Tri Me (Primrose, Minnesota, Book 4) (12 page)

“I don’t want to believe that,” Lucas admitted.

“Since Alex received the calls outside of business hours, it is plausible that one of them loaned the phone.”

Lucas gave a very obvious sigh of relief. “The phones are only available for use during business hours. Each employee picks up their phone in the morning when they arrive and turn them in on their way out. That makes the labor board happy.”

“Where are they kept and who has access?” Jackson’s excitement built as they whittled away at suspects.

“They are kept in my secretary’s office. She has access, as well as myself; Mario, the accounts manager; and my wife, Jennifer Sebastian.

Mace raised an eyebrow. “Does your wife work here as well?”

“She’s not on the payroll, but sometimes she runs some of the more mundane errands and comes by after hours to leave supplies.”

Question marks crowded Jackson’s brain as he processed the new information. Lucas had given them a new start. He stood and extended a hand. “Thank you for your cooperation, Mr. Sebastian. I’m sure the police won’t be far behind us. We may want to speak with your employees. Will that be a problem?”

Sebastian stood and returned the gesture. “No problem.” He offered a hand to Jake and then Mace. “I can personally assure you we will do all we can to help. Alex is more than a great attorney, she’s a good person.”

Behind Mace and Jake, Jackson left the dealership with determined footsteps. As much as he wanted to give each of his friends a high five, he knew they were a long way from solving the case.

Back inside the truck, no one held back.

“Actual suspects. Now we’re getting somewhere.” Mace laid his crutches in the back seat beside him.

Jake chuckled. “I think we can rule out the secretary.”

“What?” Mace drawled. “You don’t think a sixty-something granny of three would make threatening calls at all hours of the night?”

“How do you know she’s a grandma?”

“Just a guess, Turner.”

Jackson pulled the truck into traffic. “Sarcasm aside, we have six good suspects. Mace, you take Hailey Michaels and Lindsey Jordan. Jake, you take Katie Roberts and Mario Russo. I’ll look into Mr. and Mrs. Sebastian.” He drummed this thumbs against the steering wheel. “We’re getting close. I can feel it.”

***

Alex rolled over in bed, severely annoyed by the obnoxious banging on the front door. “Marnie!” she yelled from her cocoon of warm blankets. “Make it stop!”

A distinct
thud
resonated from the direction of Marnie’s bedroom, and several colorful words followed while her friend stomped to the front door.

With a loud exhale, she threw back the covers and left the bed, just in case Marnie decided to deck the guest. She, too, marched across the distance and arrived just as her friend slung open the door. Bright, blinding sunlight speared her eyeballs but she still managed to identify the visitor.

Yes, he’s in danger of bodily harm.

“What the heck, Ryker?” Marnie squinted while she grasped his forearm and pulled him inside before she shoved the door until it snapped shut.

“Get dressed.”

“I beg your pardon?” Alex blinked several times in succession to clear her polka-dotted vision. “We were asleep.”

“Ten o’clock. Rise and shine. You wanted to go shopping, it’s time.”

“Says who?” she challenged.

“Me.”

“I need coffee,” Marnie mumbled.

“Tough. Train leaves the station in fifteen minutes.”

“Cool your jets there, cowboy.” Marnie stuck a hand on one hip. “First, we don’t need a chaperone. Second, we need at least an hour. And third, stop ordering us around like a drill sergeant.”

Ryker took one step forward, his gargantuan frame almost swallowing Marnie in the process. For half a second, Alex considered giving in. After all, they were already fully awake now.

“First, you don’t leave the apartment without me,” he said. “Second, I’ll compromise on thirty minutes. And third, Miss Carpenter, I’ll give you orders until you comply.”

“And if I don’t?”

“I’ll padlock the door from the outside.”

“No, you won’t.”

“Challenge me, short stuff.”

Alex grinned at Marnie’s gumption. Yet, even she knew when to soothe the savage beast. “You shower first, Marnie.”

“Now that we’re all on the same page, I’ll wait outside for thirty minutes. Any longer and you’re stuck here, possibly for good.”

Marnie opened her mouth to speak, but Alex intervened. “You made your point. Go so we can get ready.”

Ryker slipped out the door, much more quietly than he had entered.

“What is it with these guys?” Marnie headed for the bathroom. “I’m thinking they all have testosterone poisoning.”

Alex tended to agree and approximately thirty minutes later when she and Marnie sat in Marnie’s car, Ryker proved her point by tapping on the driver’s side window with a key. Marnie stuck out her tongue.

He simply braced one hip against her door with his back to her. Waiting her out, Alex assumed.

“Oh good grief!” Marnie huffed and rolled down the window. “What?”

He turned and smirked. “Seatbelts.”

Alex pulled hers over her lap and clicked it into place. “Just do it, Marnie.”

Her friend did as she suggested and then glanced up at Ryker. “Happy now?”

“Ecstatic.”

Marnie started the engine and pulled out into traffic. “Is he married?”

“No.”

“Girlfriend?”

“I’m not positive, why? You’re not trying to pair me up with him, are you?”

“What? No! You have a man.”

Even Alex knew her next question was lame but gave it a shot anyway. “Who?”

“Jackson, Alex. The two of you would be much happier if you’d stop circling each other and meet in the middle.”

“Don’t you mean if I wave the white flag and allow that bossy, alpha male to tell me what I can and cannot do?”

“You have a point,” her friend mumbled.

“What does any of this have to do with Ryker?”

“Nothing.” The words poured over Marnie’s lips in less than a millisecond.

Alex raised one eyebrow. “You want him.”

“Absolutely not. I’ll admit he’s smokin’ hot but
way
too arrogant for my taste. I’m used to telling people what to do, remember?”

