How to Catch a Bad Boy

by Cat Schield

  That is, if he had a future. The way things were going, it was looking pretty likely that he’d have many years behind bars to ponder the errors of his ways and figure out a better way to go forward.

  He didn’t realize his eyes remained closed until he felt a stirring in the air and realized he was no longer alone in the lounge. Pushing out a steadying breath, he got his expression back under control and opened his eyes.

  Lani stepped into the kitchen and leaned against the cabinet near the sink with her arms crossed. She wore a pair of tropical-print wide-leg pants with a shoulder-baring crop top in royal blue. Her bare toenails peeked from beneath the flowing hem. Although the resort wear suited Lani, it also stripped away the professional veneer that made her so attractive to him.

  She was a woman of substance, someone he valued for her authenticity, her intelligence and her drive. In so many ways they were complete opposites. She was focused and organized. While he tended to careen through life, moving from one experience to another.

  “Are you planning on getting drunk?” she asked, glancing pointedly at the tumbler in his hand.

  “Don’t you think I deserve to?” Since he was still standing by the bar, he poured himself another shot of whiskey and then began to accumulate the ingredients for Lani’s spicy margarita. “Feel like joining me? There’s an icemaker there.” He indicated the stainless-steel door beside the beverage cooler. “And you’ll find limes and fresh jalapeños in the fridge beside it. I’m afraid you’ll have to do with off-the-shelf sweet-and-sour mix, but in that cabinet you’ll find chili salt.”

  “This isn’t a party,” Lani said, crossing her arms over her chest and refusing to move. “We’re here on business.”

  “And you’ve never met a client over drinks?” Like the night before when she’d dined with his father at the Texas Cattleman’s Club.

  “You’re not a client. And I don’t think you should be drinking.”

  “Too late.” He toasted her with his glass, downed the whiskey and lifted the bottle once more.

  She was right to say he shouldn’t be drinking. The alcohol wouldn’t help defuse the tension in his gut put there by what he’d seen on the island. Nor could it dim his urgent pleasure at having her back in his life even under these terrible circumstances. As for diminishing the temptation to cross the room, wrap his arms around her and slide his lips onto the strong pulse in her throat...

  “Lani.” He lowered his chin and blinked slowly as warmth raced through his veins. She was so beautiful. He’d missed the way she crossed her arms and glared at him. Or how she looked so sleepy and sweet in the mornings. The corners of his mouth curled up in a slow grin. “Do you remember how we loved to picnic on the boat, make love all night and then have breakfast in bed the next morning?”

  “Stop it right now.” She leveled her finger at him. “I’m not doing this with you. We are not going to sleep together.”

  Her lips said no, but her eyes weren’t quite as convincing.

  “Because you don’t want to?” he taunted. “Or because it would be unprofessional?”

  “Both.”

  “I don’t believe you.” He spoke each syllable with deliberate care so she wouldn’t miss his point.

  “I don’t care what you believe.” She glowered at him a little too aggressively. “It’s the truth.”

  Wondering what it would take to get her back on his side, Asher raked his hand through his hair. Once upon a time he’d been able to convince her to take a chance on him by capitalizing on the sizzling sexual energy that exploded between them whenever they touched. Yet while hormones had raged during those sultry summer months they spent together, he’d gotten the impression that he was some sort of curiosity to her. The good girl wanted to walk on the wild side just once before settling down to a career steeped in rules and regulations.

  “Is it the truth?” he demanded, tired of her denials. “Or is that what you tell yourself at night when sleeping all alone in your bed?”

  These words were not at all what he wanted to say to her, but with frustration and longing a tangled knot inside his gut, hollow charm lost out to desperate honesty.

  “You’re so sure I’m sleeping alone?” She was so obviously bluffing that he almost smiled.

  “Yes,” he said, chest tightening as she scowled at him. “Am I wrong? Have you found somebody that gets you?” Because he hoped she wouldn’t settle for anything less.

