Second Chance (23 page)

“Keeley, did you hear me?”

She shook herself out of this odd mood. “Sorry … no. What?”

The look he gave her made her think he knew exactly what she’d been thinking earlier. Her insides shuddered and then everything went warm and liquid. Heat rushed to every erogenous zone she had.

“Keeley?”

She watched as he walked around the desk and then stood before her. Unable to stop herself, she got to her
feet and found herself within inches of him. When he didn’t back away, she raised her hands and pressed her fingers to his temples, using firm but gentle pressure to massage him.

Surprising her, his hands pulled her shoulders toward him as he backed up. She followed him until he leaned against the edge of the desk. Before she knew it, she was between his legs.

Continuing to rub his temples, she watched his eyes close. All sorts of emotions hit her. Gratitude to be able to do something to ease him, along with tenderness, admiration, and a deep yearning to do more than just ease his headache.

Cole opened his eyes and stared into hers. That one look said so much—heat, desire, and caring.

Keeley leaned forward to place a soft kiss to his mouth. Before her lips could touch his, Cole straightened and jerked her hands away from his head. “Thanks. That feels better.”

Hurt slammed into her like a freight train. She’d been rejected so many times, this shouldn’t hurt that badly. But it did.

Cole went around the desk and dropped back into the chair.

Resisting the urge to just run out of the room and go bury her red face into a cool pillow, Keeley forced herself to stand still. “So you got nothing from Elizabeth.”

“More questions than answers.”

“What kind of questions?”

“How well do you know Miranda?”

Startled, she sat down on the couch again. “She’s been a good friend to me. Why?”

“But what do you know about her life? What she does?”

“She’s a full-time mom. Gets involved in a lot of school projects. Does some volunteer work.”

“What about the father of her baby? Where is he?” Keeley grimaced. “Some guy she met in college … he took off when she told him she was pregnant.”

She hated gossip, but if Cole had questions about Miranda, she’d rather be the one to tell him. “How does she get along with her mother?”

“She doesn’t. She mostly stays out of her way.”

“With her money, why can’t she live on her own?” She bit her lip. This was a sensitive subject and one she was surprised he didn’t already know. “Miranda doesn’t have access to all that money.”

“I thought the Fairchilds had millions.”

“They do; however, when Miranda’s father died, he left Stephen in charge of the finances for both him and Miranda. Miranda has an allowance until she’s either married or she turns thirty.”

“What happened when Stephen died?”

“The control went back to Elizabeth.”

“But why live at home? Expose her daughter to someone like Elizabeth?”

“I think she tries to keep Maggie away from Elizabeth as much as possible, but Miranda left school once she got pregnant and came back home to live.”

“Couldn’t she get a job … live somewhere else?” Keeley shrugged. “A Fairchild working like a regular person in this town wouldn’t go over well with Elizabeth.”

“There’s a whole world out there, outside of Fairview. Plenty of places for Miranda and Maggie to go where Elizabeth Fairchild has no influence.”

“I think Miranda has her reasons for staying. She’s private about a lot of things. Maybe she’s waiting until she’s old enough to inherit all of her money.”

“Did Stephen not leave her anything?”

“Some … I don’t know how much.”

“So she could probably use some extra money.”

Her head was already shaking before he finished his sentence. “No. There’s no way Miranda would be involved with Hailey and Hannah’s abduction. She adores them.”

His expression unreadable, he shrugged. “Elizabeth rambled on about a lot of things today. One of those was the amount of time Miranda spends away from home, away from her daughter. Elizabeth claims she has no idea what she does. And apparently doesn’t care enough to find out.”

“Well, whatever it is has nothing to do with Hailey and Hannah, I can assure you.”

“I’ve interviewed her a couple of times … she’s got secrets.”

“Everyone has secrets. You included. Right?”

His eyes went harder than she’d ever seen them as he stood and muttered, “You’re right. Good night.” Walking around her, he went out the door before she could say anything else.

Keeley bit her lip to keep from calling him back. He had shut her out again. Maybe she’d misread his desire earlier. Maybe their kiss this afternoon had been all about comforting her and she’d projected her lust onto him. Heaven knew she didn’t have much experience in the area of attracting men.

