Truth Is Found (32 page)

Yeah, she was aware.

“While you’re doing that, I’m going to have Christina run a couple people. I want her to stalk their social media pages.”

“Who?”

“I want her to look at anyone who worked with Pearlie. They said that both women were handsy, so let’s see if one of the males was taking a dip in the company pool.”

“That’s a good angle.”

“Well, you know how young men are sexually aroused most of the day.”

“You can add me to that list.”

Tori grinned.

Thank God for that.

She hoped her husband always found her attractive--even when she got fat with pregnancy.

As she drove, he called the man who hired them. At the same time, Tori called the office and asked Christina to dig anything up on the staff.

She was playing a hunch.

Now, Tori hoped it paid off. They were running low on leads, and could use anything just about now.

       
         
* * *
  L   i   t   t   l  e  m  o  o  n  * * *

He didn't seem like he was in the mood to meet with them, and that made Tori and Julian suspicious. It was possible that Sheila was already trying to get her husband to do what she thought was best.

After all, the man didn't fire a sexual predator, only so they’d have someone to fix broken machinery. It was obvious that she had some control over Daniel.

Yes, this was going to be ugly.

As they sat down to have coffee, Julian opted to hit him directly--not pussy foot around it.

When they told him his wife was cheating, at first he was shocked, and then…he was pissed.

At them.

This was exactly why they documented everything. It was cases like this where they didn't want to take any chances. More often than not, they were the bull’s-eye in the anger fest.

“You’re lying.”

Julian stayed calm. “You told us that you wanted to know everything we found. My wife and I didn't start out looking for a cheater. This popped up out of the blue.”

“How? I know my wife. She wouldn’t do that.”

The poor man…

“She was acting suspicious, and when we followed her, we found something pertinent to our investigation. She’s having an affair with someone who works for AngelCake.”

He looked like he’d been slapped.

His skin flushed red, and he looked like a volcano ready to erupt.

“Do you have proof before you accuse my wife of this bullshit?”

They nodded.

“I want to see it! It better be good too!”

Yeah, or they were fired. Blah…blah…blah. They’d heard that spiel before.

“Are you sure?” Julian asked. If he was in this man’s place, he’d be throwing shit around the room, and punching people out. Either Daniel Nelms had excellent control, or a part of him knew this was happening.

Tori handed him the camera with the pictures. He flipped through them, saying absolutely nothing.

When he looked up, he was furious. “I want this kept quiet. I also want you to get as much information as you can, so when I file for divorce, she’s not going to be getting anything in the settlement.”

“So you have a prenup?”

“Yes. The only way she gets anything is if all my heirs are dead before her. Then, she loses half to charity.”

Julian glanced over at Tori. Did he just say what he thought he said?

Pearlie was missing.

Sheila was cheating.

“Where’s Romeo?” Tori asked.

“He’s running the tasting room.”

“Speaking of which,” Julian began. “I found this last night. Does it look familiar?”

Tori pulled the rag that had been shoved into the air conditioning unit out of her bag.

“It looks like one that Reid uses behind the tasting bar. Why?”

“Yeah, it does. It was stuffed in the air conditioning unit.” Then Julian told him what happened.

“Oh, my God! Is that how you got that lump on your head?”

He nodded.

“I’m so sorry. This is turning into a mess. My child is missing, my wife is cheating, and the people I hired are getting hurt. Who is doing this?”

“We’re getting closer, and we’ll want to talk to Reid tonight as he’s pouring.”

The man agreed. “No problem. I’ll make sure he’s available, but let’s keep this quiet. I still have four other guests who can’t know what’s going on.”

“Uh, about that…”

He looked over.

They told him about Allene and Brandon Bunchen. The man looked blindsided.

“Is nothing what it seems? What the hell did I do to deserve all of this? All I wanted was a vineyard to retire at.”

Tori wanted to laugh.

He didn't know the half of it. If he saw the behind the scenes, he’d need medication.

God knew she did most of the time.

“If she’s part of this, I’ll let the police hang her,” Daniel Nelms said. “Please keep looking for my daughter. I’ll need copies of these pictures, and I’ll pay your retainer for the divorce case. Since you dug it up, you deserve it.”

