Page 161 of Trouble Comes in Threes

“Yeah,” I said looking up at him. “But not until he called me this morning and I told him I’d found them. Why?”

“Because the disks are missing.”

“What? How? They were in my purse, and Clive was nowhere near it.”

“I don’t know, but there was a lot of commotion after the sheriff deputies and the Henryetta police showed up. If someone had a key to the back door, they could have come in and taken them.”

My stomach dropped. “The back door was unlocked.” I glanced up at him. “I got the deadbolt undone, but Clive reached me before I could get out.”

“Giving Dermot or his men time to get the disks out of your purse while all the commotion was going on.”

I started to contradict him, but he might have a point. Dermot was the only one who’d known where I’d hidden the disks.

“Dermot may not be the friend he used to be,” Joe said softly. “So tread lightly.”

Dermot had been there for me multiple times, and I hated that I had these doubts, but I wasn’t stupid. Dermot was the head of the Fenton County crime world. I knew he got his hands messy. I just never asked how messy they got.

Muffy walked back over to us and climbed onto my lap. Joe and I sat there for several minutes in silence, and while I was grateful this was all over, part of me was worried it wasn’t.

Would I spend the rest of my life feeling this way?

Joe and I made lunch, then decided to take advantage of our alone time. We went upstairs and spent some quality time in bed. Afterward, we took a shower. Joe pressed me against the shower wall and began to track kisses from my mouth and down my neck. It had been ages since we’d been able to take our time with each other.

“Oh my word!” I exclaimed.

He laughed, looking pleased with himself.

“Not that,” I said quickly, then amended. “I mean, don’t get me wrong. This is great, but I just realized I lost track of the time. We have to pick up the kids.”

He continued kissing a trail down to my breasts. “Jed and Neely Kate are getting them.”

“Oh!” Then I gasped as his tongue did things that made me tingle everywhere.

“You’re surprised I arranged it?”

“That too.”

He grinned up at me and continued pressing kisses along my abdomen and downward. “Do you know when they’ll be home?” I asked, gasping again as he lifted my leg and placed my thigh on his shoulder.

“We have plenty of time for me to make you come again.”

And then he proved we did.

Afterward, we got out, and he helped dry me off, his gaze darkening as it landed on my neck. I turned to face the partly steamed mirror. Bruises in the shape of fingers had begun to appear on my neck.

“I’ll wear turtlenecks and scarves for the next few days,” I said. “I doubt makeup will cover them up, and I don’t want to scare the kids.”

Frowning, he placed a soft kiss on my neck, then stood upright, placing his hands on my shoulders. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there when you needed me.”

“You were there in time to help get him off me,” I teased, then turned serious. “You showed up right on time, Joe. Don’t doubt yourself because I’m not.”

He nodded but didn’t look convinced.

“Do you know how Neely Kate’s appointment went?” I asked, feeling guilty for not having thought of it sooner.

He made a face. “I forgot to ask.” He lifted his hand to my cheek, delicately tracing under my cheekbone. “I was more concerned about you.”

“I’m okay.”

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