She didn’t bother to tell herself his rejection didn’t hurt; she wasn’t that good of a liar.

   Wes pulled a beer from his fridge, unscrewed the cap, and guzzled half of it in one swallow. Damn hot summer. He’d be glad to get somewhere cooler. The place he’d picked out to take Keeley was way up in the mountains.
It’d be cooler up there … private, too. Not a soul around to hear her scream.

The cellphone on his table buzzed. He didn’t want to answer it. She’d be calling for an update. Damned if he wanted to talk to her when he was dripping with sweat. On the other hand, she might have some news on his little rendezvous with Keeley. Taking a chance, he grabbed the phone and snarled, “What?”

“When are you going to do the job I hired you for?”

“Listen, bitch. If you want this done right, you’ll give me some time. Setting something like this up ain’t as easy as you seem to think. That job I done for you before was a no-brainer compared to this one.”

“It’s been almost two weeks. What exactly is taking so long?”

He wasn’t about to tell her the truth. Cole Mathison was damn hard to follow. Every time he thought he had him, the bastard would somehow disappear. It was like he knew something.

“I can get into Fort Knox a lot easier than I can that damn mansion. He ain’t exactly making it easy for me.”

“The sooner you do the job, the sooner you’ll get your reward.”

“I’m going to do it and soon. You just be ready to cough up not only the money you promised, but the woman, too. You double-cross me this time, and it’ll take years for them to find all your parts. You got that?”

She was silent for a long time. Finally she said, “You do your job. I’ll do mine.” The line went dead.

Wes cursed. Damn woman hung up on him. Not that he had anything else to say to her, but he didn’t appreciate the disrespect. Maybe once he had Keeley, he’d figure out a way to make the bitch pay for all the aggravation she’d caused. It’d been a long time since he’d done any killing, but it wasn’t something he really minded doing.
As long as he didn’t get caught, there wasn’t a lot Wes wouldn’t do.

First he’d take care of Cole Mathison, then he’d get Keeley. Then, before he left town, he’d kill the bitch.

Wes took another slug of his beer. Sounded like a damn fine plan to him.

Standing at the window in the girls’ bedroom, Keeley leaned her forehead against the cool glass and closed her eyes. She was determined to hold herself together today. She could do this; she had to do this. It was a special day for Hannah. June 20: the twins’ birthday.

She would do everything she could to make it as memorable as possible. Hannah was so excited, and Keeley wanted her to stay that way. The little imp had woken before dawn this morning, thrilled that it was her birthday. Now she was asleep in the playroom, but by the time the cake arrived at two o’clock, she would be awake and full of energy for her party.

The presents had been ordered weeks ago. Though Keeley had purchased two of everything, only Hannah would receive her presents. When Hailey returned, she would get hers. And she
would
return. She would!

“What’s wrong?” Cole asked behind her.

She straightened and gripped the windowsill, not wanting to turn around and let him see the tears that were streaming down her face. When he touched her shoulder, it was all she could do not to throw herself into his arms.

“Tell me.”

She swallowed the sob rising up within her. “My girls are five years old today. I want to make the day as special for Hannah as possible, but I can’t stop thinking about Hailey. No one will know it’s her birthday. No
one will make it special for her.” A sob escaped. “Oh God, I don’t even know if she’s alive.”

His hands warm on her skin, Cole pulled her around to face him. The compassion in his expression was her undoing. With a small sob, she leaned forward and Cole’s arms locked around her, warm and comforting.

“She’s alive. You have to believe that. I do.”

Breath shuddering through her, she looked up through tear-filled eyes. “Why do you believe it?”

“Other than I feel it in my bones?”

“Yes.”

“Because it makes no sense that she’s not alive. The man who took them sold Hannah. There’s no reason to believe he wouldn’t do the same thing with Hailey.”

“If he wanted money, why didn’t he ask for ransom?”

“Because money’s not his primary motivation, Keeley. We’ve known that almost from the start.”

“But why? What could I have done that was so awful? How could someone hate me that much? Why couldn’t they just hurt me … why hurt my children, too?”

