Justice Inked (Cowboy Justice Association 7) Read online

  “Me too,” he agreed. “As I said, you’re going to run screaming from the house within twenty-four hours. Just wait. Sophie says I’m like a bear with a sore paw in the morning.”

  “How about we agree to not speak to each other until our second cup of coffee?”

  “Sounds like a good plan. Now let’s get you back to my place. You can soak in a hot bath and have a drink. A big one.”

  It was the best offer she’d had all night, and that included the ice cream and popcorn.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Rayne wrapped the terry cloth robe around her still damp body, covering up the black and blue bruises that had already formed on her hip, thigh, and shoulder. The hot bath had helped the initial soreness but she was going to be hurting for a few days at least. She needed to ask Sophie or Dare if they had any ibuprofen. Or a rubber mallet to smack herself in the forehead so she’d sleep. Either one would work fine.

  There was a small knock on the door and Rayne tightened the belt on the borrowed robe. By the sheer size it had to be Dare’s, as it swamped her smaller figure but she didn’t have much in the way of clothes in that gym bag. A pair of panties, socks, jeans, bra, and a sweater were the only items she had to put on and she needed them for the morning. The robe would have to do for what was left of the evening.

  Rayne cracked open the door cautiously. “Yes?”

  Sophie held out a handful of clothes – yellow with daisies. “Dare thought you might like something to wear to bed so I brought you one of my pajama sets. It should probably fit you okay.”

  Opening the door wider, Rayne gave the younger woman a big smile. Sophie had been more than welcoming when Dare had informed her that Rayne was spending the night and perhaps longer. In fact, Rayne would even call Sophie’s reaction excited, exclaiming that the balance of estrogen and testosterone in the house had shifted. Rayne had giggled along with Sophie and Dare had glowered.

  He’d worn that same expression when he’d questioned Tim and Sophie about the day they’d been in the same restaurant as the murder victim. Sadly neither one of them remembered the man or had any information that would help the case.

  “Thank you so much. I know I’m being a pain dropping in here unexpectedly like this. I’m really very grateful.”

  “Are you kidding? It’s awesome having company and I love your cat. He’s found a spot on my windowsill that he seems to really like. I hope that’s okay. I just feel bad about what happened to you tonight. That really sucks. How long do you think it will take to clean up? I can help you if you like.”

  Since Misty was in Seattle Rayne might take her up on that offer. “I’m not sure. I’ll need to order a new bed and furniture but I can’t touch anything until the insurance adjuster comes by and takes pictures. Hopefully he’ll come tomorrow, but the big thing I need to do is go buy a new wardrobe. It gives me the willies thinking about wearing clothes that this guy touched.”

  Rayne shuddered and Sophie made a sympathetic face. “If you’re looking for a buddy to go shopping with I’m your gal. I’d love to go. If I can’t buy new clothes I can at least enjoy helping you.”

  “You don’t need any more clothes, young lady. Your closet is overflowing as it is.” Dare’s booming voice traveled from down the hall. “Give Rayne the pajamas and ask her to join me in the living room. I have her drink.”

  Alcohol. That sounded perfect.

  Sophie rolled her eyes with such an expression of disdain that it instantly brought back all of Rayne’s teenage years in one fell swoop. “Yes, O brother dear. Hold your horses, will you? She just got out of the bathtub.”

  “I’ll be out in a few minutes. I just need to brush my hair.”

  Rayne accepted the nightclothes from Sophie, who giggled and pointed down the hallway to where her brother had stood seconds before. “Take your time. Dare’s always barking about something but he doesn’t bite. Although he might if you ask him to. He’s single, you know.”

  Before Rayne could reply Sophie sped off down the hall and down the stairs, leaving Rayne to quickly change into the pajama shorts and tank top, the latter quite snug. She had larger breasts than Sophie and the material was pulled tight across her nipples. In a modicum of modesty, Rayne shrugged the robe back on before heading down to the living room, a cocktail calling her name.

