Chapter 27
As soon as Grayson and Kendra returned to the cabin, they peeled off their damp clothes covered in the grit of the river.
They showered together in a stall barely big enough for one, so that their bodies kept colliding, hip against hip, shoulder to chest, slippery and needful, sliding soap and water all over their naked bodies.
Once they were squeaky clean, they dried off and left the bathroom.
He hadn’t had such a fun short vacation in a long time, and Kendra made it all possible. When they finally fell into bed, the sheets were cool from the fan swirling overhead, the air heavy with the scent of skin and earth, and neither remembered who kissed whom first.
Making love was inevitable—a hungry, grateful act, not the slow savoring of long-time lovers, but the urgent, embrace of newly mated grizzlies.
For a while, the room was nothing but heat and motion, mouths pressed to necks and thighs, fingers tracing skin and muscles, until their bodies slackened, they climaxed, and their breath slowed.
They lay entangled, her head tucked under his chin, his arm draped over her waist, both savoring the hush that followed the wildness of the day.
He felt the rise and fall of her chest—so steady, so alive—and marveled at how the adrenaline of making love had settled into something softer, completely satisfying.
She pressed her palm flat against his heart and traced random shapes, each touch grounding him more firmly in the present.
When sleep finally crept in, they were twined together, legs and dreams perfectly tangled in united bliss.
Early the next morning, Grayson kissed Kendra, and she smiled and returned the kiss. The sun was just beginning to rise, and they could see it shining through the bedroom windows.
“I guess we should check in with Rowland, your dad, and George to see if we have any news on Younger and if they had any fugitives to handle,” Kendra said, stroking Grayson’s bare chest.
He kissed her mouth with a sensuous kiss. “Yeah. As much as I want to just stay with you and keep enjoying the time we have together in this lovely bubble, we have to get back to work. But the nice part is we have all our spare time to enjoy with each other, and we can certainly do this again.”
“I agree.”
Then they checked their phones, and both smiled, shaking their heads. Everyone needed them!
“Marcus says he wants help with a fugitive tomorrow,” Grayson said.
“So does George.” She got a call from Rowland and put it on speakerphone.
“Are you done with your vacation?”
“Yeah, we’re going to grab breakfast and then check out.”
Rowland said, “We had a high-speed chase in pursuit of Younger, but it turned out to be some guy he picked up off the street who was supposed to feed the kidnapped victims at the house, and so naturally, the police tried to take him into custody.”
“Did they?” Grayson asked.
“Yeah, but he didn’t even know Younger’s name. He just needed the money for drugs.”
“This is why Younger hasn’t been caught yet. He’s too wily. Has the word gone out about the guy getting captured?” Kendra asked.
Rowland said, “No. It was all hush-hush and kept secret. He’s sitting in an interrogation room now, but he doesn’t know anything more. He was mad that he didn’t get paid.”
“Did he see that the women weren’t there?”
“No. He never made it inside the house. The police had been staking it out ever since we found the girls there. So when he’s released, if Younger gets a hold of him, he won’t be able to confirm if he saw the girls.”
“Yeah, but he would most likely tell Younger that he was arrested at the house, and then Younger would be alerted that the police knew about the setup there,” Grayson said.
She sighed. “It’s too bad they couldn’t jail the guy he sent to feed the women and keep him away from the press and from Younger.”
“I wish,” Rowland said. “The guy wanted half pay and the rest after he fed the girls. Younger didn’t trust him to get the job done. He figured he would take the money and get drugs and be out of it.”
“The guy didn’t ask why he had to feed girls at the house?” Grayson asked.
“No. He just wanted the money. You know these guys. All they want is their next high,” Rowland said.
“How did he and Younger meet?” Grayson wondered how Younger could keep staying under the radar.
“He told us Younger met him on the street. He’s homeless. He didn’t give him his name, and Younger didn’t ask the guy his name either,” Rowland said.
“So no sightings of Younger then,” Grayson said, annoyed they never could catch this guy. “I wonder if he knows his kid is jailed.”
“I’m sure his wife told him. Even though she denies hearing from him, we’re sure she’s in contact with him to let him know what’s going on all the time.”
“Isn’t she up on charges?” Grayson asked, knowing she should be, but that didn’t mean she would be.
“Yeah, for aiding and abetting her son’s escape. She’s out on bail.”
