thirteen
Honor looked down at Seth’s bent head as he reviewed the notes from their phone conversation with Jared and Aidan. Though both men had information to share, no significant leads had been discovered other than that Karen Hatcher was also a transfer student and that the real reason Kelli Cavanaugh had transferred to another college was because of a broken heart. Breaking up with a boyfriend her parents hadn’t even known she’d had and wanting to get away from seeing him date her best friend was an interesting piece of news, but no one felt it had anything to do with her disappearance.
After ending the call, Honor had watched Seth withdraw, his expression almost austere. She knew the reason; she just didn’t know if he was going to be open to talking about it. Aidan’s casual comment about how several members of Seth’s family had questioned why he wasn’t there investigating his niece’s disappearance had put the scowl on Seth’s face. But an instant before that, she’d seen the flicker of hurt in his eyes.
Treading softly, she said, “See anything?”
“Nothing. The more I look at the evidence, the less sure I am that any of these disappearances are related.”
“Don’t do that to yourself, Seth.”
His head jerked. “Do what?”
“Punish yourself because of your family.”
Dark brows drew together in an ominous frown. “What are you talking about?”
“You’re second-guessing yourself because of your guilt, not because there’s not a connection.”
Seth pushed his chair back, stood, and went to the window. Pulling the drapes, he stared out at the night. “I don’t need you psychoanalyzing me, Honor.”
“I’m not. I’m just trying to help you understand where your doubts are coming from. Believe me, I know. There were cases where I became attached to the family and their pain became mine. That made me question everything I did. Should I have gone in a different direction? Was I seeing things that weren’t there just because I wanted to bring their children back to them?”
Her heart clutched … she hadn’t thought of those cases in a long time. The ones where no matter what she’d done or how much she’d wanted it, she hadn’t been able to solve the case fast enough or do enough to save the child. Yes, most times she had brought in the pervert responsible. But not always. And it had eaten at her, just as it was eating at Seth. Only for a different reason.
He turned to face her, and instead of the anger she’d seen seconds ago, there was understanding and compassion. Was it any wonder that she had once loved this man so very much?
“I’d forgotten that you worked with the Child Abduction Unit. My God, the misery and pain you must have seen.”
“Sometimes it was unbearable, but most times, the parents’ pain did what it needed to do. It drove me, helped me to stay focused, and made me even more determined.”
Seth twisted around to stare out the window again. “I just can’t get over the feeling that I should go to Houston and at least give them some kind of update.”
“We will, when we have something to give them. Going there now, without any concrete evidence, will only frustrate them more. Let’s get our preliminary investigation out of the way. Then, when you go, hopefully you’ll be able to give them hope.”
“You’re right.”
Feeling on firmer ground now, she asked, “Have you talked with anyone in your family, since this happened, other than Joel?”
He nodded. “The day after Joel called me, I went to his house to talk to him and his wife, Beth. Mom and my sister Ally were there, too. I think they came in case things got heated between me and Joel.” He shrugged. “I felt like a stranger with them.”
Honor couldn’t help but hurt for him. Her family meant the world to her; what would she do if she couldn’t call them, rely on them to be there when she needed them? Seth hadn’t had that for a very long time. The decisions he’d made for his job had cost him his close relationship with his family. And even though his actions had also broken her heart, she felt an unexpected anger at the Cavanaughs. Families were supposed to love and forgive you no matter what.
“When you told your family the truth about Clemmons, what did they say?”
“It’s what they didn’t say that was the most telling. Even though Clemmons didn’t know I was the mole, he still had enough money and influence to come after me if he found out the truth. I was still a target. After he was arrested, I told my mom, brothers, and sisters the truth, but they had to keep it to themselves. I know they were relieved that I wasn’t the sleaze they’d thought I was, but I could tell they were pissed, too.”
“Because you hadn’t trusted them with the truth?”
“That, and the fact that I had basically put my entire family at risk.”
“But that’s why you separated yourself from them, to protect them.”
“Yeah, well, that didn’t stop them from being pissed.”
