Hoaley Ill-Manored (19 page)

Walter.

Pem Wilkins swung the gun toward Walter and
Adam cried out, throwing himself over his dog just as Teddy yelled,
“Rush, Scout!”

A dark shape flew past Adam and smacked into
Wilkins. The shotgun went off as Adam and Walter collapsed into a
muddled pile on the floor.

Dust settled onto Adam’s face and he took
quick inventory, trying to determine where he’d been hit. A long,
wet tongue bathed his face and Walter whined.

A few feet away, Scout growled low in his
throat, the warning clear. Only this time the warning wasn’t meant
for Adam. Pem Wilkins wasn’t moving but he was still very much
alive. His large, brown eyes bulged with fear as Teddy pulled the
shotgun out the man’s hands. Scout held the man’s shoulder between
his massive jaws. The big dog was perfectly still, his gaze locked
on Wilkins as a constant snarl throbbed from between his jaws.

Sirens pulsed through the silence beyond the
high attic windows.

“Hold, Scout.” Teddy glanced at Adam. “Are
you guys all right?”

Walter jumped up and bounced around happily,
unharmed and ready to play. Adam nodded. “Except for a hell of a
headache I’m fine. Thanks to you.”

“I’m just sorry I didn’t get here sooner.
Scout and I have been watching Pem since you moved in, he’s like a
ghost though and a couple of times I’ve lost him.”

“You knew it was him?” Anger flared in
Adam’s chest.

“Not for sure. Bev begged me to be sure
before I turned him in.” Teddy shrugged. “And I’ll admit, it isn’t
easy to turn your own dad over to the police.”

Adam had an “oh shit” moment as all the
pieces finally slid into place.

Footsteps pounded up the stairs and a burst
of light ate through the darkness in a violent wash, stinging
Adam’s eyes and sending shards of pain through his brain. “Gun down
and hands up, Worth,” CC shouted.

“It’s okay, CC,” Adam tried to tell the cop.
“Teddy helped me.”

But they had Teddy spread eagled on the
ground before Adam could finish the sentence.

“Call off your dog, Worth!”

Teddy slid a glance toward Adam and smiled,
shaking his head. He’d been where he was before and knew he would
be again. Adam had a sudden impression of the difficulties Teddy
Worth had navigated all his life.

“Drop, Scout.” The big dog let go of Pem
Wilkins’ shoulder and dropped to the floor, his brown gaze locked
on Teddy. When the cops tried to reach for him, Scout growled a
warning.

Officer Krepps looked at CC. “We’ll need
animal control.”

Adam shoved to his feet. “Let him go, CC.
Let both of them go. They came to help me. Pem Wilkins is the one
who tried to kill Dirk and who planned to kill me tonight. I was
wrong. Teddy didn’t have anything to do with it.” Adam turned away
as nausea surged and he threw up on the floor.

“Okay, Hoale. Let’s get you to the
hospital.”

Adam threw off CC’s hand. “Not until you
promise you’ll leave Teddy and his dog alone.”

“He’ll have to come down to the station to
answer some questions,” Officer Krepps said.

Teddy nodded. “I’d be happy to do that. I
need to call Pem’s wife too.”

CC took Adam’s arm as he swayed.
“Satisfied?”

Adam nodded. “Yeah.” But before he let CC
lead him away he reached out and clasped Teddy’s hand. “Thanks for
saving my ass tonight and…I’m really sorry for thinking you were a
psychopath. I don’t know how, but I promise I’ll make it up to
you.”

Teddy squeezed his hand and nodded. “Don’t
think I won’t hold you to that, Hoale.”

CHAPTER
EIGHTEEN

Adam didn’t know how Dirk did it, but
somehow he got himself transferred into a room with Adam. Which was
how, an hour later, Adam found himself lying in a hospital bed
across the room from Dirk, surrounded by all their friends.

Dirk had also managed to remove Franklin
Spence from the picture. For that, no matter how temporary, Adam
was vastly grateful. Especially since the room was ridiculously
full and more than a little rambunctious already. The nurse had
come by several times and threatened to throw them all out.

Mink and Maddy sat next to Adam’s bed and CC
stood between them. CC was filling everybody in on what had
happened with Pem Wilkins and Teddy. “So apparently Pem Wilkins
killed George Worth all those years ago, because George found out
that Teddy was really Pem’s kid, rather than his. They fought and
George hit his head on the truck bumper. Pem shoved George and the
truck into the water to cover it up.”

“Holy shit!” Mink’s gray-blue gaze widened
appreciatively. “Did Teddy know?”