“Where do these people get so much money for bailing themselves out? Oh, don’t answer that,” Kendra said. “They get it from selling the girls.”
“Right,” Rowland said. “I just wanted to update you on what’s been going on.”
“Thanks. We’ve got a couple of fugitive cases we’re working on today, but after that, we’ll start looking into Younger again.” Grayson figured he would somehow get into Younger’s wife’s headspace and try to get her to tell what she knew about where he was.
“I’ll let you go then. Hope your vacation was fun.”
“It was fabulous,” Grayson said, Kendra agreeing with him.
“That’s great,” Rowland said.
Then they ended the call, got dressed, packed, and took their bags downstairs to the SUV.
Once they were done, they ordered their breakfast of omelets, ham, and coffee, then carried it upstairs to their deck for their last little bit of enjoying the cabin and its view of the mountains before they had to check out.
“We’ll have to come back here sometime,” Grayson said.
“I would love it. They also have fishing excursions we could enjoy.”
“Yeah, that would be great. And we could grill them at the cabin. So which fugitive job do you want to go after first?” Grayson asked.
“Call your brother and find out how important this is. You need to pick up some more of your stuff at your place also. If we could do the one for George first, since we’re closer to Kalispell, then we could drive out to Whitefish to assist your brother.
But let me check with George also to see how urgent his case is.
” She got on her phone and called George while Grayson called Marcus.
“Hey, brother, we’re just getting breakfast and then coming out to help. We’ve got a fugitive here to take care of also in Kalispell. How urgent is your case?”
“Urgent,” Marcus said.
“Marcus needs me, and it’s urgent,” Grayson told Kendra.
“George said the same thing. If you’re with Marcus, then I can go with Ivan,” Kendra said.
“Okay, that will work.” He drove her home to get her car, then they hugged and kissed.
“I’ll see you later,” she said.
“Take care, honey,” Grayson said to Kendra.
“Stay safe,” she said. Then she got into her car and drove off to pick up Ivan.
Grayson headed to Whitefish to work with Marcus to capture their fugitive.
Amy called Kendra and said, "Hey, to celebrate you getting together with Grayson, Cedric, and I would like to buy your dinner this evening at Brannigans. You and Grayson can dance. We will too."
Amy had met Cedric at the steak and pub, and she knew it was their special place to go. "Oh, how nice. Sure. We're both trying to track down fugitives separately with different partners, but I'll let Grayson know and confirm with you if he's free to have dinner also."
"If it doesn't work out for tonight, we will do it for another night. Just let me know."
"That's where you met Cedric," Kendra said. "I always thought that was so funny since you had been on a blind date at your sister's and brother-in-law's anniversary."
"Yeah, I was upset by the storms overhead, and he got into my head to reassure me I was going to be all right."
"Which made it worse." Kendra couldn't believe anyone could telepathically communicate with Amy, since no one had ever done so before. At the time, Amy didn't know he was the best man for her, given their psychic connection.
Though sometimes, when they were all together, they would privately communicate with each other, and Kendra wondered what was up.
"Okay, well, I've got to track down a cheating wife, so just let me know as soon as you can," Amy said.
"Thanks," Kendra said, thrilled with the prospect of having dinner with her good friends tonight if their schedules were free. She drove to the office after that and picked up Ivan. "Are you ready for this?"
"I sure am. How was your vacation?"
"It was a lot of fun. We saw a wild grizzly bear chase Blue up a tree while we were whitewater rafting."
Ivan laughed. "At least he could escape the grizzly bear."
"Yeah. I've never seen him run as quickly or climb as fast and high in a tree." As she drove to the fugitive's location, she called Grayson to ask about dinner. "Amy and Cedric invited us to dinner at Brannigans for the night if we don't have any cases to take care of."
"That sounds great. Marcus and I are about to take our fugitive into custody. I'll drive back to Kalispell after that. How are you doing?"
"Ivan and I are still trying to reach the location of our fugitive."
"If we have any more cases tonight, I can take care of them," Ivan said.
"Thanks, Ivan. I'll talk to you later, Grayson."
Then Kendra called Amy. "Dinner is on. What time do you want to go?"
"Six? I'll make reservations. I hope Grayson can dance."
"Oh, I have no idea. But that will definitely be fun."