Detective Vargas mumbled something in Spanish under her breath and then rubbed her temples. ‘OK. Here’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to give these items to our forensic lab to see if we can pull any fingerprints or DNA. Doubtful, but we’ll try. And I’m going to fill Detective Farnsworth in on this conversation. And if anything happens to this young woman—’ she pointed at me while still glaring at Devon – ‘it will be on you. Comprendes?’
Devon nodded and glanced at me. I caught the guilt before he turned away. Is that what he was brooding about?
‘Good.’ She sighed and stood up. ‘And it goes without saying to be careful. Both of you.’
‘Where are we going?’ I noticed Devon had turned the opposite way of the ferry.
Silently, he maneuvered the Jeep down a two-lane sandy road lined with pine trees. At my question he slowed and pulled off to the side. He turned to me, his eyes full of an emotion I couldn’t interpret. It looked a lot like anger. Was he mad at me?
‘Let me ask you a question, Elle. Are you going to stop trying to figure out who killed Celeste Green?’
I narrowed my eyes, trying to decide where he was going with this. Probably best to just be honest with him. ‘No. I’m not.’
‘Even though you now know your life is in danger?’
‘Well, I mean, I’ll be more careful, of course. I won’t go into the parking garage alone. I’ll make sure I have my phone with me.’ I crossed my arms as his expression darkened. I could see the little scar on his upper lip turn white as he pressed his lips together. I dug my heels in. ‘Hope has always been there for me, Devon. This is something I have to do for her.’
‘That’s what I thought,’ he growled. ‘Stubborn as a bloody mule.’ He shook his head. ‘You did hear the good detective say that if anything happens to you, it’s my arse, right?’
I flushed, not appreciating being treated like a child by him of all people. ‘I’m a grown person, and I’ll take all the responsibility of my actions. So, consider you and your … arse off the hook.’
‘Elle.’ He took a deep breath and blew it out, meeting my gaze again. His frustration suddenly melted into something softer and warmer as he stared at me, those blue eyes still lit from within by an emotional fire. ‘It’s not that simple. If … if anything were to happen to you, I couldn’t live with that. Do you understand?’
‘No,’ I said. Mainly because I was aggravated that he was trying to tell me what to do, but also because deep down I wanted him to explain why he cared at all what happened to me.
Devon closed his eyes and sat there for a moment. When he opened them, he suddenly reached over, slid his hand behind my head and pulled me to him. He stared into my eyes from mere inches away. I could smell the rich scent of coffee on his breath. My own breath caught in my chest as emotions rushed through me; surprise, fear, excitement. He pulled me even closer, pressing his lips against mine. Gently at first and then so passionately the world around us fell away. His mouth was soft, warm and stirred up things for me that had been buried for a decade.
When he released me, my chest convulsed with ragged breaths. His lips were shining and his blue eyes were heavy with desire. I just stared at him, unable to pull my attention away. He was the most striking, intense man I’d ever met, and I just wanted to get lost in him. Something I suddenly hated myself for.
His voice was low and raw as he said, ‘Do you understand now?’
I managed to nod.
‘Good then.’ He threw the Jeep into drive and resumed following the sand-packed road.
I was still trying to process the kiss and what it meant when we turned right and ended up in a parking lot. A very loud parking lot. My smile faded.
‘A gun range?’ I gasped, feeling my pulse do its own version of a rapid-fire machine gun. ‘I … I’ve never shot a gun before.’
‘Time to change that. If you’re going to insist on putting yourself in danger, then you need to be able to protect yourself.’ He reached across me, unlocked the glove box and pulled out his gun. ‘Come on.’ He hopped out. I followed him reluctantly into the front office, where he proceeded to greet the guys behind the counter like long-lost relatives.
‘Come here much?’ Sarcasm was one of my many defense mechanisms. Devon just smirked at me and then gathered the things we’d been given off the counter.
‘Here, put these in.’ He handed me a pair of tiny orange earplugs as we stepped out on to the range.
‘I don’t know, Devon. I’m just not a gun type of person.’ I shifted back and forth on my feet. ‘What if I just watch you?’
