Landry's Law (14 page)

“Rossi is dying of cancer.”

“Calling that good news is a little bit cold, even if he is a crime boss.”

“Well, he’s a crime boss who apparently no longer cares about the trial.”

Savannah sat bolt upright. “He doesn’t want me dead?”

“Not him personally,” Seth said. “He ordered that the contract on your life be canceled.”

“Then I’m home free?”

Seth pulled her back into his embrace. “We won’t know that until they arrest Updyke. He was sent here by someone. It could be that some underboss also facing charges has reinstated the contract.”

“Great,” Savannah mumbled against his chest. “So obviously Updyke left town and they’ve sent someone new.”

“If they have, we’ll find him,” Seth promised as he kissed her head. “If and until that happens, I’ll keep you safe, Savannah.”

“What about you?” she said as the room fell into total darkness after the sunset.

“I’m tough.”

“You got hurt because of me.”

“Thank God,” he said.

“How can you say that?” Savannah gasped.

“Because the alternative would have been that the bullet hit you. I love you too much to watch you die.”

Me, too.
“You’d better get some rest.”

“Keep lying to yourself, Savannah. I can wait to hear you say it.”

S
ETH HAD PASSED
every test during the night and was up and brushing his teeth just after Savannah had vacated the bathroom.

He finished and gave her an odd look.

“What?”

“You don’t usually wear skirts,” he commented as he came out of the bathroom wearing his jeans and a shirt. The top button of his jeans wasn’t done up, nor were the top three of his shirt. The shower had washed all the traces of blood from his hair and he looked perfectly normal. Correction—he looked perfect.

“How’s your head?”

He brushed his hand over the small bandage and said, “I don’t notice it at all. But I do have some wonderful recollections of you waking me during the night. I almost feigned disorientation just to see if I could get you to admit that you love me.”

“It isn’t going to happen,” she warned again. “Even your family agrees that you’d be miserable anywhere but Jasper, and I can’t stay here.”

Seth reached her in two long strides. “So, your goal is still to work your way back to Connecticut. You know, pick up your old life and all that?”

She lowered her eyes. “My old life doesn’t exist anymore. And to tell you the truth, I do like it here.”

His expression darkened as his eyes made a bold appraisal of her. “Since we’re discussing truthfulness, I feel it only appropriate that I tell you that you have lied to me in the past.”

“Really?”

He closed the distance between them in a few long strides. “You lied when you refused to kiss me good-night. So to make it up to me, I can think of nothing that would give me more pleasure than to kiss you now,” he said, bending down.

He kissed her with a hard, hungry pressure that thrilled her. Her hands lifted quickly to his shirt, tearing open the edges in order to feel the rough silkiness of the dark hair covering his chest. She pushed the garment down his arms, feeling the power in his bunched muscles.

“I think I like your aggressive tendencies,” he teased as he allowed what was left of his shirt to fall to the floor. “But I guess two can play your game.”

That said, Seth grasped the top of her blouse and tore the first few buttons before regaining control. The noise she made against his mouth wasn’t one of protest, it was sheer pleasure knowing that he wanted her as desperately as she wanted him. Blouses were replaceable. This sort of passion came along only once in a lifetime.

His mouth slowed to a gentler pace as his hand
cupped the swell of her breast. Savannah moaned and pressed herself against him, caught between wanting this to last all day and the overwhelming urgency coiling her stomach.

His expression was kind and gentle and Savannah silently acknowledged that she would have been lost without him.
I love you, Seth
she thought, but didn’t dare say. He kissed her then set her down gently.

Savannah looked at the half-open door. “We should be discreet. I don’t want to have to explain us having an affair to anyone.”

“Who said we were having an affair?” he asked as he went to lock the door.

“The whole town.”

He moved to stand in front of her. Savannah stood, closing the small space between them. Reaching up, she gently ran the tip of her fingernail near the bottom of his lower lip. She could feel the outline of his powerfully built thighs where they rubbed hers.

His expression stilled and grew serious when Savannah pressed herself against him. Seth placed his hands at her waist. For an instant she thought he might push her away.

“I’m very sure about this, so don’t push me away,” she beseeched. “Please? I can’t run from you anymore.”

His hesitation lasted less than a second before his lips found hers. Tentative and testing, his mouth set
tled over hers. She responded by allowing her lips to part, urging his sweet exploration. He groaned as his arms encircled her, pulling her so close that Savannah could feel every solid inch of him.

