How to Catch a Bad Boy

by Cat Schield

  Did he know what she was thinking? She was known for her poker face, but he had a knack for reading her emotions. As they walked down the stairs toward the barn, she surreptitiously touched the back of her hand against her cheek. Was she warmer than normal? Did a hot pink flush betray the heat rising in her? How could she remain professional when her body betrayed her at every turn?

  “Do you want me to drive?” he asked as their feet crunched along the gravel path, leading from the back of the barn to a series of turnout paddocks. Asher gestured to their cars, sitting side-by-side.

  “No, I will.”

  “Okay.” He sounded disappointed.

  Lani shot him an impatient glance. “What?”

  “I thought maybe after last night...” The previous evening they’d discussed her need to be in charge all the time.

  “When it comes to my case, what I say goes.”

  “Yes, boss.” He coupled his snarky comeback with a long-suffering sigh.

  “I’m not your boss.”

  His raised eyebrows said she was sure acting like one.

  “You like being in control. It seems like having a minion would suit you.” He shot her a wicked grin before heading toward the passenger side of her SUV.

  He was right. She wanted staff. More investigators meant she could take on more clients, but she needed more cases to be able to afford to hire anyone. When she’d started her investigative business, she hadn’t taken into consideration how important contacts would be. Which was why solving this case for Kingston Blue was so critical. Finding the missing festival funds and bringing the embezzler to justice would boost her reputation.

  Which was why it made no sense that with so much riding on this case, she was sleeping with the one man who everyone thought was guilty.

  “If driving is that important to you,” she snapped, deflecting her self-reproach onto him, “then be my guest.”

  “Thanks.”

  This single word, spoken with gratitude and delight, further inflamed her heated emotions. All he was trying to do was be helpful. He wanted to participate in clearing his name and she continued to behave like a prickly pear cactus. It wasn’t his fault that she’d made the mistake of crossing the professional line. She could’ve been stronger. Punishing him for her transgression wasn’t fair.

  Stewing, Lani slid into the passenger seat of his luxury sedan and tried not to enjoy the way she sank into the butter-soft leather.

  “So how come you’re meeting with Zach?” Asher asked as they sped through the estate gates and turned onto the highway. “Do you think he could be guilty?”

  “I’m talking to everyone involved with the festival. And no, I don’t think he’s guilty. For one thing, he has a lot of money already.”

  “Yes, but he makes that money as a social media influencer. Something he’s put on hold since moving to Royal. Maybe it was embezzling funds from the festival that gave him the ability to leave his life as an influencer behind.”

  Lani wasn’t sure if she was more surprised by the fact that Asher had obviously been doing some research of his own regarding the festival’s participants or the theories he’d developed for why Zach might be a suspect. She’d never given him credit for being capable of such serious, deliberate thought. And that certainly wasn’t fair. Yet had he ever indicated that his thoughts were full of anything other than where the next party or exhilarating adventure was?

  She winced. How often had she noticed that there was more to Asher than met the eye and then dismissed it as ridiculous? Had it been fair to look no deeper than his gorgeous appearance and his party-boy antics and assume that was all he had to offer? Five years earlier he’d given her a taste of his luxury lifestyle and she’d assumed because he hadn’t earned his money that she was better than him.

  Is that why she’d determined from the start that it would be a summer fling and nothing more? Because she didn’t believe he wasn’t capable of or interested in being more than that? She’d avoided discussing serious matters with him. Was that to keep from dwelling on his shallowness or dodge getting too attached? When she’d confessed her love to him, what had she expected would happen between them? Despite toying with the idea of not going on to grad school, the thought of altering her meticulous plans for the future had unnerved her.

  Or had she done him a disservice? He hadn’t seemed to mind their casual interaction. Lani thought about those true crime books sitting on his shelf. Had getting to know her that summer sparked a passion for unsolved murders? He’d asked a lot of questions about her process and thrown himself into helping her find the missing money. Would he be as interested if he hadn’t been charged with the crime?

  How come you haven’t taken on any associates?

  Was that just idle curiosity or was there something more behind the question?

  Lani glanced at his profile and wondered what it would be like to partner with someone. To have another person to talk to about cases. To brainstorm ideas. To interact with clients.

  No. She’d be crazy to even consider letting Asher get anywhere near her business. She was doing just fine on her own. She’d be doing better after the successful conclusion of this case. After that, she’d go her way and Asher would go his. It was what had happened before. It would happen this time too.

  Eight

  A merry bell sounded as Asher pulled open Royal Diner’s front door. Both a welcome and a warning, the tinkle seemed louder than usual because the classic diner-style restaurant was only half-full. Asher braced as his shocking appearance stirred the atmosphere. For the last week or so he’d actually forgotten about his increased notoriety around town. But now, as the whispers began, Asher ground his molars. He wasn’t used to so much negativity directed his way.