Bang! I jumped. Bang! Trying to get the squishy earplugs in, I hurried to catch up to him. ‘Seriously, this isn’t a good idea. I’m a yoga teacher, remember, we practice non-violence!’
He completely ignored me as he led us to the far end of the range and laid the gun, binoculars and box of bullets on a table.
‘OK.’ He glanced up and a smile twitched at the corner of his mouth. ‘You’re going to have to get a bit closer to the gun.’ Sarcasm. Fantastic.
Pouting, I went to stand next to him. The earplugs did muffle the gun shots around us but they also muffled his voice so I had to concentrate on his mouth, which was even more distracting than before he had kissed me. Now that I know how incredible those lips felt …
‘Elle? Can you hear me?’
‘Yes, sort of,’ I said, forcing myself to take a deep breath.
He eyed me but chose to ignore my obvious anxiety. ‘OK. First I just want you to get comfortable with your stance.’ He moved behind me and put his hands on my hips. I forced myself to think about the gun and not his strong grip. ‘Your arms are going to point in the direction of your hips, so your hips should always be pointed toward whatever you’re shooting at. In this case, it’s that target. Got it?’
‘Got it.’
‘Good.’ He released my hips. Disappointing. ‘Now we’re going to go over a few basics.’ He showed me all the parts of the gun, how to turn off the safety and load it. I held the loaded gun, pointed at the target with two hands, my index finger off the trigger until I had the target lined up like he showed me. It was heavier than it looked. ‘Now squeeze the trigger slowly and smoothly. Take your time.’
I took a deep breath and held it as I tried to steady my shaking grip. Also my heart was pounding so hard, it was distracting me. Just breathe, Elle. After a few deep inhales and exhales, I held my breath and squeezed smoothly like Devon had instructed. Bang!
Beaming like a kid, I squealed, ‘How’d I do?’
He pulled his eyes away from the binoculars and, grinning himself, gave me a thumb’s up. ‘Hit the black a few inches from the bull’s eye at two o’clock. You’re a natural.’
‘Again?’ I asked, my adrenalin pumping.
‘Go for it.’
And go for it I did. For two hours I practiced, feeling my anxiety fall away and a new confidence take its place. Eventually, I blew out the bull’s eye completely. I was sweaty, my arms ached and my trigger finger was numb, but I was happier and calmer than I’d been in a long time.
‘Thank you, Devon,’ I said as we walked back to the office. ‘Thanks for pushing me out of my comfort zone. I can’t believe I just did that.’ I laughed. ‘Hope will never believe it.’
He smiled and put a warm hand on my back. ‘We’re not done yet.’
Our next stop was a gun shop where I filled out the necessary paperwork for a background check while he picked out a gun light enough for me to handle.
‘You can pick ’er up in three days.’ The shop owner shook Devon’s hand, and we were back on the road.
‘You did really good … for a girl.’ He grinned at me and ducked as I swatted at him. ‘Hungry? Want to grab a bite?’ he asked.
‘Starving.’ Then I remembered Buddha. ‘Oh, I need to get back though. Buddha’s been in the room since this morning. Novia was going to check on him for me, but I don’t like to leave him this long.’
‘Well,’ Devon
said, pulling into the ferry lot. ‘Why don’t we swing by and pick him up. Then we’ll go to my place and I’ll make everyone dinner?’
‘You … cook?’ I raised an eyebrow playfully at him.
‘Don’t act surprised, Elle. I have talents you can’t even imagine.’ He threw me a wicked smile. I felt myself blush. Yeah, I bet you do.
SIXTEEN
Two sides of Moon Key were bordered by sandy beaches, the other two were protected from the sea by rock walls; these were the south side, which held most of the elite twenty-million-plus monstrous mansions and the west side, facing the Gulf. The west side, along with a smattering of mansions, held the more reasonable two-million-dollar beach ‘bungalows’ and the beach dog park. Devon thankfully lived on the west side in a bungalow. Having to deal with my growing feelings for him in a twenty-million-dollar mansion would have been way too intimidating.