  Needing something to do, Asher moved into the kitchen. He ignored her obvious show of maintaining a safe distance from him as he opened the refrigerator and pulled out the produce he’d mentioned earlier. Finding a cutting board and a sharp knife, he gestured for her to join him. Then he began fixing a spicy margarita just the way she liked it.

  “Someone who gets me.” She gave a rough laugh as she rinsed the jalapeño, before picking up the knife. “Don’t act as if you give a damn about my love life.”

  Asher’s mouth went dry. He took a step in her direction and lowered his voice. “Of course I give a damn. I want you to be happy—”

  “Don’t.” She whirled on him with a twelve-inch blade extended in his direction. He gulped. The stainless steel glinted wickedly in her hand. Her stormy eyes practically begged him to say more. “Don’t pretend that you care. I’m not going to fall for you ever again.”

  Fall for you.

  Five years earlier he hadn’t understood what he was doing when he’d relentlessly pursued her. At first she’d been a challenge. Resisting him at every turn. Refusing to give him a chance. Reluctant to let him in. And even when he’d broken through her well-fortified defenses, she’d kept the key to her heart well hidden.

  Until the lazy summer days began to grow short and he realized he didn’t want to lose her. He’d invited her to come to Argentina for the polo season and she’d told him that she loved him, but that she couldn’t give up on grad school. He’d been terrified by the gift she’d offered him and clueless how to keep their good thing going now that the summer fling had turned into a serious romance.

  “I did care about you,” he countered, shaken by the mistake he’d made all those years ago when he’d chosen his freedom over her love.

  “Oh, please. I watched you hit on women for a week before you even noticed me.”

  She looked plenty put out that she hadn’t been his first choice. Except that wasn’t the case at all. From the moment he had spotted her waiting on adjacent tables, he’d been mesmerized. He just hadn’t been ready for the emotions that had slammed into him. Lust he could handle. Longing had caught him by surprise.

  “What do you want to hear? That you were unlike any other woman I’d ever met and I didn’t know how to handle that?”

  “I’m only interested in what’s real,” she declared, slicing the lime with malevolent force.

  “That is the truth.” But he could see from her ramrod-straight spine that nothing he could say would convince her.

  “Just be straight with me.” She set the knife down and shot him a hard look. “Tell me where you put the money. That’s the only truth I’m interested in hearing.”

  Six

  “Where are we off to today?” Asher asked the morning day after their impromptu visit to Appaloosa Island.

  If she’d hoped that compelling him to confront the damage to the island would provoke his confession about the missing funds, she’d been completely wrong. While he’d seemed disturbed by all he’d seen, he hadn’t confessed or behaved in a way that confirmed his guilt.

  Lani scanned his handsome face, fighting the sheer enjoyment of his gorgeous smile and ready energy. Yet even as she fell into the trap of wanting to do whatever made him happy, she recognized that he could be putting on an act.

  She searched for evasion in his lively brown eyes, but saw only genuine curiosity and good-natured enthusiasm. It sucked that she no longer trusted her own judgment.
Five years ago, his ability to twist her emotions and make her lose control of her sensibilities had almost been her ruin. Fortunately, she’d woken up just in time. While turning down his invitation to go with him to Argentina had been the hardest decision she’d ever made, no good would’ve come from giving up her carefully crafted plans. And Lani was convinced that even if she’d followed Asher Edmond into an uncertain future, they never would’ve lasted. So what if her days weren’t as bright and shining without him in it. Look at how he’d ended up. Eventually he would’ve dragged her down with him.

  “I’m going to visit Abby Carmichael,” she said, emphasizing the first-person singular pronoun. Letting him help with this investigation was a really bad idea.

  “Abby... Carmichael. The name is familiar.”

  “She was filming a documentary on the festival.”

  “Oh, sure, she interviewed all of us.” Asher arched his eyebrows. “What’s your interest in her?”

  “She has footage of what was going on with the festival.”

