He blinked, as if caught off guard by her demands. “Seriously?”
“Yes.” And she was. Most of the people who came to her had been accused of committing petty crimes. Shoplifting. Misdemeanor theft. Squabbling neighbors who assumed that throwing a few punches would somehow solve their dispute. And in this area, most people knew as much about her cases as she did. Gossip spread through this small town like the plague. But she had a legal and moral obligation to protect their secrets. “I have a duty to my clients.”
There was a long pause before Nate once again reached out; this time he stroked his fingers along the line of her jaw.
“Are you sure that’s the only reason?” he asked.
“What do you mean?”
“I think you want me to be on the payroll so you can have me at your beck and call.”
Her brain started to sputter as his fingers cupped her chin in a warm grip.
“Why would I want you at my beck and call?”
“So I can do this.”
His head dipped down, his gaze holding hers as he waited for her to protest. When she simply shivered in anticipation, he claimed her lips. Instantly, Ellie jerked in shock. It felt as if she’d been struck by lightning. His mouth was hot. Demanding. Possessive.
A voice whispered in the back of her mind that she needed to pull away. She wasn’t stupid. She understood the difference between a casual kiss and a brand of ownership.
But even as she tried to force her melting muscles to stiffen, his lips were brushing over her cheek and down the curve of her throat. Pleasure cascaded through her.
“Or this,” he murmured against the pulse that was pounding at the base of her neck. His arms wrapped around her, hauling her into his lap. “And maybe a little of this.”
* * *
The woman steps out of the back of the bakery. She glances from side to side, making sure she is alone in the alley. Then, unaware she is being watched, she pulls out a cigarette and a lighter.
I silently laugh. She is a grown woman, but she is sneaking a smoke like she is a teenager.
Weak. Needy. Pathetic.
Just like Daniel.
The sins of the father truly were visited upon the children.
And now payment is due.
I wait for the woman to finish her cigarette and grind the butt beneath her heel. Then, she squares her shoulders and heads for the entrance of the alley.
I knew she would.
It is her routine.
She finished her work day at three. She stepped outside to indulge in her daily cigarette. Then she walked the six blocks to meet her son at the local school.
I hurry to my car and wait.
The woman appears around the corner as I pull open my door. I smile and wave my hand, indicating I’d be happy to drive her to the school.
She hesitates. Not out of caution. It’s a small town. We all trust each other. But she’s probably eaten a few cookies or cupcakes during the day with the mental promise she would walk off the calories later.
At last she smiles and moves toward my car. After a day on her feet she is clearly willing to trade off the positives of walking for the comfort of riding.
I smile.
It is all so remarkably easy.
Chapter Ten
Nate had never understood the term “a spring in my step.” He assumed he wasn’t the springy type.
But this afternoon he had an unmistakable bounce as he crossed the street and walked past the courthouse that sat in the center of the square.
It was Ellie’s fault, of course.
First she’d stolen a chunk of his heart when she’d revealed her past. He’d already suspected that there was a reason she’d left Oklahoma City. Now he understood that she needed to forge her own path, without the constant disapproval from her parents.
He respected that she’d stood for her principles. And that she’d managed to start her own law firm with nothing more than skill and grim determination. She had an inner strength that had attracted him from the beginning.
He grinned. That wasn’t the only thing that had attracted him.
Just thinking about the feel of her snuggled in his lap, the taste of her satin skin on his tongue, was enough to make him hard and aching. Unfortunately, Ellie had been right. The entire town could walk by and peer in at them. Which meant he’d had to content himself with a few heated kisses.
And even those had been all too brief after the sound of a car horn had Ellie scrambling out of his arms. Five seconds later she was insisting she had a pile of work waiting for her and dashed out the door.
And still he had a stupid spring in his step.
Ellie Guthrie had clearly rattled his brains. He was acting like a hormonal teenager who couldn’t think about anything but the woman who’d captured his interest.
Nate shrugged, crossing to the south side of the square. He couldn’t control his reaction to Ellie, so he was just going to accept the inevitable. If she ripped out his heart and stomped on it, then that’s what was going to happen. On the other hand, something wonderful might be in their future.
He stopped in front of a narrow building with a glass door painted with MAGIC MIRROR BARBERSHOP in gold letters.
Nate glanced through the large window. The mirror didn’t look magical to Nate. It was actually silvered with age, just like the barber, Leland Reed, who was lazily sweeping the floor. The older man was tall and thin with a thick mane of gray hair. His face was lean, but without the weathered wrinkles of most men who worked outdoors. Nate didn’t know how long the man had owned the shop, but he was guessing it was at least forty years.
Nate’s gaze shifted to take in the two red leather and chrome barber chairs that were arranged in front of the long mirror. Empty. As were the four wooden chairs that lined the opposite wall.
Leland usually closed up around three. His customers were early risers who filled the shop to exchange the morning gossip and drink the coffee he doled out as he trimmed hair and the occasional beard.
Pulling open the door, Nate stepped inside. Leland turned, a wide smile tugging his lips as he realized who had entered.
“Hey, Nate. Need a trim?”
