Shattered Rules (15 page)

H
is fierceness surprised her. Maybe he wanted to scare her away. Instead, her need flared. She met his demanding kiss with demands of her own. His stubble rubbed against her skin. She didn't care.

He
yanked the snaps of her shirt and they popped open one at a time. Then he released her breasts from their pink satin and lace restraints. Her nipples were hard, begging for his touch.

His mouth found
one, and sucked on it.

“
More.” She sighed holding his head to her breast. Sensations only he could make her feel coursed through her. The love for him she’d been hiding surged. Heat burned within her and she thought she would burst.

His persuasive hands explored her, following her natural contours. He moved downward toward her core.
“Yes, yes,” she said her breath ragged.

His mouth reclaimed hers
. He touched her inner thigh, moving ever closer to her feminine core. She clung to him, trembling.

His staccato breathing echoed in her ear
, sending a shiver of eagerness through her. Rational thought was lost, only feeling remained. Her body quivered in anticipation.

Their movement and their breathing
became harmonious, a single rhythmic motion, building toward a crescendo. He was in charge now and she willingly let him guide her toward release.

C
hapter Twenty

The doorbell rang.

Kelly struggled to catch her breath. “Who can that be?”

“D
on't know. You better go into the bedroom,” Brick whispered in a husky voice. “I'll take care of whoever it is.”

The doorbell
buzzed again.

He tucked in his shirt and went to answer the door.

She grabbed her blouse and ran from the room.

In the bedroom, her body still ached for his touch. She looked in the mirror, her face was flushed and her lips were pink and swollen.

She sat on the bed, closed her eyes and tried to bring her breathing under control.

***

Brick looked through the peephole. A thirty something uniformed California Highway Patrol Officer stood at the front door.

“
Officer?” Brick said when he opened the door.

“
Are you the owner of this property?”

“
No, I'm just visiting.”

“
Is the owner available?”

“
I can get her if it is absolutely necessary.”

“It is.”

“Do you have some identification?”

The officer held out his badge and gave Brick his card.

“Thanks Officer Mullins,” he said. “I'll be right back.” He left the officer standing on the porch.

On the way to the
bedroom, he saw Kelly coming down the hall toward him. “It's a highway patrol officer. He wants to talk to the owner of the cabin.”

“
Why?”

“
I don't know. Go find out. Play it cool. Don't offer any information. Give short answers to his questions then stop.” He looked down at her and could see she was still tipsy. “If he asks about me, just tell him I'm a friend. Don't tell him I'm an FBI agent. He doesn't need to know that.”

“
I don't see why, but if that's what you want—” She shrugged.

“
It is. Don't let him in the house. Talk to him on the porch. If he wants to come in, he can get a search warrant.”

***

She switched on the porch light and went out to introduce herself. Brick stood at her side.

“
Hello Officer. How can I help you?” she asked. Her voice was a whisper.

“
There's been an accident on the highway. A young woman is badly injured.”

“
No!” She grabbed Brick’s arm.

He held her close to him.

“Are you all right, Miss?” Officer Mullins frowned.

“
I'm okay.” She pulled away from Brick “Please go on.”

The officer stared
at her for second, his narrowed eyes searching her face. He yanked a small pad of paper and a pen from his pocket. “As I was saying, there's been an accident and a woman's been seriously hurt. Looks like a hit and run. The odd thing is there was no ID on the woman or the car. We’re still searching but the only thing we’ve found so far is a scrap of paper with your address on it.”

“
This address?”
Carrie wouldn't need the address to a house she’s been coming to since she was a kid.

“
Were you expecting anyone?”

“
No, that is—uh.” She faltered under Officer Mullins' stare. “Well, no I wasn’t.”

“
I have a favor to ask Miss. Take a look this photo on my phone. It's the young woman I told you about. I have to warn you she's none too pretty right now. Her face hit the steering wheel when her car crashed. But if you know who she is, it could help us find her family. She's going to need them.” He handed her the smart phone.

A
woman on an ambulance gurney stared at her. The female’s face was puffy and disfigured, eyes swollen shut, no way to see their color. Her short brown hair was matted with blood.

Kelly
recoiled. With her hand to her mouth, she pushed down nausea rushing up her esophagus. She shoved the phone at the officer and turned away.

Brick
reached for her or she would’ve collapsed.

“
I don't know her.” She choked out the words. Guilt for being relieved that it wasn't her sister filled her.

“
You have no idea why she would come to see you?”

“
No. I've never seen her before.”

“
Please take one more look. Maybe a name will come to mind,” Officer Mullins held the cell out to her again.

She didn't want to see the
photo again, but the woman needed help. If had been her sister she’d want someone to identify Carrie. With a deep breath, she took a closer look. Something familiar caught her eye, a tattoo of a butterfly in a spider web on the woman's arm.

“
Oh God! It’s Amanda.” Kelly groaned. “She's changed her hair again, but it's Amanda Owen.”

“
You know her?”

“
We go to the same school, University of Nevada in Reno. She was my roommate. The last time I saw her she had black hair with a blue strip. I didn’t recognize her until I saw her tattoo.”

“
You said her last name is Owen?”

“
Yes.”

The officer wrote
it down in his note pad.

“
Can you tell me how to reach her family?”

“
I don't know, but the university would be able to tell you.”

“
Of course.”

“
I can't imagine why she was coming to see me. We’re not really friends, just roommates.”

“M
any roommates become friends,” Mullins offered.

“
That's true.” But not after all that had happened between the two of them. Still, there was no reason to say that to the officer.

