Dark Moon Magic (9 page)

Christ. Calm down and get your act together, Trace. You’re not an adolescent for God’s sake
.

Trace shifted again, then jumped when someone knocked on the passenger side window of his police car. Before he could react, the door flew open, and Regina slid inside, closing it behind her.

He turned toward her, blinded by the creamy flesh exposed to him by the button-down blouse she wore. Trace forced his gaze away and took another sip of coffee. “Did you need something, Regina?”

“I wanted to tell you something I remembered about the other night.”

His attention returned to her, noting the seriousness in her eyes. “What’s that?”

“After you pulled up to Keith’s and went inside the house, I felt someone watching me. I looked around, and Rayland Grimes was standing off in the shadows. It was strange, because he wasn’t watching what was going on at Keith’s. He was staring at
me
, and not in a way that a married man should.”

Trace’s blood pressure soared. He knew Grimes had an interest in Regina, but he hadn’t thought the man would stand outside her house like a peeping Tom.

“Was he doing anything besides watching you?”

She nodded. “He was smoking a cigarette.”

Trace had known the man for years, and he’d never seen him light up. Then again, maybe it wasn’t something he did all the time.

Could
he
have been the man who’d been outside her place the night the rock was thrown?

“You don’t think he could have killed Keith, do you?” Regina’s question drew Trace’s full attention back to her.

“I don’t know.” Rayland certainly was strong enough to have overtaken Keith and dragged him to the bedroom. But why? He’d need a motive. No one in their right mind would kill someone just to make it look like someone else had. That was crazy. There was something Trace was missing, and frankly, with Regina so close, smelling like honeysuckle and sunshine, he knew he’d never be able to come up with an answer.

He cleared his throat. “Thanks for telling me. I’ll definitely look into it.”

When she made no move to leave, he took another swallow of coffee and set the cup on the dash. “Was there anything else?”

Regina shrugged. She looked as if she wanted to say something but was afraid to.

“Well, okay, then. Goodnight, Trace,” she said as their gazes locked.

Every nerve in Trace’s body charged.

He leaned over and covered her hand, which had just made contact with the door handle, and time seemed to stand still.

If he made a move, he was afraid of how she’d react. The last time this had happened, she’d shoved him away and bolted.

“I … ah,” he muttered right before she slid across the bench seat and kissed him hard on the mouth.

Electricity fired through his body like an on switch to an active current, and he crushed her to him, returning her heated kiss. With gentle prodding, he plunged his tongue between her lips and found hers, amazed at how she welcomed the barrage. He ran his hands restlessly over her back, concerned that if he rushed things, she’d have second thoughts.

Trace pulled her closer and reveled in the soft moans of pleasure that escaped her, vibrating against his lips. The woman drove him crazy. He wanted her so bad.

He worked them both over to her side of the car, then maneuvered her down next to the passenger door, wanting to feel her beneath him.

She responded, wrapping her arms around his neck, her delicious breasts making direct contact with his chest. He tore his mouth from hers and sucked in a breath, his cock painfully straining against the crotch of his jeans.

Slow down, Trace. You have all night
.

He slid to her side and worked at the buttons on her dark, sleeveless blouse. When the last was freed, he pushed the material away and blew out a strangled breath. She wasn’t wearing a bra, and he was amazed at the size and shape of her breasts. He’d been around, and he’d never seen such flawless beauty. He brushed his palm across the creamy flesh and received a stifled sigh. “God, you’re beautiful, Regina.”

“Call me Reggie,” she whispered, her eyes turning to liquid-silver.

He kissed her lips again and worked his way down the column of her neck, nibbling here and there, the warmth of her skin heightening her heady scent.

Trace dipped farther, taking a nipple into his mouth, sucking until she arched her back and moaned in a raspy tone. Onto the other breast, he slid his hand down her belly, working his fingers into the jeans she wore to touch her intimately. He smiled with satisfaction at the damp warmth between her thighs.

Now how did he get her out of these pants and himself buried deep inside her without something happening to change her mind? And, did he have a condom in his wallet? He couldn’t remember.

