Crossing the Line: Without a Trace series, a contemporary erotic romance novel (17 page)

“A lot of people were,” I say, even as the image of Noah leaving with props and a large duffel presumably filled with costumes fills my mind’s eye. That duffel was huge. Could he have…? I slam the lid down on that thought. “We had a caterer, a live band, there were guests, two of whom smoked so they went outside several times. It’s hard to say.”

She asks for a list of names of people who were at the party, as well as all of the actors. I don’t know all the guests’ names, so I give her the few I recognized as celebrities. I even give her Misha’s name, though I find it hard to believe the caterer would do anything like this. We go over everything I can remember one more time.

“You get back to me on the complete guest list. Think you can do that by tomorrow? I’ll do a little digging, a few background checks, and see what we can find out.”

I nod my affirmation. “How much will this run?”

Fiona gives me a wry grin and waves her hand. “For Lux, I’ll do the checking around for free. Anything more than that, and I charge by the hour.”

“Fair enough. Thank you very much.” I aim for a smile, hoping I get close.

She meets me at the door, but when I reach for it, she touches my shoulder. “Hon, this is pretty easy stuff, and I’ll gladly do it. But you need to prepare yourself in case the reality is a bit different than what you hope. People don’t usually get charged for crimes unless they had some hand in them. Maybe not the blame they got, but they usually did somethin’.”

I’ve never considered myself tall, but next to her, I feel gargantuan. I look down and nod. “I know. And Noah wasn’t doing what he should’ve been. But he didn’t steal anything.”

She presses her lips together, but opens the door. “I’ll probably have something for you by Monday night or Tuesday.”

When I’m finally back on the street, I take a deep breath, trying to excise the memories that have returned. All I want is to forget that year, but something always comes up to remind me.

I text Lux, but tell her to take her time. There’s a small coffee shop down the block, but it’s the kind from yesteryear that serves breakfast and lunch, wouldn’t know a latte from a cappuccino, and stays open only until five for commuters. I order a coffee and try to rationalize the pressure enveloping my chest.

I can ignore all the signs, but my heart knows: I’m falling for Ian. He’s kind, thoughtful, interesting, insightful…everything I’ve always desired in a man. Not to mention, he’s gorgeous. But this…will ruin everything. Who would date a woman when he suspects her brother stole from him? Worse yet, if I don’t tell him about Noah’s past, Ian will never trust me again. But I can’t tell him right now. I have to prove that Noah didn’t do it, first. And not just to save any chance Ian and I might have.

I have to prove it to myself.

Honestly, there’s a lot about my brother I won’t deny: his womanizing in order to avoid dealing with his fear of intimacy; his tendency to put off addressing serious stuff in favor of a good time; the part of him that never really grew up after college and still wants to spend any non-working time bar hopping. I get all that, and I won’t lie about it.

But he’s not a thief. I have to believe that.

CHAPTER 16

WHEREIN THERE BE WOES

I
spin my mother’s ring around my knuckle, lost in thought, when Lux appears across from me.

“Earth to Ella.” Her smoky grey eyes peer closely at me. “You still with me?”

“Yeah, sorry. Lost on a story idea.” When did I become such a good liar? But she doesn’t question it and flags down the server to order her own mug of coffee and a muffin.

“You know, as much as I adore my friend Cheri, I’m not crazy about her manicures.” She holds out her hands to me, displaying bright red nails. “She’s okay, but I’ll stick with my regular girl.”

“We just had manicures on Friday! You got another one?” At her sheepish smile, I shake my head. “And I thought you went to see a friend.”

“She is a friend. She’s also a manicurist.” She accepts the coffee from the server with a small smile.

“You totally use her for free manicures,” I tease, trying to inject some humor into the otherwise dour day.

Lux grins, but shakes her head. “Please. If you knew all the family misery I have to listen to just to get my nails done, you’d think she should be paying me. Felt like I was working. I’m telling you—half my job is playing therapist.”

I ponder that for a moment. “I bet it is. You are probably one of the few people in most of your clients’ lives who knows their darkest secrets.”

She leans back, her leather jacket serving only to enhance her curves, rather than cover them up. “Very true. I’m amazed at the things people will confess to me that have nothing to do with their sexual desires, and everything to do with their emotional issues. Don’t get me wrong—I have perfectly healthy clients who enjoy something their spouse or partner can’t or won’t offer. But I’ve had plenty who can’t be honest with the people in their lives. Always makes me a bit sad, truthfully.” She leans her head back against the booth, her eyes closing.

And the hole in my chest widens. “Can I be one of them?”

“Say what?” She opens one eye.

“Can I be one of your therapy clients?”

