Ryker’s Justice Read online

  “I doubt it,” Jude said. “And for God’s sake, be careful. I don’t want you hurt.”

  A faint grin tempered Adam’s serious expression for a few seconds. “Me neither,” he said. “Then at work yesterday, a couple of the younger guys at the mill came in hungover, sick as dogs. One said he was just hungover but the other said they’d gotten hold of some bad liquor. Their buddy didn’t make it to work at all. Sam Younger said ol’ Dennis couldn’t see this morning.”

  “Shit.” Jude spoke in a soft voice. “Bad moonshine can damage the optic nerve.”

  “I thought so. It’s a good thing you came clean with us, Jude, or I’d probably never have thought to share any of this with you. You need to have a word with Josh, too. Noah thinks you’re right that he was drinking moonshine with the group and he’s worried sick about it. And Esther thinks you’d better talk to Mindy, too. She apparently babbled something about meth cooking and moonshine to someone on the phone and Esther overheard it.”

  “Meth?” Jude said. “Damn, this may be broader than I thought. Thanks, Adam. I’ll look into all of it.”

  Adam put a hand on his shoulder. “Kid, there’s more. The sheriff wants to talk to you, too.”

  Wary, Jude asked, “What about?”

  His brother huffed out air. “Don’t be mad, Jude, but I told him who you are and what you’re working on.”

  “God damn it, Adam!” Nerves jangled and emotions raw, the admission pissed off Jude.

  “Now, wait a minute,” Adam said. “Before you go on a tear, let me explain. He’s been looking into the same thing you’re here to find. He doesn’t like the fact the prosecuting attorney let Junior off and has in the past. I talked to him in confidence and he won’t tell anyone, not even his deputies or his wife. He thinks you and him might make a good team so at least consider talking to him.”

  Jude managed a low-throated noise, almost a growl. Adam sighed. “Kid, trust me,” he said. “I know you’ve been gone a long time but I thought you’d still trust me.”

  “I do,” Jude said. “That’s one thing that hasn’t changed.”

  He pondered the situation and shifted his opinion. “All right, I’ll talk to him. Hell, maybe I’ll even work with him. Thanks, Adam.”

  “Don’t mention it. Go rescue your woman. I think Aunt Tillie’s got hold of her.”

  Jude found Nicole cornered by the old woman. His aunt prattled about Jude’s boyhood and shared stories, some of them incorrect, about his mother. He worked his way through the cousins and in-laws and friends to reach them, then hunkered down on his haunches. “Hey, honey,” he said. Nicole glanced up but her lopsided smile indicated she could use a rescue. “Want to stretch your legs and maybe bring me a soda pop?”

  She grinned. “Sure, Jude, I’d be happy to do it. What kind do you want?”

  “Anything filled with sugar and caffeine,” he told her.

  As she walked out, he watched her, appreciating the way she moved her tight ass and how graceful she appeared. “Those things are bad for you, boy,” Aunt Tillie said. “Water’s the best thing to drink.”

  “Oh, I know it,” Jude said. “How’s life treating you, auntie?”

  “Good and bad, but I’m still here,” she told him. “I didn’t hardly sleep a wink last night. Those neighbors of mine kicked up a ruckus until dawn.”

  If he recalled correctly, her small house sat adjacent to a former nursery, florist shop, and garden center. The complex of buildings had long sat empty, although he’d heard there had been a flea market on sight a few years earlier. The home on the other side of Tillie’s property had been vacant since the old couple who lived there for decades moved to Florida to be close to their only daughter. “I didn’t know you had neighbors,” he said. He figured he’d hear more of her ramblings but her answer surprised him.

  “Well, they don’t think I know they’re there but they are,” she said. “They come and go at the strangest hours, Jude, always sneaking like they don’t want anyone to see them. At first I thought they would put another flea market in but so far they haven’t, and it’s been a couple of years. I reckon they use the place for storage maybe, although I know some of them live there, too. It’s a big place, as you’ll remember.”

  Jude nodded. “I do.”

