Nancy Bush's Nowhere Bundle: Nowhere to Run, Nowhere to Hide & Nowhere Safe. Nancy Bush

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      Chapter 15

      Liv woke up as if she’d been asleep, though she hadn’t. One moment she was tangled on the couch in Auggie’s arms and legs, the next she was off her astral plane and back into reality with a bang.

      Her first thought was: we didn’t use protection.

      Her second: it’s way down the list of my worries.

      When she stirred, he lifted his arms, managing somehow to prop himself on his elbow and regard her lazily. She watched him push a strand of her honey-brown hair away from her face.

      “I am crazy,” she said seriously.

      “It must be catching.”

      Feeling idiotic, she picked up the scraps of her clothing, eased herself from his embrace, headed into the bathroom and closed the door behind her with a soft thunk that sounded as loud as thunder to her ears.

      She dressed hurriedly. Checked herself in the mirror.

      Good. God.

      She stepped back into the living room to realize he’d put on his boxers and jeans again. He was still shirtless and standing beside the couch.

      They stared at each other. After a moment, she said, “Well.”

      He said, “Wanna go again?”

      “Yes . . . no . . . no . . .”

      He sat back down on the couch. Liv told herself to stay away from him, but she walked over and sank down beside him as if she had no will.

      He laced the fingers of his left hand through those of her right. Her heart was thudding so hard it hurt. He was looking at her, she could tell, but she couldn’t turn toward him.

      “I want to,” he said, his breath fanning her ear. “Tell me you don’t and make me believe it.”

      The heat from his hand was radiating up her arm and through her chest, reaching toward her hammering heart. She was no proof against his slow seduction. If it was a battle, he was going to win. It made no sense to her. She should be running, planning, escaping . . .

      When he stood up again, pulling her with him and leading her to the bedroom, she complied as if the whole thing had been scripted.

      And when he turned her toward him at the side of the bed and his mouth captured hers and her hand was on his chest and she felt the light and fast beat of his own heart, she moved her mouth down to his bare chest and lay a row of kisses down his sternum that had him making a strangled sound.

      A moment later they were both on the bed, their clothes being ripped off with frantic fingers and searching mouths.

      Auggie lay beside Liv on the bed, his naked body spooned up next to hers. He couldn’t tell if she was awake or asleep. He would guess awake, as he was. And probably just as conflicted. But happy. Or, maybe relieved. Or something.

      Damn, but this shouldn’t have happened. Especially as many times as it had.

      Damn, but he wasn’t sorry.

      If he let his brain travel along the recent road of these last moments he could get all stirred up again and he knew that wasn’t a good idea.

      Well, not unless she wanted to again, of course.

      Her eyes were closed. Her lashes lying soft and weblike against her cheek. As if feeling his intense gaze, her lids opened and she turned her hazel eyes to him. They searched the depths of each other’s eyes.

      “What now?” she asked.

      “Grandview,” he told her, and then a bit more reluctantly, “Time to get dressed.”

      September stood beside Gretchen at George’s workstation and listened with only half an ear to his report. He’d met up with Paul de Fore’s parents, who were making burial plans for their son. In the course of his one foray into real fieldwork, he’d learned enough about the de Fores and Paul to convince him that the Zuma massacre had nothing to do with them.

      “They’re relatively sane, hard-working, unimaginative. Neither of ’em has enough passion to break a smile. Their son sounds just like them, from all accounts. More rigid maybe. But whoever shot the shit out of Zuma . . . it ain’t them.”

      “In your opinion,” Gretchen said.

      “Yours, too. If you’d talked to them.”

      George had also been digging into the Zuma finances and their contracts with video-gaming distributors. “Military, schmilitary. They’re just developing video games. Lots of shooting and fake blood and gurgling sound effects. Rad showed me some backdoor ways to get to upper game levels. That’s about the extent of their secret military involvement. And with Phillip Berelli as the company comptroller, they look like they’re paying all their bills and taxes, too.”

      “So, you’re saying this wasn’t about Upjohn or de Fore,” Gretchen said.

      “Doesn’t read that way. And it doesn’t seem like this was some disgruntled employee. Most everyone who’s worked for Upjohn left on their own accord.” George looked at September. “You okay?”

      He knew all about the body they’d discovered; September and Gretchen had reported all they knew to D’Annibal with George standing by. D’ Annibal had gone to talk to someone at county.

      “I keep wondering where Wes is,” September said. “He met the first vic at a bar.”

      “He was miles away. On his way back,” George said.

      Gretchen’s desk phone rang and she walked over and scooped up the receiver. “Detective Sandler.”

      “You СКАЧАТЬ