sex about the same time I grew chest hair.”
She laughed. It was smoky and thick, and it slid through him just as fast as the fire from that kiss. Still smiling, she climbed off the bed and started for the bathroom, but she came to a quick stop.
And glanced at the front of his boxers.
“Need a cold shower, or can I go first in the bathroom?” she asked.
“Go ahead.”
Once she was out of his sight, his other problem might take care of itself. And if that didn’t work, his conversation with Declan was sure to do the trick. Because by now Declan had no doubt set up the interviews with their suspects. In a few hours, Wyatt would need to face down the person who wanted Lyla and him dead. That was a surefire way to kill some of these lustful urges.
He hoped.
So far, nothing else was working.
Wyatt got up, grabbed a pair of jeans from his closet and pulled them on. A shirt, too. Best not to be half-naked when Lyla returned. But before he could even zip up, his phone rang. Probably one of his brothers, but considering the hour—and the fact that all but Declan thought he was on his honeymoon—this was no doubt something important related to the investigation.
Maybe they’d gotten lucky and the bomber had been caught. While Wyatt was wishing and hoping, he added that maybe this idiot who’d set the bomb had made a full confession so that the danger would be over.
But it wasn’t one of his brothers’ names on the phone screen. It was his boss, Saul Warner. Hell. Was Saul calling to say he was on the way to arrest him?
“We got a big problem,” Saul greeted before Wyatt could even say a word.
“What’s wrong?” And Wyatt wasn’t sure he wanted to hear the answer. He was sick and tired of bad news, and especially bad news that put Lyla in more danger.
“Wyatt, there’s been another murder.”
Chapter Nine
Lyla followed Wyatt down the stairs while he continued his latest call, this one to the medical examiner. There’d been a flurry of them since his boss had phoned to tell him the bad news.
That Sarah Webb had been murdered.
The news hadn’t just shocked Lyla, it had terrified her. This wasn’t some bomb set to destroy evidence in an abandoned building. Sarah had been murdered while in a coma in her hospital bed. A place most people considered safe, but obviously the killer had gotten to her.
And silenced her for good.
Since Sarah had confessed to murdering her husband—along with having an accomplice—that information was now dead along with her.
“We must be close to learning the truth,” Wyatt said when he finished his call. He shoved his phone back into his pocket. “Or the killer wouldn’t have murdered Sarah.”
True. Plus, Billy had said that Sarah appeared to be coming out of the coma. Her accomplice wouldn’t have wanted that if he or she thought that Sarah would implicate them in the murder. The penalty for assisting in a murder was the same as doing the act itself. So, the accomplice was looking at a life sentence, or maybe even the death penalty if premeditation could be proven.
“Does this rule out Billy?” Lyla asked. “Because I don’t see him killing his own mother, and I don’t see Sarah naming him as her accomplice.”
Wyatt made a sound of agreement and continued toward the back of the house. “But that doesn’t get the others off the hook.”
No. In fact, it made their three suspects, Sheriff Zeke Mercer, Greg Hester and Travis Weston, look even guiltier.
Of course, the same could be said for Wyatt’s family.
And speaking of family, Lyla hadn’t expected to find them all there in the massive eat-in kitchen.
They were everywhere.
At the table. The stove. Leaning against the counters. Even though they all seemed to be doing something, they all stopped and turned to look at Wyatt and her. It didn’t take long for a collective hush to settle over the room.
A long hush.
Since Declan was the only one who knew the marriage was a sham, they were probably all
She laughed. It was smoky and thick, and it slid through him just as fast as the fire from that kiss. Still smiling, she climbed off the bed and started for the bathroom, but she came to a quick stop.
And glanced at the front of his boxers.
“Need a cold shower, or can I go first in the bathroom?” she asked.
“Go ahead.”
Once she was out of his sight, his other problem might take care of itself. And if that didn’t work, his conversation with Declan was sure to do the trick. Because by now Declan had no doubt set up the interviews with their suspects. In a few hours, Wyatt would need to face down the person who wanted Lyla and him dead. That was a surefire way to kill some of these lustful urges.
He hoped.
So far, nothing else was working.
Wyatt got up, grabbed a pair of jeans from his closet and pulled them on. A shirt, too. Best not to be half-naked when Lyla returned. But before he could even zip up, his phone rang. Probably one of his brothers, but considering the hour—and the fact that all but Declan thought he was on his honeymoon—this was no doubt something important related to the investigation.
Maybe they’d gotten lucky and the bomber had been caught. While Wyatt was wishing and hoping, he added that maybe this idiot who’d set the bomb had made a full confession so that the danger would be over.
But it wasn’t one of his brothers’ names on the phone screen. It was his boss, Saul Warner. Hell. Was Saul calling to say he was on the way to arrest him?
“We got a big problem,” Saul greeted before Wyatt could even say a word.
“What’s wrong?” And Wyatt wasn’t sure he wanted to hear the answer. He was sick and tired of bad news, and especially bad news that put Lyla in more danger.
“Wyatt, there’s been another murder.”
Chapter Nine
Lyla followed Wyatt down the stairs while he continued his latest call, this one to the medical examiner. There’d been a flurry of them since his boss had phoned to tell him the bad news.
That Sarah Webb had been murdered.
The news hadn’t just shocked Lyla, it had terrified her. This wasn’t some bomb set to destroy evidence in an abandoned building. Sarah had been murdered while in a coma in her hospital bed. A place most people considered safe, but obviously the killer had gotten to her.
And silenced her for good.
Since Sarah had confessed to murdering her husband—along with having an accomplice—that information was now dead along with her.
“We must be close to learning the truth,” Wyatt said when he finished his call. He shoved his phone back into his pocket. “Or the killer wouldn’t have murdered Sarah.”
True. Plus, Billy had said that Sarah appeared to be coming out of the coma. Her accomplice wouldn’t have wanted that if he or she thought that Sarah would implicate them in the murder. The penalty for assisting in a murder was the same as doing the act itself. So, the accomplice was looking at a life sentence, or maybe even the death penalty if premeditation could be proven.
“Does this rule out Billy?” Lyla asked. “Because I don’t see him killing his own mother, and I don’t see Sarah naming him as her accomplice.”
Wyatt made a sound of agreement and continued toward the back of the house. “But that doesn’t get the others off the hook.”
No. In fact, it made their three suspects, Sheriff Zeke Mercer, Greg Hester and Travis Weston, look even guiltier.
Of course, the same could be said for Wyatt’s family.
And speaking of family, Lyla hadn’t expected to find them all there in the massive eat-in kitchen.
They were everywhere.
At the table. The stove. Leaning against the counters. Even though they all seemed to be doing something, they all stopped and turned to look at Wyatt and her. It didn’t take long for a collective hush to settle over the room.
A long hush.
Since Declan was the only one who knew the marriage was a sham, they were probably all