Dangerous Secrets (8 page)

He seemed to sense her loss of words and stepped back to give her room. “Let’s get this over and move on to the wedding bliss, shall we?”

“Yes, please,” she said, pulling the door shut behind her and then locking it. “Where is Royce?”

“Blake took him to the shooting range for me, so he wouldn’t ask questions, and because he was climbing the walls with pre-wedding jitters.”

They started the walk to the stairs and she wondered what it would be like to have siblings that came through for you like Luke did. “I owe Blake a few thank yous it seems.”

He snorted. “Blake likes holding a gun almost as much as he does a different woman every night.”

“I’ve gathered from being around him that he’s a real player.”

“Fast women, fast cars, and danger,” he said. “He’s an adrenaline junkie since Sara died, trying to feel something aside from pain.”

She cast him a sideways look as he held open a door to the private parking area to their building, which was a rare find in Manhattan. ”You’re really worried about him, aren’t you?”

“Blake is like jogging with a bomb in your hand,” he said. “He’s going to explode, it’s just a matter of when and how badly, which is exactly what he thinks about the Elizabeth Moore situation.” He clicked the lock on his Black Dodge Ram. “Let me help you up. The step is high.” He opened the door.

“Does that mean that you’ve uncovered something concerning?”

“Elizabeth Moore ending up dead after she threatened her husband is plenty in my book,” he said, “and we have a couple of our best men digging around. We’ll know more after the wedding.”

Julie sensed he wasn’t telling her everything. “If Blake is a bomb certain to explode on a scale of 1-10, where does he rank?”

“Seven on a good day. Nine on the other 364.”

“And this situation?”

His expression remained unchanged, emotionless, but the several seconds of hesitation was almost as telling as his answer. “Eleven.”

***
 

They pulled up to the cemetery only twenty minutes later, and that was because of bad traffic, the wind gusting, and the sky gray and threatening. Julie had never been to a cemetery before. She hadn’t even been to a funeral. She had no real family, so it was one dark spot in life she’d really never faced. Dread clawed in her stomach at the sight of the tombstones.
 

Luke pulled the truck to a stop behind a line of parked cars and Julie could see the tent across the terrain. Guilt twisted in her gut. Why hadn’t she called the police? Because you had nothing to offer them, she reminded herself.
 

“You aren’t responsible,” he said, accurately reading her thoughts. “There was no way you could have foreseen such a thing.”

“I appreciate you saying that more than you know,” she said, running her suddenly clammy hands down the fabric of her dress.

“We can–”

“I’m staying,” she finished before he could.
 

He sighed. “I’ll come around and help you out.”

She waited on him gladly, feeling out of sorts. Uneasy and wobbly. Luke being here helped, and while on a personal level that might scare her, it also made her stronger.
 

Luke opened the door, and she turned to let him help her down, and blurted, before she could lose her nerve. “Thank you. I’m glad you came.”
 

He stared at her for a long, moment, his face unreadable,
 
before he gave her one of those sexy smiles that made even the dread in her stomach fade for a moment. With the ease of lifting a grocery bag, he lifted her and set her on her feet, running his hand down her hair. He did that a lot and she liked it way too much.
 

“Let’s go get this over with so we can happily marry off Royce and Lauren.”

“Yes,” she said. “Please. I want to go back to Lauren’s fairytale land. It’s nicer there.”

He slid his hand down her arm and surprised her by twining his fingers with hers. Silently, they fell into step and for the second time in her life, she had a sense of being part of something good, something right, something that was at odds with what she believed was in her future and even the grim, bitter cold of a day at the cemetery.

Droplets began to fall and Luke quickly pulled them into the back of the surprisingly large tent, a good fifty-plus people in seats. Sobs filled the air, and the rain picked up, the wind splattering it against the tent fabric. The judge sat in the front row, but she didn’t recognize those close to him. What got to Julie the most was the absence of a casket. There was a much smaller finely etched wooden box that she assumed held what was left of the beautiful, too young to die, Elizabeth Moore.
 

It wasn’t long before a man in a robe stepped forward to a podium and began to speak. Wind seemed to howl at the same moment, as if Elizabeth herself was protesting her demise. The darkness of the event, the sadness surrounding her, tightened Julie’s throat, and she felt the prickle of tears.

Luke pulled her under his arm, and she happily took the shelter he offered. The next fifteen minutes was a blur that felt endless.
 

When the final prayer ended, the crowd scattered. People went to the flowers in a center display for Elizabeth, while Julie clung to Luke’s arm, just staring at them.
 

“You okay?” he whispered in her ear.

She swallowed and nodded, turning to him, tears burning in the back of her eyes. “I’m fine. I’ve never gone to a funeral before.”
 

He covered her hand where it had landed on his chest. “It’s not a good experience. Ready to go?”
 

“More than ready.” They started to turn and Julie paused. “Should I say something to Judge Moore?”

Luke stared down at her, his eyes heavy with concern. “If you want to, we will.”

We. She liked that ‘we’ right now. She shouldn’t. It was dangerous but she just couldn’t get herself to care. Her gaze lifted to where the judge still sat in his seat, unmoving like stone. Giving her condolences seemed appropriate, but she suddenly realized she wasn’t here for Judge Moore. She was here for his dead wife and she wasn’t sure she wouldn’t go off the deep end and confront him. That would be bad. Very bad.
 

Decision made, Julie shook her head. “I want to go.”

Approval lit his eyes and he took her hand to lead her out of the tent. Julie collided with someone. She pulled back, started by the impact, only to find herself sucking in a breath at the sight of Elizabeth Moore.