Her mind reeled from the blatant sensuality of his kiss. It was as if a flash fire had ignited and it was quickly burning out of control. Her hands moved down from his face until she could feel his heart beat furiously. He gripped her more tightly, causing her back to arch. Seth moaned against her mouth.

Emotions and sensations melted together and coursed through her veins. Every cell in her body tingled with life. Guided by the powerful force of her desire, Savannah ran her palms over his warm flesh. His breath fell hotly over her skin when he lifted his head. She was about to utter a protest when he lifted her off the ground and carried her toward the bed.

Seth pressed his lips to her throat, tasting the faintly floral scent of her skin. She felt so delicate, and yet the strength of her passion completely amazed him. This was going to change things between them forever. He didn’t want to think about it now. If he did, he knew he’d have to stop.
Not this time.

He put her on the bed and lay beside her, his one leg wedged between hers. Placing his hand at her waist, Seth kissed the tip of her nose before renewing his interest in her throat. He felt her intake
of breath when his fingers inched upward then closed over the top of one rounded breast. He could feel the taut nipple pressing against his palm and that knowledge sent waves of urgent desire to his loins. Each caress seemed to make her want more and he was more than willing to give it.

Slowly, deliberately, he toyed with each button, kissing the areas that became exposed to his hungry eyes. Her skin was smooth, rich and pale under his hand. Seth was finding it hard to exercise discipline. Lifting his head, he looked at her flushed face briefly before turning his attention lower. Her fingers fanned out across his chest as he loomed above her, eyes fixed on her lacy black bra. His finger dipped inside, teasing the hard nipple. It wasn’t enough.

Undoing the clasp, Seth peeled away the barrier. She made a small sound when his mouth closed around the tip of her breast. He felt her hands on his neck, holding him against her as she arched upward, toward him. Each time he flicked the tip of her nipple with his tongue, Savannah moaned and pressed her hips against his leg.

Pulling at her skirt, Seth reached beneath it and placed his hand on her thigh. His fingertips barely brushed the sensitive inside but he could already feel her responding. Her hands moved across his shoulders, massaging and molding.

Heat merged with pressure in his groin when she made brief, shy contact with his partially opened
waistband. She explored the contours of his sex through his jeans. He found the silky edge of her panties and worked his fingers inside.

He almost lost all control then, spurred by his incredible passion for this woman. He lifted his head and kissed her fiercely. His hand lingered at the waistband of her panties as he lay beside her on the bed. He teased her through the flimsy fabric for a moment, reveling in the response it inspired. Savannah thrust her body toward him, all the while matching his demanding kiss. He could smell the faint scent of her perfume.

Seth lifted his head again, watching the stain of redness on her flushed face.

“You’re embarrassing me.”

He liked the husky, sexy tone of her voice and simply smiled down at her. “I don’t think you have a thing to be embarrassed about.”

“Why are you staring at me?”

“I’m not staring, sweetheart. I’m admiring,” he said just before lowering his mouth to capture one rosy nipple in his mouth. She responded instantly. Savannah’s fingers carefully played through the hair on the uninjured side of his head as he lovingly taunted each rounded peak in turn. Every now and again he would hear a moan from her and respond by placing a kiss on her partly opened mouth.

When he could no longer stand the pressure at his groin, Seth began to remove her skirt, then his own
clothing. He pushed her back against the pillow, using his knee to wedge himself between her legs. He remained balanced above her, watching the expression on her face when his hips met hers. There was still the barrier of their underclothes and he needed her reassurance.

“I want to make love to you, Savannah.”

“I want that, too. Very much.”

He moved only long enough to remove the last hindrance of their clothing. He could tell almost immediately that she was as ready as he was. Seth had to school himself to move slowly. She wasn’t helping him at all as she continued to grind her slender body against his.

“Slow down, Savannah, or this won’t last more than about ten seconds.”

His mouth covered hers before she could speak, though he had a hunch she was beyond the point of lucid conversation. Carefully he entered her, listening for—even expecting—some sort of protest or hesitation. Instead he heard only words of pleasure whispered on a warm breath against his mouth.

With a single thrust, he gloried in being deep inside such sweet softness. When she wound her legs around him, Seth groaned and fervently kissed her neck and shoulders before returning to the warm, pliant recesses of her mouth. The rhythm of their lovemaking increased as his hands reached beneath her hips, bringing her even closer to him.

She turned her face away from his, breaking their kiss. “Something wonderful is happening to me,” she told him, her eyes wide, her pupils dilated with passion.

