Bring Me Flowers (Detectives Kane and Alton)
The chink, chink, chink of spurs and the sound of footsteps came from behind her. She glanced around the room seeking an alternative means of escape but found nothing. The hair on the back of her neck stood at attention and every muscle went on alert. Storm is behind me. If they jump me, I’m trapped.
Eight
Assessing the threat, Jenna took three steps closer to Lucky and turned casually to place her back to the wall. From her position, she had the men in clear view. Both carried hunting knives attached to their belts in leather sheaths, and the image of the gutted young woman flashed into her mind. She had seen cowboys in action, the way they jumped from their horses to rope a steer. The agile, strong men on each side of her could move like lightning, and although Kane had taught her some new moves, they could restrain her without breaking a sweat. She had her weapon, but without reasonable cause, she could not draw on them.
When Lucky gave Storm a knowing grin and moved in close, she could smell him. Fear gripped her in a rush. The choking feeling heralding another flashback rushed to the fore and she dragged in deep breaths to push it back into the dark recesses of her mind. She needed to take control of the situation. “Take a step back, Mr. Briggs.”
“Have a problem with men movin’ into your comfort zone, Sheriff?”
Where are you, Kane? She met Lucky’s overconfident gaze head-on, refusing to show fear. “Just stay where you are and answer my questions then we can all be on our way.”
“Sure, ask away.”
“Did anyone see you at the motel?”
“Yeah, Storm was making out with some girl in the parking lot outside my motel room.” Lucky nodded at his friend. “You saw that woman attack me, didn’t you?”
“Sure did. The crazy bitch had been chasing after Lucky all night.” Storm moved inside the room and leaned against the saddle rack. “I tried to calm her down and told her I’d be happy to have both of them, but she spat at me and took off.” He grinned. “I mean, look at me, who wouldn’t love a night in Storm’s arms?”
Not me. “Can you describe her? How old was she? What color hair?”
“Older than you, maybe forty or so, hard to tell with all the makeup.” Lucky shrugged. “Blonde, the kind out of a bottle, black stilettos, nice tits. I’m guessing she was a hooker. She sure looked like one but I don’t need to pay for company and maybe that’s why she got pissed.” He smiled. “Shame you’re a cop. You look real nice. I’m afraid it seems to be the young ones or the hooker
s who chase after me. They want a cowboy to show them some lovin’. I’m starting to check their IDs.”
“But I’m not chasing after you, Mr. Briggs.”
“Really? I sure thought by the way you looked at me before you had a hankering for some prime cowboy— and call me Lucky.”
Giving him a dismissive snort, she narrowed her gaze. “I don’t think so, Mr. Briggs.”
“Sassy too.” Lucky’s gaze rested on her breasts then very slowly moved back to her face. He grinned at Storm. “Now I know why you like women in uniform.”
She ignored the inappropriate remarks and glared at him. “Do you want to make a formal complaint against this woman?”
“Nope.” Lucky rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t need any trouble.”
Storm ruffled his damp hair and moved a few steps closer. Jenna’s heart went into overdrive. Muscles tensed and ready to fight, she planned her moves. One kick to the knee would smash his patella, tear the tendons, and ruin Storm’s career, but it would startle Lucky, giving her the split second required to pivot and crack her heel into his jaw.
She took a step away from the wall to give herself room and rested her hand on her pistol. Storm had noticed the subtle movement and raised one fair eyebrow then moved between her and the door. Lifting her chin, she used her authoritative voice. “Okay, but before I go, can you tell me your whereabouts this morning between eight and ten?”
“Yeah, earlier I was helping old Joey move Lightning and the stupid animal threw a fit and slammed me into the side of the truck. I bruised my hip and we went to the rock pool in the forest over yonder so I could soak in the cold water. We go there a lot, as in all the guys on the circuit go there for a cold soak. It’s good for injuries.” Lucky unzipped his pants and pulled them down to exhibit a massive black bruise over one slim hip. “I have to compete with this injury this weekend. I had to get the swelling down. I’ll be back there again tomorrow and maybe later this afternoon.”
Before she could comment, Kane’s voice boomed out in a clipped tone from behind Storm.
“Cover up before I book you for indecent exposure.” Kane flashed her a look to stop time and his mouth flattened into a thin line. “Did you see or hear anyone else in the area while you were soaking your injury?”
Biting back a sigh of relief, Jenna took the opportunity to stroll to Kane’s side and waited for Lucky to reply.
“Yeah, a couple of kids on bikes waved to us on the way back to the car.” Lucky zipped up his pants and shrugged. “Didn’t hear anything unusual but the waterfall covers a lot of noise.”
“Why swim there and not further up in the clearing? There’s a beach there and it must have been difficult climbing out of the rock pool with an injury.” Kane glared at him.
“You kidding me?” Lucky snorted. “We went skinny-dipping and the rock pool is secluded. Kids hang out at the clearing. Adults usually go to the rock pool at the weekends and never that early. The water is damn near freezing.” His gaze narrowed. “Why the third degree?”
“Just routine questions following a complaint.” Kane slid his cold gaze over her. “Anything else you need to ask them, ma’am?”
Jenna understood Kane’s concerns for her welfare. She wet her lips and took out her notepad and pen. “I need your cellphone numbers and shoe size, and are you willing to submit to a DNA test?”