He delved his fingers into her heat, her gasps of pleasure making him lose control. He wanted to replace his finger with his cock and rock her until they both came.

He worked at the waistband of her pants, trying to release the button, his hands shaking with pent-up desire. The clasp finally slipped free, and he unzipped the jeans and tugged at the denim material, frustrated when they wouldn’t give.

Just then, she moved her hand down to massage his crotch, the contact making him buck. They needed to get naked and execute this torturous union, or he was going to do something he hadn’t done in years—pre-ejaculate.

A loud scream had them both scrambling to get up. They looked at each other, then toward the house, where the cry for help had come from.

Someone was inside Regina’s apartment—with Tiah.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Regina’s heart stopped. There was no denying Tiah’s scream. If anything happened to her best friend because she’d been screwing around with Trace, she would never forgive herself.

“You stay here and lock up,” Trace said as he slid over and opened the door to the cruiser.

“No way.” Regina rushed to pull her clothes together. “I’m going with you. That is my friend.”

“All right, but stay close, and if any gunfire erupts, duck and cover.”

Gunfire
? What was she getting herself into here?

Regina forced her fears away, following Trace to the house, the weapon he’d pulled from the glove box posed in front of him.

The two slipped inside as quietly as they could. In the hallway, Trace turned to her and signaled with his hand for her to wait.

Regina nodded, though the last thing she wanted was to be left alone.

He moved down the hall and disappeared into to the blackened living room. A loud bang from just beyond kicked up her pulse.

What was happening? Why hadn’t Trace let her come with him?

Glass shattered somewhere and sent her heart into V-fib. Scuffling from the other end of the hall had her watching intently. A large shadow raced through the archway.

Regina was too terrified to move.

The figure came toward her, close enough for her to tell it was a man.

“Freeze,” Trace said just as the hall light came on.

Regina’s heart jumped into her throat. Standing in front of her, looking at her as if this was a day at the park, was Rod.

“How?” The man was the last person she’d expected to see.

“You know this guy?” Trace asked from the other end of the hall, where he was pointing the gun at Rod’s chest.

“This is the man I have the restraining order against. Where is Tiah? Is she all right?”

“I thought she was you. I gave her a good scare. That’s all.” The strange gleam in Rod’s eyes sent a cold chill racing across Regina’s skin. The man had literally lost his frickin’ mind. Thank goodness Trace was here.

Trace came forward with a pair of cuffs in hand.

“Hey. What are you doing?” Rod looked at the sheriff as if he had no reason to arrest him. “I just came to see my girlfriend.”

“Really? Does she look happy to see you?” Trace smiled weakly at Regina.

She was amazed at the way he handled the situation. So in control of the situation. Who wouldn’t be impressed by a man like that? “I have to find Tiah.” She raced past Rod and Trace, dodging glass shards from a broken picture frame on the way to her bedroom. She needed to get to her friend to make sure she was all right.

She reached the door and stepped inside, flipping on the light. Panic set in when she didn’t see her friend right away. “Tiah?”

A whimpering had her rushing around the bed to find her curled up on the floor.

“Tiah,” Regina whispered, then dropped down next to the other woman and looked her over. “Are you okay?”

Tiah turned her head toward Regina, unshed tears pooling in her eyes.

“Did he hurt you?”

Her friend shook her head and reached out for her.

Regina wrapped her in her arms and held tight. “This is my fault. I should have been here.”

“Where did you go?”

“I went out to tell Trace about that guy who was watching me the other night.”

Tiah sucked in a breath. “Where’s Rod?”

“Trace should have him in handcuffs by now.”

“Good. He deserves to go to jail for scaring me to death.”

“Is she all right?” Trace asked from the doorway, Rod standing with his hands behind his back next to him.

“I think so.” Regina scowled at her ex.

“I’m going to take him to the station, throw him in a jail cell, and I’ll be right back. I want you two to lock the doors while I’m gone.”

“Why do they need to do that when I’ll be locked up?”

