Southern Sunset: Book One of 44 South Read online

  “Does it matter?” I asked.

  “It all matters, Luke. It all matters in the end.”

  Chapter 33

  Damn, But The Man Did Have A Point

  Maggie

  Something happened up on Mount Cook Road. Something that made Missy Drake pull over. Something bad. The twins were mute because of it. Matt was an utter mess. Red Tussock was crumbling under the fallout.

  But nowhere in this story did James Whiting fit in.

  Maybe I was biting off more than I could chew. I had one unsolved case on my desk, why bother to drag up another? And right now, I had bigger shit to shovel.

  I pushed open the door to the Twizel Police Station and held my breath. Silence greeted me, but light spilled out of the case file room, splashing across the darkened interior of the station like a bloody gash.

  “Is that you, Sergeant?” Senior Investigator Everett said. He appeared in the doorway, glasses in hand as he wiped them on a handkerchief. “I’m surprised you’ve returned.”

  I didn’t have much choice. I needed to print out the warrant.

  “I work here, remember?” I snapped back.

  Everett smiled. Like a shark scenting blood in the water.

  “Perhaps we can have that interview now?” he suggested.

  “I’m just here to pick up a warrant, Everett.”

  “Senior Investigator…”

  “Let’s cut the crap, shall we?” It was long overdue. “How did you think this would go exactly? Did you really believe I’d welcome you with open arms and jump at your demands?”

  “I thought you would at least be professional.”

  “Like you were in Auckland?”

  “It’s been six years, Sergeant. Can’t we let bygones be bygones.”

  “You ruined his career,” I hissed. “His life.”

  “It was regrettable, but necessary.”

  I scoffed, slammed my keys down on my desk and turned on the man.

  “You ruined him for the sake of your reputation. And you’re about to ruin another man for the exact same thing.”

  “Is that what you think? That Matt Drake is innocent.”

  “What are the charges?” I demanded.

  “There aren’t any. Yet.”

  I baulked. “This is a fishing expedition?”

  “A fishing expedition based on just cause.”

  “And what cause is that, Everett?” The gall of the man. I was fuming.

  “Did you know he got his last sergeant damn near killed?” he said simply. “That’s why he retired early. Drake let him enter a suspicious address without backup. When the senior sergeant finally got there and found his officer down, he lost his mind. Pulled a non-issue shotgun from the back of his vehicle and fired on the civilians in the house.”

  “The civilians who had harmed his sergeant,” I guessed.

  “At that stage, Sergeant Blackmore, Sergeant Grayson was outside the address, passed out beside his car. There was no indication that anyone inside the house had done anything nefarious. For all Drake knew, the man could have had a heart attack.”

  “Did he? Have a heart attack? Or did someone inside the house harm him?”

  “That’s beside the point. Add in the fact that case closure rates have halved in the past six months, complaints have been issued from the public at an alarming rate, and Senior Sergeant Matt Drake is more often seen at the local tavern than in uniform these days, and you’ve got a police officer who is clearly in need of investigation.”

  I sat down heavily in my office chair and stared at the man.

  “You don’t have a clear mandate to be here, do you, Everett?”

  He bristled, puffing up, cheeks turning red.

  “My bet,” I added, “you don’t even have permission from the Mackenzie Country Council Board either.”

  “Of course I have permission; they’re worried. As you should be. He’s out of control, Sergeant. A loose cannon. And he could take the entire station down with him, at this rate.”

  I sighed and booted up my computer. This was a complication I just didn’t need.

  “You have nothing to say?” Everett pushed.

  “What can I say? You’ll just forge ahead with whatever ill thought out plan you’ve devised in that petty little mind of yours and nothing I can do will change it. It didn’t six years ago. It sure as hell won’t now.”

  “How defeatist. And irresponsible. You have a responsibility to the uniform you wear to do what’s right.”