“Why? What’s wrong?” She sits up straight.

“I’m fine. But I need to tell you a story.”

So I do.

The call came around two in the morning, as they always do.

“Ells, it’s me. I need you to come get me. Don’t tell Grams, okay?”

Unfortunately, when Noah was charged, he’d been an adult. I scraped enough money together to bail him out the next day—one benefit to working during and after high school was having a savings account.

“I didn’t do it, Ells. I swear I didn’t,” Noah said quietly when I picked him up in my beat-up Ford.

“That’s what they all say, Noah.” The heat of the morning made my truck feel like a sauna, and I leaned my head against the cool glass of the driver’s side window. “What the fuck were you thinking?”

He knew I was mad. I rarely used bad language.

“Adam said we were just selling off shit that his brother found or was given by friends. It was no big deal.”

The morning traffic had thinned, but we still sat in bumper-to-bumper gridlock at lights. “Seriously? A brand new Bose surround sound system? That didn’t tip you off?”

He hung his head, but not before I saw the humiliation in his eyes.

It was my fault. At least, in part. I’d babied Noah, given him everything over the years. If he wanted something, I bought it. I’d been mother and father to Noah since our parents died. He’d always been the sensitive kid, bullied by classmates for his interests in theater. But he’d also been the handsome guy who couldn’t quite fit, which often marked him as a rebel. As a result, he hung out with older kids, the kind that didn’t go to college right away and whose parents let them live at home without rent. It became a status thing, and while I was concerned, Noah always insisted they just had beers and watched movies.

Yeah, right.

“Did they find Adam? Or Hunter?”

He looked out the window. “No. Not yet.”

Of course, they eventually did. All three were charged, though Noah got a deal: no time served and probation for one year, as he was a first-time offender and witness against Adam and Hunter. I made him agree to it, though he fought me, saying he’d never be a snitch.

But the charge was still felony theft and conspiracy. That wasn’t going away.

Lux runs a hand through her dark curls, pulling on the long ponytail that hangs over her shoulder. “Yikes. I knew about the charge, by the way. Noah told me that when we were in college.”

“When you were drunk?”

She grins. “Of course. When weren’t we drunk? But I didn’t—and don’t—care. You’re right. He’s not a thief. I can’t see him actually stealing anything, and if the situation was as he told you, he didn’t. Besides, he’s had access to my wallet and credit cards any time we go out; not to mention, all the women he sleeps with? You better believe he’d be able to bilk them out of some cash. And no one’s ever come back on him. I just don’t see it.”

Her confidence makes me feel better, though it doesn’t solve anything at the moment. “Thanks. Now I’m just hopeful Fiona can figure something out.”

“She will. She’s been a friend of mine for a while.”

“How did you meet her?”

Lux shakes her head. “That’s a very long story, and we’ve got enough on our emotional plates for one day. Hell, not even Noah knows that story. We’ll save that for another time when we’re all present and can drink our way through it.” She reaches for my hand, squeezing my cold fingers. “You going to talk to Ian about all of this?”

I shake my head. “No, I can’t face him. Not until I have something to tell him. I’ll wait until I hear from Fiona.”

She peers at her nails again, then seems to come to a decision. “Fine. Then come back to my place so I can put some glitter polish on my nails, and maybe Evan can bring us wine and cheese.”

“I’d go for beer and Doritos, instead.” I offer a small smile. “I’ll try to call the actors while your nails dry.” When we stand, Lux reaches over and pulls me into a hug.

“This is all going to work out, sweetie. It always does.”

I nod against her shoulder, fighting the tears that threaten.

“And look,” she holds me away from her, looking into my eyes, “if he’s half the man you think he is, he’d never give you up over something that wasn’t your fault.”

“What if I’m just a woman he screws? It’s only been a week or so—”

She presses her finger to my mouth. “Doesn’t matter. When you know, you know.” A shadow passes over her gaze, but she shakes it off. “And he’s crazy if he lets a gorgeous, brilliant, ambitious woman like you get away.”

So with that, I let her guide me back to her place, where we drink too much and get daring with nail polish.

Noah’s sound asleep by the time I get home. I can see evidence of his waking in the kitchen, where there are several glasses in the sink, but from what I can tell, he hasn’t eaten much. I peek in on him and check his forehead like I used to do when we were kids. He’s still running a fever, but for the moment, it’s mild, and he seems lost to the world. I tuck the blankets around him, straighten his nightstand, and refresh his glass of water, then let him sleep.

My own room offers minimal comfort against the maelstrom of worries in my head. I take a shower, relishing the pounding hot water and trying ignore the fearful whispers in the back of my mind.