Honor watched as he stared intently out the window. Her room faced the parking lot, and it was pitch-dark outside. He wasn’t looking at the view; he was looking inside himself, questioning and hurting. And Honor hurt for him even more. Yes, his family had suffered for what he’d put them through, but so had Seth.
“I would think they’d be proud that you did something so dangerous and selfless.”
“My mom defended me, but the things I had to say and do to keep them away from me are hard to forget.” He sighed. “Even though everything makes sense to them now … there’s still a divide.
“Most of the family never understood why I wanted to be a cop in the first place. I come from a long line of accountants, cooks, and realtors. Good, honest professions, but not exactly edge-of-your-seat excitement. I wanted something more.”
Without telling her legs to move, Honor found herself standing behind him. Putting her hand on his shoulder, she gave him something his entire family should have but hadn’t. “I think you’re a wonderfully brave man.”
He turned and looked down at her, puzzlement and something else in his expression. “After what I did to you, you can say that?”
“I’m still angry and hurt about that, but I also realize the sacrifices you made. Takes a strong person to be that committed.”
His mouth twisted into a semblance of a smile. “I really am sorry I hurt you.”
“I know you are.”
She gave him her own twisted smile and dropped her hand. If she didn’t get him out of her room, she was going to do something supremely stupid. Seeing this side of Seth made her want to ease his pain. Doing that now would involve more than just physical release. Making love to him would open up the part of her heart she’d sworn would be closed forever.
Honor backed away. “Guess we’d better call it a night. We need to get an early start tomorrow.”
Knowledge flickered in his eyes. He understood exactly why she’d moved away from him. Despite her determination to feel nothing, a lump developed in her throat.
“I’ll see you in the morning.”
As she watched him walk out the door, Honor literally had to grab on to the desk beside her to keep herself from running after him.
Years ago, she’d loved him with an intensity and fervor that had rivaled any great romance. Today, maturity and experience made her pause and assess every move, every word. After Seth, she had promised herself she’d never again fall so hard and so fast. Never feel so deeply. Now here she was, five years later, and not once had she felt for anyone close to what she had felt for Seth.
With an explosive sigh, Honor turned to the lackluster view beyond the window. She was in so much trouble.
In the late afternoon of the fourth day of her escape, Anna stood in the midst of the wilderness and, for the first time, began to question whether she would survive. She had no idea where to go, what direction to head in. She could live on berries and nuts—they were plentiful. And so far, finding water had been no problem. However, her physical condition was deteriorating. An hour ago, she had given up on the cloth covering her feet, which was just as well, since it really had provided little protection. But now she feared infection or worse. Her feet throbbed with a never-ending pain, and several of the cuts were red and inflamed. If she didn’t get help soon, she wouldn’t make it.
Last night had been her worst yet. The temperature had fallen with a rapid pace she hadn’t expected. She’d huddled beneath all the branches and leaves she could find, but the area she’d wound up in had been devoid of trees, except for a few, sparsely spread out. She had resisted stopping until it was too dark to see and then, when she had, she’d discovered that she had little protection from the elements. This morning, she’d woken sore and stiff from trying to stay warm.
She had hoped that going downhill would mean something. So far, all she’d found were more valleys and hills and absolutely no signs of civilization. Sitting down and having a good cry was a temptation, but where would that get her? Nowhere.
Chin jutted out to prevent those useless tears, Anna set her sights on what looked like a clearing beyond a small patch of trees. She headed to the opening. Seven steps later, she stopped and listened. An unfamiliar sound hit her ears. Beyond the birds chirping, the wind shuffling the leaves of the trees, and small animals scampering and foraging, she heard something distinctly human: whistling.
Frozen in place, her breath halted, she waited. Had she imagined the sound because she wanted it to be true? No, there it was again. Some kind of vaguely familiar tune. Someone had hiked this far into the woods and would be able to help her, get her back home. She could call the police, save the other girls. Choking back a sob of thanksgiving, Anna ignored the pain in her feet and ran toward the wonderful sound of another human being.
She stopped at the edge of the clearing. Having learned her lesson the hard way, she refused to just explode through the trees until she knew what she was getting into. After all, it could be people from the hunting party of those monsters she’d escaped from.
