Pierced: Pierced Trilogy Boxed Set (79 page)

“You boys look like you’re deep in discussion,” Sam says, taking my hand.

“Hey, baby.” I let go of her hand and slip my arm around her waist and draw her close.

“Josh was just telling us some war stories,” Kenneth smiles at her.

“War stories? Sounds serious,” she says looking up at me with her big green eyes.

“Police work is always serious, kiddo. And I think you may have found yourself a decent fellow here, Samantha,” he says to her. His words take me by surprise, but they also make me feel good. I guess I’ve passed the doting Uncle test.

“Hmm? Maybe … I don’t know yet,” she smirks at me.

“Hey,” I say in mock protest and give her a frown, and she giggles at me.

“Sam!”

We look up to see the group of bridesmaids frantically motioning Samantha back over to them and she looks up at me and shrugs. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” I smile down at her, “I’m fine.”

I watch as she returns to the excited group of young women and I can’t help the small smile on my face. I turn back to Sam’s uncle but he quickly gets pulled into a conversation with the parents of the groom and I’m left standing alone for a moment as I watch Sam interact with her friends. Standing with my hands in the pockets of my suit pants, I can feel the butt of my gun at my back with the pull of the fabric as I silently survey the room.

“Everyone loves a hero, don’t they, Detective?”

I turn and see Lois Colby standing beside me, and for some reason, I feel a wave of anxiety ripple through me. But I put my game face on immediately. “I beg your pardon, ma’am?”

“I said, everyone loves a hero,” she repeats, looking not at me but, across the room at Samantha. Slowly, she turns her gaze to me and says, “You certainly have my family fooled.”

It takes me a moment to comprehend what she’s saying and I frown at her.

“Although I suppose you were, technically, the hero in this situation,” she continues. “You did save my daughter from being raped by that madman. You possibly even saved her life, and I am genuinely very grateful to you for that. But you weren’t always such a hero, were you, Detective?”

I can feel my frown deepen as a sense of dread begins to wash over me.
What the hell is she talking about?
“Um … I’m sorry, Mrs. Colby, I … I don’t know what you mean.” My voice is low and uncertain and slightly tinged with fear.

“Oh, sure you do,” she says, smiling sweetly at me. “You and I both know that you have at least one deep dark secret hidden away in your closet.”

My heart rate suddenly spikes and I can feel the color drain from my face. I turn away from her and look over at Samantha, who’s still laughing and talking to Megan and their friends.

“Hmm. I see you know exactly what I’m talking about, don’t you, Detective?” Lois says. “I take it my daughter doesn’t know your dirty little secret? I wonder if your colleagues at the department know?”

I say nothing as I look back at Sam’s mother, and I can feel my jaw clenching and my fists tightening.

“Well don’t worry about it,” Lois continues with a dismissive wave of her hand. “Samantha never has to know what kind of man you really are. And to think … you actually said you would do
anything
to keep her safe,” she muses with a smug smile. “Tell me, Detective, do you really believe my daughter is safe with someone like you? How, exactly, are you different from the man you ‘rescued’ her from earlier this week? Or perhaps you feel your crime doesn’t count because it happened so long ago? That you’ve changed? That you’re really not
that
bad because there were extenuating circumstances?”

Don’t listen to her, Pierce! She’s just trying to mess with your head.

“I think we both know Samantha is much safer as far away from men like you as she can get.
I
will keep my daughter safe, Detective. Safe from the likes of you!” Her voice is whispered venom and her eyes are hard and cold. “I am warning you … stay away from her, or I will make your secret very, very public. Then we’ll see how long the decorated, honorable officer can hang on to his beloved job!”

The power of speech has left me. I stare mutely at her, in shock I think. So much for my assertion that Samantha’s mother didn’t scare me. Right now, Lois Colby has me scared shitless. And she knows it.

“The choice is yours, Detective. All you have to do is walk away from her and I won’t say a word.” She smiles up at me with a look of triumph. “Oh, by all means, please accompany her to the wedding tomorrow – I wouldn’t want to spoil Megan’s big day. But after that, I want you gone, or the truth will come out in the ugliest way imaginable.”