  “Right now, Everett,” I said, standing and walking to the printer where the warrant had just spat itself out, “I have a responsibility to the case at the top of my work pile.”

  “Is it the James Whiting case?’ Everett asked.

  I wasn’t at all surprised he’d homed in on that one. It was on the front page of the newspaper.

  “Yes,” I said succinctly.

  “Interesting that his body turned up on Drake family land.”

  “Is it?” I hedged.

  “And the victim’s wallet,” he added.

  Now, how the hell did hear about that?

  I had the case file in my car. He shouldn’t have had access to any of our online files. The wallet was not information we’d released to the press.

  I turned around and cocked my head at the man, trying to figure it out. Everett had something to prove, I was sure of it. Maybe things had been going wrong since that fucked up case back when he ruined Michael’s life; Karma’s a bitch and all that. I needed to know what Mac and Annmarie had found out.

  But I needed to know who had narked to this man more.

  “How did you find out?” I asked.

  “I have my sources.”

  “Don’t be coy with me, Everett. That was case sensitive information we didn’t want the public to know about.”

  “Well, someone knew about it.”

  “How did you find out?” I demanded.

  “An anonymous call, if you must know.”

  Shit. “And you didn’t think it was pertinent information we should have been made aware of?”

  “Who do you suspect, Sergeant?”

  “That’s the point, isn’t it? Whoever told you is fucking with the case. Could even be the perpetrator.”

  “No,” Everett said, head shaking adamantly. “That’s Matt Drake.”

  Bloody hell. He’d already pinned this on Matt. From a tip off. An anonymous tip off. That’s why he was here. Not because of the rest of the crap he’d just spouted. Although that was condemning on top of this. But because he had a murderous cop to hunt.

  Low life piece of scum.

  “Then tell me,” I said through gritted teeth, “how the hell did they get close enough to Matt’s ute to know Whiting’s wallet had been found in there?”

  “Maybe it was one of your team, Sergeant. Ever think of that? Maybe they’ve had enough of a senior sergeant who clearly is not as clean as everyone thinks.”

  My mind pictured chip-on-his-shoulder Mac, then quickly imagined eager-to-please Annmarie, then replaced the image with can’t-keep-her-mouth-shut Sheila.

  Damn, but the man did have a point.

  I shut down the computer, snatched up my keys, and walked out of the station without saying another word.

  And all the while Senior Investigator Everett of the IPCA chuckled to himself as he carefully cleaned his glasses.

  Chapter 34

  You Can’t Possibly Miss It

  Luke

  I opened the front door to a steaming sergeant.

  “Where the hell is your brother?” Maggie demanded.

  “I don’t know,” I replied. “He’s not answering his cell phone.”

  “Does he have a bolthole?” she asked, storming into the hallway and starting to pace.

  “I’ve checked them all,” I admitted, closing the door and shutting out the cold night.

  The sun had not long set, making Mount Glenmary gleam as if gilded. Stars were bursting to life in the darkening sky. No clouds m
eant a low temperature. If Matt was outside, he could freeze to death.

  “What’s this all about?” I asked carefully.

  “Everett is building a case against him with the help…” she stalled. Ran a hand through her hair, making it come loose at the back. “Damn it,” she growled.

  “Whose help?” I asked, taking a step closer.

  I reached up automatically and twisted her loose hair around my wrist. I hadn’t even thought of what I was doing. Maggie’s hair had come out of its pony tail and my fingers simply itched to replace the tie.

  Cool blue eyes met mine as I tipped her head back slightly.

  “What’s happened to get you so riled?” I asked, voice hushed already.

  “Someone’s ratted Matt out,” she whispered back. Fuck. “The wallet,” she said, swallowing thickly.

  I tightened my hold, pulled her flush against my chest, felt the rise and fall of her harsh breathing. Acting on automatic now.

  “Who knew about it?”

  “A select few,” she admitted, her pulse thrumming wildly beneath my thumb as my hand wrapped around her neck.