The man appeared to be in his late thirties. Tall and broad-shouldered, he whistled as he set up a tent in the middle of the clearing. Totally focused on his job, he never looked up from his task of pounding a steel stake into the ground. When he stopped pounding for a moment, Anna recognized the tune he was whistling as an old Dean Martin love song. She sighed her happiness. That song had been one of her great-grandmother’s favorites; she was going to be rescued.
Gingerly, she made her way toward the man. Not wanting to startle him, she stood a few yards away and waited for him to notice her. Several seconds later, his body stiffened and she knew he had sensed her presence. He lifted his head and stared at her as if she were an apparition.
With her oversized ragged clothes, no shoes, and wild hair, she probably looked like a scary woodland creature. Anna gave him a bright smile, hoping to lessen the impact of her appearance. “Thank God I found you.”
The man continued to stare, making Anna wonder if she looked even worse than she thought. “Don’t be afraid. I’m lost and need to get back home.” She took a step closer and said, “Do you have a cellphone, by chance?”
He shook his head.
“Can you help me?”
He nodded.
She moved closer. The expression on his face so wary, she wondered if he thought she would harm him.
Apparently finally finding his voice, he said, “Are you hungry?”
“Starving.”
He turned and pulled several items from a canvas bag. “I have cheese and crackers. As soon as I get a fire started, I’ll heat up some beef stew.”
Anticipation and hunger brought her even closer. “Thank you so much.”
He nodded at a folding chair. “Have a seat and I’ll get you fed in no time.”
Almost crying, her relief was so great, she sat down and savored the moment. She was going home; she had survived.
“My name is Anna Bradford. What’s yours?”
“Ben Hamilton.” He smiled for the first time as he added, “And I’m very pleased to meet you, Anna.”
She looked around at the supplies neatly laid out on a small strip of canvas. “So are you up here for some fishing or hunting?”
The smile spread even wider. “Yeah, you might say that.”
fourteen
LCR branch office
Tampa, Florida
Seth stared at the white dry-erase board and tried to see something he knew wasn’t there. There was almost no real commonality between the five young women. How the hell could he have thought otherwise?
He and Honor had visited the colleges Drenda and Anna attended. They had gone to the places they were last seen, had interviewed professors, friends, and acquaintances. Other than someone remembered seeing Anna at a local coffee shop talking with a young blond woman, there was nothing. The coffee shop didn’t have surveillance cameras, so other than that she was pretty, no one knew what the hell the girl looked like. A pretty blond wasn’t exactly on their list of suspects. Problem was, no one else was, either.
He and Honor had flown into Tampa a few hours ago; after checking into their hotel, they’d both wanted to come to LCR to prepare for tomorrow’s meeting. Thorne and Livingston would be arriving tomorrow morning. Noah McCall was flying in from Paris and would be there as well. Between the five of them, he hoped like hell someone would see something. What that something was, he had no idea.
Honor spoke from behind him: “Let’s head back to the hotel and catch some sleep.”
“You go ahead.”
She sighed. “Seth, we’ve looked at the evidence from every angle. Nothing is going to magically appear. With fresh eyes and additional people, maybe we’ll see the connection we’re missing.”
He whirled around. “And if we don’t? What then? Do we just drop it? LCR goes on to something they can solve?”
A sort of stubborn pride sparkled in her eyes. “No, that’s not going to happen. We don’t give up.”
“Why not—that’s what you thought I should have done, isn’t it?”
“What?”
“With Clemmons. You think I should have just dropped it and gone on with my life. Forgotten about the promises I made and let him get away with his shit.”
“Did I ever say that?”
“No, but—”
Cheeks flushed, her eyes gleaming even hotter, she advanced on him. “Don’t you dare use your guilt and frustration to make me out to be the villain.” Inches from him, she stopped. “I never said I thought you should give it up. I’ve seen people like Clemmons … I know what they can do.”
An odd expression flickered across her face as she backed away. “If you’re not interested in sleeping, let’s at least work off some of this excess energy.”
