“Apparently. Why else would she copy the financial records? Tricia was a whiz at math and loved all that stuff, while just the thought makes my head hurt. She either recognized what was going on or at least suspected.”
“Your theory is that she told JP?” He heard Mo hesitate.
“She was in love with JP. I believe she found the papers at his father’s home outside of Red Lodge. I think she went to the old man.”
He shot her a look. “Then he killed her to keep her from coming forward?”
“Also from telling his son. According to the lecture series flyer that Quinn gave me that day, the animal shelter was something he did for his son. If JP knew how it was really being used...”
Brick shook his head. “JP has to know. Whoever came by Tricia’s house that day was someone she knew and trusted. Otherwise she wouldn’t have opened the door to him.” He saw that Mo hadn’t wanted to believe it.
She put her face in her hands for a moment. “How could a man who professed his undying love for her kill her?”
“You’re a homicide detective. You know. She’d hurt him. He could have lied about this rosy future the two of them had planned. It could be a case of if I can’t have her, neither will Thomas.”
“That isn’t love,” she said, removing her hands to look over at him.
“No. But love and hate can be two sides of the same coin...”
“I guess I’ve never been in love.”
He considered her for a moment as he drove down from the mountain into Meadow Village. “Never, huh? Maybe we have that in common.”
She didn’t look at him and asked, “Where are we going?”
He hadn’t really known where he was headed. After everything she’d told him, he had to assume that Tricia wasn’t the only one who’d suspected something was going on with Jeffrey Palmer’s nonprofit businesses. The self-made man could be in handcuffs by now—and so could his son. “I hadn’t thought—”
“Let’s go to your apartment.”
“To my apartment?” He must have misheard her. “Are you sure about that?” She shot him a look. He held up one hand in surrender. “My apartment it is.”
He could feel her gaze on him. As he pulled into the parking spot behind his apartment, he asked, “Are you sure about this?”
She chuckled. “It’s the only thing I’ve been sure about for a very long time.”
Brick met her gaze in the glow of a streetlamp up the block. “You know my reputation. I don’t want to hurt you.”
Mo smiled. “You won’t because whether you know it or not, you’re as crazy about me as I am about you.”
He laughed. “You think?”
“I know.” Her words came out a whisper, as light as a caress.
He studied her in the dim light, realizing that he was a captive to everything about her—and had been since the moment he broke her out of jail. “Are you ever unsure about anything?”
“Everything, but this.” She leaned toward him, cupping his face in her hands, and kissed him gently on the lips.
He drew her to him, buried his face in her hair and whispered, “Do you know how badly I want you?”
“As much as I want you,” she whispered as she leaned her head back to let him trail kisses down her throat. He felt her shudder, his desire spiking, as his kisses reached the rise of her breasts. He could see her hard nipples through her bra and the fabric of her blouse.
“You are so dang sexy. I want to take you right here.”
“What’s stopping you?” she asked, her voice cracking with emotion.
He chuckled. “Bucket seats,” he said and drew back to look into those blue eyes of hers. He took a breath, suddenly terrified. He didn’t just want this woman. He wanted this woman, all of her, for keeps. He’d never felt like this and it scared the hell out of him.
“You ready to see my apartment?” he asked. “It’s not much to look at.”
“I doubt we’ll be looking at the decor.” She reached to open her door.
He caught her before she could get out, and opened his mouth to say what? He’d never know because she put a finger over his lips and shook her head.
A low, seductive chuckle rose from her lips. “We’re acting as if this is the scariest thing we’ll ever do. It just might be because I suspect there’s no coming back from it.” With that, she exited the pickup.
Brick sat for just a moment before he opened his door and followed her. He actually fumbled opening the door. He felt tongue-tied and uncertain as if this was his first time. In so many ways, it was.
He held the apartment door open and Mo stepped through. The moment he entered and closed the door behind him, she turned to him and, stepping forward, she began to slowly unbutton his shirt. She looked up at him with those big blue eyes and he was overcome with a longing for something he’d never experienced before. He lowered his mouth to hers and knew he was lost.
MO LAY IN Brick’s arms. They’d finally made it to the bed. Earlier, the moment the door had closed, they were tearing at each other’s clothing. They had been headed here for some time, she knew, but she hadn’t expected the kind of passion they’d inspired—and neither had Brick, it seemed from the dazed look on his face.
After their crazed lovemaking, they’d lain on the floor, unable not to laugh as they stared up at the ceiling and tried to catch their breaths. After a few minutes, they looked over at each other. She remembered looking into those deep blue eyes of his and feeling...love and desire, hotter than a Fourth of July firecracker.
They’d made love again, slower this time, but with no less passion.
It was crazy, no doubt about it. They hadn’t known each other but for a few days. Mo thought of her sister. Tricia would