The bungalows had been constructed so the back of the home actually faced the street. This way the amazing sunsets over the Gulf were visible from the front of the house. In order to do this, the driveways curved around each side of the house from the street and curled back into the garage at the front. I noted his bungalow was actually just three doors down from the one I dreamed of living in, the one that had the fire. The Spanish-styled homes sat about fifty feet from the beach and were expertly landscaped with tropical plants and bushes, my favorite being the Bird of Paradise, which I admired on the way to the front door.
Petey met us at the door in his usual haven’t-seen-you-in-years happiness. He jumped up and put his paws on Devon’s chest and barked.
‘None of that, boy.’ Devon ruffled his ears playfully. ‘Behave in front of our guests.’ Petey licked his chin and then lowered himself to sniff us. He and Buddha turned a few circles around each other and then took off deeper into the house.
‘Guess Buddha’s making himself right at home.’ I laughed.
‘Come on, we’ll let the dogs romp around out back.’ Devon led me through the Mexican-tiled entranceway into the breezy, open living room.
‘I like the minimalist style in here.’ I took in the expansive, almost empty space. It had been sparsely furnished with an overstuffed wicker sofa and love seat set and boasted a dark-blue-and-white nautical theme. White cotton curtains hung from each side of the wall of sliding glass doors. We crossed the room and he slid one glass door open to let the dogs out. Out back sat a Mediterranean courtyard complete with a firepit and private Jacuzzi; beyond that a lush, green backyard with an eight-foot wall of perfectly manicured bushes blocked anyone’s view from the street. ‘Why would you ever leave home?’ I sighed.
‘I’m not really the hermit kind,’ Devon said, taking my hand. ‘Come on, full tour.’ He led me through the house, which had the Mexican tile throughout just like the other bungalow M.J. Morgan had shown me. He led me through three baths, a media room, office, three bedrooms (where I tried not to stare at the unmade bed in the master bedroom and imagine him in it) and finally the kitchen. I had thought about asking him if we could stop by my mother’s house while we were in Clearwater so I could check on her. I was suddenly glad I hadn’t. Then I felt guilty for being ashamed of how I grew up. Ugh. Just enjoy the moment, Elle.
‘Have a seat.’ He motioned for me to sit at the kitchen island, which I did, putting my bag on the stool next to me. A huge, rectangular kitchen window offered a postcard view of the ocean. ‘We’ll feed the dogs when they decide to come in. And for us … do you care for seafood?’
‘I do.’
‘Brilliant. I just got a hold of some wild salmon. Payment for a break-in case, actually.’ Devon uncorked a bottle and poured us some white wine. He handed me a glass and held out the other in a toast. Staring at me for a moment, his gaze held more seriousness than I thought the moment called for. ‘To getting out of our comfort zone then. The both of us.’
We clinked glasses. ‘Cheers.’ I eyed him over the glass as I took a sip and wondered, What comfort zone was he getting out of? The dry fruity liquid hit my tongue and exploded. ‘Mm. Wow. This is delicious.’
Devon turned away and went to pull out a skillet. He placed it on the stove top, his back to me. I could still hear the emotion in his voice, however, when he finally spoke. ‘It was Ma’s favorite.’
Oh. Ouch. ‘She had good taste.’ I eyed the kitchen solemnly with its earthy-toned tile backsplash, marble countertops and decorative copper range hood. ‘So, this was your parents’ place?’
‘No.’ Devon unwrapped the fish, shook some spices over it and transferred it to the skillet. ‘They had a home over on the south side. I sold it and bought this place. I could see no sense in havin’ a place that large.’
I took a longer drink of wine as the implications of that information hit me. Having enough money to stay on Moon Key was one thing. Having enough money to own a mansion on Moon Key was a whole different ballpark kind of rich. He could probably have his own yacht and plane. What would that kind of freedom feel like? I couldn’t imagine. No, that’s not true. Seeing how people live on Moon Key, I was starting to. ‘Guess you’re set for life then.’
Devon seemed to sense my reaction and turned to look at me. ‘In the financial department sure, but there’s much more to sort out in life than that.’
I shook my head. ‘Yeah, but doesn’t everything else sort itself out once you have that kind of money?’ And then I frowned. ‘Wait a minute. You could afford any car you wanted. Why do you drive a Jeep?’
He popped a lid on the fish and turned the oven on. Coming over to stand in front of me, he crossed his arms. ‘First you insult my dog and now my car?’
