Page 19 of Wilder
My ears perk up as I try to catch the names being called. Not mine. Not Wilder’s either, but they could be looking for us anytime now.
The underhanded altercation with Detective Kilroy has me increasingly worried about Wilder and his state of mind. I know I was overcome with panic last night, replaying all sorts of things in my head, but that doesn’t mean I was oblivious to the guys either. And I don’t trust Wilder’s weasel of a brother-in-law not to come back into the station and wreak havoc for one or more of them.
Tucking a few stray strands of hair behind my ears, I hurry to the door and pull it open, only to glimpse Wilder’s back as he ducks through the doorway across the hall. The door shuts with a quiet click. My brows dart together as I glance both ways down the hall, and my stomach does a little flip. Confusion slides through me. That’s not the men’s restroom. There’s a plaqueon the door that clearly readsDetective Brian Kilroy. There’s no doubt in my mind that Wilder went into his brother-in-law’s office on purpose. But why?
A noise from the far end of the hall simultaneously grabs my attention and makes my heart jump into my throat. There’s a man exiting at the back of the building. He’s not wearing a uniform, but neither do a lot of the detectives. He’s a little awkward getting the door open and stepping out. Oh, no wonder. He’s using a cane. Something niggles at the back of my brain, but then a noise from inside Kilroy’s office makes my head swing back toward the door across the hall from me.
I take a deep breath, debating with myself for only a fraction of a second before I scoot across the hall. Fuck it. I think Wilder might need me right now. He’s supported me through so much. I’ll be damned if I don’t do the same for him. Besides, something must be going on if he thought it was wise to bust into his brother-in-law’s office. Trying not to make it look obvious that I’m doing something I shouldn’t be either, I turn the knob and let myself into the asshole’s lair.
Wilder must have moved fast because he’s already poking around at all the stuff on Kilroy’s desk. His head whips up. “Fuck.” He exhales sharply, but his eyes remain pinned on mine for only a second or two before he grunts, “Shut the door,” and goes right back to it. He’s definitely looking for something.
“Wilder. What are you trying to find?” While I wait for his answer, my eyes wander the room, noting the tidy office with various awards on the wall. Detective Dickhead’s desk is organized chaos. There are six stacks of files, each with a Post-it Note on top.
“I’m doing an errand of sorts for my sister.” Wilder’s lips quirk into a disbelieving grimace as he fiddles with the mouse, bringing the monitor to life. “Fuck. I need his passcode.”
Oh boy.My brow furrows hard as I watch him. I don’t know what to make of this breaking and entering or the fact that it’s somehow at his sister’s request. Wilder’s told us she’s in a shitty marriage, so it can’t be good. “You gonna tell me what it is?”
His jaw locks, and he gives a jerk of his head as he does a full 360. The strain on his face is about to break me. “Better if you don’t know, Echo.”
I bite my lip, then step in front of him, shaking my head. “I thought we were in all this shit together. That asshole showed up last night to SIN on purpose.” I point at the wall of awards I’d noticed. “If he’s supposedly so good at his fucking job, he knew better than to show up at SIN when his brother-in-law lives there. He was there to mess with your head.”
“Yeah, well, he doesn’t care so much about the rules.” Wilder’s dark eyes lock on mine, and he releases a heavy sigh. “I’m not fucking perfect. But I don’t deal in cruelty. He does.” He goes right back to sorting through the files on the desk, flipping through the stacks of papers inside them. He shrugs. Opens the deep desk drawers at the right side of the desk. Closes them.
Footsteps sound in the hallway, and I hold my breath as our anxious gazes connect. Are we going to get caught?No.Whoever is out there passes this office and continues down the hall. I slowly nod, keeping my voice to a whisper. “Wilder, I’m trying to tell you I fucking hate the guy, and I don’t even know hardly anything about him except what you’ve told me. I wasn’t sure if I should bring it up, but I did hear some of what he said to you back there. He assumes there’s nothing that you can do about anything he says while you’re in this building because you’re on his turf. He’d like nothing more than to provoke you into trying to fight him in the middle of a police station.” While I’ve been speaking, Wilder’s actions have become more frantic, reaching frenzied levels of searching. I lay a hand on his back, and hepauses with a shuddering exhale, meeting my gaze. “Please let me help you. I want to help.”