  “Are you feeling any better?” Dare asked, holding out the highball glass of amber liquid. She’d assured him she could drink whiskey with the boys and he’d clearly listened. He hadn’t skimped on the amount, the glass half full. She couldn’t wait to feel the burn down her throat and then the inevitable mellow haze that would follow. With any luck, she’d sleep soundly tonight and not lie awake thinking about events she couldn’t control.

  “Yes, thank you. The bath was just what I needed.” She accepted the glass and took a large gulp, closing her eyes to savor the flavor on her tongue. “I’m going to be a glorious rainbow of purple and blue tomorrow, though. I hope that jerk gets a bad case of hemorrhoids.”

  Lips quirking slightly, Dare took a long drink of his beer before waving his hand toward the sofa. “Why don’t you sit down and relax? I can put in a movie if you like. Sophie has all the latest, I believe.”

  “No, thanks.” Rayne eased down on the couch, her body protesting every movement. “What I’d really like to hear is if you found anything. You said your sheriff friend was going to join you at the house.”

  After Dare had dropped her at his home with Sophie, he’d posted a deputy at the door and then returned to her place. The entire situation should have reminded her of jail but instead the guard made her feel safe.

  “Tanner did join me. Unfortunately, we didn’t find anything that would help us figure out who did this. The forensic crew might come up with something though. At least that’s my hope. In the meantime you’ll be protected at all times. I won’t have them coming back and hurting you.”

  She was scared; she couldn’t deny that, but was she truly in danger? “They left me alone tonight. If they want something that means they don’t care about me, right? I mean, it’s not like they want me dead or anything.”

  There was a great deal of hope in her voice, and by the look on Dare’s face it shouldn’t be there. “Honey, they knew where you were tonight. They knew you were at the ice cream parlor and that your house was empty. Think about that for a moment.”

  Frowning, she mulled his words over in her mind. Nothing seemed out of place. Of course criminals would prefer to come when she wasn’t there. It would make their job much easier. She was about to ask him what he was talking about when it hit her like a two by four across the back of the head.

  “Damn. They were following us. Following me. They’ve been watching me. Oh God, that is so creepy.”

  A frisson of fear ran down her spine and she pulled her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around her legs. The violation of being watched, followed, stripped every sense of comfort from her and her body trembled, raw fear bubbling in her already nauseous abdomen. She couldn’t imagine what she’d done to deserve this and she wanted it to stop. Immediately, if not sooner. She was a private person who liked to keep to herself, always had been. This invasion of her life was not something she could tolerate.

  “Probably waiting for the perfect moment.” Dare came to sit beside her and pulled her onto his lap, stroking her spine soothingly. “I’m actually surprised they didn’t try to break into your home during the day, but I think we can thank your erratic daily appointment schedule for that. They never knew when you would be home or away. Until tonight, of course, when I took you out of town. Then they had plenty of time to look through your home, plus send someone to steal your purse, thinking that it would look like a simple mugging. But after tonight we have learned a few things. I know it’s not much of a consolation prize, though, after all you’ve been through these last few weeks.”

  For once, Rayne allowed herself to draw strength from Dare, snuggling into his arms and laying her head on his shoulder. �
�If anything good came from this I would like to know about it. What did you learn?”

  “We learned that there has to be more than one man. Someone was at your home at the same time you were mugged. That’s at least two, if not more. I’m thinking three or four based on the general destruction they wreaked on your home.” His fingers languidly stroked her cheek and her eyelids fluttered shut in response, her breathing growing ragged. “The second thing we learned is they want what they think you have more than they want you. That’s damn good news. The bad news is if they get desperate and don’t want to keep looking.”

  “Then they’ll torture it out of me,” Rayne finished for him, her eyes snapping open. “That’s something to look forward to. Being beaten for the location of something that I don’t even know exists. Lucky me.”

  She didn’t mean the words to come out so bitterly, but the whole evening was so screwed up. She wanted her life to go back to when her worst problem was keeping Camy from criticizing Rayne’s hair color and tattoos.

  Or as she would call them from now on…the good old days.

