In The Bare
Lacey Thorn
It's your world...unlaced
It's your world...unlaced
An Excerpt From: IN THE BARE
Copyright © LACEY THORN, 2009
All Rights Reserved, Ellora's Cave Publishing, Inc.
Chapter One
Charlie sat in his car and looked through the windshield without really seeing
anything. It was a first for him. Hell, his keen observation of details was one of
the reasons he had made detective so fast, just one of the ways his nerd
status in high school had paid off. But this new case was getting under his
skin. He couldn’t shake the feeling that he was missing something. And the
one thing that Detective Charlie Tate didn’t do was miss anything.
His boss had ordered him to take the weekend off, to give himself some down
time away from work. His choice for now but the implication was clear. If he
didn’t then his boss would go through the proper channels to make it
mandatory. So here he sat wondering what the hell he was going to do for the
next few days if he wasn’t working. He didn’t take time off. His job was his life.
His friends were constantly accusing him of all work and no play. And since he
had worked with fellow detectives Gil Daniels and Ben Marcum, it seemed the
Daniels family had tried to adopt him. They were always inviting him to their
get-togethers and dinners. It was actually nice.
Especially for a kid who had never fitted in with his own family. His older
brother had joined the military and been killed within his first thirty days of
action. Friendly fire they said. Fire was fire as far as Charlie was concerned.
Bottom line was that his older brother was dead and Justin had been the only
real friend and ally that Charlie had. The entire family seemed to shut down
after the funeral. And Charlie, who was only fourteen at the time, had fallen
even deeper into his books and studies.
The only commotion he had made was when he joined the police academy
after college. His mother had gone into her room and not come out for days
and his dad had just sat and pretended that Charlie was already dead. Instead
of living with him, celebrating and talking, they had died with Justin and only
their shells remained. He’d been angry once. He’d felt cheated and resentful of
his brother. But Justin had loved him and would never have wanted their
parents to make the choices they had.
So Charlie had made the decision to move away and he hadn’t looked back
once. There were days he regretted it, days he wondered if they were still alive
or if something had happened and they had finally joined Justin. But most
days they weren’t even a passing thought. And though some would find that
sad, Charlie had lived with it for too long to notice much anymore. Of course
he still kept to himself and now instead of falling into a book, he studied case
files.
He had his job. And now, with some pushing on their part, some great friends.
And as of thirty minutes ago two days off with no idea what to do.
His phone chirped and he answered without thinking. “Detective Tate.”
“Hey, Charlie. I just heard you got two days off, you lucky bastard,” Gil’s voice
sounded on the other end of the line.
“Yeah, it looks like it,” Charlie agreed and made no pretense of sounding
happy about it.
Gil just laughed and Charlie thought of how much the man had changed since
he’d met his wife, Moira. The couple was great together. One of those where
you could feel the love between them whenever they were together. Charlie
wished he had that too.
“Well listen up,” Gil interrupted his thoughts. “You are not hanging around
that apartment going through files on your time off.” Shit, the man knew him
well. “You, my man, are going up to the lakes and staying at Jack’s cabin.”
Jack Madigan was Gil’s father-in-law and a legend in his own right. He was a
retired military man, and perhaps a mercenary at one time if the rumor mill
could be believed. He’d recently returned from an out-of-town trip with a new
woman. They’d met while Jack was working on something and Charlie wouldn’
t be surprised if there weren’t wedding bells in the future for the couple. The
Daniels family seemed to like her, and Jack’s daughter took to her at once.
Plus the lovely lady was currently one of two new detectives on the Legacy
PD, both of them drop-dead gorgeous women. The men were going nuts and
the police department had fallen to locker room status it seemed.
Charlie just smiled and nodded. Bottom line was that both women knew their
jobs and were damn good at them. That was all he cared about. He’d never
been one to chase women. He was quiet and knew he wasn’t someone the
women would fawn over. His body was good but he liked his clothes loose
enough so that he could run easily if he had too. He wanted his gun
unnoticeable under his suit jacket. His hair was short and he kept it that way.
And though he didn’t have many freckles, with his red hair he’d been called
Opie a lot growing up, and some people still wanted to call him that.
“Earth to Charlie,” Gil interrupted again and Charlie almost laughed.
“I’m here,” Charlie grunted. “But I’m not sure that I want to head up to the
cabin. I’m not much of an outdoorsman.”
Gil just laughed. “Yeah, well this cabin has all the luxuries of home. So you
don’t even need to leave. Fridge is stocked as is the bar. Huge lake to swim in
if you like.” Gil’s voice lowered before he continued. “Look, man, this case has
you wound. You need the break. Remember when I took some time off after
the serial case?”
Yeah, Charlie remembered that one. That had been when Gil met his wife, who
had been the killer’s last choice of victim. Luckily Moira had survived.
“Yeah, I remember,” Charlie confirmed. “But…”
“No buts,” Gil interrupted. “Pack a bag and change out of that damn suit into
some real clothes. Ben and I will swing over in thirty with directions and the
key. You need this, man. Relax, recharge your battery. It might be just what we
need to find the break in this case.”
Charlie sighed, knowing that Gil was right. As much as he wanted to deny it,
he did need some time to recharge his battery. And if he stayed home that
would never happen. “I’ll see you in thirty,” he agreed before disconnecting.
With a sigh that betrayed just how weary he was Charlie got out of the car and
headed inside to pack for two days of nothing. Absolutely nothing. Yippee.