“Go with it, sweetheart.”

As predicted, he felt her body convulse with wave after pleasurable wave. The sensation of having her body grip him brought Seth to a fast and furious release.

Savannah could have stayed there forever. Apparently afraid of crushing her with his weight, Seth rolled off her, leaving Savannah to wonder at the incredible things her body had just experienced. She was also a bit surprised by the fact that she was no longer concerned about her nakedness. Turning her head, she smiled at her lover.

He returned the gesture.

“That was incredible,” she told him. Savannah turned in his arms and placed a kiss on his chest. Her fingers toyed with his chest hair as she listened as his breath returned to normal. They stayed that way for a while.

“I don’t want to go to work,” she muttered as she glanced over at the clock.

Seth kissed her forehead. “When do you have to leave?”

“I’ve got about fifteen minutes before I have to shower again and redress.”

“I wish we had more time,” he said.

Hearing the yearning in his voice, Savannah was secretly pleased by his pleasure in their lovemaking. “We’ll have time later today.”

Then his pager started beeping.

Savannah took a quick shower, dressed in her jeans since her skirt was all crumpled on Seth’s floor, and managed to apply some makeup. All this in under fifteen minutes.

When she emerged from the bathroom, Seth was still on the bed speaking to his office and Taylor was standing in the doorway.

Taylor’s eyes apparently didn’t miss Seth’s mussed hair or the fact that he was still naked, with just the sheet pulled over his lap.

She gave Savannah a knowing grin before saying, “Junior Baumgartner is downstairs.”

“Junior?” she repeated.

“He said his mother sent him to drive you to work. I guess news of the shooting is already common knowledge in Jasper.”

“Great,” Savannah breathed. She went over and kissed Seth’s cheek as she swung her purse on her arm. “I’ll see you later,” she told him.

Seth instantly covered the phone and said, “Where do you think you’re going?”

“To work,” she reminded him.

“Not until I finish my call. Then I’ll drive you in.”

“No need,” she insisted. “Olive must have heard all about the shooting so she sent Junior out here to drive me in. I guess they think you’re too wounded to drive me to work.”

Seth’s brow furrowed. “I’d rather you waited.”

Savannah blew out a breath and raked her hair off her face. “This is Junior we’re talking about,” she reminded him. “You’ve known him since grade school.”

“I’m not worried about Junior, I’m worried about our shooter.” He sighed, then said, “Go ahead, I’ll have J.D. or Greg meet you at the shop until I can get there.”

“You’re supposed to stay in bed until Chance comes to check on you,” she said, wagging her finger near his face. “Try to be a good patient.”

“Something like that,” he said, then he returned to his call.

She found Junior in the foyer, having a polite
conversation with Callie. He turned when she reached the bottom step. His smile was warm and reached his magnified eyes. Having glasses that made your eyes the size of wafers wasn’t very attractive. But then neither was Junior.

He was short, slightly pudgy and balding. It was a shame he didn’t have more self-confidence, because she knew him to be a truly nice man.

“Hi,” she greeted warmly.

“Hi, yourself,” he returned easily. “Mother and I were so upset when we heard what happened. You got bruised,” he said, his face filled with concern.

Vainly, Savannah placed her hand over her cheek and said, “This is nothing. Seth was the one who got hurt.”

“How badly?” Junior asked.

Savannah smiled broadly. “Luckily it was just a graze-type wound. It only took two stitches to close it.”

Callie was also smiling. “I guess he must have been restless. Every time I walked past his room this morning I could hear movement inside.”

Savannah felt her face grow hot. “Well, if I’m going to get to work on time, we should probably go.”

“Okay,” Junior agreed.

“It really was sweet of you to come all the way out here,” Savannah repeated as they left the house.

“I didn’t mind.”

“It’s a long drive from town,” Savannah said as he held the door to his sedan open for her.

She noticed that there were grocery sacks in the back and a cooler. Maybe Junior had stopped at the warehouse food place on his way out to the Lucky 7. Lord knew Olive loved to cook and Junior loved to eat.

“Ready?” he asked when he had the key in the lock.

“I’ve got my purse and my coat. I travel light,” she teased.

“Then I guess it’s time for us to be off.”

Junior drove the quarter mile down the driveway to the highway. But he didn’t turn right toward Jasper.

“Do you have an errand to run?” she asked.

“Kind of,” Junior hesitated. He reached into the pocket of his overcoat and pulled out a small black gun.

“What are you doing?” she asked, stunned at the unexpected turn of events.

