Truth Is Found (5 page)

She read the details, and they were disturbing. “Someone put glass, sticks, and dirt in their barrels?” she asked, looking up.

“Yes, and that’s clearly not ‘accidental’ contamination. It distorted the taste of the wine, and they began losing income.”

Hmmmm.

That was curious.

“What do we know about the competition?” she asked.

“AngelCake Wineries is right next door. Apparently, they’ve been in business a while. Their owner, Angel Martin, also has a knack for making great wine. The Nelms, at one time, were friendly with them, until the shit began happening all around them. They think Angel and her French husband Marcel are behind it.”

“Proof?” she asked.

Julian shook his head. “There is none. It’s all speculation on their behalf. They’ve had wine going missing, they’ve had sabotaged batches--where they’ve had to dump an entire row of barrels, and they’ve had issues with machinery.”

“Okay, and how are we supposed to help? We don’t even like wine. You and I are beer kind of people.”

He was well aware.

Tori laid her hand on her baby bump. “I guess I should say I was a beer kind of girl. Now I’m a glass of milk with folic acid chasers kind of woman. Ohhhh, and cookies. Don’t forget those.”

Julian grinned. Reaching into his blazer pocket, he pulled out a sealable lunch baggie. Inside, there were cookies.

“I knew I loved you,” she said, taking the offering. When she opened it, she handed him one.

He got back to the case as he munched on a cookie. “They’re concerned since it’s now affecting the guests. The Monastery was converted into a B&B of sorts. They have guests stay there. While they are on premise, they indulge in wine tastings, and even have food prepared by the chef. The grounds are supposed to be first class.”

“What does Mr. Nelms want us to do?”

“It’s a little investigating, a lot of watching, and a dash of PR--so to speak. He’s worried about the guests. Things are going missing, and rooms are being disturbed. They even had a guest take a fall. She swore she was pushed.”

“So that’s why we’re playing vacationers?”

He nodded as he pulled off the main road and toward the vineyard.

“Exactly. If someone goes after us, we can catch them and they’ll have their sabotage mastermind.”

Tori couldn’t help it. “So, we’re bait. You’re going to dangle us in front of someone? Who are you?”

He laughed. “Yeah, well, it’s not the best scenario, but what choice do we have? We lost our anonymity thanks to Shelby Christensen.”

Tori got quiet.

“I’m really sorry that she’s running your name through the mud. I know how much that sucks for you.”

He glanced over. “It sucks for us. Last time I looked, you and I had the same last name.”

“Yeah, until you ditch my ass because of my estranged mother.”

“That’s never going to happen, honey. You’re my wife, and I didn't marry you because I thought it was going to be easy. I said ‘I do’ because you owned my heart. Shelby is a bump in the road, and nothing more. Don’t let it get to you.”

“It’s hard.”

He imagined it had to be.

“You and I are fine. No one in my family blames you or Beau. We know that crazy is born, not inherited. We can’t catch it.”

She laughed. “Yeah, your family is totally sane. Case in point, your mother keeps a refrigerator full of cakes.”

“Hey, in her defense, there’s always a knocked up babe running around. They like cake.”

Tori stared at him.

“Or cookies.”

“Better,” she said, laughing.

“We need a break, and this is it. Hopefully, the crazy will stay away, and you and I will be golden. Just try and relax. Your body has been through a lot since that accident.”

Just saying the word ‘accident’ scared him shitless. When he thought about her side of the SUV, he wanted to puke.

“How about you do it for me?” he added.

She could do that.

It was a rough couple of weeks, and Tori wouldn’t mind getting some alone time with her husband. That would be a pretty awesome thing.

“Plus, I’ll be all over you. If someone even tried to shove you down a hill, I’ll kill them.”

She didn't doubt it. “Mmmmm, Jules, I love when you get all territorial.”

He winked at her as they pulled into a parking spot. “We’re here, honey. Are you ready to play with clients that we got from a psychic we never met, all the while staying away from booze?”

“You make it sound like so much fun.”

Julian snorted. “I do try.”

Tori hopped out of their SUV. Heading toward the back, she went to grab her bag only to have her hand slapped away.

“Hey!”

“My pregnant woman isn’t carrying her bag. It’s not happening. The same rules apply here as they do at home. I’m doing the lifting.”

Tori grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and yanked him toward her. The second he was close enough, she kissed him.

Julian dropped both bags as his arms went around her body. The kiss was warm, sensual, and perfect. It filled all the cold places in his body that this case had created. While he kissed his wife, he let that moment take over. Their mouths locked together were a big enough distraction so he wasn’t forced to think about the shit on the horizon.

In that moment, it was all about them, and that was a damn good place to be.

It centered Julian for what was coming.

Tori held onto her husband as his mouth devoured hers. Yes, they were in the middle of a parking lot, but she needed this.

She was worried--not about being pushed, or someone sneaking into their room--but about Julian, Justin, and their business. All the worries were bouncing around in her head.

She needed this interlude in the worst way.

When he slowly broke away, she stared into his sexily, gold flecked eyes. “Shall we begin this adventure, Jules?” she whispered softly.

