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 Okay.
While they buckled up and got under way, he considered where to start, but Kylie
jumped in with questions of her own.
 You don t suspect Stacy of having anything to do with the murders?
 No. These were a couple of her most lucrative clients. She doesn t have a motive to kill
them.
He heard her small sigh of relief, and while he didn t want to burst her bubble, he felt
the need to point out some less optimistic findings.  I guess you could consider that the
good news. The bad news is everything Stacy told us about her coworkers, VIPs, and the
rest of the suspect pool jibes one hundred percent with what you said. Which means the
interview brought us no closer to finding the killer.
 I m sorry. She was. He could hear it in her voice; see it in those sad, tired eyes.  Am I
in trouble for pretending to be Stacy? Obstructing an investigation?
Now it was his turn to sigh.  I suppose if I wanted to, I could make something of it. He
glanced over and caught her eyes.  But I don t.
He watched as something more relief, yes, but something else flickered across her
face.
 Thank you, she said quietly.  I know I deserve to be brought up on whatever charges
are available. I m sure you re angry with me.
Ah, hell. Gratitude and guilt. Not exactly what he d been going for. Reaching over, he
took her hand, threaded his fingers through hers.  No, Kylie, I m not. Am I disappointed it
had to happen this way? Yes. However, I do recognize you were as honest with me as
you felt you could be without betraying Stacy, whom you were trying to protect. From
here on out though, you need to be completely honest with me, okay?
 Yes. Of course. Sounding abashed, she added,  I promise.
 Good. To give you honesty in return, you passing for Stacy impacted our investigation
very little. We might have identified Carlton as a client the night he died rather than the
next day, but otherwise&  He shrugged.
She squeezed his hand.  Well, still, I m very grateful. I wish there was something I
could do to make amends.
Perfect entry to his next topic. Linking his fingers a bit more tightly with hers, he
replied,  Your wish is granted.
She shot him a wary look.  You want me to continue dancing for you, so you can keep
putting yourself out as bait.
 Yes, but there s more. We need to up the stakes or this charade isn t going to work.
Both Alex and Carlton manhandled Stacy for want of a better term and created a
scene. That s the next step. I think if we stage an altercation at Deuces, it will trip this
guy s trigger. He ll come after me.
The fingers between his went stiff and still. He pulled his attention from the road briefly
to see her reaction. Eyes full of fear and dread stared back at him.
Her concern warmed something inside him, deep in his chest, even as her reluctance
made him want to tear out his hair. After steering the Yukon through a turn and onto his
street, he pointed out as matter-of-factly as possible,  I ll be ready for him, Kylie. I ll be
armed. Ian will have my back.
She turned away. Facing the passenger-side window, she said flatly,  What did you
have in mind?
Chapter Eleven
Kylie sat on the leather sofa in Trevor s sun-dappled living room and coached herself
through some deep, calming breaths. He sat directly in front of her on his sturdy wooden
coffee table, his elbows resting on his thighs, his knees nearly brushing hers. Patiently, he
waited for her to say something.
His plan was simple really at least her part. Risk-wise, it was all on him.
 Where will Ian be? she asked, amazed her voice sounded so steady when her heart
threatened to pound its way through her chest.
 Parking lot, unless I give him a signal to close in. I can t have him too close. We want
to give our guy an opportunity to make a move. He ll go for me in the parking lot, Trevor
said, all calm, confident cop.
 What if he doesn t? If he doesn t go for you at all, I mean. Then are you done? She
couldn t keep the hope out of her voice.
 Let s cross that bridge if we come to it.
 That s no answer.
 You want me to say we ll give up? We can t, Kylie. Frustration vibrated from him.
 There s a murderer roaming free. You want me to say we ll switch me out, put another
detective undercover instead and see if the killer takes the new bait? Would you like that
better, giving another detective private dances? The frustration swelled to something
she couldn t readily identify& something sharp and dangerous.
She looked down at the space between their knees, and then let herself get distracted
by the way his soft, wash-worn jeans molded his thighs. She d promised honesty, so she
would give it to him.  In some ways, yes.
After a pregnant pause, he asked,  Why me?
Confused, she raised her eyes to his.  Why you& what? Although after seeing his
expression, she was afraid she knew.
 Why me last night? You ve waited all this time, probably declined countless men.
Yep, that s what she d been afraid he meant.  There really haven t been countless
men, she offered lamely.
Those dark, penetrating eyes held hers.  Why me? he repeated quietly.
Honesty, she reminded herself.  Because I wanted to, um  she cringed a little and
rushed on  get you out of my system.
For a moment he just stared at her. Then the side of his mouth kicked up in the
lopsided smile his jaded, can t-be-disappointed smile.  Like a virus, huh?
 No. She reached over and placed a hand on his hard, muscular thigh, and squeezed as
if through touch she could somehow explain what she couldn t fully articulate in her own
head.  Like something I shouldn t get used to. Like something that feels real because of
the situation, but probably has more to do with hormones and adrenaline and some
pretty intense circumstances.
Talking about it definitely wasn t helping. Emotions tangled in her chest, and words just
kept tumbling out of her mouth.  Like something that wasn t meant for me in the first
place not the real me. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]