He stood. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to go back so I can try and find my child. That’s all I want now. The winery can go to hell in a handbasket for all I care!”

Ironically, it was.

As he stormed out of there, Julian shook his head. “He’s pissed.”

“Can you blame him?”

“No. I’ve been in his shoes. It sucks.”

Tori kissed him on the cheek. “Well, it’s a good thing we threw out those shoes.”

He smiled.

Yeah, it really was.

       
         
* * *
  L   i   t   t   l  e  m  o  o  n  * * *

Littlemoon Inc.

Christina surfed the internet, searching for anyone connected to Pearlie Nelms. In order to get some dirt, she did what every parent in training needed to do.

She scoped the woman’s social media.

On it, she found many things that she was pretty sure Daniel Nelms didn't have a clue about.

There were parties.

Drinking.

Half-naked pictures.

Yeah, someone was having a damn good time in their teen years. It was no wonder the woman had gone missing. Youth was a time to have fun, but there was a thin line between having a good time and being stupid.

This girl crossed it every day.

“WOW! Look at that,” Kane said, pointing at her in a crowd of boys. She was wearing what amounted to a few scraps of material. The males had their hands, and eyes, all over her.

She was like a snack to the hungry wolves.

Christina looked at the names of the people tagged in the picture.

“BINGO!” she stated.

Clicking on one of the names, a profile came up. Of course, he didn't take the time to make it private. So, Christina could read everything he’d written down.

“Look who was partying the night away with Pearlie,” she said, getting Kane’s attention.

“Doesn’t he work in the tasting room with her?”

“Yep. He’s on Tori’s list of people to dig up dirt on, and I think that’s about the dirtiest thing we’re going to find.”

He agreed.

“You know how sexy it is when you play investigator?” he said, lowering his voice.

“How sexy?”

“Remember when we slipped into the janitor’s closet in the Rez police office?”

She flushed. “I seem to recall.”

“Want to try it again?” he whispered, teasing her ear with his teeth. His pregnant fiancée got him all hot and bothered, and Kane couldn’t help it.

Who knew a non-native could get him this stirred up?

“Let me call Tori first, and then we can find a secluded closet to reenact that little moment of ours. I think it might be fun to relive that memory.”

Then she thought about her girth. “Think we’ll fit?”

Oh, he wasn’t worried at all. Chrissy was all baby, and he would gratefully work around that.

He grinned wickedly.

“I wouldn’t stress it.” There was nothing hotter than a woman having a son for you. “For what I have in mind, it takes up very little room.”

Christina laughed. “Kane, now you’re being way too modest.”

It was his turn to blush.

CHAPTER Sixteen

Shopping for Fate

Thursday Afternoon

As Nyx was working behind the counter of her shop, Beau couldn’t help but stare. Here was the woman he loved, and he couldn’t believe it. Two months ago, had someone told him he’d have his sister back, and a sexy woman in his life, he never would have believed it.

His life had come full circle.

And he loved it.

No longer was he alone in the world, and that was all that mattered to him. In fact, he never wanted to go back to the way it used to be.

Just watching Nyx do mundane tasks was more than enough to make his day go from shitty to perfect. The way she moved around the counters, dusted little trinkets, and all while as she hummed…
it was heavenly.

He started laughing.

Maybe she’d been right.

This was their heaven.

“What’s so funny?” Nyx asked, trying not to get flustered just by looking at him. Beau had two days’ worth of scruff on his face, his t-shirt clung to his well-muscled body, and he was watching her as if he was the big bad wolf.

She wanted to whip out some red hoodie and have him chase her all over town. Nyx would give the wolf a run for his money.

Yeah, she was drawing up all kinds of fantasies in her head. All of them ended with them naked, the door locked, and someone, if not both of them, moaning.

Nyx had to push it out of her mind. Only, it was hard. There were tattoos peeking out under his short sleeves, and she knew what was all over his body.

The man was so hot that he should carry a warning label.

“I was thinking about you.”

“That’s what was so funny? Should I be offended?”

“No, I was thinking how you were right. This is our heaven. I never want to leave it.”

“Me either,” she admitted, moving toward him. A piece of her knew that too was nothing more than a fantasy. In a matter of days, he’d pack up his things and go to his home--over an hour away.

