That was kind of the truth. Damian Barnes might know much more than he realized.

The woman looked at Jason, looked at the card, and then looked back at him. “He’s not here, actually. He’s on vacation. He went to visit a friend in San Francisco.”

Jason could believe that Barnes wasn’t at home after seeing the piles of newspaper on the front porch, but he wasn’t about to give in that easily.

“Does he call in? It’s very important that I talk to him, ma’am. I’ve left messages at his home and here–”

“Yes.” The receptionist nodded and placed the card on her desk. “I was the one who took those messages and I did pass them on to Mr. Barnes. He calls in every other day. I’m sure he’ll contact you when he gets back into town.”

Fighting his rising frustration, Jason tried one more time. “Would it be possible for me to talk to him when he calls in? Does he call at the same time of day?”

More disapproval. The dragon lady clearly didn’t like being questioned.

“No, he doesn’t. I’m afraid you’ll just have to wait until he gets back.”

Effectively cornered, Jason admitted defeat. At least for the battle but not the war.

“I’d appreciate you letting him know again that I’m anxious to speak to him. Do you know when he’ll be back?”

The first crack in the woman’s armor. Her smile faltered and she seemed unsure. “That I don’t know. He left a few weeks ago and hasn’t given a return date.”

Jason whistled. “Lucky man. Thank you for your help.” He turned to leave but then pointed to the framed picture on the wall. “Is that Mr. Barnes?”

The receptionist beamed with pride for her boss. “Yes, it is. He was receiving the very prestigious Alliance Award for excellence in interface design. Mr. Barnes is a brilliant man.”

Barnes sure as hell didn’t look much like his childhood photos. The skinny, geeky boy with thick glasses had grown into a confident man despite what he’d experienced as a youth. It was good to see he hadn’t let the trauma of his past affect his future.

“I’m sure he his. Thank you and I hope to hear from him very soon. Good day.”

Jason exited the office and strode down the hall, punching the down arrow with too much force. The case was frozen in place and going nowhere fast. He’d promised Brinley he’d find this guy but things were not looking good.

Time to go back to the beginning and start again.

Chapter Twenty-Five

‡

“I didn’t think a half wall of wallpaper would be this much work.”

Brinley wiped at her damp forehead, the summer heat still blazing despite the sun beginning to set in the west. The old air conditioning unit was struggling to keep up and she’d have to look into replacing it eventually.

Right after she won the lottery or inherited a fortune from a long lost uncle.

This house was costing her every penny of her savings and she wasn’t sure she even wanted it anymore since finding out her living room had hosted a dead body from an unsolved murder. She wasn’t a superstitious person but it still gave her the willies. She was glad that she spent nights at Jason’s house, although she’d never admit it out loud to him.

“It wasn’t the wallpaper that was the pain in the ass—it was the chair rail that was the real work. Now I know what they meant when they said ‘Measure twice and cut once’. They weren’t kidding.”

Jason took a long drink from a frosty water bottle and then lounged against a dining table leg while mopping his brow with a bandana.

“It’s going to look even better when I get the floors refinished. I’m having them do all of the downstairs. I’ll have to wait on the upstairs for now. Too expensive.”

Jason pointed to a spot in the corner of the room near the entry to the kitchen. “You should have them look at that area over there. It makes a noise when I walk on it. Maybe they can fix it or replace those boards.”

Brinley frowned and stood, walking to the corner where he’d pointed. “Here? I’ve never heard anything.”

Jason hopped to his feet and joined her, pressing on a board with his tennis shoe. “Right here. Can you hear it?”

Brinley strained to hear what he was talking about, even kneeling down to get closer to the floor. “Jason, I can’t hear anything.”

“It’s there. Just listen.”

He walked over the boards and then back.

“Okay, I can hear a little something, but geez, you’d have to be Huck to hear it. Do you have some sort of wolf hearing?”

Jason shrugged, the muscles in his back bunching under his t-shirt and making it hard to breathe. Watching him work and sweat all day had done naughty things to her libido.

“You develop the senses you need in the dark. Listening was important.”

Crap. He had that serious, intense expression back. She should have known it had to do with when he was in captivity. Wanting him happy and playful again, she changed the subject, hoping it wasn’t too late.

“I’ll point it out to them but the house is old. I may have to live with it.” She threw her arms around his neck and smiled up at him. “I couldn’t have done this without you. Dinner is on me tonight.”

“I needed to take a day off from this case and decompress.” Jason patted her bottom and grabbed another water bottle from the dining table. “We’re spinning our wheels and it’s starting to piss me off.”

Brinley wiped her hands on a towel and then stepped back to survey their work from a distance. “This looks really amazing and I’m grateful that you decided to spend your day off helping me.”

The dining room looked better than she had originally envisioned. The brown and gold striped wallpaper on the bottom half of the wall went perfectly with the cream color she’d painted last week. It was the perfect backdrop for the dark oak dining table and chairs that had once been her grandmother’s. Add in the cafe au lait colored drapes and the room was almost perfection.

“I can be handy around the house every now and then.” Jason’s eyes were twinkling with mirth, his earlier mood quickly forgotten. “And as for dinner, I have that handled too. We’re having a picnic under the stars.”

Brinley’s brows shot up. “A picnic? You had time to sneak out today and prepare food when I wasn’t looking? You are talented.”

“When have you ever seen me cook?” Jason snorted. “Before I met you I lived on take out, cereal, and frozen waffles—that is if I couldn’t scrounge a meal at my mom and dad’s. No, I ordered our dinner this morning before we got started. It should be here in about an hour which leaves us plenty of time to shower up.”

Now that was a tantalizing thought. Brinley was all about being squeaky clean when Jason was the one scrubbing her back.

“Do you think there will be enough hot water for both of us?” Brinley looked up at him from beneath her lashes. For the most part she sucked at flirting but clearly Jason got the message. His lips twitched, trying to suppress what she assumed was laughter.

“Running out would be a problem. Maybe we should shower together to make sure.” He actually had the nerve to waggle his eyebrows and give her a wolfish smile. “Last one in the shower has to do the dishes after dinner.”

Of course she was going to lose. Jason sprinted off while she quickly locked the door and turned off the lights. Logan would be staying there again tonight but right now he was visiting a friend in Springwood and wouldn’t be back until around nine.

Which meant that she and Jason would be alone for awhile.

By the time she reached the bathroom after giving Huck a cuddle, Jason was already under the steamy spray singing a Bruce Springsteen song at the top of his lungs. And doing a darn good job of it. She shed her clothes as quickly as possible and slipped into the shower behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist and pressing her face to his muscled back.