I stare at her in silent disbelief, feeling a knot form in my stomach. I’ve spent the entire day worried about what Lucas might know about my past. It never even occurred to me that he might not be the only Colby checking into my background.
She’s bluffing, Pierce. She has to be; she doesn’t know a damn thing.
But as she smiles at me and walks away, I know in my gut that’s not true. She knows.

“Are you okay?”

I turn and see Samantha standing in front of me, watching me with big, concerned eyes. “What?”

“I asked if you were okay,” she repeats. “I saw you talking to my mother and I thought I’d come over and rescue you. She wasn’t rude to you again, was she?”

I hesitate a beat, looking into her beautiful eyes and wondering frantically how to answer her.
No, she wasn’t rude, baby. She was just threatening to blow my world apart unless I stay away from you, that’s all. But she was very polite about it so, no worries.

“No. She wasn’t rude. She just … thanked me again for saving you from Echols,” I mumble. And I feel like shit for lying to her. Even about this. But I can’t tell her what her mother really said to me. And I can feel the tiny beads of sweat as they break out across my forehead when I realize that I can’t tell Samantha a damn thing about what just happened with her mother. Not without exposing myself and what I’ve done.

“My mother
thanked
you?” Sam says, green eyes sparkling with surprise. I don’t respond to her question but, it doesn’t seem to matter. She smiles sweetly at me as she steps into my arms. “Well, I don’t know why I’m surprised. She obviously can’t resist you either,” she whispers, looking up at me as my arms close around her. God, I wish her words were true.

I say nothing as I give her a weak smile and kiss her forehead. And as I do, I glance off to my left and see Lois watching us with narrowed eyes. She smiles slightly at me when our gazes meet, but her smile is cold and I feel the knot in my stomach grow tighter.

“Come on,” Sam suddenly brightens, smiling at me. “I want you to meet some people.” She pulls me away then, over to one of the bridesmaids and her boyfriend. I smile politely as we shake hands and I nod and smile in what I hope are all the right places as they chat. But I’m unable to concentrate on much of the conversation as I try like hell not to watch Lois Colby out of the corner of my eye the entire time. I drape my arm around Samantha’s waist and she leans slightly into me as she talks with her friends, and I can tell that she’s trying to draw me into the conversation but, I don’t say much. When her friends break away and mingle, she turns to me with a questioning gaze.

“Well, you weren’t very talkative,” she says softly.

“I’m sorry, baby,” I say quietly. “I guess I’m just getting a little tired of the song and dance, that’s all.” The instant the words are out of my mouth I wish I hadn’t said them. She looks hurt.

“Why would you say that?” she asks sadly. “I thought you were having a nice time.”

“I am having a nice time, Sam.”

“I mean you seemed to be enjoying yourself when you were talking to Dennis and Lucas. And you had my Uncle Kenny eating out of your hand…”

“Baby, I didn’t mean it that way,” I sigh as I try to reassure her. “I have enjoyed getting to know your family tonight, okay? Most of them have been great to me.”

“
Most
of them?” she asks with raised eyebrows. And again, I wish I hadn’t said anything. “This is about my mother, isn’t it? She said something to you; that’s why you’re acting weird.”

“Sam…”

“What did she say to you?” Sam demands with a slightly raised voice, hands on her hips. “Tell me so I can go and set her straight!”

“Samantha, stop!” My voice is low and gruff as I gently pull her to me, my hand resting on the small of her back. “What your mother said is not important. This is your cousin’s night, baby. Don’t ruin it for her by making an unnecessary scene.”

She stares at me for a moment and then she blushes softly. “Oh, my God,” she whispers, glancing over at a beaming Megan and Scott as they talk with his parents. “You’re right. This weekend should be perfect for Meg. How is it that you are always so mindful of others, Josh?” she asks, looking up at me with such trust and love in her eyes. It makes me feel like shit again because I know that I didn’t calm her down for Megan’s sake. I did it to cover my own ass. To buy myself a little more time.

She reaches up and softly touches her palm to my face, and I lean my face slightly into her hand, closing my eyes and savoring her touch. How many more touches of her hand will I feel? The question sticks in my gut and twists like a knife. And before I’m aware of it, my arms are around her and my mouth is on hers, and I’m kissing her like it’s the last time. Holding her close. Drinking her in. Not caring at all that we’re in the middle of a crowded room, surrounded by her family and friends.

