Silva tilted her head to the side. ‘Why?”
“I thought he could help us solve Larissa’s murder.”
“After the incident at the tavern. Darien sent him packing.”
Damn Darien. Fine. She’d take matters into her own hands then.
“Will you be all right? I have a date with Sam tonight after we close the tavern.”
“For show, right?” Lelandi hoped she was wrong and that Silva finally realized Sam was right for her.
Silva gave her a slip of a smile. “Sure. Just for show until Trevor gets the point. I’ll tell you how it goes. Can you sleep?”
“No.”
Sliva turned on the television and flipped through the channels. “Ah. here’s one of Julia Wildthorn’s romances made Into a movie. Want to watch it?”
“Sure.”
“See ya in the morning, sugar.”
“Have a good time.”
“Thanks, ‘night.”
Silva left the bedroom and greeted Darien on the stairs. “Lelandi is going to watch a movie.”
Lelandi ground her teeth.
“Are you going back to work?”
“Yes, sirree, boss. Just as soon as I move some of my clothes from the washer to the dryer. Sam will be firing my butt if I keep using Lelandi as an excuse.”
“Tell him Lelandi takes priority.” Darien entered the bedroom.
Leiandi folded her arms and glowered at him. “What did you do with Ural?”
“He’s staying in jail for a while. After what he pulled with you, that’s the only place he’s going.” Darien gave Lelandi a hug, but she tensed. “What movie are you going to watch?”
“One of Julia Wiidthorn’s werewolf romance novels made for television. By the Light of the Moon.”
Hmm.” He nuzzled her cheek and rubbed her shoulders. and she began to dissolve under his insistent touch. “After I discuss business with my brothers and Uncle Sheridan, I’ll show you what real lupus garous do in the name of love.”
He kissed her lips, his hands massaging her breasts through her blouse and was really getting worked up when Jake shouted, “Uncle Sheridan’s here. And Tom’s Just arrived.”
Darien let out a husky growl. “Be back in a bit.”
“I’ll be ready and waiting.” She gave him a sweet smile and leaned back against the pillows.
As soon as Darien shut the door, she flew into action. Somehow, she had to sneak into his office downstairs and see if she could find anything of importance there. But first, she searched through his bedside tables, and her heart did a flip when she spied Larissa’s letter. She grabbed the letter and read through it, and nearly quit breathing.
I wished with all my heart to be who you thought I was. When I found the right man, it was too late for me to take back what I’d done to you.
Her sister had another lover? My god, no wonder Darien had been upset when he read the letter. But it confirmed what Silva had said about Larissa seeing some miner. Then the sickening thought swamped Lelandi. What if the triplets weren’t Darien’s?
Hospital records. She had to get into town and search for Larissa’s records and know for sure. Maybe the doctor said something about her depression, or gave some other clue that might aid her investigation.
She opened the bedroom window, letting in a gust of snowy wind, and peered out. A rose trellis clung next to the brick wall. If it could hold her weight, she’d make it. She searched In Darien’s closet and found a well worn leather jacket that smelled of him, and she took a deep breath and inhaled his sexy essence. He’d kill her for slipping away. But she was damned tired of being confined and kept in the dark. And if he was going to ignore her wishes to have Chester on the case...
She shoved on her boots and Dariens leather jacket, the size overwhelming her. After searching through his closet further, she couldn’t locate any gloves.
Car keys.
Rummaging through Darien’s chest of drawers, she found spare keys for his SUV and something metallic hidden under a pile of socks. Shoving them aside, she gasped. Her gun! And the bullets. She reloaded it and made sure the safety was on, then tucked it in one of the big pockets of his jacket.
Looking out the window, she considered the drop from the second story. As long as nothing dangerous was hidden in the snowdrift beneath the window, she should be fine. She climbed onto the windowsill, then swung around, grasping the wooden trellis. The flimsy redwood gave way with a snap, her heart flew into her throat, and she fell on her butt in the pile of snow. She was having a very bad feeling about this.
The powdered snow cushioned her fail, and she let out her breath in relief. Once she was able to plow her way out of the snow pile, she rushed to reach his SUV. The door locks were frozen and it took longer than she liked to get the driver’s door open. After climbing in, she slammed the door, hoping Darien and his family hadn’t heard.
She planned to return before Darien even missed her, although she’d have to come in the front door, but at least she’d learn what she could about her sister.
As soon as she drove out of the drive and hit the road, she realized how bad the visibility and treacherous the conditions had become. Darien’s country home provided more privacy for lupus garou gatherings, but right now the two-mile stretch of country road seemed more like fifty. But she was free and she couldn’t stop now.
The wipers swiped across the windshield at full speed, but the snow piled up so fast, she couldn’t see a thing and wondered if she was even on the road any longer. Sheesh, that was an awful thought.
The SUV began to slide. Turn the tires into the slide? No, away from the slide. Hell, who could remember? The next thing she knew, the SUV sailed into the woods. She held her breath before the vehicle lunged into a steep embankment, taking a nosedive into something solid. The impact threw her hard against the steering wheel. Pain radiated through her chest. Bang! Something exploded. A blanket of white filled her vision.
For a moment, she sat dazed. I’m in heaven. Except for the pain in her chest and her throbbing head that jolted her back to reality. The air bag deflated like a parachute that had lost all its wind, but the scene in front of her was still cloaked in white. The snow blew through the windshield crumbling in a spider web of glass crystals, courtesy of the force of the air bag.
Snow swirled around inside the SUV, and a cold wetness dribbled down her forehead. Reaching up. she felt a gash on her forehead. Blood painted her fingertips red. Great. Just great. How was she to do her sleuthing? Not to mention Darien would really want to murder her now for turning his SUV on its nose in a pile of snow or rock, or whatever it had managed to slam into.
“Well, there’s bound to be hell to pay anyway.” she muttered under her breath, and Jerked her seat belt free, then struggled to open the door. Wedged tight, the frame had crumpled with the impact. Super. She eased herself over the console and tried the passenger door. Same result. Growling under her breath, she leaned back in the seat and kicked through the remaining broken glass.
After crawling out of the SUV’s window, she slid over the hood, still warm, the snow quickly melting into a frozen glaze, which left her jeans wet. The cold wind whirling around her turned the denim fabric into ice. Blowing snow blinded her. But she was probably closer to town than to Darien’s house at this rate anyway. No sense in trying to hike back. Although survivalists said, “Stay with the vehicle.” But town couldn’t be very far. And she had a mission to accomplish. She was certain the doc would have written about her sister’s frame of mind during the pregnancy, maybe some clue about what was going on. And after reading her sister’s letter about the affair she’d been having, Lelandi couldn’t block the feeling something more was wrong.