by Sophie Oak
It was annoying.
Even Mel had thrown his two cents in. Apparently lying left her
open to alien death rays or something. And Cassidy had called to let
Laura know that she didn’t appreciate her son being used as a beard
and offered her other son’s counseling services. Laura wasn’t sure,
but she might actually have an appointment with a man named Leo
Meyer in Dallas to discuss her relationship issues.
It wasn’t what she’d had planned. It was supposed to be a simple
little deception. Nothing was simple in Bliss.
“You could come clean,” Wolf offered.
Laura frowned. “They seem to be pushing me that way.”
Wolf leaned against an empty picnic table. “That’s the trouble
with family, isn’t it? They always think they know what’s best for
you.”
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“And they think it’s best that the men who broke my heart know
that I haven’t really been with anyone since I left them? They think
it’s best that I look utterly pathetic?”
“I think they want you to not think of yourself as pathetic. I think
these people love you, and they want you to love yourself. Whatever
happened to you hurt you deeply. That’s not pathetic, Laura. They
want you to see yourself the way they do. Do you know what they say
about you?”
Damn, tears were pricking at her eyes. “No.”
“They say that you’re brave and you don’t hesitate to speak your
mind. They admire you for that.”
“I didn’t speak my mind before I came here. The one time I really
stood up for myself got me into serious trouble. It isn’t like the
movies, you know. The FBI is like any other business. In the end,
they want good soldiers who follow orders. It’s hard to do one thing
all day and then come home and be a different person. After a while,
the act seems like reality. Trying to fit in changes a person.” The only time she’d really been herself was with her friends. With Rafe and
Cam, Laura hadn’t needed that armor she put on during the day. She
didn’t even think of Jana Evans. Jana had never really been her friend.
She’d just been a reporter waiting for a story.
“Well, I don’t think you’re the same person you are now that you
were back then.”
It was true. Bliss had changed her. The first couple of years had
been rough. She hadn’t wanted to let anyone in, but they had wormed
their way into her heart. Slowly, she’d become more open and willing
to talk about her past, to mesh the woman she’d been with the woman
she was becoming. She’d stopped hiding in her cabin and talked to
people.
The truth of the matter was she was a bit surprised that Cam
hadn’t found her. She’d kept off the radar as much as possible, using a
fake social security number to work, but she’d talked openly about
her life. She guessed Bliss was more isolated than she’d believed.
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“I don’t suppose anyone would be the same after what I went
through.” Maybe it was time to be really honest about it. Laura wasn’t
sure she was ready to tell everyone what had happened, but she didn’t
have much of a choice.
“No, sweetheart, being betrayed by a friend and then captured by
a serial killer would change the best of us.” He sighed at her gasp. “I
can use a computer. I knew you lived in DC five years ago and you
worked for the FBI. A quick Google search of Laura plus blonde plus
FBI brought up a shocking number of prostitutes and your story."
Laura tried to recover from the shock. “Well, I’m glad the rest of
my friends aren’t as tech savvy as you are.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t count on it. I’m pretty sure the sheriff has figured
it out, and if the sheriff knows, then Zane knows. I would bet that
every man in this town knows to watch out for you. It’s the way they
work.”
The fact that the sheriff knew brought with it an odd mix of
anxiety and security. She didn’t like the fact that her secret was out
there, but the way the sheriff seemed to have handled it made her feel
respected and protected. It was the way Bliss worked.
“Hello, happy couple!”
Holly walked up, a broad grin on her face. Nell and Henry
followed. They wore their typical Big Game Dinner protest-wear of
black pants and T-shirts with the words “Animals Have Voices, Too.”
Their mouths had been duct-taped closed to show that these poor
animals had been silenced forever. Despite their dark and brooding
wardrobe choices, Nell’s eyes were lit with mirth, and Henry carried a
bright yellow legal pad that he flashed quickly.
Congrats on your fake engagement. I will give you a fake present!
Here is a toaster.
Henry mimed giving them a gift.
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“They intend to have a whole fake ceremony for you two,” Holly
explained.
Wolf laughed. “Well, hell, Henry, you couldn’t do better than a
fake toaster?”
Holly and Nell both shook their heads. “Oh, no,” Holly said.
“Henry is very frugal, even when it’s fake.”
Laura watched as Holly’s whole body seemed to go on full alert.
“Doc.” Wolf nodded a greeting as Caleb Burke walked up.
The town doctor was wearing his usual uniform of dark-washed
jeans and a western shirt. When he was working, he sometimes put a
white coat on, but mostly it was the jeans and shirt and worn boots,
even when delivering a baby.