  “Who?” I pressed, tipping her head back a fraction further.

  It was a testament to who Maggie was as a woman that she didn’t even baulk at my behaviour. Simply submitted to my hold, letting her body relax against me. As if she craved the opportunity to lower her mask, to have someone else hold her up, keep her together.

  Every day she walked in that uniform she carried a weight on her shoulders. Here, with me, she could let the weight slip off.

  “Twizel Police Station staff,” she said, voice husky. “You.”

  “No one else?”

  “Not that I’m aware of,” she murmured, already succumbing to a more blissful state of mind and body. She needed this.

  “Take off your vest,” I ordered, my own voice lowering an octave.

  Her hands didn’t fumble when she undid the zip down the front. She shrugged her shoulders and let the garment fall to the floor at her back.

  “Now the shirt,” I whispered.

  The buttons came undone one at a time, her measured movements both a turn on and a hardship. I wanted to rip the bloody thing off her, but both my hands were occupied and I had to rely on Maggie’s.

  “Faster,” I found myself saying, showing too much of my eagerness to have her naked.

  “Are we alone?” she asked, just before she undid the lowermost button.

  “I don’t share what is mine, Maggie,” I told her.

  “And yet you let me scream your name when the house was full of guests.”

  Ah, and there was the feisty police officer beneath the submissive woman. I’m not sure Maggie realised she was submissive in bed. If I pointed it out, she’d undoubtedly baulk. Maggie was a competent, highly capable, accomplished woman in a male dominated industry. But when given the chance to privately switch that all off, her body spoke for her.

  “I never said I wasn’t above letting everyone know you are mine,” I growled. “But they will never see you,” I promised. “When you’re with me, you are safe. Always.”

  She licked her lips, her eyes widening slightly, and then the shirt fell off her arms and landed on top of the vest.

  “The bra,” I said. She complied. I was already aching.

  “What now?” she asked, breathless.

  “What do you think, Maggie? What do you want?”

  She looked lost for a second, as if she wanted me to set the pace. To lead the way. Oh, I was more than ready to do that. But Maggie had been the one to storm in here, her emotions all over the place. She needed a firm hand, but also a soft touch.

  “Make everything go away,” she finally admitted.

  I tipped her head back, lifting her lips up to my face, and whispered above them, “That’s why I’m here, Maggie.” Then I kissed her.

  It wasn’t gentle. It was an attack. It was a message; I’ve got you. You don’t have to think. Just feel. Just react. Her pulse quickened, her body softened, nipples pebbling tight. A moan slipped free of her lips as our tongues swept together, sending shooting sparks of need right down to my cock.

  Maggie tasted like fresh air and mints. Like everything I’ve ever wanted. Like nothing I’d feasted on before.

  “Pants,” I growled against her lips, then kissed her as her hands unbuckled her belt.

  Her holstered weapon hitting the wooden floor at our feet made her jump. I pulled back from her lips and lowered my mouth to one of her breasts, sucking her nipple into my mouth. Hard.

  Her spine arched, her head tripped back further, aided by my hold on her hair, and a cry of shock and sensation spilled from her parted lips. I moved to the neglected nipple and repeated the action, but not before issuing the final command to, “Take off the rest.”

  Her boots were toed off, one by one. Her trousers kicked off next. Then came her lacy underpants. She stood before me, completely nude, completely at my mercy. Cheeks flushed, lids heavy, lips parted, nipples taut. I walked her backwards until the top of her head hit the hallway wall. Then I released her pony tail and ran my hand down between her breasts, over her stomach, dipping a finger between her folds.

  She was sopping wet.

  I looked up at her, my palm still wrapped around her throat; for the life of me, I couldn’t seem to remove it. I wanted to taste her, but from this position, arm outstretched to her neck, I couldn’t do it. There’d be time enough for that later.