“Then why is he going shopping with us?”

“I have no idea.” Marnie frowned and glanced into her side mirror. “Maybe you should ask Jackson.”

Alex sighed, dug her cell phone from the depths of her purse, pressed ten familiar numbers, and then lifted the device to her ear until a familiar voice spoke.

“Behave, Alex.” Jackson had obviously expected her call. “Ryker drew the short straw.”

“Shall I ask his opinion about lingerie?”

“Huh?”

“I don’t have
any
clothing, remember? Maybe he has a few suggestions.”

“No,” he growled. “Just get your shopping done and go back to Marnie’s. You’re a moving target.”

“You’re such a sweet talker, Detective.”

“Add it to the list,” he mumbled. “Just hurry the hell up.”

Alex raised an eyebrow at the following silence on the other end of the phone. She pulled the phone away from her ear and glanced at the screen, not entirely surprised to see that the call had been disconnected.

“We’re stuck with Ryker,” she told Marnie.

“Oh goody,” her friend drawled. “At least
Giselle’s
offers a great remedy.”

She silently agreed. Maybe after a few glasses of wine, she’d forget all about her shadow – or perhaps orchestrate a distraction. She gave her friend what intended to be a mischievous smirk.

Marnie’s eyebrows met in the middle of her forehead. “What?”

“Nothing.”

“Maybe we can get a head start.” Marnie punched the accelerator, steered into the opposite lane, passed the car in front of them, and then re-entered the driving lane – all in approximately five seconds.

Alex clutched the handle above her door. “A courtesy warning would’ve been nice,” she said through gritted teeth as she glared into her side mirror. “But it didn’t work. He took the same racing class.”

“I still got here first.” Her friend whipped the car into a parking space near the front door and killed the engine. “Hurry.” She unsnapped her seatbelt in one quick move. “We can lose him.”

Alex released a string of giggles while she unbuckled. “You know as well as I do that’s not even a remote possibility. Besides, even if by some miracle we managed to shake him, he’d call for back-up and we’d be on lockdown for sure.”

“Sorry.” Marnie grinned as they entered the store with Ryker only steps away. “A girl can dream.”

Once inside, it was only a matter of minutes before they both held a glass of red wine and a saleswoman had been designated to fetch and tote. Marnie sat in an oversized, pillow-cushioned, chair just outside the dressing room, kicked off her shoes, and curled her feet under her.

“I’ll be here until you’re finished.” She tipped back her glass, swallowed the contents and then smirked at the saleswoman. “I’ll need another, please.” She turned to Alex. “Take your time.”

Alex held out her hand, palm up. “Let me have your keys. I know how much you appreciate Giselle’s
remedy
.” Marnie relinquished the keys and Alex grinned while she tucked them into her pocket. “Enjoy your company while I shop.”

“Huh?” Marnie turned to accept the next glass of wine. “I’m enjoying the peaceful, testosterone-free environment.”

Alex headed for a nearby rack. “Not for long,” she tossed over her shoulder.

Ryker exhaled a hard sigh as he approached the dressing area and prepared for battle. Damn Stewart for setting him up. If he managed to come out of this assignment without injury, someone had hell to pay.

Very carefully, he lowered himself into a chair next to his opponent and hoped to hell she’d drink her wine and leave him alone. When she didn’t immediately acknowledge him, he thought he’d gotten lucky. Suddenly he was encouraged. With all the extra attention Alex seemed to receive from the sales staff, this mission would pass quickly, he’d deliver them to home base, and then quite gladly turn command back over to Storm.

Yeah, right.

He gave her a quick analysis in his peripheral vision, taking note that she’d almost emptied her glass. She kept her head turned away from him, an obvious hint that she wanted him to speak.

Might as well have a little fun.

“Who gave you a driver’s license?” he asked finally.

As predicted, she swung her head around to face him, her blonde curls bouncing with the force of her motion. “The state of Minnesota.”

“They should make you surrender it.”

“You kept up with me,” she countered.

“I did it safely.”

“So did I.”

“No, you didn’t. You almost took out the guy next to you.”

“I did not.”

“How fast were you driving?”

She swallowed the contents of her glass and signaled for the saleswoman to bring another. “I can’t remember.”

“You’re not driving home, are you?”

“No. Alex confiscated my keys.”

“Good for her. That’s one way to keep you off the road.”

The saleswoman arrived with another glass of wine and handed it to her before glancing at him. “No thanks.” He answered the silent invitation to drink with a grin. “I’m on duty.”

The woman shrugged and left the area, obviously not concerned that he had now engaged the enemy. A smart civilian would run for cover.

“Bite me.”

He looked down at the tiny ticking time bomb and bit back a smirk. Even narrowed, her baby blue eyes sucked him in. Deep pools of intelligence swimming with the temptation of
sexy
. Her pouty lips remained pursed with her obvious anger, a challenge to slip his tongue between, pry open her mouth, and then devour her until she begged even harder for that bite. Sixth grade teachers didn’t look anything like the sexy creature next to him in his day. Too bad – he might have actually enjoyed math.

“Gladly.”

“That wasn’t an invitation, Ryker.”

She folded her arms beneath her amazingly firm rack, a move that boosted the girls further into his line of vision. He licked his lips.
Bite me
, she said. Maybe just a little nip into the rounded, creamy swell of her left breast.
Damn.

She cleared her throat. “Up here.”

He lifted his gaze back into hers and didn’t bother to disguise his appreciation for her breasts. And as much as he respected them, the whole twelve-year-old male population of her class probably did too. “I’m thinking you should consider teaching kindergarten.”

“Can we please get back to the previous discussion?”