When we pull away, both of us breathless, she seems to study my eyes for a moment. As if she’s trying to figure out what’s going on with me. She bites her lip and smiles. “Maybe we should finish this conversation at home,” she whispers.

I tighten my hold on her, pulling her closer as I lightly kiss her forehead once more. “Maybe we should,” I answer softly.

Roughly an hour later, Samantha and I are back in the Charger and headed home. And I can’t help but replay the scenes at dinner and wonder for the hundredth time about Lois Colby and what she knows. Was she being straight with me before? Does she really know about my past? About what I did?
Maybe she was only fishing, Pierce. And your reaction just tipped her off to the fact that you are hiding something.

Fuck! There’s no way I can win here. If Lois didn’t know before, my weird reaction will only make her curious enough to look into it, and then she will know soon enough. And if she does know already, she won’t hesitate to make good on her threat and tell Samantha all about it. Showing her what a fucking animal I really am. She even threatened to tell the whole PD. Maybe Lee is right and I should just tell Sam everything. Give her the benefit of the doubt, like he said. She loves me. She tells me all the time now that she loves me. She won’t leave me. Will she?

“I’m sorry, Josh.” Samantha’s soft voice snaps me out of my inner turmoil.

“What, baby?”

“About my mom,” she says quietly. “I’m sorry for the way she acted. And for whatever she said to you that ruined the evening.”

“You don’t have to apologize for her, Sam.”

“Yes, I do. She’s so over the top sometimes.”

I reach out and take her hand and bring it to my lips, kissing her knuckles. “It wasn’t a big deal, baby. Let it go.”

She is silent for a moment, and then she says softly, “Honestly, I was expecting a lot worse.”

I snort softly at her words. If she only knew. And what the fuck am I going to do? I either tell Sam the truth, before her mother has a chance to, and pray to God that she understands. Or I can bow down to Lois Colby and walk away before she exposes my sin, and destroys Samantha’s trust in me. Lois gave me until after the wedding. That doesn’t give me a whole lot of time to think about it. To decide which would be worse … coming from me or coming from her. Yeah, Lois will surely make it sound as ugly as possible. But truthfully, there’s no way to make it sound pretty. It is what it is, and I can’t change it. No matter who tells her, Samantha will never look at me the same way again.

Maybe I should just walk away. At least that way, Sam would only end up hating me instead of thinking of me as a fucking monster. And it would save us both the agony of her walking away from me. But how do I do that? How do I walk away from the only woman I have ever wanted to be with? The woman who set me free from the anger and the nightmares. The woman who showed me that I can love, and that happiness is real.

Completely lost in my troubling thoughts, I pull slowly into the garage next to Samantha’s Maserati and let the garage door down, and we head inside the house. We’re quiet as we both get undressed and ready for bed, and I watch as Sam slowly peels off her dress and slips into that green silk nighty that I love. Once I put my gun away at my bedside table and get out of my monkey suit, I join Sam at the bathroom sink and brush my teeth. And when we finally climb between the sheets and I reach out and pull her close, she melts into me as my mouth finds hers.

I have wanted to do this all day long. I kiss her deeply and voraciously, pouring all of my wariness and fear and frustrations into it. And she doesn’t disappoint me. She meets all my pent up passion with her own as our tongues collide, writhing and caressing and exploring. I waste no time getting out of my briefs as my hands travel languidly over her beautiful body, moving beneath the silky material of her night gown. Moving swiftly, I lift it up and over her head, tossing it to the floor as my hands resume their journey over her sweet, silky skin.

With my mouth, I explore every single inch of her flesh, savoring the taste of her skin as she writhes and squirms beneath me. Her fingers twist and pull at my hair as I caress her thighs while my tongue keeps up a relentless assault. Her body bows off the bed as she calls my name, trembling uncontrollably. She tastes so good.

In another second, I’m buried deep inside her, skin against skin, and she moans loudly as I start to move with a slow, steady rhythm. Going deep, I turn over suddenly, bringing Sam with me without breaking our connection, and I kiss her deeply. “Ride me, baby,” I whisper, looking into her eyes. “I want to watch you.” And she complies immediately as she sits up, straddling me, and she begins to move.