Adam's Thorn Read online

  Hell, she’d even give him a helpful shove.

  So much for having control.

  ~*~

  “Mrs Hubble,” Adam said patiently, “I can’t arrest someone for saying something you consider rude.”

  “Offensive,” Mrs Hubble retorted. “It was offensive.”

  “I don’t think an anatomical word can actually be termed offensive,” Brandon, one of Adam’s fellow cops, stated.

  “It might help if you actually told me what Ms Declan said.” Adam sighed inwardly. Just as he thought, Barbie was already offending people, though, to be fair, it didn’t take much to get Mrs Hubble’s dander up.

  Blushing a little, Mrs Hubble glanced around. “Must I?”

  “It’d help.”

  Taking a deep breath, she squared her shoulders. “Maybe it’s not such a big deal. After all, Hallie didn’t seem offended.”

  He stiffened. “Hallie?”

  “Yes. I spoke to Hallie about her tongue piercing and-”

  “Hallie got her tongue pierced?” Jesus. Really? Her tongue? That had to hurt.

  “I knew you’d be upset.” Mrs Hubble smiled triumphantly. “Even though Miss Declan laughed at the suggestion that Hallie’s mother would be upset.”

  Adam frowned. “She laughed?”

  “Not good for discipline.” Mrs Hubble shook her head. “Teaches disrespect.”

  That last bit had him again stiffening. Shit. Hallie was a good kid, she didn’t need someone teaching her bad ideas, and Barbie had been full of them. It sounded like she still was, worse luck, though he should have guessed.

  “What, exactly, did Ms Declan say?” Brandon asked curiously.

  “It’s not for your ears, young man.”

  Amused, Brandon stuck his thumb in Adam’s direction. “How about his ears?”

  Mrs Hubble blushed again.

  That alone had Adam’s suspicions surging to the surface.

  “She shouldn’t have said it in front of Hallie.” Mrs Hubble lifted her chin. “I can’t possibly repeat what she said, but it wasn’t meant for a young girl’s ears, never mind saying it in a public place.” She shook her finger at Adam. “I’m not laying charges, but you better have a talk to this new woman in town. I don’t like her ways or her flippant use of bad language in front of young, impressionable girls. Disgraceful is what it is, and you need to nip this in the bud before we have a full on debauchery happening.” With that, she turned and walked out of the cop station.

  Watching the door swing shut behind her, Brandon tapped the desktop. “Okay, now I’m really curious. Ring Hallie.”

  Adam was already on it, his finger tapping the keys before his friend had finished speaking. When there was no answer form Hallie’s phone, he tried her home, only to get an answering machine.

  “Seeing as there’s been an official complaint, even though no charges, maybe you should get Ms Declan’s point of view.” Brandon grinned. “Or maybe I will. I’d like to meet this debauched woman myself.”

  “I’m sure you’ve seen her already.” Adam drained his cup of coffee and stood up.

  “Sure, but she’s always looked so nice. Guess one can never tell.” Brandon leered. “Maybe she can teach me a thing or two.”

  Adam had no doubt that Barbie could, but no way was he going to let Brandon near her. Adam had been through trouble with her before, and no way in hell was she going to start in his town.

  “Going somewhere?” Brandon looked at the car keys Adam took down from the keyboard.

  “To visit Ms Declan.”

  “Want company?”

  “I can handle it.” He almost growled the answer, catching himself when Brandon blinked, groaning inwardly when a small smile suddenly played around the other cop’s mouth.

  “I always knew you had a thing for the more full-bodied ladies, but the naughty ones?” Brandon wiggled his eyebrows. “Man, I’d never have guessed.”

  “Shut up.” Adam strode form the building, Brandon’s laugh ringing in his ears.

  Pulling out of the cop station, he turned north and headed out of town. It was only a ten minute drive to Penny Declan’s old house and normally he’d have enjoyed it, the peace and quiet, the countryside, but not today.

  “Damn it, Barbie,” he muttered. “Why did you have to come here?” The woman had been trouble as a teenager, and it looked like she was still trouble.

