pressed his foot to the gas. “Ten minutes.” Maybe less if he didn't see any other cars on the road. It couldn't be soon enough for Scott.

 

 

Jamie tunneled both hands into Faith's wildly tangled hair and held her still for a kiss so sweet it took even him by surprise. What she'd done to him, how she made him feel, didn't bear close scrutiny.

He cleared his throat and said by way of apology, “I forgot you hurt your thigh. Are you okay?”

Eyes vague, lips parted, Faith nodded.

That particular look turned Jamie inside out. And like any basic male animal, he wasn't immune. He wanted her again, right this second, because he knew she wanted him. He could thrust back inside her and she wouldn't voice a single complaint.

Displeasure gnawed at his insides. He had to get a grip.

Her skin was still dewy, her nipples still tight, her belly still quivering ... Jesus. If he didn't get a handle on his lust, Faith would realize just how susceptible he was to her.

“Let me see.” Moving to the side of her, Jamie leaned over her body to examine her leg.

Faith rolled toward him, her expression dreamy and turned on. “I'm fine, Jamie.” Her hand touched his chest, and she sighed. “You wouldn't hurt me.”

Her pose added emphasis to the deep dip of her waist, the tantalizing rise of her hip, the long, shapely length of her thigh. It also showed the bruises that marred her otherwise pale skin.

“Damn. ”Jamie didn't mean to do it, but he found himself bending over her, kissing her leg from the first dark bruise down to her knee.

Faith purred, stretched, and that prodded Jamie on. He kissed a path back up to her hipbone, then across her silky belly to her navel. The smell of her skin, the combined scent of sex and woman, filled his head, pushing him near the edge again.

“You didn't wear a rubber.”

Jamie paused with his tongue in her navel, stunned, bemused. He pulled back to stare at Faith. Protection. It hadn't even occurred to him, and now that he did think about it, he didn't know what he could do. He didn't have any condoms, and because he'd brought Faith into his home buck naked, he knew she didn't have birth control of any kind.

“Don't worry. I won't get pregnant.” She rolled to her back again, smiling in a sad, accepting way. “I can't.”

Opening his hand wide on her belly, Jamie said, “I know.” He'd felt the truth of her words even before she gave them.

“What do you mean, you know?” She rose up on one elbow, suddenly more alert. “You're in my head?”

Annoyed, Jamie started to reply that he didn't need to be. The look on her face had reassured him even before she'd spoken. But suddenly he felt a premonition of trouble.

Pulling back from Faith, Jamie opened his mind, seeking a source. He saw Scott in full deputy mode, and at the same time, he detected Scott's suspicions toward him. Suspicions about acts that shouldn't have been attributed to Jamie. Only that didn't cover it. No. There were other conspiracies at work, other people scheming.

Jamie frowned, disgusted that he couldn't enjoy Faith in peace, while at the same time trying to pull the various clues together to make sense of them.

Unfortunately, details remained just out of reach. Faces and motivations were blurry along the edges. He saw a woman and a man, and he saw Scott.

Worse, he saw Alyx.

What the hell was going on?

Faith groaned, shifting beside him. “God, Jamie, I hate that cold mask of distance.” She started to separate herself from him, and Jamie caught her knee.

He sent the premonitions away and put thoughts of Scott from his mind. He could deal with it all later. Right now, he intended to settle some things with Faith. “It's not for you. I was thinking of something else.”

“What?”

Still on one elbow, Faith presented a pretty picture. Jamie eyed her full, naked breasts, noting how rosy her nipples had gotten from his suckling. He thought of what else he wanted to do to and with her, and he started breathing hard again.