  “Those big trucks rumbling in and out, those diesel dualies and such, are what kept me awake last night,” she told him. “I don’t know for the life of me what they load onto them and carry off, but it must be something. Maybe they redo old furniture or something.”

  “Why do you think so?” He paid about half attention as he watched for Nicole and picked up snippets of other conversations in the room. He had an eye out for Josh and Mindy, too.

  “Why, the smell of varnish,” she said. “Sometimes it’s so strong it about near chokes me if I go outside on the porch. That, and I think they do a lot of cleaning ‘cause there’s times I smell ammonia.”

  Her account of the smells clicked. Varnish, he thought, and ammonia. Meth cooking had a strong, pungent odor some people described as similar. “Aunt Tillie,” he said, focused on her now. “Tell me more about these people. I guess they’re not friendly?”

  “Oh, no, they’re standoffish,” she told him. “I guess they’re afraid an old lady like me might come over to say howdy because they have a security camera and alarms to rival Fort Knox. They’re odd. It can be the hottest day of summer and those black windows stay shut tight but when it’s bitter cold, I’ve known them to open up a bunch of them. And I don’t know how many of them are there but they have the biggest pile of trash you ever saw, bags and bags of it.”

  In her rambling way, she had just described some of the common signs that a meth lab was in operation. Whether or not it had anything to do with the moonshine manufacturing was still uncertain, but it would be worth investigating. Jude decided he would share the information with the sheriff when he met with him and they could proceed from there. If Sheriff Cole could debunk Tillie’s account, then fine. If not, it might be the starting place for an investigation, whether or not it tied into his.

  “I think you should steer clear of them, Aunt Tillie,” he told her. “They sound like a wild bunch for sure.”

  “Oh, I do, Jude, and I will. I just wish they’d pack up and move.”

  “Maybe they will,” he said. A rush of affection toward the woman he’d known all his life rippled through him. Concern followed. If anything happened to her, he would feel responsible.

  “Well, I hope so.”

  Nicole returned with his soda and before she had to wade through the press of people, Jude came to his feet. He paused long enough to kiss his aunt’s cheek, then he went to greet Nicole.

  “Thanks, honey,” he said. “Are you ready to make tracks?”

  “Oh, yes,” she said. “Let’s go home for a while. Mary invited us both for supper tonight but if you don’t want to go, I’ll make excuses.”

  “We can, that’s fine,” he said. “What time is it?”

  “Almost three and she said supper’s at six or six thirty.”

  Jude grinned. “Then, yeah, sure we can. We’ll have a few hours to spend at home.”

  She smiled back. “That’s just what I thought.”

  The rain continued as he drove home over the familiar winding roads. At the house, they dashed together through the downpour and into the house. Jude lit the fire in the hearth he had laid earlier for warmth and to dry their damp clothing. As the blaze kindled and the sweet scent of wood smoke filtered into the room, a sense of comfort mingled with a growing desire. With the rain pounding down on the roof, the house became an isolated retreat, a space large enough for two. He offered Nicole his hand and when she accepted, he pulled her close and nuzzled his lips against her mouth. “I think we’d better get out of these wet clothes,” he murmured. “We wouldn’t want to catch a chill or anything.”

  Heat flickered between them as she nodded. “Oh, no, we wouldn’t.

  He sneezed and she grasped th
e bottom of his shirt, then pulled it over his head. “You may be coming down already,” she told him. “I think the best place for you is in bed.”

  His loins tightened. “Yeah, I think so, too.”

  She offered her hand and when he took it, she ran toward the stairs and to his bedroom. They stripped with unholy haste, hands bumping into each other’s as they jerked away garments and tossed them to the floor. When Jude removed her blouse, her breasts greeted him, the nipples already perky. He surrendered any pretense and took one into his mouth. Its firm hardness excited him and he sucked at it the way he would a hard candy. He used his tongue to flick the tip repeatedly and she groaned. Jude transferred his attentions to the other nipple and did the same.

