Latent Danger (On the Line #2)(41)

She went out to get Liz. She would get the girl settled, then go check the third floor as an extra precaution.

The house was surrounded by a manicured lawn, with the small carriage house turned guest house at the back of that. Behind that, there were woods, but Shauna knew there was a pool and tennis courts through the woods. It was back there that the land connected to the clubhouse that Jonathan Sawyer’s parents had built for their son.

“For the most part, you can pretend I’m not here, Liz,” Shauna said to Liz as she led the girl into the house. They had left Liz’s car in front of the house. There had been a freestanding four-car garage off to the left side of the house and she knew that was where the cook’s apartment was located.

“I’ll stay down here,” Shauna continued. “Let me know if you want to go outside at all.”

Liz frowned. “I need to take Fiona out.”

“Your dog?” Shauna asked, remembering Liz had found the threatening note when she’d taken her dog out. “Okay, let’s do that now.”

Liz went to the kitchen and came back with the small ball of fluff Shauna had seen laying in a corner of the kitchen. The dog opened dark eyes, blinking at Shauna from her perch in Liz’s arms. Shauna didn’t know what kind of dog she was, but somehow, she hadn’t pictured Liz with the poof ball. The girl struck her as more of a golden retriever type of person.

They went to the back of the house and stepped out onto the lawn where Liz let the dog loose while Shauna let her gaze cover the lawn and the trees beyond.

“I want to check the third floor of the house when we go back inside,” Shauna said to Liz as the girl watched the dog sniff in the grass.

She didn’t get anything more than a shrug in response.

“Then, you can do whatever you want and I’ll stick mostly to the main floor, but you let me know if you need me. Zach is trying to get ahold of your parents.”

A smirk came at that. “Good luck.” The vulnerable Liz seemed to be gone and the walls back up.

“Do you talk to them regularly?” Shauna had a feeling she knew the answer.

“Sometimes.”

“I bet you’ve been to some great places.” She assumed Liz traveled with them during the summer and on breaks.

“Whatever.” Liz rolled her eyes and picked up the dog. “I’ll be in my room.”

Shauna nodded and looked up to the windows on the third floor as the girl walked away. She would double check the front and back doors, make sure the alarm was on, then check the upstairs rooms.

Then she’d see if Liz wanted to come down for dinner. She needed to see if she could get that kid to open up. The only problem was, she had zero experience with kids, and teens were a mystifying mystery to her. Though, she guessed they shouldn’t be. She’d been one herself. Had she really ever been that moody?

She shook her head as she headed indoors. She should have told Zach to come watch Liz. He at least knew how to deal with the mood swings of a teenage girl.





Chapter Twenty-nine





There was nothing to do but wait now. Zach had put in calls to Liz Gordon’s parents and to the medical examiner. He’d left messages for everyone.

He slipped into the coffee room and went to the couch in the far corner. He would take twenty minutes to close his eyes and rest. They’d been going flat out and he had no intention of going home anytime soon. Power naps would have to do.

When he closed his eyes, though, he didn’t sleep. And his mind wasn’t running through the case, either, the way it often did. He usually used these naps to let his mind wander through the elements of a case, fitting pieces together, discarding any that didn’t fit, or letting other scraps of information bubble to the surface.

This time, though, his thoughts went to Shauna. Specifically, to the days when he had the freedom to put his hands on her lush curves. When they were dating, he hadn’t been working. He’d been free for her to call on him whenever she had free time. It was common for her to come to him late at night after she finished on a case.

Their relationship had been solely based on sex, and it was explosive sex, at that. Whenever they got together, his body instantly lit up and he hadn’t done a damned thing to try to keep his hands off her. She’d light him up in ways no other woman did. Without fail, their first encounter every time they got together would be hot, hard, fast. His body tightened now at the memory of her, slick and sweaty in his arms, his mouth on her as he lost himself in her tight heat.

And when he’d had her once, then he would lay naked and spent next to her, lazily trailing kisses up and down her body. He’d allow himself to taste, taking his time, learning every curve, learning what made her moan and wriggle beneath him.

Without fail, she’d have him hard and ready for her again in no time. The second time would be slow, almost tortuous in its pleasure, in the way the orgasm would build to the point of madness before crashing over them.

Zach sat up, realizing if anyone walked in, they’d be able to see how hard he was underneath his clothing.

Fuck, that would be embarrassing.

He scrubbed his hands down his face, trying to wash the memories from his mind. He knew it was a useless effort. Shauna had always reserved a special place in his memories. In fact, no other woman had competed with her since then, despite his efforts to try to imprint someone else’s body over hers in his mind. None had done what she could do to him.