Deadly Proposal(48)

“I think you’re doing the best you can,” Grady said. “You’re obviously trying to help.”

“But you think you can fix it all,” Jake said, his smile small, his voice mirthless.

“I want to try.”

“I thought like you do when I first started coming out here,” Jake said. “That was a year ago.”

“And what do you think now?”

“I think that I can help,” Jake replied. “There’s nothing here I can fix.”

Grady nodded, glancing around at the men who were warming their hands near the barrel fires. “Then I’ll come out here and help, too.”

Jake nodded. “There’s nothing wrong with helping.”

Grady turned back to Jake. “Do you know where Cole Gordon is?”

“I haven’t seen Cole is almost two weeks,” Jake said. “He was only here two nights before he left.”

“Why did he leave?”

“He has … issues.”

“Don’t we all?”

“Cole’s issues are profound,” Jake said. “He hears voices. They tell him to do things. He’s also susceptible to suggestion.”

“Meaning?”

“He can be talked into things.”

That made sense, Grady realized. If someone with a grudge against Mandy needed a scapegoat – who better to enlist than a damaged man who heard voices? “We’re not sure it’s him,” Grady cautioned. “In fact, we have no reason to believe it’s him right now. The bombs are … problematic. If it is him, I’m thinking someone else pointed him in Mandy’s direction.”

“And why would someone do that? Isn’t she just a court clerk?”

Grady shrugged. “My brothers and I have accrued enemies. Maybe someone went after Mandy because of her ties to us.”

“Or?”

“Or maybe someone from the court system has a grudge against her.”

“Or?”

“Or, maybe, it’s something else entirely and I’m completely on the wrong track,” Grady conceded.

“Do you have a card?”

Grady pulled one out of his back pocket and handed it over to Jake.

“I’ll keep my ear to the ground,” Jake said. “If I hear anything, I’ll give you a call.”

“Thank you.”



JAMES let himself into Mandy’s office without knocking. She was sitting behind her desk, intent on whatever task was in front of her, and she didn’t immediately hear him.

“Hello, sunshine.”

Mandy smiled, not bothering to look up. “You’re early.”

“Only fifteen minutes,” James said, closing the office door behind him.

“I’m almost done.”

“Okay.”

James moved around the desk, running his fingertips over the glazed top as he rounded the corner. “Are you done yet?”

“Just a second.” She was distracted.

James glanced back at the door, wishing for a second that he had locked it. That wasn’t part of the fantasy, though, and he wanted this to be authentic. “Okay.”

He stood, watching her work for a second. She was so focused that it bordered on cute. “Are you done yet?”

Mandy glanced up at him, irritation flitting across her face. “Just a second.”

James’ smile was slow and sly. He grabbed her chair, turning it at an angle as he dropped to his knees behind her desk. “Are you done yet?”

“What are you doing?” Mandy hissed, glancing around the empty office.

“Shh.”

“James,” Mandy warned. “I … .”

“Shh.”

James spread her legs, running his hands between her thighs. She could only spread her legs so far due to the metal arms of the chair, so he tugged her lower. She was now slouching, the back of her head resting against the brown fabric of the chair.

“James … .”

“Shh.” James hadn’t been able to get her admission out of his head for days. He was going to fulfill her fantasy – and he was going to fulfill it now. He lowered his head, running his tongue over the silky flesh of her inner thigh.

“Oh.”

James pushed her skirt up, sighing when he caught sight of the garters. They drove him crazy. She insisted on wearing them underneath her pencil skirts. His mind wandered to them at least twice a day.

He grabbed one of the elastic strings with his teeth, pulling back and letting it snap back into place. He did it again, and then pushed his face forward between her shaking thighs. She was turned on, and yet nervous. He liked it.

James ran his hands under her thighs, tugging her even lower in the chair. He sighed when he saw his destination. She wasn’t wearing panties, just like he asked. He leaned forward, inhaling deeply, and then blowing the breath out, directing it toward his ultimate goal.