  Bolder than she had been thus far, Nicole grasped his stiff cock in one hand. She worked her fist up and down his shaft, the friction an exquisite torture. Each caress of her fingers, every time she squeezed, Jude thought he would explode. He lost track of what he intended to do next when she dropped to her knees and took his dick into her mouth. That’s a first for her but I like it. Jude shut his eyes as she sucked, then used her tongue to full advantage. Each time she licked, he shuddered and his cock hardened. Afraid he might go off into her mouth, unsure how she might feel about it if he did, he tried to pull back. Nicole’s left hand clutched the left cheek of his ass in a tight grip to prevent it. About the time he doubted he could hold out much longer, she backed off and backed up to the bed. She lay down with pussy exposed and spread her legs wide.

  Jude rammed into her marvelous wet heat and filled her full. He cried out as intense pleasure claimed him and he worked up and down to keep the delightful friction going. Each time he thrust into her, she moaned and when she wrapped her legs tight around his body, he lost any restraint. He came into her, his seed spilling out in an incredible orgasm. Brilliant light burst and blinded him as his body convulsed in a series of spasms so sweet, yet so powerful he thought he’d die from them.

  The moment she joined him, he knew it. Her body shuddered beneath him and she shrieked. He watched her face flush crimson and tears run down her cheeks. Nicole raked his bare back with her fingernails, sharp enough to hurt, but he savored the sensation among all the rest. At the climax, he shouted a hoarse, wordless cry and rode the intense wave until it ended.

  He crashed hard and rolled to land beside her, panting and gasping. Body sated, spirits high, he put his hand between her legs and rubbed hard. She sobbed and writhed at his touch.

  “Oh, God,” she gasped. “You’re killing me. It’s so sensitive I’ll pass out or die.”

  “Never,” he said. “Relax and enjoy it.”

  Nicole moaned his name but she stopped resisting him. “Jude,” she cried. “Oh, Jude, oh, Jude.”

  Afterward, when her body became still and he’d caught his breath, Jude cradled her against his chest. “I don’t think I’ve ever had it that good,” he whispered.

  “I know I haven’t.” Her voice became a breath in his ear. “I love you, Jude.”

  “Aw, honey, I love you, too.” Saying the words became the easiest thing in the world, although once he had believed they would be difficult to share. Hell, he’d once been certain he probably wouldn’t ever say them to a woman.

  After his declaration, she snuggled closer and relaxed in his arms. Jude held her tight and listened to the rain drumming on the roof. Contentment spread through his body and he savored the moment. For now, there was no future, no tomorrow to deal with, nothing to figure out, just the woman he loved and a comfortable bed beneath them. Living in the moment had its appeal, he decided, and did. When Nicole slid into an easy sleep, Jude followed and basked in the immediate, not the long term.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Everywhere he went, people talked and he listened with a closer ear than ever before. At the end of a hectic week, when Jude visited Aunt Tillie to check out the neighboring property and spent time at David’s bedside by the teen’s request, he took time out to go fishing with Adam, Elijah, and Sheriff Cole. His original notion—to stop by the jail—had been rejected and after a little thought, he had agreed. If it had been up to Jude, he would have chosen the river but Adam opted for Grand Lake. “It’ll give us more privacy,” he told them. “Less tongues to notice and wag, too.”

  After a long day spent out on the water, Jude returned home, sunburned, windblown, and worn out. As much as he enjoyed fishing, the hours spent casting and reeling in a few fish exhausted him. The Indian summer warmth when they set out on the water faded by mid-afternoon when the wind switched and temperatures dropped. If it didn’t frost overnight, he would be surprised.

  “You ought to come to church tomorrow,” Adam said when he dropped Jude off in front of the old home place.

  Jude curled his lip. “I haven’t done church in years,” he said. “I don’t know. I’m not much into the idea of anyone trying to save my soul.”

  His brother laughed. “I didn’t figure you were but people flap their gums at church. You might hear something worthwhile. Besides, Josh will be there and maybe you can talk to him.”

  Adam had him. “Shit,” Jude said, resigned. “What time and where?”

  “Sunday school starts at nine thirty,” his brother replied with a smirk. “Services are at eleven. Same place as always. Bring Nicole, if you want.”