The muscle in his jaw twitches, and I put my fingertips to it, tracing the movement. He sighs, then in a hushed tone, murmurs, “The short story is he’s told River he’s going somewhere on their anniversary. September 16. A weekend work trip. But she can’t find anything on their shared calendar.” He sighs, and it breaks my heart to see how much of his sister’s pain he absorbs into himself. All he wants to do is help her, protect her from anything that might hurt her.
A line forms down my forehead as I think things through. “Okay, but if their anniversary is coming, could he be trying to surprise her?” My face immediately rebels, pulling into a I have a hard time believing that, even as the words leave my lips.
Wilder obviously doesn’t buy it either, as he gives me anAre you for real?look. “I will eat a fuckin’ jockstrap if he’s actually doing something for her. I highly fucking doubt it.” He moves over to peer into the trash can, but I can tell he’s not really looking at anything in particular. “He beats her, Echo. I’ve seen the bruises.”
My stomach twists, and I lift a trembling hand, covering my mouth with a few fingers. Wide-eyed, I shake my head. “No. Oh my god, no.”
He nods, then turns around. I watch his broad back as he struggles to take a few deep breaths.
Biting down on my lip, I lower myself into the desk chair. I can’t imagine how it feels for Wilder to know his sister is in physical danger at the hands of her own husband. “Wilder? Why doesn’t she leave? Does she love him?” From the few times I’ve had interactions with him, I can’t imagine what it’d be like for her. He’s no match for Wilder, but he’s certainly capable of hurting a woman. And he’d be nasty about it, too, judging by the things he said to his brother-in-law.
Wilder pivots, bringing his hands up to thread them through his hair. He tugs, and not gently either. “I honestly don’t know. Once upon a time, she may have.”
I can’t imagine. My gaze falls to my hands, which have been absently grasping the edge of the desk, and that’s when I notice the slim drawer in the middle of the desk. I catch the lip with the tips of my fingers and tug it open. It’s actually more like a pencil tray, which is why I find it a little strange to find several pieces of folded paper shoved toward the back of it. I pull them out, unfold, and lay it all out on the desk. It’s mostly printed receipts for various online stores. The final one, though, appears to be documentation of a booking at a popular local hotel. For the exact weekend in question. “Holy fuck. I found something.”
“What? Are you sure?” Wilder frowns, then hurries over to me, planting one hand on the desk as he scans over the printout. “Well, fuck.” He exhales hard, clenching his jaw.
There’s no way we’re leaving here without proof. I quickly pull out my phone and snap a photo. “Got it. This doesn’t necessarily tell us that much. But this is definitely what he’s doing on the dates in question.”
Wilder paces the small office, his hands laced together on top of his head. My eyes land on the desk, and for the first time, I notice there’s a large paper calendar underneath all the neat stacks of files. “Hold it.” I shift one of the piles slightly, so I can quickly scan for mention of the supposed work trip, but what I find is Brian has been careless enough to jot down his infidelity on a paper calendar. I snap another photo. “Wilder, you need to look at this.”
He joins me, staring down at the highlighted area spanning the three days Detective Kilroy told his wife he’d be out of town for work. “That fucking ass. Weekend withK, huh? Last I checked, River’s name begins with anR.” Fury slashes over his handsome features and makes him appear like he’s anotherperson entirely. He stands there for several moments, his chest heaving. He lets loose a strangled groan as he picks up the papers, folding them the way I’d found them before opening the drawer in front of me and shoving the evidence of the affair to the back.
I nibble on my lip, standing up. “Do you think that’s enough to send her?”
“It tells her a lot. But I don’t know what she’ll do with the information.” Wilder wets his lips before turning to face me. “Thank you. I don’t think I’d have found that without you.”
“Sure. What else can I do to help?”
He rakes his teeth over his lip. Before I see what he’s about to do, he grips the nape of my neck with one hand, dragging my face to his. His lips crush mine, moaning as he invades my mouth with his tongue. The intensity is overpowering, and I give into it, putting everything I have into this kiss. He needs this. Me. Wilder is a whirlwind of emotion, and I find myself knocked sideways by the unexpectedness of it all.
I reach up, gripping his shoulders before moving my hands to the back of his neck to tug him more securely to me. I go back for more of his lips, then run my mouth over his smooth-shaven jaw, and down his neck. Inhaling his fresh scent, a surge of need barrels through me, ending with a deep throb between my legs. Oh, hell. Leave it to Wilder to be able to make me feel this way in the middle of a police station while we’re sneaking around where we shouldn’t be.
