Page 44 of Work It Out
She threw open her office door, thinking to shove the two guest chairs off to the side, but those chairs were occupied. Jake sat in one, his head bent toward Victoria, who was sobbing uncontrollably. Jake was patting her back with one hand and kneading his forehead with the other. At the commotion of Rayah’s entrance, he ripped his hand from Vicky’s back as if she’d busted in on them doing something naughty.
Ugh. She would not think about him doing naughty things with Vicky.
Would. Not.
Oh, God, she was totally thinking about it.
“Sorry,” she muttered. Except why was she apologizing for coming into her own office? Still, that’s what a person did in a moment like this, wasn’t it? “I’ll…come back later.”
“Wait.” Jake shot to his feet. “I was about to come find you.”
Riiiiight.“I’ve actually got my hands full. Could we—”
“Vicky?”
Exactly what this situation needed: more Jean.
“Granny Jean,” the girl said in a scratchy voice. She stood and extended her hand. “It’s so nice to see you again.”
Jean made apshsound and pulled Vicky into a fierce hug. When she stepped back, she held the girl by the shoulders to examine her. “What’s with the waterworks? Did that boy…” She trailed off, grasping Vicky’s chin and turning her face to the light. Jean’s expression went arctic, and it wasn’t hard to guess why. “Quinton?”
“Yes, baby?” he said from behind Rayah, voice as glacial as his wife’s.
“Be a dear and fetch my rifle.”
“That won’t be necessary,” Jake said through gritted teeth.
“Oh, I think it is.” Jean sounded as if they were debating the need for an umbrella on a cloudy day, rather than homicide. And it was murder Jean was contemplating.
Rayah didn’t know Vicky, yet at the first sight of the black eye she’d tried to hide, they’d become sisters in a sorority to which no woman willingly pledged.
“I’ve got a nice spot at the back of the property.” Rayah’s voice came out perfectly calm, proving she could act, too. “Lots of wild animals: coyotes, mountain lions, venomous snakes. Shit happens.”
Vicky frowned. “Who are you?”
Ouch.
Jake appeared at Rayah’s side and slid an arm around her waist. “Vic, this is Rayah. She owns the place. Rayah, Vicky.”
She owns the place.Notthe woman whose bed I just crawled out of.Or eventhe chick I kissed senseless ten minutes ago.
She owns the place.
Dear Lord, she was being ridiculous.
“Who are we murdering?” She disengaged from Jake as casually as she could. “Or is it better if I don’t know?”
Vicky smiled wanly and stepped up to Jake’s other side in a move that was part vulnerable, part proprietary. “We aren’t murdering anyone.” Jean tried to speak again, but Vicky cut her off. “Mark’s already dead.”
That pronouncement stunned even Jean silent for a beat. Then her shoulders straightened and she seemed to grow taller. “All right. What alibi did you give the police? We should work out all the details so everyone knows what they should say.”
“As long as she didn’t blame it on aliens,” Zandar qualified. “I can’t be part of that. Not again. They’ll haul me home for sure.”
Vicky’s watery laugh filled the office. She brushed tears off her cheek and nuzzled Jake’s shoulder. “They really are your family.” She smiled up at him, an impish twist of her lips. “They’re as nuts as you are.”
Jake grinned at Vicky for a heartbeat, then settled his gaze firmly on Rayah. “Aren’t they perfect?”
Chapter Fifteen