“Wolf, Laura, Holly.” His throat seemed to close over the last
name, though he managed to get it out. Laura couldn’t help but smile
as he scrubbed a hand through his hair. Caleb Burke was a glorious
hunk of man, but he had issues. He also had a small bowl in his hand,
and he passed it to Nell. “It’s peanut stir-fry with quinoa and tofu.
Perfectly vegan.”
Nell quickly pulled the duct tape off her mouth. “That is so sweet,
Caleb.”
The doctor suddenly found his feet endlessly fascinating. “Well, I
figured you wouldn’t have a lot to eat here, so I made something for
you.”
Nell thanked him. Henry gave the group a thumbs-up and they
walked off to find some silverware.
“That was so thoughtful,” Holly said.
Caleb flushed, his face redder than his gold and red hair. “Well,
you can have some if you want it.”
Holly bit her lip. “Um, I’m not really into tofu, but I would love to
try it.”
“Oh, I’m sure it tastes like shit,” Caleb said. “I mean, why eat that
when you could try bear?”
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A bright smile lit Holly’s face. “Come on, then. It’s actually really
good, and the bison burgers are amazing.”
Laura was about to say something when she caught sight of Rafe
and Cam walking onto the fairgrounds. Holly and Caleb left in search
of exotic meats, but it wasn’t the smell of barbecue that had Laura’s
mouth watering.
Why did those two men have
to be so damn delicious? They were
almost perfect opposites. Rafe was smooth where Cam was rough on
the outside, but then they changed roles when they got to the
bedroom. Rafe had taken her with the ruthlessness of an invader, and
Cam had made her feel utterly worshipped.
“You should see the look on your face, Laura.” There was a
wistful quality to Wolf’s words. “Damn, I hope a woman looks at me
like that someday.”
“I don’t love them.” She forced herself to say the words. Maybe if
she said it enough, she would believe it.
“Life is way too short to lie to yourself, sweetheart. And it’s too
short to sit on your ass because you’re scared. Could they hurt you
again? Oh, yeah. What’s going to hurt worse? Your heart breaking or
waking up one day and realizing you didn’t try?”
“Were you this mouthy in the SEALs?”
He shrugged. “Can’t help it. I’m brilliant when it comes to dealing
with other people’s problems. It’s my alien DNA. It helps me see to
the heart of the matter and makes me very intuitive. Damn, there’s my
mom. And she has beets. I fucking hate beets.” He pushed away from
the picnic table and smoothed out his shirt. “I don’t think you need
me to handle this one, but if you choose to go with the fake fiancé
thing, know that I am going to require an enormous amount of filthy,
disgusting fake sex.”
She couldn’t help but smile. He really was adorable. “Got it.”
He backed away with a little wave of his hand. “And I’m the best
fake sex you’ve ever had.”
“Damn straight,” Laura returned.
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And then all she could see was them. They had lasered in on her
and walked side by side with purpose, ignoring everything else
around them.
They were the best real sex she’d ever had, and they were headed
her way.
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Chapter Seven
Rafe didn’t miss the way Laura’s body went still, her muscles
stiffening where just a moment before she’d been laughing with her
friends. She changed the moment she became aware of them. It
wasn’t the greeting he would prefer. Back when they were friends,
when she would see him coming, her whole body would go soft and a
welcoming smile would transform her face from something
professional to an intimate visage, one only meant for someone close
to her. He’d taken great pride in the fact that he’d only ever seen that look on her face for one other person.
“Hello, bella.”
She frowned at him. Even frowning, she was stunning. She looked
only slightly out of place in her yellow heels. The rest of her outfit
was charmingly Western. She had on a full cotton skirt, a yellow tank
top, and a light denim jacket. It wasn’t far off from what many of the
other women were wearing, yet Laura made it seem elegant.
Everything she did had an air of grace to it, even when she was
bitching at him.
“I thought I asked you to stop calling me that.”
He wasn’t going to let her push him. He gave her what he hoped
was an easy smile. “And I asked you to stop calling me asshole. I
doubt you’ve done that. Dance with me.”
Her eyes widened, a look of horror crossing her face. “No.”
“Come on, baby. Don’t say no.” Cam crowded her, but she held
her ground. Those heels were planted firmly in the grass beneath her.
“I can’t dance with you until you dance with him. I lost the coin flip.”
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“Oh, that’s romantic.” She didn’t look impressed. Her hands
found her hips, and those gorgeously full lips pursed. “Every woman
in the world wants to be won by the flip of a coin.”
