Guarding Kelsey ((Books We Love Romantic Suspense)) (28 page)

“I need you to be serious, Kelsey.
You might not like what is turned up in the report.”

“I’m not going to like it any better if I’m dressed in a big moo--moo and sitting at the kitchen table.”

Wolf grunted in aggravation.
She was impossible to reason with!
He kicked off his sneakers and sat on the edge of the bed. “All right.
Get your glasses so that we can go over this.”

“They look terrible on me.”

“That’s my point.”

She giggled and stretched across his lap to reach into the bedside table for the glasses.
“Be careful Detective, or I might mistake you for someone who cares.”

“We can’t
have that.
”
He playfully smacked her bottom and eased her off of him.
She settled herself so close to him, she might as well have stayed
on his
lap.

Wolf pulled the papers out of the folder and took a quick glance at the list.
For a man who wanted to get away from it all, Richard Carlyle had spent much of his last
twenty-four
hours on the phone.

“So, what have we got?” Kelsey asked as she tried to peer over his shoulder.

He turned the report face down.
“Do you know a man named Alan Strotski?”

“No.”

Wolf knew of the man, but not personally. “He’s a private investigator.
Very discrete and very good.
He made several calls to your father the day before the accident.”

“Why?”

“Don’t know.
Martinez in checking into it.”

“How do you know?”

“He marked the page.
He knew I’d want to know.”

“A kind of telepathy,” she said wistfully.
“That proverbial bond between partners?”

“You could call it that.”
Although, for the life of him, Wolf couldn’t figure out why.
He didn’t deserve it.
Martinez was using his free time, time that should be shared with his family, to cover Wolf’s back.
Wolf had spent so much time trying to avoid a bond with his partner, he hadn’t realized that the connection existed anyway.

“What else.”

“His lawyer, the office several times.
And my guess is that the Florida call was to you?”

“He called me every night.”

“Daddy’s girl?”

She smiled warmly.
“You bet.”

Wolf glanced again at the report.
“Looks like daddy may have had another girl in his life.
A Sally Hathaway.”

“I’m sure my father had many other women in his life,” she said without a trace of jealousy.
“He was handsome, rich and single.
But Mrs. Hathaway is a seventy year old widow who took care of his plants when he was away.”

“So
he probably wasn’t planning to return for a few days.”

“So why was he leaving the cabin that night?” she muttered more to herself than as if she expected an answer.
She folded a pillow in her arms and hugged it to her body.
If she was upset already, she wasn’t going to like the rest. “Don’t stop now, Wolf.”

“The following day he got two more calls from Strotski,
and then
he called his office.”

Kelsey’s mind whirled.
Why was her father in contact with a private investigator?
Did he suspect something was wrong?
Was it business or personal?
After her tragic marriage, her father rarely shared any worries with her.
They spent their time discussing art, music, movies,
and her
classes.
Things that really didn’t matter, she realized with hindsight. He might have been trying to shelter her, but she wished now that she had been more forthcoming.

“I need to go t
o the lawyer’s office tomorrow
.”

“I think that’s a good idea.”
He traced his thumb along her cheek.
“For now, you should get some sleep.”

She grabbed his arm as he tried to slip from the bed. Going over the last day of her father’s life, had reopened the wounds.
She couldn’t bear to be alone.

“Stay.”

”Not tonight.”

“What’s the difference whether you sleep here or in the living room if your friends
Smith and Wesson
are with
you?
”

His lips curved up in a lopsided grin. “It would be a bit crowded in the bed with all of us.”

She was too weary to argue.
While he was running in protector mode, she wouldn’t win anyway.
“Forget it. I’ll be fine.”

He came to his feet and pulled back the comforter.
Shrugging off her disappointment, she crawled into the downy warmth.
Her gaze locked with his.

Myriad emotions sparked in the depth of his dark eyes.
His mouth twitched.
“Don’t look at me like that.”

“Like what?”