“I’m taking you to my special place,” he said.

“Why?”

“So that we can be alone.”

“Alone for what?”

Laying the gun in his lap for a moment, he reached over and placed his stumpy fingers over her knee. “Alone so that we can be together.”

Savannah was scared, angry and planning all at once. “We can be together at the shop,” she tried to
reason as he turned up a logging road that she hadn’t even noticed during her ride with Seth.

“I tried to keep you pure for me,” Junior said. “It almost worked.”

“Pure?”

“I couldn’t let you sleep with those men my mother set you up with. Not when I’ve loved you since the first day we met.”

Junior was the killer. And she was trapped!

C
ODY WAS WAITING
for him at his office when Seth came in around eleven. He was smiling like the proverbial cat who ate the canary.

“What?” Seth asked as he went to the window to check that Greg was parked outside of Olive’s. He was, so Seth gave his brother his full attention.

“Guess who just got taken off the Rossi case,” Cody fairly crowed.

“You?”

“Peter White.”

“The Justice Department guy whose been dragging his heels for six years?”

“None other. Care to know how the J.D. found out about his alleged financial dealings with the Rossi family?”

“Yes.”

“They arrested Updyke late last night. Apparently he’s been taping statements nonstop to avoid a long prison term.”

Seth sat in his chair and leaned back. “What kind of statements?”

“Half-truths and some useful stuff.”

“What half-truths?”

“Updyke swears he didn’t kill any of the men here in Jasper. Said the worst he did was write 9-1-2 on Whitlock’s hand as a warning to Savannah. We think he and Whitlock argued about killing Savannah, and Updyke killed Whitlock. He also said that Peter White was the one who sent him and Whitlock to Jasper.”

Seth whistled long and low. “Any truth to that?”

Cody nodded. “A wire from a numbered account known to be controlled by the Rossis directly to Peter’s credit card. It was a pretty decent way to hide the money, actually. No one thought to look at his credit card balances during routine checks.”

“How did it work?” Seth asked.

“Peter got what looked like a credit placed on his card. A hundred grand a year, to be exact. Then he used the card or got cash advances and none of it showed up in his checking or savings accounts, which is what they check. At least we now know why he’s been dragging his heels for six years.”

“If he had this great thing going, why did he send two goons after Savannah?”

“The old man was ready to plead since he’s dying. He asked Peter to do this one last thing for him to make his plea negotiations easier. Without Savannah, there was no evidence of the drug traf
ficking, which would have knocked out the RICO charge. Rossi could have easily been convicted of conspiracy to commit fraud, but at his age and since he’s dying, a judge probably would have given him probation.”

“So is there or isn’t there a contract on Savannah?” Seth asked.

“No contract. With Peter and Rossi in custody, none of the underbosses are interested in her.”

Seth grinned. “So she’s free?”

“Yep,” Cody said. “Or as free as she can be if Updyke is telling the truth.”

“What truth?”

“He told this bull story about there being a shooter in the woods when they were waiting to kill Savannah down by the creek.”

Seth smirked. “And this unidentified shooter is going to be his defense?”

“Oh, no,” Cody said, laughing. “He described the guy. His description matched one of the characters on
Seinfeld
.”

Seth suddenly had a horrible feeling flow through him. “What character?”

“George. Short, bald, glasses.”

Seth cursed and grabbed the radio. Greg answered immediately.

“Is Savannah in the shop? Over.”

“She hasn’t gotten here yet. Over.”

Cody and Seth rose in unison. Seth ran from the
office to Olive’s shop. It was locked. He pounded on the door but got no answer.

He reared back and kicked the door in and raced inside.

“Olive!” he called several times as he took the steps to the second floor two at a time with Cody keeping pace.

They found her in bed, looking confused. “What on earth are you two doing up here?”

“Where’s Junior?”

“He went out for a drive earlier,” Olive explained. “He’s been so busy with all his tax work that he wanted—”

“He came out to the ranch and took Savannah,” Seth interrupted.

Olive struggled to a sitting position. “Then he must have wanted company. He loves her like a sister, you know.”

Something in her tone disturbed Seth. “I don’t think you get it,” he said. “Junior is in a world of trouble. Where would he drive to?”

Olive shrugged, her expression vacant. “I don’t know. But my son would never do anything wrong. He’s always been a perfect boy.”

“Where’s your gun?” Seth asked.

“Gun?”

“There’s a .22 registered to you. Where is it?”

“You’ll have to ask Junior when he comes back. He keeps all the guns and rifles in his room.”

