Arouse Suspicion by Maureen McKade Read Free Book Online

stared at her as if questioning her sanity... or lack thereof. "You're laughing."
    Danni struggled to get her mirth under control. "Good one, Sherlock." She panted as she wiped at her tearing eyes. "Willy's standing on top of the dresser."
    Nick appeared even more bewildered.
    "He's wearing a loincloth," she barely managed to say. The memory of his skinny limbs and concave chest nearly sent her into another spasm of laughter. Now she knew what had been in the duffel bag. "And, uh, Ms. Big Boob Redhead is tied spread-eagle on the bed."
    "And what's she wearing?"
    "Nothing."
    He tipped his head back and thumped it against the wall. "Shit."
    Danni nudged him with her elbow. "Looks like I could've used the camcorder for this one, huh?"
    Nick rolled his head toward her. "You're sick, Hawkins. You know that?"
    "Prerequisite for the job. Wait here. I'm going to take some pictures."
    She retrieved her camera and removed the lens cap. Rising to her knees at the window, she focused the camera on Willy, who beat his hollow chest with his fists, and she clicked four pictures in rapid succession. She shifted and took more shots of the bound woman on the bed, with the loinclothed Willy on the dresser in the background. Pleased with her results, she settled back against the wall and grinned cheekily. "That's a wrap, folks."
    A sudden shout and thump, followed by a spine-tingling scream, startled her. She frowned as she met Nick's gaze.
    "What the hell?" he asked and rose up to peer into the window. "Goddamn."
    Danni crowded up next to him to see what Willy the jungle king and his redheaded temptress had done to produce such a reaction. Willy was lying motionless on the bed between the woman's naked thighs, and she was screaming like a banshee, but the screams weren't ones of ecstasy. "Oh, shit."
    Danni tossed her camera back in the pack, snagged a strap, and raced around the motel, peripherally aware of Nick close on her heels. She splashed through puddles formed from the still-falling rain. At room 113, she tried the doorknob, but it was locked. She pounded on the door.
    "Help! He's dead! Ohmygod, he's dead!" The hysterical voice came from within.
    The locks were the old key type, not the fancy kind with the slide card. Danni dug out her wallet, looking for her one and only credit card to slip between the door and the frame. As she searched, Nick took hold of her arms and moved her away from the door.
    A loud crash made her snap her head up. Nick had kicked in the door.
    "Way to keep a low profile," Danni muttered, glancing around anxiously to see if anyone had witnessed his testosterone display.
    "Hey, it worked, didn't it?"
    Danni couldn't argue that, and she rushed into the room, which held a double bed, a dresser, one chair, and a TV. And a scene that could have been from an X-rated movie, except the stud wasn't moving.
    Danni grabbed an extra blanket from the shelf above the clothes rack and tossed it over the woman's naked torso. Although Danni was pretty certain Willy's playmate didn't care if another man ogled her attributes, especially one like Nick Sirocco, Danni felt, somehow, less exposed.
    As Nick untied the woman, Danni knelt at the end of the mattress and examined Willy, who appeared to have hit his head on the foot of the bed. She rolled him onto his back.
    He groaned, and his eyelids flickered open. "What the fu—"
    "Lie still," she ordered in her no-nonsense cop voice. Although confused, Willy did as she commanded. Danni probed the rapidly forming lump on the man's fore- head. Fortunately, the skin hadn't split open, and the skull didn't appear to be damaged.
    "You should go to the hospital. You probably have a concussion," Danni said.
    "What the hell happened?" Willy demanded in a reedy voice that matched his reedy body.
    "Don'tcha remember, sweetie? You and me was playing. I was the helpless captive, and you was the jungle hero who was comin' to rescue me." The redheaded bimbo's gaze slanted toward Nick, who held the