“If you aren’t in a hurry to close up,” Nate said.
Leland propped his broom against a shelf that was filled with cheap jewelry that Leland’s wife sold in the back of the shop and waved a hand toward the nearest barber chair.
“You know I always have time for you. Have a seat.”
Nate moved to settle into the aged leather. Not long after he’d moved to Curry, Leland had arrived on Nate’s doorstep with a request to help locate his grandson. Leland’s ex-son-in-law had taken off without warning, and the barber had been deeply worried that he might harm the boy.
Calling in a few favors, Nate had located the man in Texas, where he’d been unconscious after a three-day bender in a seedy hotel. The authorities had returned the boy to Leland’s daughter and thrown the son-in-law in jail for endangerment of a child.
With a flick of his wrist, Leland had a cape tucked around Nate and grabbed his comb and clippers from the nearby counter.
“Quite a week in Curry, eh?” Leland said, efficiently trimming the edges of Nate’s hair. The old barber didn’t know the first thing about new styles, but he was quick and efficient, the only thing that mattered to the locals. Plus, he always knew the best gossip. Which was exactly why Nate was there. “First Daniel and now Barb.”
“Yep. Quite a week,” Nate agreed.
“Don’t suppose you know anything about what happened?”
Nate glanced into the mirror, meeting the older man’s gaze. Clearly the word had already spread through town that he was at Barb’s when she’d been carted off in the ambulance. And probably that he was asking questions at the Lodge. It was almost impossible to keep a secret in Curry.
So why didn’t anyone know about Ellie’s stalker?
“I did speak with Paula,” he conceded.
“That new
lady at the Lodge?”
Nate nodded. “She said that Daniel was in the bar drinking the night before he died.”
“No surprise there. I think that boy spent his entire life high or drunk,” Leland said.
“True. Paula said that he was joined by two men she didn’t recognize.”
Leland lifted his brows. It wasn’t often there were strangers in town.
“Some of his druggie friends?”
“That’s my guess. I happened to see them on the security tape,” Nate said. “They were both skinny with dirty blond hair that hung to their shoulders. One of them had teardrops tattooed on his face.”
“Tattoos right here?” Leland demanded, touching a place below his left eye.
“Do you recognize them?” Nate demanded.
“Sounds like the Harper brothers.”
Harper. Nate shuffled the name through his brain. “I’m not familiar with them.”
Leland continued to trim Nate’s hair, but his expression hardened. “Their dad passed away when they were young, and their mother let them run wild. They were trouble from start to finish. They left town several years ago, but they come back to peddle their wares.”
“Drugs?”
Leland nodded. “They’re bad news. Really bad news,” he repeated. Nate silently wondered if the brothers had been friends with Leland’s ex-son-in-law. “Do you think they had something to do with Daniel’s death?”
“I really don’t know any more than you, Leland.” Nate grimaced. He didn’t want any rumors spreading through town. If the Harper boys were involved, they might go into hiding. He didn’t want to have to check every gutter to find them. “Right now it looks like a tragic accident.”
Leland nodded, but he didn’t look convinced. “Accident?”
It was Nate’s turn to probe for answers. “What have you heard?”
“Overdose. Suicide.” He shrugged. “A drug deal gone bad.”
“Did Daniel have any enemies?” Nate pressed. “Did he mess around with other men’s wives? Did he owe anyone money? Did he have an angry girlfriend?”
Leland finished the trim and reached for a brush to swipe over his nape.
“A few years ago I would have said yes to all those, but the past year he was . . . what does my daughter call him?” Leland struggled for the word. Finally he snapped his fingers. “A burnout. He spent most of his time alone, either sleeping or trying to get high. I don’t think anyone cared enough to want him dead.”
There was a brutal truth in Leland’s words. By the end, Daniel had destroyed any connection to the world around him. He’d been completely and utterly alone.
“Did you ever see him with Barb?” Nate abruptly asked.
A speculative expression settled on Leland’s face. “Not that I can remember.”
“Does she have any friends I can talk to?”
The barber considered the question as he removed the plastic cape.
“Sorry. I really can’t think of anyone. She spent a lot of time at the bars around town. Maybe someone there might know about her.”
Nate nodded and pushed himself out of the chair. If Leland hadn’t heard any whispers about Barb or Daniel’s death, then there weren’t any going around.
Still, he’d gotten the name of the men who’d been with Daniel at the Lodge. He intended to have a word with them ASAP.
“Thanks,” he said, pulling out his wallet.
Leland held up a hand. “On the house. And if you have any questions, just stop by. There’s not much that happens in this town that I don’t hear about.”
Nate nodded. “I’ll be back.”
* * *
Mandy woke with a shudder of pain.
It was dark.
Not the darkness that had surrounded her earlier. That had been the result of being stuffed in a cellar or a closet. Someplace where the sun couldn’t reach. This was the darkness of night.
Mandy groaned.
It felt like someone was whacking a rolling pin against the back of her head. The star-bursts of pain made it difficult to think.
Where was she?
