Jordan Summers - [Dead World 01] (32 page)

He ground into her one last time,
sinking his fingers
into
her hip bones, then with a groan he jerked as his body found release. He
collapsed next to her, pulling
her into
his arms a second before sleep overcame them.

Red
awoke shortly before dawn to find Morgan staring at
her
with a strange expression on his
face.

"What?" she asked, brushing at her mouth and
eyes self-consciously.

"You are beautiful," he said, touching her
cheek
with the back of his finger. "I
can't get over that you're
mine."
He pressed his lips to her forehead, then drew
back.

"Yours?" she asked, confused. The words had
a
nice ring to them, but seemed a little
premature. They
didn't
known each other long enough to make any
kind
of
commitment. At least that's what she told her-self
as her heart jumped for joy. "Morgan,
I—"

"For
as long as you're here in Nuria," he added
hastily.
 

Somehow it sounded better before the addition. Her
heart stumbled,
then fell. Surely she wasn't disappointed.
That would mean she actually cared. It was
probably just
the sex talking. So what if it had been
phenomenal. She could find someone else just as
good.
Yeah, sure you can.
The little voice in her head
popped off, sounding more than a little like Rita.

Red shook her head. Now she was
hearing her nav
com
without wearing
it. That didn't say much for her state
of mind. She needed to end this line of thought or
it
would
lead to a mandatory mental health check once
she put Rita back on. Red still couldn't
believe she'd
allowed Morgan to remove her. It was a testa
ment
to how far gone she'd been. She slipped the nav
com
on.

Rita sprang to life. "Gina, where have you
been?"

"Here," she replied, shaking off the mental
cob-webs.

"Where is here? You've never taken me off this
long
unless
I needed repairs. Which is often I might add."

"I'm at Sheriff Hunter's home." Guilt
assailed Red for
a moment before she recalled
whom she was speaking
with and what she'd been doing.
"Some things need
to remain private," she
added, glancing in time to see
Morgan smile.

"I do not understand," Rita said.

"And I don't have time to
explain." It was time she
and Morgan
had that little talk. "Do me a favor and power down."

"But you just placed me on your wrist."

"That's an order, Rita."

"Very well. Going to standby."

"Why did you lie?" she asked Morgan, cutting
to the chase.

He stiffened beside her. "I see it's back to business."

"Just answer the question."

"I didn't think it was necessary to mention Renee
Forrester's death since I'd already attributed it to an animal attack."

"Do you still believe that?" Her gaze bore
into him, but Morgan didn't flinch.

"Yes, I do."

She searched for any sign of deception, but found
none. "I don't understand why you didn't mention her, when I asked
specifically about bodies."

His face pinched with discomfort. "You came to
Nuria expecting a cover-up. I wasn't about to add
fuel
to your suspicions."

Her gaze dropped to his stubbled chin. The short dark
hairs only accented his lush mouth. She could
still
feel his kisses on her throat, the sting of his teeth upon her skin, and the
glide of his tongue as he tasted
her. Heat spread through her body and
Red swallowed.

Morgan's eyes crinkled and his mouth twitched.

"You aren't helping," she said, looking
away.

"With what?"

She huffed. "With my line of questioning."

He tilted his head until he was staring into her eyes.
"I 
thought  I'd  answered  everything  you'd asked."

Red
met his
gaze. "No, there's one thing you haven't
responded to yet."

He sighed heavily. "What is that?"

She took a deep breath and released it. "Why did
you
suspect
me of Moira's murder?"

It
was Morgan's turn to look uncomfortable. "I
didn't. At least not at first. It wasn't until Moira's DNA was found on your
shirt that I suspected."

"Jim told you."

"Yes. he contacted me before giving you the results,
and then again,
after you left the lab in such a hurry.
This is my town, remember?"

"How
could I forget?" She stared, watching his
expression carefully as she phrased her next question. "Do
you still
suspect me?" Red asked, steadying her-self
for his answer. She knew it was
hypocritical of her
to ask, since she'd suspected him. Hell, she did
suspect
him. Red just didn't know exactly how far he'd
crossed the
line.

"I'm not sure a crime has been committed,"
he said,
avoiding her question. Morgan held up his hand when
she opened her
mouth to speak. 'The deaths are
tragic. You'll get no argument from me. If I believed
for a second
that we were hunting a human being.
I'd be the first to call in the tactical team. But I
know
we're
after an animal. . . possibly several." He glanced
away, unable to
meet her eyes. "I don't know how
Moira's blood got on your clothing, but I promise
I'll
help you find out."

R
ed listened to Morgan's words, attempting to read between the lines. He
knew more than what he was saying, whether to cover up his investigation or to
protect her, she wasn't sure.

The thought that he might risk his career for her only
brought on more confusion. He'd known her just a short while. What might he do
for someone he'd known a lifetime? She opened her mouth to ask when the vidcom
buzzed.

Morgan reached over and pressed a button to an
swer the call. Red only had a second to cover
herself
before Jim Thornton popped onto the screen.

