by Addison Fox
“Why me?”
“There’s no love lost between him and his family. Most of his trips through town are quick and functional at best. But from the gossip swirling around town, you’ve given him a new reason to stay.”
“That’s just silly. He was the one who got the dispatch call on my car and he’s been helping me out. Nothing more.”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course I’m sure.”
“Then why do I hear that funny note in your voice?”
Bellamy flushed any sense of surprise or outrage from her tone, focused on keeping things as nonchalant as possible. “I don’t have any funny notes.”
“Yes, you do. You’re sort of squeaky at the edges, like that time in freshman year you asked Bill Monroe to the Sadie Hawkins dance.”
“I do not.”
“I heard it again. You squeaked at the end of your protest. Which means you’ve got something juicy and interesting to share.”
It was on the edge of her lips to protest before Bellamy pulled it back. Rae knew her well and would only take joy in continuing to push her buttons. So she switched gears and focused on why she hadn’t called in the first place.
“Please promise me you’ll be careful. Keep your ears open but don’t ask any questions and don’t give anyone the idea you and I have spoken.”
The laughter that had characterized Rae’s voice up to then vanished. “What’s going on, Bellamy?”
“Promise me. Please. You need to be careful and you don’t need to let on to anyone that we’ve communicated. Not until this is all taken care of.”
“Taken care of? Who’s taking care of it?”
“Please, Rae.”
“Okay. I promise.”
“Thanks. Now go do what you need to do and I’ll call you in a few days.”
“If you’re sure?”
“Positive.”
They said a few goodbyes and then hung up. As her phone switched off, Bellamy couldn’t hide her concerns. The person who’d targeted her had made it clear they knew what she drove and where she lived. It would stand to reason they’d know who she was friends with, as well. And who her sister was.
Fear struck low in her gut, raw and icy cold. Not seeing eye to eye didn’t mean she didn’t love her sister. But could she get to Maggie in time? Reaching for her phone once more, she dialed Maggie’s number and counted off the rings.
And wondered what it meant when her sister didn’t pick up.
* * *
DONOVAN TOSSED HIS gear in the back of his SUV, frustrated with the wasted morning. They’d been out for over three hours and, other than going around in circles, Alex hadn’t found anything useful. Or more to the point, their quarry had covered his tracks.
Even with a disappointing trek, Alex always got his treat when he was done. Donovan hunted for the container of bones he kept packed in the back of the car and pulled one out for his partner.
“I’m going in to work on the tech angle.” Archer looked as frustrated as Donovan felt, and once again, he was struck by the man’s commitment to the community of Whisperwood. “I still don’t believe we haven’t found a thing.”
“Me, either.” Archer waved his deputy on before crossing Bellamy’s driveway to meet him.
“Wait.” Donovan patted his gear, suddenly remembering the button he’d found in the sweep of Bellamy’s car and tagged in an evidence bag. “I pulled this when I swept her car and tagged it.”
“A button?”
“Off a man’s shirt. A fancy one, I think.”
Archer turned the bag over in his hands, tracing the thin disc. “I don’t have the resources to hunt this down but it is another notch in Bellamy’s favor. Where’d you find it?”
“Buried beneath the seat. I would have ignored it except for the fact that she was genuinely surprised to see it. Claimed that it didn’t match anything she owned.”
“You mentioned earlier this felt like an amateur job.” The chief eyed the button once more. “Here’s one more example that reinforces the point. No one even halfway decent at their job would risk losing something like this.”
“It’s clumsy. Lazy, too.” Donovan nearly mentioned his suspicions about Sutton Taylor but held his tongue at the last minute. He had suspicions and nothing more. You didn’t go around accusing men of Sutton Taylor’s stature and standing in the community on a hunch.
Nor did you go around suggesting he was your missing father.
So Donovan waved Archer off instead, mulling over all he’d discovered. And while he considered all of it, he had a woman waiting for him.
One who might have the answers to his questions. And one who might help him figure out the mystery of his father. Donovan finished stowing his things when the sound of tires on pavement had him turning to see Maggie Corgan pulling up.
The woman was out of the car and around the hood, her perfect blond hair waving around her face in the morning breeze. “First it’s a bomb and then it’s gunshots? What is going on, Officer Colton? Who’s after my sister?”
Donovan was struck once again by the sincerity in Maggie’s eyes. The relationship between her and Bellamy might be strained, but he didn’t think it was because Maggie didn’t want one with her sister. “I’m working to find that out, ma’am.”
“Why has she been targeted? None of this makes sense. She’s the kindest, gentlest person. She’s a hard worker and she’s always loved working for LSP. I hate that she lives out here all by herself, but I know it’s what she wanted. It’s why—” Maggie broke off, her eyes widening.
“It’s why what?”
“Nothing.” Maggie waved an airy hand, the motion dismissive. “Nothing at all.”