It broke her heart.

“You’re beautiful, Nyxie.”

She touched her hair. “Me? No way. I’m average and you’re crazy. You might need glasses.”

He grinned sexily at her as he lounged on the leather couch in her business. She was wearing a dress, and he was dying to see what was beneath it.

“Actually, my vision is perfect, so my assessment stands. I’ve never met a more amazing woman. I want to touch you to see if you’re real, but then I’m afraid you’ll vanish.”

His words wound tightly around her heart.

As she went to touch his face, the voice in her head kicked up, fighting to get through. It looked like Trey was sick of keeping his mouth shut.

“You were wounded by your career. It stole pieces of you, and you’ll never be the same.”

He stared at her.

“I’m sorry,” Nyx offered, covering her mouth in horror. This was one of the little things that happened when she got too close to a person.

Beau blinked a few times.

“Sometimes, he gets through. He’s not screaming, but he’s persistent. I have ghost Tourette’s. I apologize.”

He couldn’t argue with her because his job had damaged him. “No, you’re right. I told you no secrets, and that’s the absolute truth. I left the military because I was burning out. It’s not easy to stare down the scope of a gun only to see a target. Pulling the trigger got way too easy. It was time to take a step back.”

“So you really killed people?”

She took a seat beside him.

“Yes. I really did.”

Nyx was struggling with that. You’d never know that from the outside. Beau Christensen looked more like the boy next door than the killer behind the crosshairs. Even in his thirties, the sexy hair, emotion filled eyes, and his patient words seemed too peaceful to have ever pulled that trigger.

He came across more saint than sinner to her.

“Is that going to be a problem?” he asked, his whole body going tense. He didn't like to talk about that part of his life. It always had the same reaction. Women liked soldiers, until they realized that they didn't come back whole. There was always a little part of their soul left behind.

The sandbox stole a lot from them.

Now he had Nyx, and she filled that one empty hole with all the goodness that his life had lacked. Beau had to hope she’d love him for him, and nothing more.

“Not at all. You killed people dead, and I talk to the dead people. I think it’s a match made in heaven.”

When she gently touched his cheek, he turned his mouth into her palm to offer Nyx a kiss.

She nearly swooned.

“You’re strong, Beau, and that’s the sexiest thing about a man. Some women will tell you that they don’t want or need a man to stand up for them, but that’s not me. I love how safe I feel with you. To me, that’s alluring.”

“You are safe, Nyx. I swear on my life that no one will hurt you. I’ll keep you protected.”

She thought about how he dove into the black water to save her. “I know you will.”

“Okay, so you’re with me to feel safe. What else?”

She could tell by the tone in his voice that he was done discussing his job, so she went with it. He never forced her, and she’d give him that same gift.

“I also really like your hair. The color sets off your personality. Redheads have a fiery disposition.”

Leaning in, Beau kissed her, and he made it count.

“Do we?” he asked after pulling away.

She started laughing. “Yes, it’s definitely true.”

He grinned at her, enjoying how the laughter danced in her eyes. Finally, she was starting to live life. The demons weren’t holding her hostage.

“I like the scruff too. It feels nice against my skin. It tickles. I think it’s incredibly sexy.”

As she ran her fingers across his cheeks, Beau’s body began reacting to her simple touch. Maybe it was that she found him sexy, or it could possibly that she was so close to him. That’s all it really took when it came to Nyx.

“If you keep it up, I’m going to have to take you back upstairs to have more private time with you,” he warned.

Suddenly, she went serious. Staring deep into his eyes, she gave him her heart. “Thank you, Beau, for seeing the real me beneath all this and not running.”

Then she laid her head over Beau’s heart.

It touched him.

“I’ve got you, Nyxie. I won’t be far away if you ever need me.”

His heart skipped.

Hers broke.

When he left, there was no doubt that things would go back to the way they were before he arrived. Only, she’d know what it felt like to have him.

And he’d be gone.

How could she recover from that?

       
         
* * *
  L   i   t   t   l  e  m  o  o  n  * * *

Research was his life.