  “What do you think you’ll find on it?” His lips twisted into a sardonic quirk. “Video of me sneaking off with bags of money and burying them in the sand somewhere?”

  Although he spoke in a light, mocking tone, Lani recognized his dark humor masked concern. Her time training to be an FBI agent hadn’t been a waste. In those moments when she could put her emotional response to him aside, she saw his anxiety clearly.

  “That would be really helpful,” she responded, arching her eyebrows at him. “Especially if they are marked with big dollar signs, indicating that the bags are full of cash.”

  As her not-so-witty repartee made him relax, Lani sighed in weary frustration with herself. She came out of her thoughts and caught Asher regarding her intently. It was in moments like these when she glimpsed his somber watchfulness that she knew there was more to this man than he let people see.

  “Can I come along?” he asked. “Maybe a third set of eyes could be helpful.”

  Against her better judgment, Lani found herself nodding. “Sure, why not.”

  Why did she keep pandering to his needs? What was she thinking? That if they could work the investigation together, then maybe they’d have some sort of shot in the future?

  He wasn’t good for her. Once she got him out of this situation, she’d probably never hear from him again. The thought made her heart clench. Five years ago she’d foolishly believed if she told him that school was important to her, then he would agree to try the long-distance thing. She’d hoped that maybe by the time she graduated, he would’ve settled down and their differences would’ve stopped being an issue.

  But clearly fate had other things in store for them both.

  “Thanks.” He looked as if he wanted to say more, but then just gave her a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.

  Before she acted on her need to reassure him, Lani grabbed her jacket and headed for the apartment door. Before she could reach it, Asher was there, gazing down at her with his most-earnest expression. The heady scent of his cologne encircled her, causing an uptick in her pulse.

  “I really mean it,” he said, fingertips skimming her arm. The light contact aroused a flood of longing, but if it showed on her face, he didn’t appear to notice. “It means the world to me that you are giving me the benefit of the doubt.”

  I’m not...

  She might’ve been able to resist if he’d swept her into a passionate embrace and kissed her with wild abandon. Bracing against his onslaught of sensual persuasion was her first instinct. Instead, her steely resolve was being chipped away by his fleeting touches, the unexpected flashes of sincerity, his apparent gratitude that she was going to bat for him because she believed in his innocence. Guilt swept through her. Did he recognize how little she trusted him? Or did he think his tactics were working?

  “Asher...”

  Before she could figure out what she planned on telling him, he dropped the sweetest, lightest, most-affectionate kiss on her lips. The gentle pressure came and went so fast it was like being kissed by a butterfly, but she doubted her whole body would’ve lit up from a glancing brush of gossamer wings.

  “It’s enough that you’re letting me come along.” He swallowed her fingers in his warm, strong hand and drew her out the door. “You don’t need to warn me that I’m still suspect number one. It’s just nice to have some control over my fate.”

  A warning trembled on her lips. He had no control whatsoever. But his optimistic expression overwhelmed her caution. Why crush his hopes when there was nothing concrete to do the stomping?

  Instead she gave his fingers a quick squeeze and said, “Let’s go.”

  The day before she’d made this appointment to meet with Abby Carmichael at Carter Crane’s ranch. Two months earlier the filmmaker had arrived to capture background on the town, the Edmond family and many of those participating in the Soiree on the Bay festival.

  Lani had heard that the couple was an opposites-attract pair who’d met and fallen in love in the midst of the festival development. Abby was a city girl. Carter a rancher. Lani couldn’t help but compare the couple’s romantic destiny to what had happened between her and Asher. While Abby had moved to Royal, letting romance upended her world, Lani had sacrificed her personal life in favor of her career. She was eager to see how Abby was faring in the aftermath of her decision.

  The woman who answered the door had long straight dark hair, inquisitive brown eyes, and a beautiful light brown complexion. A cropped white T-shirt and skinny jeans showed off her lean body and her smile was positively gleeful as her gaze landed on Asher.