  The idea appealed to him. “I might,” he said. “I’ll call her, I guess. I’m too damn tired to run the roads to go over to the inn.”

  “See you then, brother.”

  He nodded and waved, then mounted the porch steps with slow tread. Funny, back in Washington he never minded coming home to his apartment, but Jude hated walking into the house alone. The larger space loomed empty and made him lonely. Most of the time, he never missed having a television, but right now he would welcome the noise and distraction it could provide. He ached, ready for a cold drink, a warm fire, and his comfortable chair. If he wasn’t too damn tired, he could slap together a sandwich or open a can of ravioli.

  When he pushed the front door open, he paused. A pleasant aroma met his nose, combining a sweet floral scent, a little wood smoke, and something that reminded him of bacon. Damn, I’m more tired than I thought. I’m imagining things. Jude rubbed his face and shook his head to clear it. The fire crackled and he wheeled around to stare at it. He would swear he had banked it before he left to go fishing, but apparently not. Lucky I didn’t burn the damn house down.

  Shower first, then food, he decided, and headed toward the stairs.

  “Jude?”

  The feminine voice brought him to a halt. “Nicole?”

  She emerged from the kitchen. Gladness swept over him. “Oh, honey, I’m glad to see you,” he said. Jude wrapped his arms around her and planted a kiss on her lips. “How’d you get here?”

  “Abigail brought me over,” Nicole said. “It was her idea actually, but I liked it. She thought you might like some company.”

  His sister’s insight surprised and pleased him. “She’s right. What time do you need to go back to the inn?”

  Her smile widened. “I don’t. I brought a bag and I’m staying.”

  He opened his mouth to protest and she held up one hand. “Mary and Rick think I’m staying at Abigail’s tonight so don’t fuss.”

  “I won’t,” Jude told her. “In fact, I might want to keep you longer.”

  Like maybe forever if there was one.

  “Good,” she told him. “So, are you hungry?”

  Five minutes ago he wasn’t but now he was. “Starving, but I’d like to get a shower first.”

  “Sure, go ahead. There’s no hurry. When we sit down to eat, you can tell me about your day and what you’ve found out so far.”

  Jude inhaled the delicious smells from the kitchen. “What’s cooking?”

  “Navy beans seasoned with bacon,” she said. “I’ve got cornbread in the oven, too.”

  Until now, domestic bliss hadn’t been something he believed existed. In the past, he had jeere
d good naturedly at some of his colleagues when they were eager to get home. He’d turned a deaf ear to their boasts about good home cooking, too. Since tasting a hint of it, he craved more. “Sounds good,” he said. He couldn’t remember the last time he had eaten homemade beans simmered on the stove for hours with cornbread made from scratch—it had to be years.

  Nicole’s smile brightened. “It will be,” she told him. “One thing Southern girls know how to do is cook.”

  After a warm shower, dressed in gray sweatpants and a simple white T-shirt, Jude came to the kitchen in far better spirits than when he had come home. He kept his tread light and sneaked behind Nicole as she stirred the beans. One glance at the tender nape of her neck tempted him to kiss her there. His lips lingered over her soft skin as short bursts of pleasure rushed through him. When she put down the spoon, Nicole turned into his arms and kissed him full on the mouth.

  Emotion welled up in his heart and overflowed. God, he loved this woman. He kept his tone light, though, when he said, “Let’s eat.”

  Over the tasty, white navy beans, they discussed his day and the case.

  “I like Mitch Cole,” he told her. “He seems to be a fair sheriff and a good LEO. I can trust him but we’re not much farther along. I told him about Aunt Tillie’s neighbors, what I saw myself when I went over there, and he agrees it sounds like a meth lab. He kinda thinks it’s not connected to the bigger picture, though. It’s more of a small-time deal.”

  “So are they planning to raid it?”

  He nodded. “They are soon but if there’s a tie to the moonshine operation, it has to wait until we can find it. If they bust them now, the ‘shine people will have time to move and hide. Stills are damn easy to transport. And if it’s not connected, it can wait.”

  A slight frown creased Nicole’s forehead. “So you still have to find the moonshiners? Aren’t they going to help you?”