  Dare gently turned her face so she was gazing directly into his eyes. “No one—let me repeat that—no one is going to be beating anything out of you, missy. I’m going to make sure that you are absolutely safe until we get these guys and put them behind bars. I just wish we could figure out what they’re looking for. I was thinking that perhaps our victim hid the bank robbery money in your shop and then came back for it. Did you ever leave him alone?”

  “No. He never even left the front counter area of the shop. We talked and then he left with the promise to be back the next day. I never saw him again, at least not until that night.”

  Rubbing the back of his neck, Dare sighed in frustration. “We’ll figure it out. Maybe Moulson was distracting you in the front of the shop while one of his cronies was hiding the money in the back. It would be the last place anyone would look for stolen cash. Do you keep that door locked at all times?”

  “Sometimes it’s open for deliveries.” She shifted uncomfortably on the cushion. “After what happened with the fire in my last shop I tend to keep the doors unlocked. I have an irrational fear of being trapped when it’s ablaze. I know it’s silly but I can’t help it. And please don’t bother asking which it was that day because I honestly couldn’t tell you. But I will say that when I do get deliveries I can hear them from the front where I’m working.”

  “If someone deliberately didn’t want you to hear it might be different.”

  Rayne sipped at her whiskey. “But we didn’t find any money. Do you think Moulson got it and hid it before he was shot? Is it outside somewhere?”

  Dare’s hold tightened on her and he pressed a tender kiss to her temple. Helpless against this sweet side to the sheriff, Rayne allowed herself to be petted and comforted. “I’ll check again tomorrow. In the meantime, you look exhausted. Do you want me to show you to your room so you can get some sleep?”

  The whiskey was doing its work and she was pleasantly drowsy. “I think I am ready for some shut eye. Lead the way.”

  Rayne allowed Dare to help her to her feet before heading upstairs, his touch gentle on her bruised body. Hopefully things would look much brighter after a good night’s sleep because she had a buttload of crappy things to deal with in the morning. Thank heavens Dare had given her a strong shoulder to lean on. Tonight he’d shown her the tenderness and care he was capable of. All the growling and scowling in the world didn’t cover up the fact that he was a good, kind man.

  The kind of man she could fall for. Big.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  “She’s pretty,” Sophie remarked when Dare came back downstairs to grab a snack from the kitchen. He hoped Rayne could get some sleep after all she’d been through tonight and all the unanswered questions. “You should totally ask her on a date. I think she’s into you.”

  With everything that had happened, he’d completely forgotten his relationship with Rayne was a secret. So it was amusing to hear his sister urge him to ask their houseguest on a date.

  Popping some cubed cheddar cheese into his mouth, he chewed and swallowed before answering. “What makes you think she’s into me?”

  “The way she looks at you. You know, like she doesn’t care that you’re a big old grouch who is never happy. So are you going to ask her out? Did you kiss her goodnight?”

  He hadn’t and that had been a major disappointment. As he’d walked her to the guest room, he’d been able to smell the clean scent of her skin and his body reacted predictably. A sweet scented woman and a bed were a recipe for only one thing.

  A raging hard-on.

  His cock didn’t understand that simply because there was a comfortable horizontal surface nearby didn’t mean Rayne was willing or even able to assuage his lust. She’d been covered in bruises, after all, and limping badly because of her hip. He’d have been a real asshole to try and make a move on an injured, frightened woman.

  “You’re nosy,” Dare finally shot back at his little sister. “I’m not one of your BFFs that you can giggle with and talk about boys while practicing kissing on a pillow. Rayne is a classy lady and doesn’t deserve to have anyone gossip about her.”

  Sophie’s brow wrinkled in confusion. “Kissing a pillow? Who does that? Did you do that when you were a teenager?”

  “Focus, Sophie,” Dare growled in a warning tone.

  “That’s right. You were never a teenager. Or even a child. You popped out of the womb a grown adult with the temperament to match. What a party pooper.”