Seth glared down at the woman and said, “For your sake, I hope Junior comes back. With Savannah.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean if he’s taken Savannah and so much as a hair on her head is out of place, I’ll exact some personal revenge before I arrest him.”

Cody left the room and returned carrying three rifles. “Is this all of them?” he asked Olive. “There’s no .22 in there.”

“I’m not sure. Junior stopped going hunting after his father’s accident.”

Cody smelled the barrel of one of the guns and passed it to Seth to do the same.

“Well, someone fired this gun recently.”

“That’s not possible!” Olive exclaimed.

Cody bent the barrel and checked the chamber. “There’s still one cartridge in here. Let’s go see if they found one near Savannah’s place last night.”

“Wait!” Olive yelled, clearly panicked. “You can’t punish my son. He’s all I have.”

“If he killed three people, the state will have him for some time.”

A
FTER DRIVING FOR HOURS
, Junior pulled in front of a weathered log building that looked like a strong wind could blow over. The bushes were overgrown and a hunk of the chimney had crumbled. The only thing she could see were miles and miles of white
peaked mountains and thick evergreens bordering a strip on either side of the shack.

“What is this place?” she asked, forcing her tone to convey interest.

“It was my father’s hunting lodge.”

That gave Savannah the creeps. She knew Frederick, Sr. had died from a hunting accident.
Had he died in this shack? Would she?

“Don’t bother running,” Junior warned. “It’s more than twenty miles in any direction before you’d find another person. Most of them are recluses and probably would shoot you as soon as help you.”

“I wasn’t thinking of running,” Savannah lied. “What do you want me to help you carry?”

Junior suddenly lashed out, slapping her hard on her bruised cheek. “Stop it!”

Savannah tasted blood and touched her finger to her already swelling lip. “Stop doing what?” she asked.

“Pretending.”

“I’ve never pretended with you, Junior. I’ve always thought we were friends. Good ones.”

“But not good enough for you to go out with me.”

“You never asked,” she pointed out.

“I couldn’t!” he snapped. “Mother forbade it. She thinks of you like a daughter.”

“You still could have asked,” Savannah said, hoping to encourage him.

He shook his head so hard his thick glasses
slipped down his nose. He punched them back into place. “If I would have asked, she would have told. Everyone would know.”

“So what? It wouldn’t have mattered to me.”

Junior hit her again. This time blood trickled from her mouth onto her blouse. “Just like you didn’t care when the whole town knew you were having sex with Sheriff Landry? How do you think I felt, knowing how hard I worked to keep you pure? All the things I had to plan and do, and you ruined it by whoring yourself to a Landry.”

When all else fails, there’s always lying. “I haven’t had sex with Seth.”

Bad move. This time Junior hit her hard in the side. It knocked the wind out of her and felt as if he had cracked all her ribs. She had to get out of this car before he beat her to death.

“I’m cold, Junior. Can we go inside and build a fire?”

He pulled out a pair of handcuffs and attached one to her wrist and the other to the steering wheel. “I’ll unload the car, then I’ll come back for you.”

To do what? she wondered. Maybe she didn’t want to know the answer.

“T
HIS IS CRAZY
!” Seth yelled. He was surrounded by all his brothers. Except for Clayton, for obvious reasons. They had set up a command center of sorts in the office at the Lucky 7.

Cody was on a cell phone, talking to the ballistics lab.

Sam and Shane were scanning maps of the area, trying to think of where Junior might drive. It had been almost eight hours since Junior had taken Savannah.

He had a deputy sitting with Olive in case Junior went home to Mommy. She was very angry and just kept repeating that her son was a good boy.

Seth looked out into the darkness and tried to quell the panic inside him.

Cody got off the phone and seemed upset. “They lifted a partial print of Frederick Baumgartner, Jr. off the Glock you recovered from Cal.”

“Great, now we
know
he’s a killer.” Seth rubbed his face.

“Of men,” Chance offered. “If he was killing her dates, then I think that means he wants her for himself.”

The mere thought of Junior touching his beautiful Savannah made Seth’s stomach turn. “So where would he take her to be alone?”

All the Landry men looked at one another but no one seemed to have a clue. “What about talking to his clients?” Sam suggested.

Seth nodded, called the deputy at Olive’s and had him find and fax over copies of all Junior’s clients and their phone numbers.

Twenty minutes later, the fax machine was
spewing out twelve pages. They divided them up, using cell phones, the fax line and the line into the house.