Rarities Unlimited 03 - Die in Plain Sight

the theft?”
    “I said I’d call you if we had any breaks on the case.”
    “So you can’t follow a truck on PCH and you can’t catch a brass-balled thief. What the hell good are you to me, Sheriff?” Ward hung up.
    Rory grimaced and turned off the phone.
    “You have to go?” Bliss asked.
    He turned toward her. The rosy silk wrapper she wore brought colorto her skin and made her eyes look incredibly blue. “I’d have to be a fool to leave a beautiful lady alone on Friday night.”
    She smiled almost sadly. “I’ll be here when you get back.”
    “I’m not going anywhere.” He tossed the cell phone on the counter and unbuckled his weapon harness. He draped it over a kitchen chair and went to Bliss, drew her close, and kissed her. “Mmm, you smell good enough to eat.”
    “Is Daddy mad at you because you’re here?”
    “No.” Rory nibbled on her ear. “The paintings he wants to buy were stolen today.”
    “And he blames you?”
    “A firm I own part of was responsible for security at the hotel where the paintings were stolen.”
    “So? Does he blame you every time a bank gets held up?”
    Smiling, Rory kissed her carefully shaped eyebrows. “Nope. But he really had a yen for those paintings.”
    “Do him good not to get something he wants.”
    “Speaking of wanting something,” Rory said, sliding his hands into the deep neckline of the silk wrap.
    “You want food or sex?” she asked, but she arched her back to make it easier for his hands to find her.
    “Dinner in bed.”
    She laughed and kissed him hard.
    No sooner had she gotten his belt unbuckled than her phone rang.
    “Ignore it,” she said against his neck.
    “I was planning to.”
    The phone rang again. Then again. Then the answering machine kicked in.
    They heard Savoy’s voice. “Bliss, if you’re screening calls, let me in. It’s important. Really important.”
    “Well, shit,” Rory said. Slowly he withdrew his hands. “Better get it, sugar. Savvy doesn’t sound happy.”
    She sighed, touched his lips with her fingertip, and went to the phone. “Hi, Savvy.”
    “Ring me up.”
    Bliss’s mouth settled into sulky lines. “I’ve got a man with me.”
    “Your future husband?”
    “Who told you?”
    “Our father, who art not in heaven.” Savoy’s tone said more than words. “Ring me up. I promise it won’t take long.”
    A long, rosy fingernail stabbed at the number pad, opening the downstairs lock. By the time Bliss had her wrapper rearranged and Rory had his shirt tucked in, Savoy was knocking at the front door. Bliss opened the door and looked at her brother.
    “You look tired,” she said.
    “Spending time with the old man when he’s on a rant will do that to you,” Rory said.
    “Yeah.” Savoy pinched the bridge of his nose again. The headache that had begun at the ranch had really taken hold.
    “What do you want to drink?”
    “Scotch. Neat. And some aspirin if you have it.”
    Rory went to the wet bar just off the kitchen.
    Bliss crossed her arms under her breasts and waited. Then she saw the new lines on her brother’s face. “Oh, damn, Savvy. Sit down. I can’t throw you out when you look like this. You hungry?”
    Savoy hesitated, thinking about it.
    “Did you eat dinner?” Rory asked, handing him the drink and some white tablets he’d taken from the bottle behind the bar.
    Savoy knocked back half the drink, threw down the tablets, and finished the drink. “No, I don’t think so. I’ve been going over the latest version of the New Horizons agreement with Dad. Took away my appetite.”
    “How does country soup sound?” Bliss said. “I’ve got some left over from dinner, and some bread to go with it.”
    “You don’t have to feed me,” Savoy said. He smiled slightly, “I know you have better things to do. And by the way, congratulations to both of you.” Hope you get it right this time, but I’m not holding my breath . He glanced at Rory. “You were the only one of the crop that didn’t kowtow to Blissy. Drove her nuts.”
    “Went both ways,” Rory said. “She didn’t kowtow to me.”
    “And it drove you nuts,” Blissy said.
    “Only sometimes.” Rory looked at his future brother-in-law. “Another drink?”
    Savvy shook his head. “Thanks, but I promised Bliss to make thisfast.” He reached into the breast pocket of his wool blazer and pulled out the ten-page “agreement to agree.” “Sign this and I’m gone.”
    Bliss’s eyes narrowed into glittering slits as