Page 18 of Sin With Me

“If we don’t find her, I’m a deadman.”

“You know we’ll never allow that to happen, don’tyou?”

“I’m hoping to find Cortez first. There are as many rumors of hidden treasures here, as stories about those who sought it ending up dead in the middle of the desert. Finding the girl is my best bet. You’re my only hope, Brook.”

“Hey, I ain’t Obi-Wan Kenobi, so stop talking as if your grave was dug. Remember our motto: Madden men don’t get mad; they geteven.”

“Right.”

“Cam, we’ll find her. I can feel it in my bones.”

“You better, because you said the same thing about that Jessica Rabbit impersonator. You felt it in your bone, screwed her – and then I got screwed.”

“It won’t happen. That bone, or lack of it, is on a sabbatical. I’m never thinking with my dick again.”

Said the man who always thought with hisdick.

If there was anything Brook had ever done right, was conceiving my beautiful niece, Sophie.

“How’s Mom doing?” I asked.

“As bright as ever, but barely making any appearances.”

That worried me. My mother, at the ripe age of sixty, still turned heads. And it wasn’t because of the way she looked; it was the way she carried herself. Her confidence and determination reminded me a lot of Kate’s, and now because of me, the former Mrs. Madden was forced into temporary hiding.

“She should stay out of the spotlight for as long as possible. Hell, she should retire.” I sighed. Our mother had worked sixteen-hour days her entire life and had enough money to fill the giant swimming pool in her private New York condo with gold bars. But forcing her to quit her lucrative enterprise — I was afraid that wouldn’t happen in our lifetime.

Brook laughed on the other end of the phone. It felt good to hear him that happy.

“If Mother retired, who would take over her business?”

Right. Unfortunately the queen of manipulation would fall dead before she left her work. It was herlife.

“We’ll have to deal with her when all this is over. We’ll talk soon. Stay well, Brook. Unless you find the girl, we’ll chat in a few weeks.”

“You too, Cam.”

I hung up the phone and rested back in my chair to look up on the calendar on my wall. The past thirty days flew by, and I hadn’t been able to find a lead on Cortez. Something wasn’t working. I grabbed the dry-erase marker and began crossing off the long to-do list on my board. I was used to following my instinct, not a list of instructions, and my instinct was urging me to change my course.

Was my brother right? Was it easier to find fifty million dollars in this small town than one girl in all of the United States? She could have left the country. Heck if weknew.

I stood up and pushed away from the desk. When I looked out the window, time stopped. There she was, splayed out in the sun in her tiny bathing suit, tanning in her backyard next to the church, with temptation radiating off her glowing caramel skin. The edges of her bikini bottoms scrunched inward, revealing the beautiful under curves of her ass, and the center caved into the crack.

Immediate tightness in my pants reminded me of who I was and where I was, and I stepped away from the window and did nothing. Half an hour later, I looked out the glass pane again, and she was still there. Kate hadn’t moved, and her behind was turning a beautifully brightred.

“Damn it, Kate!”

I stopped my fist from punching through the window and splayed my palm over the glass watching her shoulder blades rise and fall with each breath. When she still didn’t move I grabbed a moisturizing lotion from my bathroom cabinet and two minutes later opened the side gate between the church and her back yard. She startled at the sound of my steps and quickly sat up. The top of her bikini dropped to the ground, exposing her perky breasts. She covered them with her hands. Her beautiful mouth opened slightly with a delightfulgasp.

“I’m sorry, Kate. I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

Her gaze skidded from my face to the tube of cream in myhand.

“I thought you might need this. You’re getting a sunburn.” Had she cut her hair as well? The short bop suitedher.

“Thankyou.”

I ignored her inquisitive look and took a moment to take in her new hairstyle. She appeared… delicious. Kate knelt on the towel, resting her behind on her heels. She was cupping her hands where mine itched to be. The sun cast her shadow forward. A small triangle of fabric, with a slight dip in the middle that extended into a plump crease, covered her front, and that familiar rush as my pulse carried my blood to my crotch.

---