“Ms. Corgan.” Donovan moved closer, curious to see a look of utter defeat in the woman’s eyes. “Do you know something?”
Maggie shook her head, her gaze dropping to the sidewalk. “About what’s happening to her? No.”
“Then what are you talking about?”
“I tried the only way I knew how.”
She broke off again, her slim form agitated as she twisted her hands and shifted from one high heel boot to another. “Tried what, Maggie?”
“I tried to marry the right person to have money for my father’s treatments. It was the only way I knew how, and I thought James and I would be a good fit. He wanted a trophy wife and I never minded being a trophy all that much.” She sighed, brushing her hair back. “I’m butchering this. Why don’t I try again?”
Donovan waited as she gathered herself, suddenly curious to see the parallels between Bellamy and her sister. While he wanted to hear the entire story, he’d already sensed where Maggie was going. It was humbling to see what had changed that lone night he went off to an accident scene and all that had played out since. Two sisters, each driven to help their family.
Each stymied by pride.
There’s a lesson in there, Colton.
The thought struck hard, an uncomfortable parallel to his own family relationships that he wasn’t quite ready to explore.
“Things didn’t work out the way I planned and James wasn’t all that free with the checkbook. He gave me a bit as an allowance that I could funnel to my family after I bought the requisite clothing and shoes and my mother-in-law took pity and helped a bit once she knew what was going on. It wasn’t enough, but it was something. And it gave me enough to get this house for Bellamy. Before it all—” Maggie hesitated again, her gaze roaming toward the house. “Bellamy thinks my parents left this to her, but they didn’t. There wasn’t any money from their estate left to leave her and I didn’t want to take this from her. I know how important this house is to her. How important these memories are. So I worked with the lawyers to make it so.”
“Why can’t you tell her?”
“Because I can’t. And you can’t, either. Bellamy isn’t interested in what I have to say and I’m not going to grovel for my sister’s affection.”
If Donovan thought the knowledge would put Bellamy at risk, there was nothing that would keep him silent, but he could hardly fault family relationships or go against them. “I won’t.”
“Thank you.”
“But I do think you should tell her. There’s love there. Between the two of you. It’d be a shame to miss an opportunity to build a relationship as adults.”
Maggie’s eyes narrowed, her mouth firming into a straight line. “I know your sister. She and I both worked on a Junior League project a few years back.”
“Oh?”
“She mentioned her family on several occasions while we worked on that project. I know how important her family is to her and how much she’d like adult relationships with her siblings. I got the sense that she had that with all but one of them.”
“I don’t—”
“Things aren’t always as simple.” She laid a hand on his arm. “Even when they should be.”
Bellamy chose that moment to come outside, her eyes shielded against the morning sun. Maggie waved at her, her smile bright. “Just catching up with Officer Colton. He’s got things well in hand.”
She moved back around to her car and climbed in, starting the car and pulling out before Bellamy had even crossed the yard.
“What was that about? Why did she leave?”
“I think she came to visit me. To make sure I’m handling your case well.”
“Was she satisfied with what she found out?” Bellamy’s gaze remained on the departing car as it sped down the street.
“I have no idea.”
Donovan walked Bellamy back to the house, Maggie Corgan’s parting words still heavy in his heart.
Things weren’t always simple.
Even when they should be.
Chapter Twelve
Bellamy left several messages for Maggie over the next few days but hadn’t managed to reach her sister. They exchanged a couple of texts every day and she tried to probe what Maggie’s holiday plans were, even going so far as to invite her for Christmas dinner, but got a vague excuse about being busy.
Which stung.
She’d tried, hadn’t she? Extended the olive branch and attempted to repair things and got a big fat slap in the face for her efforts.
It was one more layer of frustration overtop of the rest of her life. Donovan and Alex had been in her home for nearly a week and they were no closer to finding the person behind the attacks on her than they’d been since man and dog moved in.
Other than the pervasive sense of being watched, nothing else had happened to justify Donovan and Alex’s ongoing presence in her home.
And the lack of information or movement on her case had everyone on edge.
She, Donovan and Alex made daily trips into Austin, spending time at the K-9 center and getting some distance from Whisperwood, but each night they’d return, no further on her case than when they’d started. It was maddening.
Even more frustrating was the fact that each night they went through this weird, awkward good-night that sent her to her room alone while Donovan and Alex headed for her spare room.
Maddening.
Bellamy snapped the lid of her laptop closed. She’d just paid off her last remaining December bill and was angry by the ever-dwindling number in her bank account. She couldn’t be without a job forever, nor could she stand sitting around much longer.
But for the moment she was in a holding pattern.
Her LSP email still worked and she and Donovan had explored all they could find from a distance, but the system was fairly locked down in terms of using it as a mechanism into the inner workings of LSP.
Donovan had sent her email to one of their digital forensics experts to work through the signatures that sat behind the data but the woman had found precious little to go on, and without a warrant for LSP’s data they didn’t get very far. Which only added to the soup of frustration that was her life.