  When the house came into view, he could see several ladders and equipment sitting beside the house, sure signs of work being done at some time. A car he recognized as belonging to the playboy of town was pulled up not far from the house.

  Larry Kingsley, young, brash, and full of himself. What was he doing here? Pulling the patrol car to a stop beside Larry’s sleek car, Adam turned off the engine and got out, crossing to the house and going up the steps onto the veranda, lifting one hand to knock on the door.

  He froze before his knuckles touched the screen.

  A low moan came through the security screen, and it was one of pleasure.

  “Oh God,” Larry almost slurred the words. “That’s so good.”

  “Trust me,” Barbie’s soft voice sounded. “It’ll feel a lot better in a minute.”

  “How can it possibly - ohhhhhh man. Oh sweet mercy. God, Barbie, you have hands a man dreams of.”

  Her laughter followed, light and pleased.

  Teeth clenching, a tic starting at the corner of his mouth, Adam swung around and stalked down the steps. Interrupting a sex session wasn’t on his list of things to do. Listening to those moans was bad enough, imagining what was happening even worse, but to have to see her face in the middle of doing - whatever the hell she was doing, something debauched , no doubt - that was right off his list.

  He’d come back and see her later, when she wasn’t busy.

  Pulling away, his hands wrapped tight around the steering wheel, he gritted his teeth. Goddamn it! Why should he care anyway? It was not his business if she was having sex with Larry. Not his business at all. Even if Larry was a lot younger than her.

  Goddamn it!

  In a totally foul mood now, Adam turned onto the highway and headed back into town.

  When he walked back into the station, Brandon glanced up. “That was quick. How’d the chat with - whoa. You all right?”

  “Fine.” Adam slapped the keys onto the hook.

  “Did you talk to her?” Brandon watched curiously as Adam sat down before the computer.

  “She had company.”

  “Oh.” Brandon tapped the desktop. “Maybe I’ll have a chat to her afterwards.”

  “No.” Eyes narrowing, Adam looked up sharply. “I’ll talk to her.”

  “Look, it’s no bother, I-”

  “I said, I’ll do it.”

  Brandon’s mouth fell open in surprise.

  Sucking in a deep breath, Adam reined in his anger. “Sorry. Something on my mind.” He managed a tight smile. “I’ll take care of it, especially seeing as it involves my cousin. You know, family business.”

  “Yeah, sure,” Brandon replied slowly, his gaze thoughtful.

  Damn. His friend knew him well, no doubt he was trying to put two and two together. He just hoped he wouldn’t come up with -

  “Do you know Barbie Declan from somewhere else?” Brandon queried.

  Shit. He’d come up with four.

  “Kind of.”

  “Old friend?”

  “Hell, no.”

  “Huh.”

  Adam frowned at the computer screen. “Don’t you have something to do?”

  “Besides fishing for information?”

  “Yes.”

  “No.” Brandon leaned back in his chair. “Is she an old lover?”

  “Let me repeat, hell no.”

  “So where did you meet her?”

  “Back in the city. It was years ago.”

  “You kept in touch?”

  “No.” He tapped a few keys, not really seeing the screen now.

  “Come on, Adam, spill. You
’ve not been yourself since this woman came to town. What’s going on?”

  “Nothing.” Adam looked directly at him. “Nothing is going on, and I’m going to make sure nothing does go on.”

  Puzzled and intrigued, Brandon scratched his jaw. “Old enemy?”

  Adam looked back at the screen.

  “Huh!” Brandon slapped his hand on the table. “I knew it! You have history with her!”

  “I already said I knew her.”

  “So what happened? Did you have to arrest her or something?”

  “No.”

  The phone rang, and reluctantly, Brandon answered it. Adam made his escape while he could, more than aware of the other cop watching him leave. He didn’t want to discuss this further.

  Talking about Barbie Declan was enough to give him a headache. His jaw was already a little achy from clenching his teeth so much, but then, she’d always had that effect on him. She’d pushed and pushed and…and it had happened.

  Because she was trouble, because she’d done it, because she was Barbie freakin’ Declan, trouble with a capital T.