  With that, his sister flounced up the stairs but at least had the good sense not to slam her bedroom door and wake Rayne. With a shake of his head he finished his snack and headed to bed, knowing tomorrow would be a long day. He’d have to put a search team in the woods behind Rayne’s shop – again – and hope the second time would be more productive than the first.

  Stripping out of his clothes, he quickly brushed his teeth and crawled, exhausted, between the covers. He’d barely closed his eyes when he heard a woman’s scream that sounded a lot like Rayne, jolting him from sleep. Heart in his throat, he glanced at the bedside clock and saw that he’d actually been asleep for a little over four hours. Jumping out of bed, he ran down the hall to the guest room and didn’t bother to knock, throwing open the door.

  Rayne was sitting up, her breathing labored and her body curled into a ball. He could hear her sobs and see her shoulders shaking with emotion. As much as he himself was uncomfortable displaying his softer or more joyous feelings, he didn’t hesitate to sit next to her on the bed and wrap his arms around her shaking figure.

  “Shhh, babe. It’s okay. You’re fine. I’m here and I’m not going to let anything hurt you ever again, do you understand?”

  He kept his voice low and soothing, crooning praise in her ear as she tried to gather some semblance of control. Hiccuping, she took a long shuddering breath and scrubbed at the tears on her face. At this moment, she looked more like a lost child than a grown woman but the body that was pressed close to his was definitely mature. He could feel the tips of her breasts through the thin material of their t-shirts and feel the petal-like softness of her skin brushing against his as she scooted to find a more comfortable position.

  “I had a bad dream.”

  Running his fingers through her tangled tresses, he rocked her in his arms as her breathing and heart rate returned to normal. Her fingers gripped his lower back, the fingers splayed and her cheek was pressed to his chest as he spoke quietly, telling her over and over that everything was fine and nothing would happen to her while he was there.

  “Dare?” He heard Sophie’s voice in the hallway. “Is everything okay? Does Rayne need anything?”

  Rayne stiffened in his arms but didn’t pull away, which he took to be a good sign. “Yes, go downstairs into the kitchen and pour her a glass of ginger ale. She’s probably thirsty.”

  Sophie’s footsteps echoed down the hallway and stairs as Dare cupped Ray
ne’s chin and lifted her face until their gaze met in the dark room, the only light coming from the hallway. “Do you want something to eat or anything? I can have Sophie make you some eggs or toast.”

  “No.” Rayne gave a small headshake, sniffling back the tears. It broke his heart to see her this scared when she was normally so brave and confident. It was a testament to her strength that she hadn’t succumbed to tears a long time ago. “I couldn’t eat. But the ginger ale does sound good.”

  Dare had thought it might, especially if her nightmare had upset her already nauseous stomach. “It might help to talk about it.”

  Another shudder ran through her and she pulled away slightly as if she needed more breathing room. Dare loosened his hold but didn’t let go, knowing she needed the emotional support whether she realized it or not.

  “I dreamt someone came in the bedroom window.” She pointed to the window along the wall that overlooked the back yard. “They tried to grab me and I struggled with them. They kept asking me ‘where is it?’ and I tried to tell them I didn’t know but they wouldn’t listen.”

  Fresh tears began to fall as Sophie returned from fetching a cool drink and Dare held the straw to Rayne’s trembling lips. “Drink, honey. It will make you feel better.”

  With both hands to keep the glass steady, Rayne greedily drank until it was gone. “Easy there, honey. Do you want some more?”

  “No, I’m fine.” Rayne fell back against the pillows with a groan. “Dammit, I hate being like this.”

  Dare placed the empty glass on the nightstand and picked up her hand, stroking the palm. “Like what? Human? You’ve been through some unusual events and they’re going to affect you. If you don’t deal with it now I guarantee you it only gets worse.”

  Half sitting up, Rayne wrinkled her nose. “Do you speak from experience? Is this a story I haven’t heard?”

  “Baby, I was in combat, so yes, I speak from experience, and no, you’re not going to hear any stories. I don’t talk about those days at all. They’re best left in the past. But I did have to deal with them, so don’t even think about denying that you’re upset and scared. The first step is to acknowledge your emotions.”