“It’s Christmas Eve. Would you like to go look at lights again? I hear they’ve got a big holiday festival south of Austin as you head toward San Antonio.” Donovan padded into the kitchen, his feet bare beneath jeans that hugged his backside and a black T-shirt that made her mouth water. The man had limited tastes and he’d already washed and recycled several T-shirts that hugged his chest, but the jeans were a mainstay.
Which also only added to her general sense of irritability.
The man was mouthwateringly attractive and he hadn’t laid a hand on her since their interrupted make-out session on her couch. Where she’d first thought that was a good thing, as each day went by she’d grown less and less convinced.
“I know it’s Christmas Eve. And attempting to cheer me up with shiny lights isn’t the answer.”
“Okay.” Donovan shrugged and poured himself a fresh cup of coffee.
“And you can get rid of the attitude while you’re at it. I know it’s boring as a tomb around here. Why don’t you go back to your family or just go home? It’s silly for you to sit here day after day. No one’s going to attack me for Christmas.”
She’d rehearsed the speech in her head, desperate for her life to return to some sense of normalcy, but had to admit to herself that it didn’t come out quite as she’d planned. In her mind, it was competent and confident, setting the tone for how they’d move forward. In reality, it had come out edgy and whiny, with a side of bitchy that didn’t speak well of her, especially when she’d stood up and fumbled the chair behind her.
No, it didn’t speak well of her at all.
“You want me to leave?” Donovan asked.
“Do you really want to stay?”
“I want you to be safe.”
“Since the incidents stopped, it’s hard to feel like I’m in danger.”
“You didn’t answer my question.” He left his mug on the counter and moved closer, his hands firmly at his side even as he moved up into her space. “Do you want me to leave, Bellamy?”
“I don’t—” The words stuck in her throat when his hand lifted to her stomach, the tip of his finger tracing the skin there. The touch was light but it carried the impact of an atom bomb, fanning the flames of attraction that she’d tried desperately to quell over the past week.
Whatever had happened on the couch was a moment in time. A crazy moment of abandon that didn’t need to be repeated.
Hadn’t she told herself that over and over this past week? More than that, hadn’t she seen firsthand how hard Donovan worked and how committed he was to her and to his caseload? He stayed with her, uprooting his own life while still digging into her case. Even with all that, he remained focused on his other responsibilities, as well. Their daily drives to the K-9 center had shown his dedication to Alex and keeping him fit and well trained. Even the things he’d shared with her over coffee each evening had pulled them closer.
He’d opened up about his family a bit more, usually in the guise of probing her about Maggie, but it was sharing all the same. And a few nights before he’d blown her mind when he shared his theories about Sutton Taylor. His comments hadn’t moved far from her thoughts, the image of the man she knew as leader of LSP as Donovan’s biological father. She struggled to put the two together, yet as she listened to his points, had to admit his theory had merit.
The fact they couldn’t find Sutton Taylor to speak to the man directly had only added to the questions around LSP’s leader. The chief’s inquiries to Lone Star Pharmaceutical had gone unanswered, Sally Borne’s dismissal of requests growing increasingly uncooperative.
Where was the man? Holidays or not, CEOs never went so far away as to be unreachable. Yet the man seemed to be off the grid and every outreach made to
local hospitals—even the exclusive ones—hadn’t turned up any leads.
All the questions and conversation had brought them closer, yet until this very moment, Donovan hadn’t so much as touched her. Nor had his dark gaze turned heated, not once. And neither had he attempted to kiss her again.
So what were they doing here?
Yes, she was under his protection, but she’d never heard of anyone getting a personalized police protector who moved in. He’d gone above and beyond and it was getting more and more difficult to understand why.
“What are you doing?”
A small smile tilted his lips as he continued pressing his finger slightly against her stomach. “Nothing.”
“Are you bored?”
“You seem to be.”
“Are you?”
“Whatever I am, Bellamy, I can assure you it isn’t bored.”
She lifted his gaze from the mesmerizing play of his finger. “Then what are you?”
“Truth?”
“Of course.”
“I want you and I’m not sure I can do the right thing by you any longer.”
“You’re—”
The right thing? Had he been purposely keeping his distance?
He waited while she worked through the details, punctuating his point when she gazed up at him once again. “You’re under my protection. You’re my responsibility. It would hardly do to act on our attraction.”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s unprofessional. And a conflict. And—”
She moved into his body, wrapping her arms around his neck to pull him close. All the confusion and anger and frustration of the past week faded as he opened his arms and pulled her close. “And completely wonderful, Donovan Colton.”
“It’s nearly killed me this past week. Everywhere I look, there you are.” He framed her face with his hands before shifting to push several strands of hair behind her ear. “I want you. And I want to see where this goes. But I know it’s a bad time.”
“Maybe it’s the perfect time.”
And as his lips met hers, Bellamy knew she’d never spoken truer words.