Rules of Desire: Protecting Erin(39)

“I’m fine.”

“Good. Make the call.”

Nodding, Erin dialed, her gaze going to his as she waited for an answer.

She didn’t wait long.

“Hello, Wes.”

“Erin, what a surprise!”

Agent Price reached out to adjust the volume, lowering it to a level that just barely allowed Jared to hear Cramer’s side of the conversation.

Erin took Jared’s hand. “I’ll bet.” She smiled when Wes rushed to fill in the silence that followed.

“Are you calling about Nelson? I heard about what happened.”

“Oh, you heard that he had me at gunpoint?”

“What? I just heard he was killed. Are you all right?”

Frowning, Erin tightened her grip on Jared’s hand, something he would bet she didn’t notice. “That didn’t sound very sincere, Wes. You might want to work on that.”

“Of course it’s sincere. You know how I feel about you.”

“Do I?”

“I tried to tell you before your redneck husband broke my wrist.”

Smiling up at Jared, Erin squeezed his hand. “Yeah, my husbands are very physical. I’m afraid it’s rubbed off on me. If you were here in front of me, I’d punch you in the face and then knee you in the balls.”

“What?”

Erin’s temper flared, her eyes narrowing and her lips thinning in a way that Jared had seen more times than he cared to remember. “Don’t play stupid with me, Wes. Nelson came after me because you told him that I have the money he embezzled. You know, the money you stole from him. How the hell did you know that I took it?”

Impressed at the convincing vehemence in her tone, Jared pursed his lips, raising a brow, and glanced at his brothers, who seemed equally impressed.

Wes’s voice shook for the first time. “What the hell are you talking about?”

When Erin started to pull her hand from his, Jared lifted it to flatten it on his chest, covering it with his own.

He needed the connection and needed her to feel secure.

Despite the pain in her eyes, her gaze softened and stayed on his.

“You know damned well what I’m talking about! How the hell did you know that I took it? I’ve got news for you, Wes, if you tell anyone about it, they’ll never believe you.”

Jared smiled and shook his head, amazed at how convincing his wife could be.

On the heels of that thought, he couldn’t help but worry that he would believe her if she used that tone with him.

He glanced at his brothers again to find them both frowning while Ace grinned from ear to ear.

“How the hell did you know I stole the money from Nelson, damn it?”

Erin giggled, but her eyed hardened. “Oh, Wes. That was easy. You always seemed a little slimy to me so when Nelson went to prison, I had you watched out of curiosity. Once I saw that you were going in to see him, my curiosity became intrigue. I had to ask myself, why would an attorney who’d worked so hard to put Nelson in prison, and had called him a variety of colorful names while we were building the case, suddenly decide to visit the man?”

“His wife asked me to go. She wanted to divorce him.”

Jared wondered what contrary part of him found her cold smile and sarcasm adorable.

Arousing.

Magnificent.

Idly wondering how he could possibly fall in love with her over and over again, Jared focused on her conversation with Cramer, wincing to see that her headache had worsened.

Grinning, Erin adopted a singsong voice. “You’re not a divorce attorney, Wes.”

“I was the only attorney she knew!”

Erin laughed coldly, lifting a hand to rub her temple. “Whatever. Anyway, I became intrigued so I decided to follow you myself.”

“You’re lying.”

“Am I? Tell me something, Wes. How did you know I took it? I wasn’t followed. I made sure of it.”

Erin gripped his hand again. “I’ll tell you, those two ugly green duffel bags weighed a hell of a lot more than I thought they would. I had to make two trips. Tell me, Wes. Did you have to make two trips, too? I’d bet any one of my husbands could have carried them in one.”

“I carried them in one trip, even after I’d spent an hour digging them up!”

“I’m impressed.”

So was Jared, and apparently Agent Price, as well.

“You don’t have it.”

Erin smiled again. “I don’t understand you, Wes. You had to know I have it. You told Nelson I have it.”

“I made that up! He had a gun. When he got out and went to find the money and it was gone, he knew that I’d taken it. I was the only one who knew where it was.”

“So you threw me under the bus? He would have killed me, you asshole!”