I laughed, I couldn’t help it. ‘Sorry. It’s a nice Jeep.’
‘Thank you.’ Grinning, he picked up his wine glass and took a sip, holding eye contact with me. After he swallowed, his mood turned thoughtful. ‘Because I grew up with money, I guess making it was never a priority for me. Enjoying life, spending it doing something I was passionate about, that was and is my priority. Don’t get me wrong, there was a battle. My da really wanted me to follow family tradition and attend Trinity College.’ The corner of his mouth twitched as his attention moved inward, presumably recalling that argument. He shook his head. ‘Luckily, Ma was my advocate, and so I got to set out into the world on fairly good terms with my da.
‘Though, good terms meant I had to pay for my own plane tickets and hotels by doing some things I wasn’t passionate about. But, I had some amazing adventures and met some really grand people. Eventually I learned enough to start making money with my photography and got comfortable with that. This—’ he motioned around the room – ‘is all unnecessary for my happiness and a bit embarrassin’ if I tell the truth about it.’
I stared at him thoughtfully. ‘I’m sure your parents are glad you’re enjoying the fruit of their labors though. If I had a son, I’d want him to have no barriers in life. Money does take away a lot of barriers, you have to admit.’
He nodded in agreement. ‘It does. But, I would exchange it all in a heartbeat to have them alive.’
Luckily, the dogs came sauntering in through the open glass door at that moment and changed the somber mood that had fallen over him. They were both panting and looking very pleased with themselves. ‘And what have you two been up to?’
‘Probably smelled dinner.’ The scent of cinnamon was beginning to fill the house from the cooking fish. ‘It’s even making my mouth water.’
‘I like the sound of that.’ Devon clapped. ‘OK boys, dinner time.’
While Devon gave the dogs food and water, I slid off the stool and went to explore his refrigerator. You could tell a lot about a person by this simple act. Impressive. It was clean and boasted a fair amount of healthy foods, besides the bottom shelf full of Guinness. I opened the vegetable drawer. ‘Do you mind if I throw together a salad?’
‘Knock yourself out.’
We worked side by side in the kitchen, talking and laughing as we shared a second bottle of wine. By the t
ime the sweet potatoes were baked, so were we. I found myself thinking more than once that I didn’t want this day to end.
Devon pulled some plates out of the cupboard. ‘I’ll light the tiki torches and we can eat out back.’
Startled, I glanced over at the window. ‘Is it dark already?’
‘Soon.’
I walked over to the kitchen window. The sun was setting, and the sky was streaked with bands of brilliant oranges and golds over the sparkling Gulf waters, like strokes from a giant, iridescent paintbrush. I would never get tired of sunsets over the Gulf. They were magical. ‘Now that is beautiful.’ I sighed.
I saw Devon move into my peripheral vision. ‘That it is.’
Click. Click.
‘Devon!’ I threw my hand in front of my face to block his camera. ‘Stop that.’
Laughing, he said, ‘All right.’
But as soon as I took my hand away and glanced at him, he snapped another photo. Suddenly remembering how grungy I was after the gun range, I lunged toward him and put my hand over the lens. Then I remembered I shouldn’t be standing so close to him. I probably smelled as bad as I looked. ‘Devon,’ I growled.
He held up his hand. ‘OK. Sorry.’ Then he stroked my cheek with the back of his hand. ‘I couldn’t resist. It’s just the warm lighting and that expression of pure joy on your face.… It was true beauty. You’re beautiful.’
His eyes blazed with that same intensity they had right before he kissed me the first time. My heart raced and I felt dizzy. ‘I really need to check in with Hope. I’ll … meet you out back.’
‘Elle …’ Devon tried, but I was already walking away. As quickly as my wobbling legs would carry me, I went to the closest bathroom and locked myself in.
What are you doing? That was the thing. I had no idea. I was so far out of my comfort zone with trying to find a killer on an island I didn’t belong on in the first place, riding jet skis and shooting guns … and being with a man that has traveled the world and looks like a god. And will leave eventually. What the hell was I doing? Whatever I was doing, it was so far out of my comfort zone, I’m not even sure the place I was in had gravity.
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