In his job, he often had to spend hours digging up facts and little known details. Now, Roman Remington was doing just that. He was four books deep on the history of Darkwood Monastery as he tried to figure out what had killed the man who ran it.

As he flipped through the pages of the journals and books, he was surprise to see what kept coming up.

There were many golden treasures.

The monastery had been the location of all their sacred items, and when the priest had been killed, no one found them.

Interesting.

As he kept flipping, he thought back to the crime scene photos he’d managed to ‘allocate’. There was no mention of them. There was supposed to be a large gold cross, embedded with rubies, a chalice, and an offering plate.

For a small monastery, they held three incredibly pricy items. They were all solid gold, and they would be worth a small fortune.

That was a motive to kill, and he knew it.

The puzzle was starting to come together. Only, he couldn’t help but wonder if they’d been stolen and melted down, or if they were still somewhere on the monastery grounds.

If the padre had been killed, maybe it was for the treasures that he was protecting. Had he managed to hide them before his untimely death?

Or had the killer gotten them.

The mystery grew.

Roman loved when he was neck deep in something this interesting. This is why he became a reporter. It was the thrill of the hunt, the way people always had something hidden, and the pleasure of finding justice when it was forgotten.

Yeah, he loved his job.

Then he thought about his new friend and temporary partner, Julian Littlemoon.

He did the same thing, only his findings weren’t published for the world to see. Instead, he stayed on the shadowy side.

Roman respected that.

How could he not?

There was a friendship blooming, and he kind of liked it. There was no doubt that they’d cross paths again and again, and he was good with that.

As he sat, staring at the books in front of him, his eye caught a journal that the church had once kept. It looked like the monastery had a membership list.

Interesting.

He’d need to take that, along with the book of artifacts with him. Only, they weren’t on the permitted borrow list.

Well, Roman had to do what Roman had to do.

He was going to confiscate them.

They may come in handy, and when it was over, he’d make sure they got slipped back into the return slot outside.

For now, they were his evidence, and he needed them to solve the man’s murder.

Something had gotten a good man killed.

And he was going to unbury it.

       
                     
* * *
  L   i   t   t   l  e  m  o  o  n  * * *

Lunch

Town

Tori and Julian had been waiting the better part of an hour for the other two people to arrive for their meeting. At one point, Tori was going to walk down the street to her shop to drag them to lunch.

It was crazy to make a pregnant woman wait for food.

But that wasn’t it.

No, she was worried about her brother.

Beau was a sweet guy, and she wanted to protect him from the things in life that could hurt him--mainly, a psychic named Nyx. Growing up, he’d been on his own, and that wounded her. Tori wished she could have found him years ago--that way she and Trey could have watched over him.

As she sat there fidgeting, Julian was amused. It wasn’t his wife’s normal behavior. Generally, she was steady and calm. “This lunch date has you stirred up.”

“Yeah, it does.”

“He’s going to be fine. It’s a romance--not the beaches of Normandy. He’s got a better shot of getting kissed than killed. Take a deep breath.”

Tori glanced over at him. “I just got him back, and I don’t want him to hurt.”

Julian got that, but there was something his wife was missing in this whole thing. “If you rain on his parade, he’s going to pack it up and take it elsewhere. That’s how I was. I would have followed you to the ends of the Earth, and Justin was the same with Vivian.”

She stared at him.

“And so were Kane and Beckett too. Back off, let him make his choices, and don’t freak out when he does. Everything will be perfectly fine. Beau is a grown man, and he can make his decisions on his own, Mom.”

She smirked at him in displeasure.

“Can I at least talk to this woman alone to get to know her? Or is that going to cause some cataclysmic catastrophe too?”

“Talk or kick her ass? It wouldn’t really be a competition. You may be the same size as her, Victoria, but you Christensens are hard core.”

She kicked him under the table.

“See?”

Tori turned to face the direction they would be coming and that’s when she saw them. Her brother was walking hand in hand with the woman, and they were both laughing.

He looked…happy.

Maybe Julian was right.

This wasn’t her parade to ruin.

“They look good together,” Julian stated. “Normally, your brother doesn’t smile. He’s quiet, and introverted. You were like that when I met you. Maybe she brings his personality out, and that’s a good thing.”

Tori was aware.