Chapter Seven

The woman who was Elizabeth Moore, but wasn’t Elizabeth Moore, slid her hand into Julie’s. “Thank you for coming to pay respect to my sister,” she said, and then she was gone. Stunned, Julie realized the woman had pressed a piece of paper in her hand.
 

Discreetly, Julie turned to face Luke. She reached down and put her hand in her coat pocket. “Let’s go now, please.”

“It’s raining hard,” he warned.
 

Her gaze swept the terrain outside the tent and indeed, it was pouring rain. “I don’t care.”
 

He gave her a keen look and took her hand. “I’m in for cold and wet if you are.”
 

They darted into the rain and he helped her into the truck. When he finally climbed in, her teeth were chattering.
 

“My heater is a furnace,” he said, cranking the engine. “It’ll be warm in a minute.” He glanced at her. “I didn’t know Elizabeth had a twin.”
 

Julie shoved her wet hair from her face. “Me either. It was a shock. They’re identical.”

Suddenly, he pulled her close and kissed her and all that ice and dread inside her thawed. She needed that warmth, his warmth, more than she needed to breathe right now. And while she was melting from the wicked heat of his tongue, he reached into her pocket and pulled out the note.

He leaned back and held it up.

 
Feeling defensive, she quirked, “I would have told you if you’d have given me the chance.”

His lips thinned in obvious doubt as he read the note. “We have to talk.” He glanced up at her. “That’s it and a phone number.” He shoved it in his pocket. “I’ll take care of this. After the wedding.”

“You’re being obnoxiously domineering,” she said.
 
“I don’t like it.”

“And I like you better alive,” he said. “So if you want to be mad at me, I’ll take the anger.”
 

“What if someone else is in danger, Luke? What if–”

He kissed her again, and damn it, she managed to resist a whole two seconds before she all but moaned from the feel of his mouth on hers. The man was making her crazy, taking control of her life. “Don’t do this to yourself,” he ordered softly. “I’ll have someone find out more about her sister right away. I promise. You just focus on the wedding.”

“You promise?” she confirmed. “Because if anyone else ends up dead, I’ll never live with myself.”

“I promise and I never break a promise.”
 

She swallowed against the sudden dryness in her throat, because not only did she trust him, she realized she trusted Luke as she never had any other man. “We should go.”
 

Julie scooted out of his arms to face forward, confusion filling her. He acted like a big brother with kissing privileges, and avoided every chance he’d had to get her naked and in bed. She didn’t understand. Did he want her or not? And why did it matter to the point that it hurt thinking that he might not? What else explained his quick hotel departure, or leaving her apartment where they’d been alone with barely a kiss? Or suggesting he sleep on her couch not in her bed with her?
 

***

Several hours later Julie had donned a pale blue dress the color of the wedding theme. She’d headed to the church, where she’d spent the entire rehearsal avoiding eye contact with Luke, feeling every touch of Luke’s hand as they practiced walking down the aisle.
 
She didn’t know what she was feeling or how to deal with it. She just didn’t know.

Avoiding eye contact at the dinner afterward proved more difficult. The group of twenty sat in a private back room of Eden, a favorite Walker restaurant. It lived up to its name with vines, flowers, and spectacular plants covering the ceilings and the walls.

Julie sat on one side of the long triangular table, to the left of the bride, while the groom was to her right. Luke had chosen a seat directly across from Julie, and beside him was Blake. Every time Julie looked at Luke she was struck by how delectable he looked in a royal blue button-down. Which was why, among other reasons, she kept her attention on Lauren. But she could feel Luke watching her, feel the tingle of awareness that touched every place his gaze landed.
 

Julie leaned in close to Lauren and discreetly indicated to her recently divorced father, a retired senator, chatting away with her soon to be husband’s mom. “Someone should warn him she’s seeing someone.”

 
“Oh good grief,” Lauren said. “Royce and my father are only just now starting to get along.” She slid out of her seat and headed over to her father, squatting down beside him.

Luke’s sexy rumble of laughter caught her attention and Julie’s eyes darted on their own accord toward him. A young brunette waitress with deep cleavage was blatantly flirting with him, and he seemed to be enjoying the attention.
 

Instantly, Julie felt the unfamiliar and very unwelcome flare of jealousy, the same feeling she’d felt in the hotel.
 

“Julie?”
 

Her eyes darted to Lauren, and she didn’t even realize Lauren had returned. “Sweetie,” Lauren said, “what’s going on with you and Luke? I know you don’t like me to bring up your past with him, but it is obvious something’s going on with you two.”

“We’re friends,” she said quickly, not wanting to talk about herself. Tonight was about Lauren. “Nothing more, and all is well.”
 

Lauren took a sip of her wine and studied Julie closely. “Maybe later tonight, when we’re alone, you might want to talk.”
 

Julie forced a smile. “About you and your soon-to-be hot new husband. You’re marrying the man you love tomorrow. I know you went to the spa today, but you never get your feet done, so I bought pedicure stuff, lotion, and candles.”

Lauren smiled brightly and gave Julie a big hug. “I love you, you know?”

Julie smiled into her hair, fighting emotion. “I love you, too.”

Feeling ever weepy, Julie let a busboy take her salad plate and reached for her wine, only to realize that her hand was shaking. She set the drink back down and somehow her gaze collided with Luke’s right when the waitress settled her hand on his shoulder.
 

Breaking eye contact, she diverted her gaze to the plate that had just been set in front of her. Suddenly the crowd was suffocating her. She needed space. Tossing down her napkin, she scooted her chair away from the table and excused herself. Making a beeline to the bathroom, her steps were hurried, her heart racing ridiculously fast for no explainable reason.