  “I don’t suppose I could get you to sit for another interview.”

  Lani stiffened protectively. She’d forgotten that word around town was that Abby intended to change the focus of her documentary to an exposé on the failed festival and the scandalous missing funds.

  “Maybe after I’m exonerated,” Asher replied with a suave grin that made Lani’s toes curl even though she wasn’t on the receiving end of his attention.

  “You don’t think he’s guilty?” Abby’s eyes went wide as her gaze bounced between Asher and Lani.

  “I’m investigating the missing festival funds,” she said, irritation firing as she reminded the filmmaker of the reason they were here.

  She knew better than to let her personal feelings for Asher get in the way of doing her job. No matter how bad the case looked against him, she had blurred the lines between doing the job Kingston Blue had hired her for and saving her former lover from jail. That the two missions might be on a parallel course would only work for her as long as Asher was innocent.

  “May we see the footage?” Lani prompted.

  “Of course,” Abby demurred, leading them toward a large workstation with several monitors, keyboards and other computer equipment. “I pulled footage from the various visits to the island with the organizers of the event. I also have interviews with everyone involved.” Her gaze flicked to Asher. “Any idea what you’re looking for?”

  The massive volume of video the documentarian had recorded was overwhelming. But helpful.

  “Let’s start with the footage from the visits to the island.”

  Abby began scrolling through various files, clicking on several in search of what she was looking for. “There are a lot of people involved. Between the Edmond family, the construction crew, marketers, food vendors. The list goes on and on...”

  With the embezzlement evidence pointing directly at Asher, the investigators had stopped searching for other suspects and begun building a case against him. No one else would be looking at what Abby had recorded.

  To Lani’s mind, the people who were closest to the Edmond family were at the top of her list of suspects. Specifically Ross Edmond. Despite Asher’s assurance that his brother couldn’t have stolen the money, and then taken the extra step of framing Asher,
Lani intended on taking a good look at him.

  “That’s odd,” Asher murmured.

  Lani braced herself for whatever had caught his eye. She’d worried that even if there was nothing of interest in what Abby had filmed, Asher would create some sort of distraction that would lead her down a divergent tunnel. His specialty was deflection and the man had a knack for getting inside her head. Who knew what crazy theory she would be chasing next if he got his way.

  But it was Abby, and not Lani, that took the bait. “What’s odd?”

  “I wasn’t along on this particular visit to the festival site.” He turned to Abby. “Can you run this back about ten minutes?”

  “Sure.”

  “Look.” The footage that had caught Asher’s attention was a shot of Rusty and Ross walking the grounds, looking relaxed in each other’s company. From the state of the building going on and the lack of a rift between the father and son, the footage must’ve been shot several months earlier.

  “What are we looking for?” Abby asked eagerly and Lani was happy to let her lead.

  Asher hesitated before answering, his focus locked on the monitor. “That.” He pointed to a corner of the screen where Billy Holmes appeared. Although at first his expression appeared innocuous, on closer viewing, his charming veneer had slipped, replaced by a cold glare.

  “He’s staring at Ross and Rusty like they’ve done something to annoy him,” Asher said, sounding triumphant. “Which is strange because I’ve never ever seen him looking anything but absolutely pleased with himself.”

  Wow. Interesting indeed.

  “Well, he certainly isn’t looking so happy there.” Asher sounded intrigued. “How much more footage is there of this day?”

  While Abby and Asher leaned forward, scanning the images on the monitor, Lani pondered this new development. Was this a significant lead or just a red herring?

  “You know, when I interviewed Billy around the time that this was shot, he let it slip that some money was unaccounted for from the accounts.” Abby turned in her chair and faced Asher. “He said the oddest thing. He called it a family matter and then said that we’re handling it.” She emphasized the inclusive pronoun. “He acted very protective of Ross. At the time I just thought it was because they were such good friends.” Abby’s gaze strayed back to the monitor and a dent appeared between her eyebrows.