“Like some wounded little deer I deserted on the side of the road.”

“It wasn’t intentional,” she assured him.
The man carried around enough guilt without her adding to his load.
She turned off the lamp light.
“Good night.”

A long silence followed.
After several indecisive seconds, he dropped himself onto the mattress with a grunt.

“Really, I’m fine, Wolf.”

“No, you’re not.
I’ll stay until you fall asleep.”
He caught her wrist in his hand and pinned her arm behind her. “If you promise to behave yourself and go to sleep.”

She snuggled against his chest and basked in the warmth of him.
“You have my word.”

Tonight, she didn’t want his body, she wanted his comfort.
She needed to be held.
She needed to feel his heartbeat next to hers.
More than anything, she needed to believe that she would always feel as safe as she felt in his arms.
When he held her, the outside world ceased to exist.
He wrapped her in a cocoon of protection, the likes of which she hadn’t felt since she was a child.

Two weeks ago, she had known exactly where her life was going.
Finish her degree, move back to her farm,
and get
a job.
Two weeks ago, she didn’t know Wolf Krieger existed.
She didn’t believe she could feel things like passion and desire and longing.
She didn’t imagine she would want to share her life with anyone again.

No matter what happened after tomorrow, she would always have the memory of this time with him.
Was it enough?
Not by a long shot, but she was a stronger person for having known him.

“I love you,” she whispered into the darkness.

He didn’t comment.

She wasn’t sure if he heard, but it didn’t matter.
She needed to say the words.

Chapter
Thirteen

The following morning, Kelsey picked at her breakfast as if she was having her last meal before execution.
Her face was pale and drawn.
She hadn’t slept well the night before and Wolf couldn’t say he blamed her.
She was in the agonizing position of wondering and worrying if a trusted relative might have been responsible for her father’s death and her own terror.
Feeling guilty for her fears, and at the same time, not being able to control them.

He hadn’t been much help either.
Last night when she had declared her love, he had said nothing.
He loved her but he couldn’t tell her.
Not now, and maybe not ever.
The situation was too complicated already.
He needed her focused on her own safety, not acting on her confused and sentimental emotions for him.

“What time is your appointment?”
Wolf asked.

She shook her head as if she hadn’t heard. Vacant eyes focused on his face.
“Eleven o’clock.”

“We’ll leave here at ten thirty.”

She nodded.
The silence stretched.
She speared
a fork
-
full of eggs and piled it onto the toast, then flicked it off a piece at a time.

“Are you going to eat that food, or just play with it?” he asked.

She shot him an accusing glare.
“How can you be so calm?”

He slid his chair closer and closed his hand over hers.
Her fingers were cold and trembling.
“It’s almost over.”

“If you’re right about the threats coming from someone I know.”

“If I’m wrong, then it was over when they found Robbins.
It was either him, or someone who knew about the case.”

The phone rang and she nearly jumped out of her seat. She steeled herself and picked up the receiver on the third ring.
“Hello.”

“Who is it?” Wolf mouthed.

“Good morning Richie
.
.
What did you need
.
.
I can’t.
I have a meeting with the lawyer today…
”

He shook his head to cut her off but she ignored him.

“
No, you can tell Uncle Daniel I don’t need a ride
.
. I have my car
.
.”

Wolf tried to grab the phone from her but she spun around beyond his reach.

“
.
. I’ll stop by the house after the meeting
.” Seconds later she hung up the phone.

Wolf’s temper shot through the roof.
“What the hell was that?
Were you trying to set yourself up as a target?” he thundered.

Kelsey didn’t move.
She didn’t bat an eyelash or back down.
Instead she looked more composed than she had in a long while.
“I have to know.”

“Know what?”

“If any of them were
involved in
something that le
d to
my father’s dea
th
.”

He clenched his hands into tight fists.
He had to get a grip before he acted on impulse instead of instinct. “There are other ways to find out without putting yourself in danger.”