Chapter Fourteen #3
Seth slid his hands inside the shirt Rueben borrowed from him and rested his hands on warm, taut cheeks.
Interest sparked in those molten brown eyes.
Would Rueben allow a slight detour from story time so he could sink his teeth into that delectable ass?
Seth balanced the weight of those firm globes in his hand and watched the spark turn into flames of lust. He leaned forward and breathed Rueben’s scent deep into his nose.
“I’ve wanted to see you in my home for so long, and now that I have you here, I need you to make your mark in every single room.
” Their erections aligned, only separated by Seth’s lounge pants, but the connection wasn’t enough for him. “Starting here.”
His cell phone rang just as Rueben gripped his pajama bottoms. “Ignore it,” Rueben growled. He yanked the pants down to mid-thigh so they were flesh to flesh, and Seth drowned out the sound of the intrusion.
Seth’s grip on Rueben’s ass turned bruising as they thrust and moved together.
Frotting on their feet was clumsy and frustrating, so Seth moved them to the couch as fast as the restrictive pants around his thighs permitted.
He’d just sat his bare ass down on the cold leather sofa when his phone rang again.
Rueben frowned and glanced over his shoulder at the offensive phone on the coffee table. “It’s Agent Johansen,” he said.
“I better take it.” They wouldn’t call him unless the situation was dire, and Seth’s first thought went to Quinton Carson’s whereabouts.
Maybe the marshals were wrong about hitting him with a bullet, and he was as much of a risk as he’d been twelve hours ago.
Rueben handed Seth the phone, then curled onto the couch beside him, hissing a little when his ass kissed the leather surface.
Despite everything, Seth couldn’t help but smile. He accepted the call and said, “Burke.”
“Does the name Reginald Ulrich ring a bell?” Johansen said in way of greeting.
The air whooshed from Seth’s lungs like someone sucker punched him.
It took him a moment to gather himself before he could speak.
“The last name Ulrich certainly does. Ryan Ulrich is the primary suspect in my cousin Natalie’s unsolved murder, but he’s been dead for a while now.
” He searched his memories for information on Ryan’s family from Natalie’s case file.
“Ryan had a little brother, but I can’t recall his name.
He was about eight years old when Natalie died but didn’t factor into the case much.
I was thirteen at the time, so I didn’t know him. Why?”
“We scoured the area looking for the vehicle Rueben’s assailant drove.
We found it, along with Odell’s Nissan truck, parked at a vacant cabin two miles from yours.
The property is abandoned, and nature has overpowered the gravel driveway, so we missed it last night.
We sent drones up at daybreak and found it right away.
There was a wallet inside the car with an ID for Reginald Ulrich.
Blood was all over the passenger side of the car, confirming it’s likely the vehicle used in the ambush.
” Johansen paused to take a breath, and Seth knew the guy had just gotten started.
“When we got a warrant to search the cabin, we found Quinton Carson dead inside. He has two gunshot wounds—one in his abdomen, as the marshals reported, and a fatal one to the head.”
“Self-inflicted?” Seth asked.
“It appears so, but Reggie could’ve killed him and placed the gun in his hand. That’s one answer we hope to get from him, but we need your help first.”
“Me?” Seth asked.
“He’s awake and says he’ll only talk to you.”
He had to be Ryan’s brother. “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Seth said.
“I agree, but he intends to give a full confession if he can speak to you first. Lyndhurst and I will be there along with federal prosecutor John Beckett.”
Seth couldn’t imagine what Reggie had to say to him. Well, he could, but he didn’t want to listen to the man defend Ryan. And what did his family have to do with the whole damn Salvation Anew mess? “What time do you want me there?”
Reggie Ulrich’s room wasn’t hard to find, with two CSPD officers standing on either side of the door and Johansen, Lyndhurst, and Beckett loitering in the hallway.
The trio shook his hand and tried for somber tones, but they couldn’t keep the anticipation of an earth-shattering confession from showing in their eyes.
They believed Reggie Ulrich was Brother Cain, the last surviving thread to Salvation Anew.
A corroborated confession could put this entire nightmare behind them, but Seth expected Reggie wanted to scrape open his old wounds.
After the phone call with Johansen, Rueben told Seth about the things Reggie had said the previous night before Rueben flung the hot oil in his face.