  Twenty feet of black-and-white-checkerboard tile separated them from the red vinyl booth where Zach Benning sat. A dozen pairs of unfriendly eyes watched his progress as Asher followed Lani past the counter service area. Curiosity and contempt battered him, but he acted oblivious to the commotion he was causing.

  Asher focused his attention on the guy they’d come to meet. His gray designer T-shirt gave him an LA vibe. Coupled with his expensive haircut, Zach looked every inch a city boy.

  “Hi, Zach, thanks for meeting me.” Lani glanced Asher’s way before amending, “Meeting with us.”

  “Sure.” Zach’s eyebrows sank below the rim of his sunglasses as Asher slid into the red vinyl booth beside Lani. “You’re out?” This he directed at Asher.

  “On bail.” Lani spoke up before Asher could explain and her quick explanation left him feeling defensive.

  Retreating into sardonic humor, he stuck out his leg and showed off the edge of the ankle monitor. “I’m on a short leash.”

  This seemed to mollify the other man because after scrutinizing the device, he gave a short, satisfied nod, dismissing Asher as a threat. After that, Zach focused his full attention on Lani and the volume rose on his charisma as he pointed a lopsided smile in her direction. Asher bristled as Lani relaxed beside him.

  The two men were close in age and similar in nature, each preferring a freewheeling lifestyle of parties, women and luxury. But where Asher was cavalier about his image, Zach had cultivated his particular bad-boy style into a huge social media following that had made him a multi-millionaire.

  Familiar with Lani’s weakness for pleasure-seeking reprobates, Asher slung an arm across the back of the booth behind her shoulders and twisted his upper body so he could easily watch the pair interact.

  “As I mentioned on the phone, I’m looking into the money that’s gone missing from the festival.”

  Zach’s gaze flicked toward Asher and the corners of his lips flattened in derision. “Shouldn’t you be asking this guy?” He kicked his thumb in Asher’s direction.

  “I didn’t take the money,” Asher growled, letting his annoyance get the better o
f him. “I’m trying to figure out who did.”

  “You’re trying to figure out...?” Zach looked from Asher to Lani. “I thought you were the one doing the investigating.”

  Lani gave Asher’s thigh a hard nudge with her knee in warning and leaned forward, resting her forearms on the table. “I’m exploring the possibility that someone set Asher up.”

  While it wasn’t a resounding declaration of confidence in his innocence, the tight knot of irritation eased in his chest. Most days he vacillated between relief that she was finally looking into alternate theories of the theft and worry that, without any evidence pointing to another’s guilt, her logical mind would return to the most obvious theory that he was responsible.

  “Somebody?” Zach echoed. “Like who?”

  “Various people.” She paused. “I’m talking to anyone who had a connection to the festival—”

  “Wait one second,” Zach interrupted vehemently, leaning forward. “I had nothing to do with the actual operations and—”

  Lani threw up her hands in a pacifying gesture. “Not you, of course.” She softened her expression, but didn’t actually smile.

  “If you’re going after Lila, I’ve got nothing more to say.”

  “No. No. It’s nothing like that,” Lani assured him.

  Lila Jones was a member of the festival’s advisory board in addition to working for the Royal Chamber of Commerce. A hardworking, serious-minded woman, rather forgettable in Asher’s book, she’d engaged Zach to promote the festival through social media. Apparently seeing potential where no one else had, Zach had sprinkled some sort of fairy godmother dust on her and turned Lila into an Instagram sensation. The pair had become romantically involved and Lila had been seen around town sporting an enormous diamond on her left hand.

  Although normally Asher paid little attention to the love lives of those around him, he was beginning to see a pattern of couples finding each other thanks to the ill-fated festival. He glanced Lani’s way. Would that same magic work for them?

  “But you were around many who were involved,” Lani continued, “and I wanted to hear your impressions.”

  “I don’t know how I can help you.” Zach’s tension eased marginally. “Early on I showed up, did a photo shoot—not anywhere near the actual site of the festival because of all the construction for the stages and restaurants. I didn’t meet all that many people.”

  Lani offered an encouraging smile. “I’ll bet you know more than you realize.”

  “It was all pretty chaotic. Really disorganized.” Zach looked thoughtful. “Wait. Now that I think back, I did catch wind of how materials weren’t showing up because bills weren’t getting paid. Money problems were delaying everything.” Once again Zach glanced toward the guy who everybody thought was the guilty party.

  Asher’s gut tightened. He could almost hear Lani’s brain whirring as she processed what Zach had to say. Okay, so obviously something fishy had been going on with the money all along. And yeah, he should’ve paid more attention, but the day-to-day details of the project had really not been his cup of tea.

  “Besides the funding, did anything else strike you as unusual or wrong?”

  “Not really.” But Zach grew thoughtful. “Well, maybe this one thing. I kept seeing a guy that I thought I knew from back in LA.”

  Beside him, Lani stiffened, but her voice sounded nonchalant, almost blasé as she asked, “What guy?”

  “Your brother’s friend,” Zach directed this remark to Asher. “I can’t remember the name he introduced himself as, but I remember running into him several times in LA. The names didn’t match. But I swear it was the same guy.”

