Chapter 7
The rain had stopped, the backyard of the safehouse now illuminated by a full moon through a thin layer of clouds. Wyatt paced the dew-covered grass, his cell phone in his hand and Logan on the line. “The kid sister says her father is a congressman.”
Logan whistled. “Oh, shit.”
Wyatt’s eyes shot to the second-floor balcony of the main bedroom suite, where Teslyn and Ivy were sleeping.
A spiral staircase ran from the balcony to the patio below.
“Oh, shit is right. Given Marilyn’s record of prostitution, anything’s possible.
But according to Teslyn, the mom said she and the kid’s father went to high school together.
See if you can find out where. Marilyn also said she was blackmailing the father to keep Ivy’s existence a secret. ”
“She pissed a congressman off enough to kill her,” said Logan. “Seems possible to me.”
“Check her bank accounts. See if the poorest woman in town recently came into some money. I also need you to check into the daughter for me. Teslyn McGregor. If I’m going to be taking her word as gospel on this thing, I need to be sure as fuck she isn’t an arsonist or a kidnapper.”
“About that,” hedged Logan. “There’s video of the sisters at a truck stop in Mississippi.”
Wyatt scowled. “How far from here?”
“Eighteen miles.”
“Fuck.” That was nothing. It was damn near next door. “The authorities will be checking hotels and rental properties.”
“That’s what I was thinking.”
Wyatt’s already long day was about to get a hell of a lot longer. “We’ll have to get on the road tonight. Put as much distance between that truck stop and these two as possible.”
“So, you believe her?”
Did he? He’d been asking himself that question for the better part of an hour, going over every word Teslyn had said, her body language, and physical tells.
He’d been trained to detect lying, but it was an inexact science at best, better to inform other decisions than as proof-positive in and of itself.
For the most part, he felt Teslynwas being truthful—but not entirely.
When she’d discussed her reasons for leaving her hometown, she’d displayed classic hallmarks of deception.
“I don’t know,” he said.
He was keenly aware he could be arrested, charged, imprisoned.
A conviction for aiding and abetting a fugitive would erase everything he’d ever worked for in his life.
“She’s lying about something. That’s why I need you to research the hell out of this one, Doc.
If Teslyn McGregor has so much as a traffic ticket, I need to know about it.
Check into her past in Mississippi, too.
Anything that might explain why she left town. ”
“You got it.” Logan hung up.
Almost immediately, Teslyn’s voice rang out from the balcony above him. “All the terrible things that are going on here, and you’re investigating me?”
Wyatt squeezed his eyes closed tightly and cursed under his breath. He’d checked to make sure she wasn’t out there, but apparently he hadn’t heard her slip onto the balcony after that.
Careless.
He slowly turned and raised his gaze to see her.
She was silhouetted just as she had been when he’d first seen her at the front door, only this time, she was wearing a sheer material that left the outline of her body clearly exposed—a sharp contrast to the conservative sweater and pants she’d worn when he arrived.
And what an outline it was, shapely and exquisitely feminine. “Couldn’t sleep?” he called.
She descended the stairs with a huffy gait. “You have no right to ask your cronies to investigate my past. You are here to help me and Ivy. That’s it.”
He cocked his head at her obviously incorrect understanding. “Is that right?”
“You’re damn straight, that’s right. Razorback asked you to help me, not to sic your dogs on my backstory.
” She reached him, one side of her face visible in the moonlight, the other dark.
Her thin cotton nightgown was white and flowing, with spaghetti straps that kept it from being something his grandmother might wear.
He was keenly aware of the perky peaks of her tits beneath the fabric, and wondered if her nipples were small and dark or pink and rosy.
Not the time, Sorenson. But she was angry, and there was nothing that turned him on quite as much as an angry woman, all flushed skin and spitting fire.
He shifted his weight to deter his growing erection. “My understanding was a little different.”
“Oh, yeah?” She crossed her arms, the position pressing a nipple against the thin fabric.
Dark and small.
Jesus Christ, he did not need to know that. He forced himself to focus. “Yeah. As a matter of fact, I was under the impression I was here of my own free will, and with that comes a bit of leeway.”
“Leeway.”
“Right. See, I need to make sure you are who you say you are, and that you’re telling the truth. Because if I’m going to evade the authorities and keep you under my protection, that’s aiding and abetting a fugitive.”
She scoffed. “I am not a fugitive.”
“Depends how you look at it. On the one hand, you claim you arrived to find your mother’s trailer in flames, and you rescued your sister from untold danger.
On the other hand, we have the long arm of the law telling me, the public, and anyone who will listen that you’re wanted for arson and kidnapping. ”
She gasped. “No!”
“Yes. And some Good Samaritan saw your pictures on TV and told the authorities she saw you at a truck stop less than twenty miles from here. They already pulled the surveillance tape, so right about now, they’re focusing their search on hotel rooms and property rentals in this immediate area.”
“Oh my God, we have to go.” She turned to head for the house.
He caught her by the arm. “Not so fast. I’m sure you see my predicament.”
Her expression was unguarded, and he watched as her mind came to the obvious conclusion. “Do you really think I burned the trailer down myself, and kidnapped the little sister I just found out I had?”
She felt good beneath his hand, her skin soft and warm where his was calloused and cold.
The moment he thought it, he released her as if he’d been burned.
“I haven’t decided what I believe, but you’d have to be off your rocker if you think I’m not going to look into your past. Decide for myself if you’re credible. ”
She absently rubbed at her arm where he’d held it. “I understand.”
He nodded. “Pack your things.”
She blew out air. “I haven’t even unpacked them.”
“Then get dressed and wake Ivy. We need to hit the road.”
“Where will we go?”
There was only one place that made sense, but going there felt like crossing an invisible line. He pushed the thought out of his head. “My place, outside of Atlanta.”
She eyed him warily at that. “She just finally got to sleep, poor kid. She was a wreck, crying and missing her mother.”
“What about you? Marilyn was your mother, too.”
She looked away, unseeing. “I don’t know what I feel.” Turning, she headed for the spiral staircase that led back to her room, but she paused, turning back. “Thank you for helping us.”
Her appreciation stuck in his craw, but he used a lighthearted tone as he said, “Anytime.”
She moved swiftly across the grass and up the stairs, her body again visible through her gown as she stepped in front of the lighted sliding glass door and let herself into the bedroom.
He’d known her less than two hours, and already she’d aggravated and aroused him. But he was still going to take her—a wanted fugitive—into his truck and go on the run to help her. Not to mention the kid, and he was terrible with kids.
Indecision warred with self-preservation in his mind. This was no small thing that was being asked of him. He could be arrested. Lose everything that was important to him, his job with HERO Force, his future. He needed some assurance that Teslyn was worthy of such a risk.
He redialed Logan. “One more thing, Doc. I need you to get me a phone number for Razorback’s sister, Vanessa. If I’m going to play Clyde to this chick’s Bonnie, I need to know exactly who I’m dealing with.”