“
Thanks for the information.”

“
I'm glad I could be of some help. Will she make it?”

“
Too early to say.”

“
I pray she'll be all right.”

The officer
’s features softened, making him appear younger than he had when he first arrived at her door.

“
Could I see her?”

“
She was unconscious when I left the hospital.”

“
Maybe someone could call me when she wakes up. I hate to think of her being alone in the hospital.”

“
I'm going back to the medical center tonight. I’ll ask the staff. What's your phone number?”

She gave him the cabin's phone number and he wrote
it down.

“
I'll be off.” He shoved the note pad in his shirt pocket.

S
he stood on the porch and watched him drive away.

“
Why would Amanda come here? What could she want?”

“
Maybe she was short of funds and thought she could score some more easy money by selling you information. Looks like that’s how she made her living, selling information, a very dangerous way of life.”

She gazed up at Brick's severe expression.
“I feel sorry for her.”

“
You have a kind heart.” His expression softened, leaving him devastatingly handsome.

“
I hope she lives long enough to learn from her mistakes,” he said. “A little freak heading down life's highway in the wrong direction, if I let myself I could feel sorry for her. But I'm not going to.”

“
For a moment I thought it was Carrie. God help me, I was glad when I knew it was Amanda and not my sister. I'm so ashamed.”

In her mind
, she saw the roommate’s purple and swollen face. “I'm going to be sick.” She ran into the cabin.

***

Brick stood at the front door watching Kelly race toward the bathroom.
Too much wine
.

He
went back outside, watched the waning evening light and breathed in the crisp pine scented air. If Officer Mullins hadn't arrived when he did, he’d have made a terrible mistake. He'd lost his objectivity. Always been proud of his self-discipline, his control, being around Kelly caused him to struggle to curb his emotional impulses. It was near impossible to manage his physical response to her.

Her kisses were still fresh on his lips.
With a deep breath he fought his own desire and pushed down the memory of touching her. His feelings were a complication he hadn’t expected, didn't like and didn't need. He couldn’t let his guard down again or he’d be unemployed, his ass kicked out of the Bureau. He made a promise not to touch her again. Now he just had to find the strength to keep it.

In the living room
, he saw a shimmer of pink on the green carpet, Kelly’s bra. The satin fabric felt sensuous to his fingers, he allowed himself to savor the feel of it. A flash of fever roused him. For the last time, he let his hand run over the satin and recalled the sensation of touching her breasts.

H
olding the bra gingerly in his left hand, he carried it to her bedroom. The door was open. He set the Bra on the dresser. The adjoining bathroom door was closed. “Need any help?” he shouted at though the door.

“
Go away.”

“
You're sure you can manage?”

“
I'm fine. Just go.”

“
Okay, goodnight then.”

“
Go.”

He
made his way to the upstairs bedroom and sat on the king sized bed. What had come over Kelly? Stress must be getting to her. There were a lot of ways to relieve tension, but if he could help it, making love to him wasn’t going to be one of them.

No denying she tempt
ed him, his body's reaction to her was proof of that. Even now just remembering what happened tonight, his body hardened. He exhaled deeply.

He wasn't a schoolboy
and could control his craving. She’d ignited his veins with flowing lava, but he wouldn't take her when she'd had and too much to drink. If he ever did make love to her, it’d be when this case was over and with both of them clear headed, knowing exactly what they were doing

What was he thinking?
He grunted. She was off limits.

He called
the Truckee Forest Hospital. There was no change. Amanda was still unconscious. The hospital would notify him when she woke up.

Had
she been on her way to see Kelly just to score more cash? Or could she have told them something useful about this whole mess?

First
Ted Simmons was murdered, and then Amanda was attacked, someone was playing hardball. It had the earmark of a clean sweep, clearing away anyone that could stop whatever was coming down the pike. Kelly would be next. If Amanda lived, maybe she could give them a sliver of information that would help keep Kelly alive.

He was about to turn off the bedside light and get some sleep when his phone rang.

“Yeah.”

“
Haven't heard from you,” Don said.

Brick
hackled at the implied criticism from his boss.

“
Anything new?”

“
Not yet, Don.” He considered telling him about Amanda, but didn’t, the fewer people who knew where to find her, the better to keep her safe. “How about you? Anything new on your end?”

“
Nothing.”

Don
was holding something back. He could hear it in his voice. “By now there must be something coming out of the woodwork.”

“
No,” Don said irritation deepened his voice. “Brick, don’t cross-question me. Concentrate on doing your job. Kelly knows something. Men wouldn't be after her if she didn't. She's playing ‘Miss Innocent’ for you, but she's pulling your chain.”

He
was quick to brand her a criminal. Would everyone feel that way?

“
Something's going down. I've got chatter on the line and Jack Anson is dead. Brick, I want answers ASAP.”

It was the perfect time to mention Ted Simmons’ death
to Don. Something he couldn’t define stopped him.

“
I need answers,” Don continued. “No more Mr. Nice Guy. Push the girl and get me something. If you don't, I'm going to bring her in and question her. She won't like it. I want answers and I want them yesterday. Got it?”

“
Understood.” He tried to keep the anger out of his voice. His boss' superiors must be pressuring him and Don was putting the screws to him.

“Brick get me
something in the next twenty four hours or it's out of my hands. I’ll have to bring her in.”

“
I hear you.” He bit back expletives and disconnected the phone. Pushing Kelly to deliver information she didn't have wasn't going to help anyone. What the hell was wrong with Don?