  I pulled my fingers out from her pussy and lifted them to my lips, sucking all of her juices off them. She shuddered, made a whimpering sound, her chest heaving with stuttered breaths. I reached down and unbuckled my belt, flicked the buttons through my worn jeans, letting them hang open. Then fished a condom out of the pocket. Ripping the packet open with my teeth, I handed it to her.

  “Cover me,” I said.

  She looked down between us, my palm flexing to allow her face to tip, but not quite enough for her to see my cock clearly.

  “Are you going to let me go?” she asked.

  “No.”

  “I can’t see it.”

  “You can’t possibly miss it.”

  She smiled. It lit up her eyes and made fine lines appear at the edges.

  It made her look stunning.

  Then soft but sure fingers found my aching dick and wrapped around it. Maggie stroked hard, exactly how I liked it. Then rolled the condom on blind like a fucking professional.

  I didn’t like the idea of Maggie having practiced her condom rolling techniques on multiple guys, so I growled out my next command.

  “Wrap your legs around my waist and don’t fucking let go for anything.”

  She jumped up, my grip at her throat loosening but not releasing, then wrapped those long, shapely legs around my hips, positioning her wet pussy right on top of my throbbing cock. My free hand found her bare arse cheek and slapped skin loudly as it landed, offering further support from beneath.

  My cock twitched at the sound of palm meeting flesh. Later, I told myself. Right now my woman needed to be claimed. Fucked beyond thought or reason. Allowed to let go and forget everything.

  But my cock. Her pussy. And the fucking fantastic orgasms she was having.

  I thrust hard, sinking in balls deep, and made Maggie scream.

  Chapter 35

  I’ve Got You

  Maggie

  God damn, but Luke could fuck. I could barely catch my breath. And his hand at my throat should have made that breathlessness claustrophobic. But it didn’t. And I couldn’t figure out why. I couldn’t think. He wasn’t letting me.

  He pounded into me, the muscles on his back bulging under his t-shirt, his arms corded beneath my fingertips, his arse flexing as he rocked into me, again and again and again.

  The wall rattled. The door shook. I was sure the glass in a nearby window would shatter. But Luke didn’t slow up the pace, didn’t pull back on the power. He not only fucked me against the wall, he fucked me damn near through it. Any minu
te and I thought we’d crash through to the other side.

  His hand on my butt cheek squeezed and released in time to his plunging cock. His lips sucked on my chin, my jaw, my ear, then back to my mouth where he devoured my tongue. His thumb rubbed over my pulse point beside my throat, occasionally pressing harder, making spots appear behind my closed eyelids. His cock brushed against my clit on every upward thrust, and then dragged back out over the sensitive nub on every withdrawal.

  So many different sensations; so many, I couldn’t think. I lost myself to the rhythm; it never ceased. It never altered. A piston pumping in and out of me at just the right depth, just the right angle, just the right thrust.

  My first orgasm stormed through me and stole all reason. The second blindsided me as he sucked on my tit. The third left me a limp noodle in his arms, my legs barely able to keep their grip around his hips, but his cock never stopped.

  “One more,” he growled against my lips.

  I shook my head, felt his fingers flex on my neck, and then he gently squeezed. My eyes flew open, his dark gaze stared back, holding me still. Calm. Steady. You can trust me, they said. I opened my mouth, no words came out, no breath came in.

  And then he thrust hard, stayed buried, rubbed the base of his dick against my over sensitive clit, and I shattered. Or I thought I did. But when he released my throat, the pulse thundering back up the side of my neck, the air rushing into my straining lungs, I exploded.

  And he was right along with me. Groaning, moaning, his cock twitching as he released into the condom inside me. His whole body leaned against mine, pressing me into the wall. Sweat coated his skin, a trickle rolling down the side of his neck and catching my eye. We were both breathless, panting, chests heaving. My nipples rubbed against his t-shirt, turning me on all over again. His cock twitched, coming back to life, as if he knew it.

  His heavy lids opened and he stared right into me. Saw me. Caught me when I needed to be caught.