His eyes widened and his face flushed until his ears
were beet red. "Excuse me," he said, coughing and glancing away.
"I didn't mean to interrupt, Morgan, but I thought you'd like to know
that the emergency care center just dropped Jesse Lindley's body off at the
lab.

Pain sliced Red as the news fell from Jim's lips.
Tears stung the backs of her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. Jesse
dead? How? She couldn't seem to breathe. Her chest hurt too much. She sprung
out of
the bed, ignoring her nudity, and
began to pace. Morgan swung the viewer away so that Jim only caught a
glimpse
of her.

"What the hell happened?" he shouted, before
slowly lowering his voice. "I'm sorry, Jim."

"It's okay. I
understand." He cleared his throat. "The
report says natural causes. Heart, maybe? I'll know
more once I finish my preliminary. Kane was in
attendance when she died. He pronounced. There were sev
eral nurses on
scene, too."

Red's head jerked at Jim's last statement. Poor Jesse.
She'd survived the attack, leaving her with a wired
jaw and
bandaged hands, only to die of a heart attack.
The synth-paper with the letter
H
came into her
mind
and her stomach soured.

Was
it possible?
Had Kane had a hand in killing Jesse?
Had he been the one to attack them? It didn't make
any sense. Why
would he. when there was no reason
to target her? He was a respected member of Nurian
society. Yet Morgan hadn't left her side all night,
so there was no way he'd gone to the care cen
ter. She glanced at him. Worry drained his features.
Was
i
t concern for Jesse—or his cousin? He could always
be covering for
Kane.

Red's muscles clenched, squeezing her heart until she
could barely
breathe. Had she misjudged him so thoroughly?

Would he cover up murder for a family member? He
certainly
seemed loyal enough.
You don't even know if it is murder yet.

Morgan stared at the viewer. "What aren't you
telling
me?" he asked, his voice held no inflection.

"Something's not right with the body," Jim
said.

He stilled. "What do you mean?" He glanced
to-ward
her and sat up straighten

Red stared at Morgan. Tension
crackled between them.
She wasn't about to leave the room and
miss what
Jim had to say.

"I haven't opened her up yet, but there's
hemorrhaging
in the eyes. That only happens in strangulation
deaths. I've
gone over the charts twice and no obstructed airway was mentioned."

Morgan ran his hand through his
hair. "Maybe her throat
got crushed during
treatment," he suggested, but
he didn’t sound convinced.

"I'm sure you're
right." Jim coughed. "Like I said
I'll
know more when I open her up."

"Let me know what you
find." Morgan hit the dis
connect,
severing the call.

Red could hear the desperation in Morgan's voice
and it pained her that she could do nothing to
ease it.
And she certainly couldn't tell him about her suspicions, not
without proof. He'd never believe her. Hell, she wouldn't believe herself, not
with Moira's
DNA hanging over her head. Red
didn't even know if
she was on the
right track, but Jesse had tried to warn
her about something and it had
cost her. Her life.
She'd have to keep her
investigation quiet until she
finished. She couldn't take the chance
that Morgan might find out and tip his cousin off.

Kane was family—the closest family Morgan had in town.
He wouldn't accept her findings easily, Goodness knows, she wouldn't either if
someone told her that Robert Santiago was a murderer. Red prayed that somehow
she was wrong about this, but her gut was screaming. She wouldn't turn her back
on the old woman now that she was dead. She
owed
Jesse, her life.

"I can't help but feel this
is all my fault," Red said,
running her
hands over her arms and pacing.

"Why would you think
that?" Morgan asked
distractedly.

She stopped and looked at him. "If Jesse hadn't
come in during the attack, she'd be fine right now."

"You don't know that."

"Yes," she nodded, "I do. Jesse paid the
ultimate
price for her interference. You
know it and I know it,"
Red said, blinking back fresh tears.

Morgan
rose off the rest pad and grabbed her, pulling
her into his
embrace. "Listen to me," he said, his
lips b
rushing
the side of her head. "You did nothing
to deserve
that
attack and neither did Jesse. I will find
the
individual
responsible. You have my word." He
rocked
her from side to side, the warmth of his body
seeping into
her, soothing. She wanted so badly to
believe him, but what if it turned out to be Kane? Would
he still feel
the same?

Red
tilted
her chin to meet his gaze. There
was no mistaking
the depth of emotions swimming in Morgan's
amber eyes. She
couldn't let him do it. Red cared
too much to let him risk his life for her. There was
no
way
in hell she'd lose Morgan, too. Her re-solve
hardened and she pulled out of his
embrace, steeling
herself for what she needed to
do. "I can't let you
go after him."

Morgan blinked as if he wasn't sure he'd heard her
correctly.
"What do you mean?"

"For some unknown reason, he's after me. I won't
allow
anyone
else to get hurt trying to protect me."

"Gina."

"No." She took a step back, when he reached
for her.
"Jesse died because of me, Morgan."

"No. she didn't."