Exhausted from his worry for Kelli and the lack of clear-cut leads, he went still at Honor’s words. Aching with a need for her that would never die, Seth studied her beautiful face. Did she mean …? She gave him a look, vulnerable but yearning. Hell yes, she did. Always semi-hard in Honor’s presence, he moved on to full-fledged arousal in an instant. He shot a quick glance around the conference room, judging where the most comfortable place would be. “Where? Here?”
She shook her head. “Follow me.”
Figuring he’d follow her over a cliff if she swayed her beautiful ass like that, he trailed her out of the conference room, down a hallway, and into another room.
Seth stopped at the door while Honor went to the middle of the room, turned, and smiled. “It’s a great gym, isn’t it? I figured I’d have to join one when I moved to Paris, but all the LCR offices have fully equipped ones.”
“You want to work out?” He couldn’t keep the incredulity out of his voice … he was past pretending. He was already brick hard and getting harder by the second.
She arched a brow. “You want something else?”
He advanced into the room, his fingers tugging at the buttons of his shirt. “Yeah, I want something else. So do you.”
She didn’t argue, which was a relief. A small smile tweaked her mouth, but her eyes were solemn, searching. “Just sex, right?”
His fingers stopped at the last button of his shirt. “What do you mean?”
“No promises, no talk of the future. Nothing beyond this moment.”
He told himself he wasn’t disappointed in her request. He sure as hell wasn’t looking for a relationship. Sure, if things had been different five years ago, he probably would have married Honor; maybe they’d even have a couple of kids by now. And they would have been happy, he knew that without a doubt. But that was all in the past … a future with her didn’t exist any longer. Didn’t matter. No way in hell would he refuse her invitation.
“Mindless, meaningless sex? Sure, I can do that.” Isn’t that what he’d done before and after Honor?
Moving slowly toward him, that sexy walk of hers heating him to boiling, she stopped before him and said softly, “Just so you know. Sex with you could never be meaningless.”
With a groan, Seth pulled her close and covered her mouth. She opened willingly and his tongue went deep, meeting, tangling, and licking at hers. His hands were equally busy, pulling and tugging at her clothes. In seconds, she was beautifully, gloriously nude. Unable to stop himself, Seth stepped back to appreciate what he’d only been able to fantasize from memory for the last five years. Cream silk and freckles—his fantasy come to life. “You’re even more beautiful than I remembered.”
Her smile sexy, her eyes gleaming with need, she took his hand. “Let me show you what I found the first time I visited this office.” Pulling him toward a wall, she pressed a small panel and a door appeared. Seth followed her in to find a few more pieces of equipment.
“You got a sex swing back here?”
Her expression one he’d go to his grave needing, she shook her head and started pulling at his clothes. “Much better.”
“What’s better than a sex swing?”
She drew back, her eyes alive with laughter. “Have you ever tried a sex swing?”
“Hell no.”
“Me either. This, on the other hand, is perfect for us.”
Taking his eyes off the beauty in front of him, he looked around again. “What are you talking about?”
“Get your clothes off and then I’ll show you.”
No additional encouragement was necessary. Seth stripped to nothing and then sucked in a breath when Honor’s soft, cool hand closed around him. “Baby, I can’t—”
“Then come with me.” With one last caress, she let him go and walked naked toward a door in the corner. His eyes on her delectable ass, Seth barely knew how his feet were moving. All available blood had zoomed to his groin. If Honor wasn’t in front of him, promising sweet relief, he’d probably fall to his knees.
She opened the door and turned, offering another enticing smile. “Come with me.”
Since he felt as though he could come at any moment, her words seemed more likely as the seconds passed. Shifting his gaze, he realized she was leading him into a sauna.
Seth followed her inside. Immediately, a fine sheen of warm moisture covered his skin. Unable to wait any longer, he pulled Honor back into his arms and claimed her mouth again.
Wrapping her arms around this man she’d never been able to let go of, Honor swallowed a groan of need. Yes, this was what she wanted, what she needed. Seth. Only and always Seth. As he ate at her mouth, Honor’s hands slid down his broad shoulders, loving the feel of his hard, slick skin beneath her fingers.