“We didn’t have time to play cards,” Rafe admitted. He was well
aware that people were listening in. Oh, they were pretending to be
doing other things, but they leaned over and then talked behind their
hands. The citizens of Bliss seemed to be enjoying the show. Damn,
he couldn’t get used to it. In DC, no one paid a bit of attention to what was going on around them. He tried to ignore it. “We weren’t sure
how else to handle it, bella. You have to teach us.”
Laura’s lips rose in a sarcastic grin. “See, that’s easy. Let me
teach you how to handle a situation like this. You both turn around
and walk out the way you came in. You get in your car and drive to
Alamosa and get on a plane back to DC.”
Cam sighed. “That’s not going to happen.”
Cam ran a hand up her arm, and Rafe was satisfied with the way
she shivered. She still responded to Cam. Would she respond to him?
Rafe reached out and took her hand. He looked down at it. Her hand
was small in his, her skin fair against his olive tone. Her nails weren’t as long as she used to keep them, but they were still manicured and
painted a pretty pink. “Come on and dance with me. We came all this
way. We’ve looked for so long. Can’t you spare a moment of your
time? Your fiancé is otherwise occupied, and I promise to behave.”
He wouldn’t behave. He had no intention of not reminding her of
everything they’d had, but he wasn’t going to announce it.
Her eyes strayed to where Wolf Meyer seemed to be having an
argument with a small woman with steel-gray hair. She was giving
the big man hell, and Rafe was glad to see it.
“Fine.” She pushed off of the picnic table she’d been leaning
against. “One dance and that’s all.”
“With both of us,” Cam added quickly, pushing the advantage.
“It’s only fair. Otherwise, we’ll both dance with you here and now.”
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There it was. Rafe’s heart soared. Her eyes had flared
momentarily, and it wasn’t with disgust. When they had checked into
the odd motel at the edge of town, they had decided it would be best
to come at her together. She’d been turned on by sex with both of
them. They needed to remind her of what they had to offer. “I’ll spare
the world that sight. One dance, with both of you, and then you’ll
go?”
She was going to be difficult to the end. Rafe decided to press his
second advantage. It wasn’t really an advantage, but Rafe knew she
wouldn’t be able to say no to them. “You know we can’t do that. We
need to talk. It’s important, bella. De Sade is working again. He’s been quiet for years, but he’s back. I would do anything to spare
you…”
She held up a hand, her face taking on a blank professional stare.
“How many?”
“One that we’ve found so far.” Rafe wasn’t so certain that the
victim they had found was the only one. One thing was certain, De
Sade was back in DC and on the hunt.
Her expression remained blank, but Rafe could see the way her
pulse jumped in the vein in her neck. Her heart was pounding. Rafe
had to stop himself from hauling her into his arms and promising her
that it would be all right. “I didn’t see his face, Rafe. I went over all of this in the hospital with Joseph. De Sade
wore a mask the whole time.
I would have given you a description if I’d just seen his face.”
Cam’s hands fisted at his side. Rafe was pretty sure he was
resisting the urge to touch her, too. “We don’t want to go over what
happened to you again, baby. We want to go over your profile.”
She shivered slightly. “I don’t have it anymore. I left everything
behind.”
Rafe knew that well. He’d spent days going through everything in
her apartment, trying to figure out if she’d left anything behind that
would point to where she’d gone. He and Cam had sifted through her
belongings, and finally, after a year of making sure her rent was paid
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and her place kept the same, they had been the ones to box her things
up. Rafe was still paying for the storage shed where he kept her
belongings and her furniture. He kept her very personal items in his
own house, her pictures and keepsakes. He hadn’t been able to put
them in the shed.
“We can talk about this later. In the morning, perhaps. This party
isn’t the place to discuss it.”
Cam relaxed, his face opening up a bit. He hopped onto the picnic
table. “What is this party anyway? Do ya’ll do this kind of thing
often?”
Laura looked over the crowded fairgrounds with a fond smile.
“It’s a rite of summer around here. It’s called the Big Game Dinner.
When the rangers have to put down an animal, we process it and
freeze the meat. Some of the locals hunt, too. It’s considered wrong
around here if you just hunt for sport. We eat what we kill, whether
it’s a bear or an elk or a deer or a squirrel.”
“Squirrel?” Rafe asked. He was pretty sure he didn’t want to try
squirrel.
“Now, don’t you go talking bad about squirrel. My momma used
to cook up some squirrel and rabbit, too.” Cam’s southern accent was
suddenly thick.
Laura slid Cam a look as a laugh escaped her lips. “I bet you
paired beer with squirrel.”
“Only Milwaukee’s finest goes with squirrel, baby.”
Rafe felt a deep gratitude to his partner. Cam had gotten her
laughing. “Come on, let’s dance while Cam walks around trying odd