His eyes filled with love, and his heart overflowed.

Here was his world.

Every time she kissed him, he was reminded how lucky he was. There wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do for his feisty redhead.

Nothing at all.

“Yes, honey. Let’s get this started. Stick close, okay? Do it for me.”

Tori palmed his cheek with nothing but love and adoration. “Absolutely, babe. Absolutely.”

With that, they headed in.

Julian was nervous.

Who the hell knew what they were going to encounter?

They had horrible luck.

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

Winery

Beau was on the inside, and he loved every second of it.

Even though he was going to be employed as a waiter, serving wine to guests, he didn't mind. There was nothing more exciting than working with his sister and brother-in-law.

While Tori didn't have to welcome him into her family, she had, and that was a miracle in itself. When he first found out about her, Beau didn't believe there would be a happy ever after for him and his sister.

How could there be?

The woman they called mother had made damn sure of that. When she chose him, over her other two kids, it should have caused a rift.

Only, it didn't.

Tori still loved him, even after only knowing him a couple of days.

Now the tiger was showing her stripes.

Over the last two weeks, he’d seen a different side to his mother, Shelby Christensen. She’d been conniving, sneaky, and hurtful. While he wanted to find Tori to have a sister, his mother had only seen dollar signs.

She wanted a piece of the Littlemoon dynasty, and wasn’t afraid to hurt people, including her children, to get it.

It crushed him to know she was dying, and this was the path she’d chosen to take. Tori Littlemoon was more than a way to make a quick buck for Beau.

She was his family.

They had the same mother and father, and that mattered to him.

He’d been a soldier, and he’d fought hard for his country. Beau had seen things that no one should ever have to be privy to, and that made him appreciate being home that much more. He also loved that his sister saw the same things.

She knew.

Tori understood.

Now he was lucky enough to have her back. There was no way he was going to risk that. The day he found his mother in the hotel room with some rag tabloid reporter, he knew there was a choice to be made.

It always came down to a choice in life, and he couldn’t take the wrong path on this one. There was too much on the line.

Yes, he still loved her, but he couldn’t, and wouldn’t, let Shelby hurt Tori.

After all, she’d been through enough.

She’d lost her big brother, and that had to have been devastating. Sitting at his grave, all alone…there couldn’t be a greater pain. Tori had been left alone in life, and Beau refused to do that to her again.

Instead, Beau was trying to fill that empty void.

It wasn’t easy.

Trey Christensen was a God among men. The more research he did on the man, the more he realized he truly couldn’t compete. Trey was a hero.

He’d saved his men countless times.

And on that fateful day of his death, he’d gone down fighting, even as the IED went off.

That was only in the warzone. Before he’d died a soldier, he’d made sure Tori was safe. He’d mentored his little sister, teaching her to protect herself as he instilled his amazing values in her.

Beau only hoped he was living up to the standard.

It was for his brother’s legacy, and Tori’s love.

That’s why his mother continually texting and calling him was wearing on his nerves. He knew what she wanted.

He
WOULDN’T
give her that.

There’d be no betrayal from him. He was Trey and Tori’s brother, and he wasn’t turning on them. There was nothing that could make him do it.

NOTHING.

For his sister, he would stand his ground. So now he was stuck in the middle, and honestly, that was fine by him. In life, things were seldom black or white. He’d learned that in the military.

He lived in a gray world.

There was right.

There was wrong.

Then there was his life.

At least he was given a second chance with the family who took him in. The Littlemoons were good people. He could see it whenever they were together.

He was part of that.

The boy who had no family, but his mother growing up, was now a man who had a circle to call his own.

He was thrilled.

Even better yet was that he was working undercover for them, and he wouldn’t let his sister or Julian down. He admired them, and that meant he was going to give it his all.

Only, something was plaguing his mind.

He couldn’t shake it.

The woman on the screen in the office was haunting him. Beau knew how crazy that was, but it was true. The second he saw her and those wild aqua eyes, he couldn't stop thinking about her.

He didn't know why, but the mystery woman was running through his mind.

Beau considered himself a man of control. In the Army, you had to have plenty or you wouldn’t make it the first day. As someone screamed in your face, called you names, and tried to break you down, you couldn’t snap.

It wasn’t an option.

When you were responsible for your fellow soldiers, or you had to take a life, it couldn’t be done on a whim.

Control was the most important thing in the sandbox.

So, Beau knew he had plenty to spare. Yet, the second he saw the picture of that woman, something in him tripped up.

It was those aqua pools.

He was sure of it.

As he thought about her, she made his heart skip. Few things in life did that. To be clear, women
NEVER
did it. Beau loved the opposite sex, but he didn't have time for them.

Not in a sexual way.

He’d been all about working hard, earning his rank, and staying alive. Then, when he came home, he’d heard about his sister, and that became paramount.

Now something was awake in him. The stranger started it up, and he was confused.

Why now?

Why her?

He didn't have a clue, but he wanted to investigate. Maybe he was a PI at heart, and this was just a piece of the job. For some unknown reason, he hoped it wasn’t about his new career.