CC nodded. “Only recently. Bev Wilkins
confided in him and told Teddy she was worried about her husband’s
fixation with the cache. They’d been studying the history of the
manor for the museum and Pem had apparently been getting
increasingly fixated by the idea that the jewels were hidden in the
house. That’s why Teddy’s been keeping an eye on him.”

“So Pem was the one who burned down the
gazebo?” Dirk’s voice was still husky and sounded painful but was
starting to sound slightly better.

“Yeah. Bev called Teddy at the bar and told
him she was worried, that Pem had left the house with a can of
gasoline, so he hurried to the manor. He got there just in time to
see a man who looked a lot like Pem running away from the fire. He
couldn’t catch him.”

“And Pem attacked Dirk.” Adam slid a look to
the other bed. “He admitted he thought Dirk was me.” When Dirk had
told Adam that, he’d realized it couldn’t have been Teddy. Teddy
had met Dirk and Adam more than once, he wouldn’t have made that
mistake.

“So I guess we’ll never know what happened
to those jewels,” Maddy said with a sigh.

“Actually.” CC smiled at Adam. “We do know.
At least some of them are buried underneath Teddy Worth’s
barn.”

Adam sat up straighter. “Really? So Teddy
knew about them all along?”

CC shook his head, laughing. Adam frowned.
“What?”

“You left your little toy there the other
night when we caught you digging up Worth’s barn floor. On a whim,
Teddy decided to play with it. He turned up several pieces of
jewelry and he thinks there might be more.” CC frowned. “That
information doesn’t leave this room. The last thing Teddy Worth
needs is for a bunch of treasure hunters to descend on his place
before he can extract everything and get it safely into the
bank.”

“That’s really good news,” Adam said. He was
happy that Teddy would finally catch a break. And the irony was
thick. Pem Wilkins is obsessed with the stolen jewels, Pem gets
arrested trying to keep other people from finding them, and then
the jewels are discovered. Sweet justice.

The nurse stuck her head in the door and
glared at everyone. She was an older woman with graying dark hair
and a pugnacious face and attitude. “Visiting hours are over.
Everybody out now. These men need to get their rest.”

Maddy kissed Adam on the cheek and moved
around the bed to say goodbye to Dirk. CC shook Adam’s hand. “I’m
glad you’re all right, Hoale. Quick thinking on dialing 9-1-1 on
your cell phone, tonight.”

“Hey, where were you today? I tried calling
you all day.”

“Krepps and I were chasing all over for your
boy Teddy. His truck was at the Wilkins’ place but Bev was less
than helpful. She told us she thought Teddy and his ‘Uncle Pem’ had
gone north for supplies. So we put a BOLO out on them and staked
out Teddy’s place and the Wilkins’ place. Unfortunately I was
interviewing Ms. Wilkins when you tried me the first time and I
must have been out of range the second time. My phone doesn’t work
too well at Worth’s place. Too many damn trees.”

“Out, people!”

CC grimaced and turned to say goodbye to
Dirk.

At the door, Maddy turned back to Adam with
a mischievous smile. “We have our next flip scoped out, Adam.”

He groaned. “Oh god! I haven’t even finished
this one yet.”

She shrugged, looking at Mink. “Tell him,
Minks.”

The realtor’s eyes sparkled as he grinned.
“You were wondering what I’ve been doing at Bobby’s?”

Adam felt Dirk’s gaze on him and turned to
find the other man grinning with anticipation. He returned the
smile. “Are you finally gonna tell us?”

“I am. I…uh…” he glanced at Maddy.

“Go ahead. And hurry, I think the drill
sergeant’s coming back.”

“I’m buying Bobby’s Gym.”

Adam stared at him, blinking. “You’re
what?”

“Buying it. Well, actually, buying into it.
Bobby and I are going to be partners.”

Adam finally smiled. It made sense. Mink
knew a good opportunity when he saw one and Bobby’s could
definitely use his friend’s touch to spiff it up and grow the
business. “That’s awesome, Mink! Congratulations.”

Mink’s smile widened. “Thanks. I’m really
excited. But there’s a lot of work to do and…well…I want Hoale
Construction to do it.”

Maddy clapped her hands. “We’re gonna rehab
Bobby’s, Adam. Isn’t that exciting?”

Adam was very surprised to be able to agree
that it was. “Finally, a project where I don’t have to worry about
getting shot, hung, bludgeoned, or chased by bats or swans.”

Mink’s smile drooped and he slid a look to
Maddy. Her gaze slipped away guiltily. “Okay, we need to go
now.”

“Mads!”

“Bye now. We’ll see you guys tomorrow!”