  If he ground his teeth anymore, he’d soon be down to the gums.

  Driving along the street, he spotted Hallie coming out of the café and pulled up not far from her. Winding down his window, he waited as she said something to a spotty youth he recognised as Frankie, Gus’s grandson. When Hallie kissed Frankie full on the lips, Adam’s eyebrows rose. Hello, he didn’t know there was anything serious going on between his cousin and Frankie. When the kiss got a lot deeper, definitely involving a bit of tongue, he shook his head. His glance slid away to see Mrs Swanson coming out of the café, her avid gaze on the teenagers. Disapproval creased her brow when she noted just how long the kiss was taking

  No doubt Hallie’s mother, his Aunty Betty, would have a full, detailed description of the less-than-innocent kiss before the half hour was out.

  Mrs Swanson spotted him, pointed meaningfully at Hallie and Frankie, and when Adam gave her a small nod, she nodded back and walked off to her car.

  Looking back at the teenagers, Adam pulled his glasses down his nose to gaze at them over the top. Maybe Frankie got hooked up on Hallie’s tongue piercing? Wouldn’t that be fodder for gossip if Adam had to take them to the local hospital with their tongues hooked together? Imagine getting them into the back seat?

  He was still grinning when Frankie and Hallie finally moved apart, Frankie waving cheerfully to her before turning and walking away.

  Swinging around, she crossed to the cop car, leaning her forearms on the driver’s side window and peering in. “Hey, Adam.”

  “Hey yourself.” He raised one eyebrow. “Finally had to come up for air, huh?”

  “You’d be surprised what I can do while holding my breath.”

  “I’m hoping you mean diving.”

  “Depends what I’m diving for.”

  Amusement vanished, his protective instinct for his young cousin surfacing. “Hallie-”

  “Easy, dude.” She smiled widely, and then stuck out her tongue. “You like?”

  Eyeing the silver stud in the middle of her tongue, Adam winced inwardly. “Seriously?”

  “You mean, is this a serious stud, like for real? Or did I seriously do this? Because if it’s the second, I wasn’t laughing when my tongue was being pierced. It was serious shit.”

  “Watch your language,” he said automatically. “Christ, Hallie, that had to hurt.”

  “How come I have to watch my language, but you can blaspheme?”

  “Because I’m older than you.”

  “That’s bull-” She cut the word short at his warning look. “Crap. Bull crap. Happy?”

  “Not really, but it’s acceptable.”

  “Glad I have your approval.”

  “A smart mouth will get you into trouble.”

  “Oh, I’m so scared.” She grinned.

  Shaking his head, Adam looked once more at her mouth. “Show me your tongue again.”

  She obliged.

  “I think it’s infected,” he said. “You might have to take it out.”

  “Nice try. I know it’s not infected and I’m not taking it out.”

  “Does Aunt Betty know?”

  “Yep.”

  “How long were you grounded for?”

  “Here’s the kicker. I’m not grounded.”

  “What?”

  “You’ll be so proud of me.”

  Adam’s eyebrow shot up again.

  “I spoke to her first and we had a discussion, and finally she let me do it.”

  Would wonders never cease? His straight-laced Aunt Betty allowing Hallie to pierce her tongue? “How the hell did you manage that?”

  “I promised to only have my tongue pierced and not my eyebrow and lip as well.”

  Suspicions forming, Adam looked hard at her. “You wouldn’t go that far.”

  Hallie smiled.

  His eyes narrowed. “But your mother didn’t know that.”

  Hallie’s smile widened.

  “You conned your own mother?”

  “I made a deal with her. It’s not conning.”

  “What, exactly, did you say to her?”

  “Adam, I know you’ve been like the father figure in my world since Dad died five years ago, but some things are mother-daughter only, you know?”

  “Not when you conned her.”

  “I didn’t con her.”

  “You did.”

  “What are you going to do, lock me up?” When he whipped his sunglasses off, she held up one hand. “Dude, chill. I just said to Mum that I was thinking of getting my tongue, eyebrow or lip pierced, or maybe all three. After she had a king-sized fit, we negotiated and I had my tongue done only.”