His hot mouth lifting from hers, he began to trail his tongue down her neck. Honor tried to bring her mouth back to his, but he shook her head. “Not yet … I need to taste you.” He pushed her backward until the backs of her knees met the bench behind her. She sat down and Seth went to his knees in front of her. Honor pulled him to her and attacked his mouth again—she could never get enough of Seth’s kisses.
Holding her head with his hands, he gave her what she wanted. He thrust his tongue deep again and again, and Honor chased his tongue, sucking, dueling. The heat of the sauna was nothing to the heat Seth’s mouth was creating inside her.
Finally, she had to pull back to catch her breath. Seth nipped at her lips, and when she would have gone after his mouth again, he growled “I forgot how damn good you taste” as he moved his mouth down her neck, to her breasts. Licking a nipple and then taking it into his mouth, he suckled hard. Honor gasped and held his head as he devoured first one breast and then the other.
He pulled away again and Honor blinked to focus on the man in front of her. Beads of sweat slid down his face, and that expression of intense concentration that promised ecstasy made her want to throw herself back into his arms and let him take her hard and fast.
His deep blue eyes locked with hers, she felt his hands on her butt, pulling her closer to the edge of the bench, and then his hands were between her legs, spreading her. “Seems like I’ve dreamed about this forever.”
So had she. How many times had she woken aroused, swollen and wet, throbbing with need, because she’d dreamed about Seth’s mouth, his hands, his body? Too many times to count.
The first flick of his tongue on her clit sent her to the edge of climax. Honor leaned her head back against the wall, closed her eyes, and gave herself to his devouring mouth. And then, in an effortless, dreamy fashion, she was there—bright lights behind her closed lids exploded; her only thought, her only focus was the pleasure zooming through her. A keening scream of ecstasy bounced against the walls of the small room.
Long seconds later, she opened her eyes to see Seth still on his knees before her, a tender expression on his face.
She leaned forward and kissed him softly, tasting herself on his mouth. “I need you inside me.”
With a swift motion, he stood and jerked her up from the bench. Whirling her around, he sat down and pulled her over him. “Then take me.”
With her knees on either side of his hips, Honor once again locked her gaze with his as she lowered herself. Seth cupped her butt, easing her onto to his erection. Her breath hitched as she felt the tip of him slide into her.
“Easy, sweetheart,” Seth whispered.
She didn’t want easy, she wanted hard and fast, but it had been such a long time for her. When he was halfway in, Honor stopped and leaned her forehead against his shoulder, panting with exertion.
“You okay?” he asked.
“Yeah, it’s just …”
“Shhh.” He lifted her up again and inserted two fingers inside. Spreading her gently, insistently, he worked the eager flesh surrounding him. Honor rode his fingers, feeling herself loosening, opening more for him. The throbbing desire intensified with each thrust of his fingers; she had to have more, needed more … she needed all of him.
Apparently agreeing that she was ready, he withdrew his fingers and eased her down over his erection again. She gasped a welcoming sigh. Yes, this time he went in easier, until he was almost totally buried within her.
“Okay?” he asked gruffly.
“So very okay.”
“You ready?”
“Yes.”
His big hands cupped her butt again as he worked her up and down, allowing her to take him a little more with each downward slide. Heat built. Gripping Seth’s slick shoulders, she began to move up and down on her own, letting him use his hands to close around her and bring her breasts up to his mouth. Gasps, groans, and cries of delight filled the small room. Climax zoomed, fierce and sweet, carrying her away on a wave of pleasure and searing, burning heat. Crying out his name, Honor exploded around him. Seconds later, Seth let out a low, growling groan and she felt his release flood her.
Clasping her arms tightly around him, she pressed her face against his neck and licked his neck, his collarbone, everywhere she could reach. His taste seemed beautifully familiar, yet wonderfully new—this was Seth before and this was Seth now. A man she’d never stopped wanting or needing.
As her body shook with satisfaction and exhaustion, Honor acknowledged that for the first time in years, she felt whole and at peace. And now, the biggest question faced her: how in the hell was she ever going to let him go again?