“Maddy Rodgers, you get back here!
Mink!”

Mink twitched his fingers at them. “Toodles.
Don’t worry, Adam. We’ll work it out. Nobody needs to get
hurt.”

“Oh good lord, Mink! Don’t you dare walk out
of here without telling me what’s going on!”

Ignoring him, his friends left quickly,
taking the buzz and commotion down the hallway with them. Fairly
fizzing with frustration, Adam lay back on his pillow, his head
throbbing. He slowly became aware of a strange sound and turned to
Dirk, dismayed to see him laughing. “It’s not funny. Just once I’d
like to do a job where my life wasn’t in constant danger.”

Dirk didn’t respond. Instead he climbed out
of bed and walked over to the door, closing it before turning off
the light. Adam’s chest tightened as he watched his lover stalk
across the room, heading right for him. Despite the low level drum
of pain in his head, Adam’s cock thickened and his pulse picked up.
The man was just too delicious for words, even in that stupid
hospital gown.

Dirk stopped beside Adam’s bed and leaned
down, touching Adam’s lips with his own. “Mind if I join you?”

Without hesitation, Adam whipped the covers
back, thinking that Dirk’s pretty doctor had been right. The new
huskier quality of Dirk’s voice was definitely a nice addition to
the rest of the package. “Aren’t you worried about Nurse
Ratchet?”

Dirk slid alongside Adam and reached out a
hand, skimming it over Adam’s already perky nipples. “I’ve been
timing her. If she holds to her usual schedule, we have thirty-five
minutes before she comes back to check on us. The way I’m feeling I
don’t think I’m gonna need nearly that much time.” His head dipped
closer and the heated velvet of his tongue slid over Adam’s bottom
lip. “How about you?”

Adam’s body was primed, his libido loaded,
and his cock was full-bore into “let’s get frisky” mode already. “I
may already be done.”

Dirk laughed and Adam’s balls tightened up
under the happy length of his cock. Husky did great things to
Dirk’s laugh too.

“I know your head hurts, so you can just lie
there and let me seduce you if you want.” One of Dirk’s warm,
smooth hands slipped down Adam’s thin hospital gown and grasped
Adam’s rigid shaft through the soft cotton. Adam sucked in a
breath, his body arching into Dirk’s hand without a thought.

“My head couldn’t possibly hurt too much for
this.” His hand skimmed up Dirk’s thigh, pushing the flimsy barrier
of the gown away as his hand sought his lover’s thick shaft
beneath. He grasped the rigid column and Dirk sighed against his
lips, his pleasure obvious in the way he arched into the strokes
and matched them on Adam’s cock.

Dirk kissed Adam, his lips sliding soft and
tender over Adam’s mouth. As their lips tasted and soothed, their
bodies strained closer and their hands moved in matching rhythm
over the rock hard-shafts between their thrusting bodies.

Heat built and their kisses turned ravenous,
filled with emotions they’d been unable to express during the
recent, roller coaster ride of events.

Pleasure coursed through Adam with each
stroke of Dirk’s heated fist on his cock. Release coiled tight in
his belly, building with each taste of Dirk’s lips against his,
each wisp of sweet breath on his face. Adam’s body tightened,
perched on the edge of delicious release, as his hand pistoned in
time to Dirk’s and their mutual need blossomed between them.

Release caught at Adam’s breath, tying it up
in his straining chest. His thighs flexed under the growing tension
and his nipples peaked against the cotton hospital gown,
deliciously tender. Adam gasped against Dirk’s lips and felt his
balls lift and constrict. He held his breath, pleasure blossoming
outward from the tight coil low in his belly, and then let go. His
orgasm jolted through him in an explosive wash. His toes curled
against his soles and bright light flashed behind his lids. Adam’s
back arched under the onslaught, his buttocks tightened, and
through it all the most delectable sensations rocked his body and
mind. His cock jerked in Dirk’s hand and spewed a heated cream to
coat Dirk’s knuckles. Adam gasped for breath, his release leaving
him weak and wobbly, and for just a moment, the pain of his
headache was soothed beneath the delicious balm of sexual
relief.

But his work wasn’t done. His hand, which
had briefly halted with his pleasure, began to move on Dirk again.
His other hand reached down to enfold the heavy sac beneath Dirk’s
cock. The other man groaned as Adam’s fingers gently compressed his
testicles and then massaged the sensitive area just behind his
balls in tender circles. All the while Adam’s hand continued to
stroke up and over Dirk’s rigid shaft, rubbing the sensitive head
with every stroke. “I want you to come for me, baby. Come for me
hard,” he whispered urgently into Dirk’s ear.