Seth couldn’t believe Rueben had kept that information from him until he recalled that he’d led his man straight to the bedroom, where dirty talk became their only form of communication.
“Do you have a copy of Reggie’s driver’s license photo?” Seth asked.
Johansen pulled a piece of paper from a file and handed it to him.
Jesus Fucking Christ. Reggie was the guy who sat next to him at the Feisty Bull on the night he confronted Rueben in the stockroom.
The man had attempted to make conversation with Seth a few times, but he hadn’t been in the mood.
Reggie had worn a hat pulled down low on his forehead, but those arctic-blue eyes were unforgettable.
According to Rueben, Keegan had described them as dead eyes, and Seth had to agree.
He didn’t notice any physical resemblance between the man in the photo and Seth’s memory of Ryan Ulrich.
He returned the photo to Johansen. “See if Keegan Scott can positively identify him as Brother Cain.” Seth repeated what he’d learned about the possible sightings and Keegan’s reactions. “Give him a warning, and be patient with the identification. The guy has been through hell and back.”
“We’ll handle it sensitively and discreetly,” Johansen promised. “Ready to do this?”
Absolutely not, but Seth nodded.
The man in the bed was even more unrecognizable than before, with most of his head bandaged.
Those frigid eyes locked on Seth and followed him throughout the room.
Seth wondered about the legality of the interview since the guy had to be on pain meds, but that wasn’t his problem.
He knew firsthand how protective doctors were of their patients, but if Reggie agreed to speak to them, who was he to argue?
The room wasn’t big enough for all four of them to sit down, so Seth took one chair, and Lyndhurst took the other.
Three recording devices appeared from jacket pockets, and each of the men took turns documenting the date, time, and names of those present.
Ulrich kept his unnerving gaze on Seth for the duration of introductions, barely acknowledging the other men in the room until Johansen read him his rights.
“I understand and waive my right to an attorney.” Ulrich’s voice was low and gravelly, but his words rang clear and seemed unfettered by heavy medications. “Before I give a full confession, I want something from Sheriff Burke.”
“He’s recused himself,” Beckett said. “He can’t grant—”
Ulrich interrupted the federal prosecutor with an angry wave of his hand, but he never tore his gaze away from Seth’s. “This is between us, and it’s personal.”
“I’m listening,” Seth said.
“I beg you to keep looking for Natalie’s killer,” Reggie said.
“I know you’re convinced my brother did it, but I know he didn’t.
Ryan was many things, but a killer wasn’t one of them.
He died from guilt but not for the reasons you think.
” Reggie stopped, swallowed hard, and cleared his throat.
“Fuck, I’m going to choke to death on this plea before I can make it.
You’d be the one begging if I’d had my way last night. ”
Seth called on decades of training and experience not to take the bait Reggie dangled in front of him. He reminded himself that Rueben was safe and would remain that way.
“Do you need a drink?” Lyndhurst asked.
“Shut the fuck up!” Reggie roared. “I don’t want to hear any of you so much as breathe, or this is over. I’m not thirsty.”
Seth shot them a warning glance, and the trio seemed to shrink into themselves.
“I’m choking because I’ve hated you for nearly all my life,” Reggie snarled.
“I’ve spent the last few years planning ways to destroy your reputation and life the way your witness statement did to my family.
Humiliating you in front of the townsfolk suddenly didn’t feel like enough for what you did to my family, and I decided to kill your boyfriend.
” Reggie raised his hand to his bandaged face. “Guess he won that battle.”
“Then why did you decide to talk to me or ask me for a favor?” Seth was ashamed to admit Reggie had caught him off guard and piqued his interest.
“Because everything I’ve done was to avenge my brother and mother.”
“Your mother?” Seth asked.
“Your election as sheriff four years ago stirred up interest in Natalie’s death again, and a so-called journalist tracked Mom down to talk about Ry.
The son of a bitch hounded her day and night.
Then he moved on to coworkers and friends, telling everyone our business.
People turned on her or avoided her again.
It was like Last Chance Creek all over again.
The stress caused a massive stroke she’s never recovered from, and she lives in a nursing home.
Mom doesn’t know me half the time and only asks for Ry.
I pretend to be him sometimes to make her happy. ”
“I am sorry to hear about your mother, and looking back now, I will admit the town wasn’t fair to your family.”
“How fucking big of you.” Reggie’s snarl turned into a cough.