  “That’s not negotiation, Hallie, that’s conning.”

  “No, that’s discussing my options.”

  “You’re a con artist.”

  “Going to arrest me?”

  Adam studied her narrowly. He loved his little cousin, but sometimes he wanted to shake her. Not that he ever would, but he could dream about it. Most times she had a good head on her shoulders, but she knew how to get around her mother, no doubt about it.

  Knowing there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it, Hallie laughed. “Got you.”

  “I could tell your mother,” he informed her. “Then you’d have to take it out.”

  “Ah, but what would that gain you? Mum’s happy, I’m happy.”

  This was where things went a little grey. Running off to his Aunt was going to cause problems between mother and daughter, and as long as Hallie was being truthful with her mother about her decisions, he had no real right to interfere. He was there to help keep an eye on her, to be a listening ear for either Hallie or his Aunt, but to knowingly interfere when things had been decided between them was a no-go pathway. But still, he certainly didn’t approve of Hallie’s method of getting her tongue pierced.

  “Promise me not to con her anymore.” Adam pointed a finger at her. “No more. Understand?”

  “Sure,” she answered, adding when he again narrowed his eyes, “I promise. Yes.”

  “Good.”

  “So what did you want?”

  “Huh?”

  “You don’t normally pull up and wait for me unless it’s to talk about something.” Hallie grinned. “Or did you want to talk about the tongue piercing?”

  Shit, he’d forgotten his original intent. “Kind of. It’s related.”

  “Because, you know, I could have gotten something much worse done, as Barbie said.”

  Every nerve went on alert. “And what, exactly, did Barbie say?”

  “That it could have been my clit instead.”

  “Your what?” He couldn’t have heard right.

  “My clit.” When Adam blinked, Hallie added, “Clitoris. My-”

  “Jesus, I know what you meant!”

  “Well, excuse me. You’re sitting there looking at me like a stunned mullet, so I assumed you didn’t know
.”

  Adam was appalled. “Barbie told you that you could have pierced your - you know?”

  “My clit?”

  “Yes.” Anger replaced his surprise. “She actually said that?”

  “Well, yeah. It’s true.”

  He glared at her. “Don’t you even dare think it, missy.”

  She held up both hands, palm out. “Steady, dude. I’m not doing any such thing.”

  “Good.” A little of his tension leaked away. “Christ.”

  “Wow, I don’t think I’ve ever heard you curse so much in such a short time as in this conversation.” Cocking her head to one side, Hallie studied him curiously. “You all right?”

  “Yes.” Taking a deep breath, he slid the sunglasses on, hiding his furious eyes from her searching gaze. “Yes, I am. I’m fine.” Turning the key in the ignition, he brought the engine to life. “I better keep moving.”

  She nodded and stepped back.

  “And Hallie?”

  “Yeah, Adam?”

  “No piercing below the navel.”

  “No probs. I already have my belly button pierced.”

  “You what?”

  Her smile was supremely satisfied. “Mum came with me when I had it done, so no lecture necessary.” She lifted her shirt up.

  Adam eyed the little gold bar with the fake jewel at the bottom that pierced her skin. Okay, it looked cute, he really didn’t mind belly button rings, but on his little cousin? Man, it made her look sexy to boys. Boys with raging hormones. Teenage boys with raging hormones and no sense between their ears. Damn. “When did you get that done?”

  She dropped the shirt back into place. “A year ago.”

  “That long?”

  “Adam, you’ve seen me in midriff tops and bikinis, and you’ve seriously never noticed?”

  “No.”

  “Dude, come on.”

  “Hallie, you’re my little cousin. Why would I notice?”

  She stared at him for several seconds before a huge smile curved her lips, and leaning into the window, she kissed his cheek, no doubt leaving a smear of dark red lipstick on his skin. “Aw, you’re so cute, Adam.”

  “Get out of here.” Placing his hand atop her head, he pushed her gently back. “I have a job to do. And you…” He wagged a finger at her, “Behave yourself.”

  “Yes, sir.” She saluted him smartly and stepped back.