She knew she was lying on her side on the ground. There was the smell of rich dirt and grass beneath her head. Distantly she heard the sound of water as it splashed over a shallow creek-bed.
She was in a field, she at last decided. Far enough from town that she couldn’t hear the usual sounds of people. Even at night there was the buzz of streetlights and the muffled echo of televisions.
Okay. She was in a field.
Now the big question.
How had she gotten there?
She had a vague memory of waking in the darkness with her brain aching, but before then . . .
Something teased at the edge of her mind.
A car. Yes. She’d gotten into a car. But why? Had she been going somewhere? Or had they forced her to get in? Straining, Mandy tried to piece together her fragmented memories.
Maybe if she started from the beginning.
She’d gone to work. Just as she had six days a week for the past ten years. Working at the bakery wasn’t a bad job, but it wasn’t what she’d dreamed about when she was young. She’d intended to become a world-famous chef in a restaurant far away from Curry.
Mandy grunted, continuing to focus on the events of the day.
It’d been a normal morning. She was certain of that. She’d baked muffins and donuts and bagels for the early morning crowd. Then she’d focused on bread and pastries. She’d just finished putting the last batch of cupcakes in the oven when Nate Marcel had strolled into the bakery. Instantly her heart had started pounding in her chest.
Nate was everything she ever wanted in a man. Strong. Honorable. A man a woman could depend on.
The exact opposite of her jackass of an ex-husband.
Plus, he was sexy as hell.
It was no wonder he’d played the starring role in her fantasies since she’d first set eyes on him.
But despite her best efforts he’d never returned her interest. Oh, he’d always been nice. More than nice. He’d gone out of his way to make her feel special when their paths had crossed. But she’d known he would never consider her more than a friend.
And today he’d put the final nail in the coffin when he’d revealed his interest in Ellie Guthrie.
Mandy had been forced to swallow her rueful laughter. She liked Ellie, she really did. But Mandy had harbored a deep sense of jealousy of the woman since she’d moved back to Curry. Who could blame her? Ellie was smart. Ambitious. And beautiful. Everything that Mandy wasn’t . . .
Realizing that she was once again allowing her fuzzy thoughts to wander, Mandy struggled to open her eyes. Maybe if she could figure out where she was, her memories would return.
She was still in the process of lifting her heavy lids when she sensed someone standing over her.
Oh God.
This was bad. Really, really bad.
She could hear the rustle of grass as the person knelt beside her. Then strong fingers grabbed her arm and she felt the stab of a needle being shoved into her flesh.
Mandy helplessly tried to pull away as a last vivid image seared through her brain.
She had been getting into a car because she was accepting a ride to pick up Charlie.
Poor Charlie.
She was all he had.
And now she was gone.
Her heart raced as heat seared through her veins, then with one last painful spasm it went still.
Death claimed her.
Chapter Eleven
Ellie managed to finish her work, but it was dark by the time she was stepping out of her office and locking the door.
She had actually been relieved to have her caseload to concentrate on. It was better than dwelling on Nate’s earthshaking kisses. Or the unnerving events of the past couple of days.
Clutching her keys in one hand and her briefcase in the other, Ellie turned toward her car, which was parked next to the curb. It was only then that she noticed th
e small figure standing in the doorway of the bakery.
She stiffened, briefly worried it might be one of the vandals who’d been harassing her. Then, as she took a step forward, she caught sight of the childish profile and ruffled hair in the glow of the streetlight.
Concerned, she hurried toward the child she recognized as Charlie Gibson.
It wasn’t that late, but Mandy was hyper-protective of her only child. She would never have let him roam around the streets by himself at nine o’clock at night.
“Charlie? What’s going on?” she demanded.
The boy turned to watch her approach, his hands stuffed in his jeans as he tried to look casual. Ellie, however, didn’t miss the pinched expression on his narrow face.
“Oh, hey, Ms. Guthrie.”
“Is something wrong?” Ellie demanded, glancing through the door at the dark bakery.
She could only assume that Charlie had snuck out of the upstairs apartment. Or that some emergency had called Mandy away and the boy had become spooked being alone.
“Naw.” He tried to smile, but it was more a grimace. “It’s all good.”
“Where’s your mom?”
“She . . .” The boy hunched his shoulders. “She musta had something to do. I haven’t seen her since breakfast.”
Ellie’s mild concern shifted into major concern. Mandy would never, ever have left Charlie alone for an entire evening. Not for any reason.
“She didn’t walk you home from school?” Ellie asked, keeping her voice light. She could already sense the boy was on edge. She didn’t want to add to his fear.
Charlie tilted his chin. “I can walk by myself, I’m not a baby.”
“Of course you’re not,” Ellie hurriedly soothed. Did the other boys tease Charlie because his mother insisted on meeting him after school? She pushed away the inane thought. “Did you look to see if she left a note?” she instead asked.
Charlie’s hands clenched and unclenched, revealing his effort to pretend he wasn’t worried.
“The door’s locked. And she’s not answering her phone.” He licked his lips. “She always answers when I call.”
Ellie’s heart clenched. The poor boy had been standing out there for hours. Something was definitely wrong.
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