Trace grabbed Rod by the cuffs and steered him around. “Lock the doors. I’ll be fifteen minutes at the most.”

Regina helped Tiah up from the floor and blew out a breath. What a night this had turned out to be. Ten more minutes in that cruiser and she and Trace would have shared everything. What had she been thinking?

That was the problem. She
hadn’t
been.

The door slammed, and she looked at Tiah. “We’d better do what Trace asked. Let’s go lock the doors.”

The two raced to the front and secured the bolt locks to both doors and then looked at one another.

“I’m so sorry, Tiah.”

“You didn’t know Rod was around. It was probably my fault he found you. Oh, you might want to fix your blouse.”

“What?” Regina looked down and found the buttons on her shirt were undone.

Curses
. Now Tiah knew her and Trace were doing more than just talking, and she’d never let her live it down.

* * *

Trace unhooked the cuffs from the man’s hands, shoved him inside the cell, and locked the door.

“I didn’t hurt her.” Rod looked annoyed at being detained. “You have no reason to arrest me.”

“Really? How about breaking and entering? Attempted assault? Not to mention violating a restraining order? I could hold you indefinitely.”

“I didn’t touch her.”

“I don’t know that. I haven’t gotten a chance to question Tiah, yet.”

“Son of a bitch. This is bullshit.”

“You should have thought about that when you were sneaking into Regina’s apartment. Now, I need to get back. Have a nice evening thinking about what you should have done, instead, tonight.”

“You’re going to leave me here by myself?”

Trace shrugged. “My dispatcher is on her way in. I’ll be by in the morning to see if you were a model prisoner or not.”

“Fuck you,” Rod said before turning his back on Trace.

Trace smiled. This guy was used to playing the system. He wasn’t going to here in Groves. He’d seen too many women killed by exes who couldn’t get it through their heads it was time to cut their losses and move on. Trace wasn’t going to let Regina become another statistic. Not if he could do something about it, especially since he was more than infatuated with her. After their encounter in the police car, he knew there was something powerful between them, and he planned to explore the possibilities. To hell with not getting involved—he already was.

Outside the station, he ran into Darcy, who’d just arrived.

“Who’s the guy,” she asked, rubbing at her tired eyes.

“He’s Rod Stevenson, an ex of Ms. Moon, whom she has an order of protection against. He broke into her house and terrorized her best friend. Stay away from his cell. I don’t trust him. You’re just here in case a fire breaks out.”

His dispatcher nodded. “Got it, Chief.”

“If you have any problems, call me. I’ll be sitting in my cruiser until daylight. See you in the morning.”

“All right.”

Trace watched her enter the building and then headed for the police car, intent on staying away from Regina for the rest of the night, so he’d not be tempted to finish what they’d started earlier. He was here to protect her—not screw her, no matter how alluring the thought was.

Trace slid behind the steering wheel and started the engine, then pulled out. He wanted Regina, but it’d be best to wait until Keith’s murder was solved before he let anything like what had transpired tonight happen again. He had to keep his mind clear and try to figure out who’d want his friend dead.

So, Rayland had been standing outside Regina’s place the night he was killed. About an hour after Trace’d seen him last. How had he gotten away from the dance without his wife?

Maybe he’d slipped away while she was occupied with friends.

He turned the cruiser back into the alley behind Regina’s, parked, and cut the engine. He was going to be all business with her until this mess was over—then all bets were off.

Trace knew he was missing something crucial in solving Keith’s murder; he just needed to figure out what it was. His friend was a very low-key guy. Didn’t seem to have an enemy in the world from what he’d seen.

What were the main motives for murder? He’d learned that the first day on homicide. Money. Jealousy. Revenge.

Keith had had no money. Cross that one off the list.

Jealousy. As far as Trace knew, the man hadn’t been dating anyone. Strike two.

Revenge? Who’d had a bone to pick with Keith? The man had got along with everyone.

So, was this going to be one of those one-out-of-a-million cases that didn’t fit into the three obvious reasons to kill? The unusual motive for murder. If so, it was going to make it harder to solve. Hell, maybe even impossible.