“I don’t know. But we’ll find out and we will find your daughter. Don’t give up hope.”

Taking long, controlled breaths, she finally felt a small measure of control … thanks to this man who had come to mean so much to her. “I don’t know what I would have done without you.”

“You’re a strong woman. You would have survived, no matter what.”

Risking rejection once again, Keeley rose up to kiss him. It was brief and meant as an act of appreciation. The moment her lips touched his, that changed.

He grasped her shoulders. To pull her to him or push her away? She didn’t know, didn’t care. Making the decision for him, she wrapped her arms around him and pressed her entire body against his.

With a deep growl that went through his body and vibrated against hers, he pulled her closer and returned the kiss. As his mouth moved over her, his hands moved from her shoulders to her bottom and pressed her lower body against him. Feeling the hard desire, Keeley gasped. Cole took advantage and swept his tongue inside.

Standing on her toes, Keeley fitted herself against him. As if he knew what she needed, he fit his erection at the top of her sex, exactly where she was aching for him the most. Rubbing and pressing, she felt hot, scorching need erupt within her. Without conscious thought, she began a slow, sensuous ride against the rigid length of his penis; little gasps, muffled by his mouth, echoed in the room. A pulse-pounding intensity swept through her as her entire body tensed; she wound tighter and tighter.

Cole lifted his mouth to whisper, “That’s it, sweetheart. Let go.”

That whispering growl pushed her to the very edge. She was so into the moment, she barely comprehended that Cole had picked her up. Her legs naturally wrapped around his waist as if they belonged there. He held her back against the wall as she rode harder … harder. The gasps rasping from her lungs grew louder. A wild, uncontrollable urgency tightened everything inside her. On the precipice of sheer ecstasy, it slammed through her. With a keening cry, Keeley exploded.

Slowly, as if reluctant to let her go, Cole lowered her feet to the floor. She peeked up at him. He’d just given her yet another amazing orgasm, but he was still aroused, unfulfilled. Self-denial once again etched his face. And as before, she refused to be the only one to receive pleasure. Cupping him gently through his clothes, she glided her hand down his length with a slow, firm stroke.

He grabbed her wrist. “No. We can’t.”

The erection throbbing against her hand was something he couldn’t deny; he wanted her. “Why not?”

“Because I—”

“Sorry to interrupt,” a deep voice said.

Keeley peeked around Cole’s broad shoulder and saw Jordan standing in the doorway. Though he looked somewhat uncomfortable, his face held grim determination.

Without turning, Cole said, “What’s up?”

“Need to talk to you … can you come downstairs for a few minutes?”

“Yeah, be right down.”

Cole waited till Jordan left the room and then breath shuddered through him as he took several steps away from her. “I’m sorry, Keeley. I shouldn’t have done that.”

“Why not?”

“Because, I just can’t … it won’t happen again.” He stalked out of the room.

Keeley stared at the doorway Cole had disappeared through. What had that been about? Why couldn’t it happen again? Was it because of the case, or something more? All those insecurities she did her best to ignore came back full force. Was there something about her that Cole didn’t find appealing after all? Had he just been trying to comfort her and she was the one who’d turned it into something else once again? His arousal had been obvious, but when a woman threw herself at a man, was that just a normal response? Was she falling in love with a man who really didn’t want her at all?

   Needing some recovery time before he went downstairs, Cole stomped to his room, leaned against the closed door, and cursed silently for a full minute. What the hell had he done? And how the hell was he going to get out of it? He couldn’t deny he wanted her … she’d
held that desire in her hand. Cole shuddered at the memory of how she had stroked him.

He’d been on the verge of giving in, allowing those desires free rein. And if Jordan hadn’t interrupted them, he would have. He would have let her continue stroking and it would have led to another amazing sexual experience. Something he’d told himself he couldn’t allow again.

Knowing Eden and Jordan were waiting for him, he gritted his teeth and headed downstairs. He’d face what he’d done later.

Stopping at the door of the living room, he wasn’t surprised to see Jordan and Eden in an embrace. They were an affectionate, demonstrative couple. When he heard a soft sob, he froze. “What’s wrong?”