Copyright © LACEY THORN, 2009
All Rights Reserved, Ellora's Cave Publishing, Inc.
Chapter One
Charlie sat in his car and looked through the windshield without really seeing
anything. It was a first for him. Hell, his keen observation of details was one of
the reasons he had made detective so fast, just one of the ways his nerd
status in high school had paid off. But this new case was getting under his
skin. He couldn’t shake the feeling that he was missing something. And the
one thing that Detective Charlie Tate didn’t do was miss anything.
His boss had ordered him to take the weekend off, to give himself some down
time away from work. His choice for now but the implication was clear. If he
didn’t then his boss would go through the proper channels to make it
mandatory. So here he sat wondering what the hell he was going to do for the
next few days if he wasn’t working. He didn’t take time off. His job was his life.
His friends were constantly accusing him of all work and no play. And since he
had worked with fellow detectives Gil Daniels and Ben Marcum, it seemed the
Daniels family had tried to adopt him. They were always inviting him to their
get-togethers and dinners. It was actually nice.
Especially for a kid who had never fitted in with his own family. His older
brother had joined the military and been killed within his first thirty days of
action. Friendly fire they said. Fire was fire as far as Charlie was concerned.
Bottom line was that his older brother was dead and Justin had been the only
real friend and ally that Charlie had. The entire family seemed to shut down
after the funeral. And Charlie, who was only fourteen at the time, had fallen
even deeper into his books and studies.
The only commotion he had made was when he joined the police academy
after college. His mother had gone into her room and not come out for days
and his dad had just sat and pretended that Charlie was already dead. Instead
of living with him, celebrating and talking, they had died with Justin and only
their shells remained. He’d been angry once. He’d felt cheated and resentful of
his brother. But Justin had loved him and would never have wanted their
parents to make the choices they had.
So Charlie had made the decision to move away and he hadn’t looked back
once. There were days he regretted it, days he wondered if they were still alive
or if something had happened and they had finally joined Justin. But most
days they weren’t even a passing thought. And though some would find that
sad, Charlie had lived with it for too long to notice much anymore. Of course
he still kept to himself and now instead of falling into a book, he studied case
files.
He had his job. And now, with some pushing on their part, some great friends.
And as of thirty minutes ago two days off with no idea what to do.
His phone chirped and he answered without thinking. “Detective Tate.”
“Hey, Charlie. I just heard you got two days off, you lucky bastard,” Gil’s voice
sounded on the other end of the line.
“Yeah, it looks like it,” Charlie agreed and made no pretense of sounding
happy about it.
Gil just laughed and Charlie thought of how much the man had changed since
he’d met his wife, Moira. The couple was great together. One of those where
you could feel the love between them whenever they were together. Charlie
wished he had that too.
“Well listen up,” Gil interrupted his thoughts. “You are not hanging around
that apartment going through files on your time off.” Shit, the man knew him
well. “You, my man, are going up to the lakes and staying at Jack’s cabin.”
Jack Madigan was Gil’s father-in-law and a legend in his own right. He was a
retired military man, and perhaps a mercenary at one time if the rumor mill
could be believed. He’d recently returned from an out-of-town trip with a new
woman. They’d met while Jack was working on something and Charlie wouldn’
t be surprised if there weren’t wedding bells in the future for the couple. The
Daniels family seemed to like her, and Jack’s daughter took to her at once.
Plus the lovely lady was currently one of two new detectives on the Legacy
PD, both of them drop-dead gorgeous women. The men were going nuts and
the police department had fallen to locker room status it seemed.
Charlie just smiled and nodded. Bottom line was that both women knew their
jobs and were damn good at them. That was all he cared about. He’d never
been one to chase women. He was quiet and knew he wasn’t someone the
women would fawn over. His body was good but he liked his clothes loose
enough so that he could run easily if he had too. He wanted his gun
unnoticeable under his suit jacket. His hair was short and he kept it that way.
And though he didn’t have many freckles, with his red hair he’d been called
Opie a lot growing up, and some people still wanted to call him that.
“Earth to Charlie,” Gil interrupted again and Charlie almost laughed.
“I’m here,” Charlie grunted. “But I’m not sure that I want to head up to the
cabin. I’m not much of an outdoorsman.”
Gil just laughed. “Yeah, well this cabin has all the luxuries of home. So you
don’t even need to leave. Fridge is stocked as is the bar. Huge lake to swim in
if you like.” Gil’s voice lowered before he continued. “Look, man, this case has
you wound. You need the break. Remember when I took some time off after
the serial case?”
Yeah, Charlie remembered that one. That had been when Gil met his wife, who
had been the killer’s last choice of victim. Luckily Moira had survived.
“Yeah, I remember,” Charlie confirmed. “But…”
“No buts,” Gil interrupted. “Pack a bag and change out of that damn suit into
some real clothes. Ben and I will swing over in thirty with directions and the
key. You need this, man. Relax, recharge your battery. It might be just what we
need to find the break in this case.”
Charlie sighed, knowing that Gil was right. As much as he wanted to deny it,
he did need some time to recharge his battery. And if he stayed home that
would never happen. “I’ll see you in thirty,” he agreed before disconnecting.
With a sigh that betrayed just how weary he was Charlie got out of the car and
headed inside to pack for two days of nothing. Absolutely nothing. Yippee.