  Ross’s friend? Asher thought back to everyone who’d been to the island. When they were pitching it to various vendors and people they knew, they’d brought hordes of people to check out the site and hear the pitch. That had been the fun part... Entertaining the investors, painting a picture of the exclusive event, the delicious food, fantastic wine, the famous headliners like Kingston Blue set to perform, with all the proceeds going to charity.

  Turns out he’d done too good a sell. In fact he’d oversold the festival. Literally.

  The festival had suffered from neglect on the part of the principal players. Ross had been focused on his reunion with Charlotte and getting to know his two-year-old son, Ben. His attention was further disrupted by the major blowup this had caused with Rusty. Being disinherited can sure distract a guy. Sort of like being falsely accused of embezzlement.

  Gina had been preoccupied with her mother’s return to Royal after a nineteen-year absence and the family drama that had ensued.

  That left Asher. His talents involved persuading people to trust him and painting their investors a picture of how awesome the festival was going to be. Initially he’d brought in a lot of the funds that had then gone missing.

  “Which friend is that?” Lani asked, returning Asher’s attention to the conversation. “Can you describe him?”

  “Tall guy. Dark hair. Blue eyes. He seemed as if he knew the family really well. And he spent a lot of time sucking up to your dad.”

  It sounded like Billy Holmes. Ross’s friend from college. He’d been a major player in the festival organization and always seemed to be around.

  “You said you couldn’t remember his name,” Lani began, but before she could go much further into the questioning, Zach snapped his fingers and cut her off.

  “Howard Bond,” he declared. “No wait, not Howard Bond...”

  While Zach scrunched up his face and racked his memory, Asher struggled to keep from shouting at the guy to get on with it. What the hell was going on? Who was Howard Bond? And what did any of this have to do with the embezzled money?

  “Bond Howard,” Zach announced, looking pleased. “That’s it. I remember meeting the guy at a pool party thrown by an executive producer at Universal. I usually meet a lot of people at these events, but he stuck out in my mind as being a first-class dick.”

  “Why was that?” Lani asked, her flat tone hinting at only casual interest while Asher’s heart thumped like a pile driver at the unexpected direction this interview was going.

  “The party was loud and I didn’t catch his name at first so he repeated it. He’s all like, it’s Bond, as in James Bond.’” Zach intoned this like an exaggerated imitation of Sean Connery. “I thought to myself, that’s crazy because who names their kid Bond? More likely he was called Howard and his last name is Bond so because it was LA, and everybody changes their name, he switched it to Bond Howard, which is much cooler.”

  While Zach was telling this tale, Asher noticed that Lani’s body had begun to hum with excitement. She was like a bloodhound on a scent and it totally turned him on.

  “So, when I met him on the island, and he was introduced as something else, it struck me as odd. Especially when he insisted we’d never met.”

  Lani narrowed her eyes. “Did you doubt it was the same person?”

  “No, I was pretty sure it was the same guy. He has a fairly distinctive look. Do you know what I mean? Not like you’d mistake him for a bunch of other people.”

  Was this a legit lead? Asher glanced at Lani, but her expression remained inscrutable. He wanted to end this meeting with Zach and get her alone so he could figure out what was going on in that big beautiful brain of hers. Hope was tapping on the edge of his consciousness, wanting in. For the first time since his whole world came crashing down around him, Asher realized the level of fear he been suppressing. His hands began to shake as the truth of his reality struck him. In the back of his mind, he’d been grappling with going to jail for a crime he hadn’t committed. Only now, as it was looking like someone else might be a suspect, did traction set in.

  “Well that sounds promising,” Asher said, keeping a lid on his excitement as they stood up and headed toward the exit of the Royal Diner.

 
; Before they reached the exit, the chime above the door rang, warning him someone was coming in. Both he and Lani slowed to let the new arrival enter. Deputy Vesta entered, tipping his hat to Lani as she headed out past him. Asher started to follow, but found the deputy in his way. Before he could step aside, Vesta had bumped his broad shoulder hard into Asher’s chest as he went by. Although the blow didn’t throw him off balance, the hit jolted his ego, reminding him that in the eyes of the town, he was a thief who’d stolen from people who couldn’t afford the losses.

  In a much more subdued frame of mind, Asher lengthened his stride to catch up with Lani. “Why do you think Billy would’ve introduced himself as Bond Howard?” he asked, picking up their earlier conversational thread.

  “First of all, we’re not really sure if this Bond Howard and Billy Holmes are the same person.”

  Asher appreciated Lani’s caution about as much as a pie in the face. He wanted her to leap all over this lead and chase it down to prove she believed in his innocence and would go to any lengths to exonerate him. Instead, she showed every sign of proceeding with her plodding, methodical investigation.

  “How do we go about figuring out if they are?” Asher asked, letting just a bit of his impatience show.

  He unlocked his car and swung the passenger door open for Lani. She shot him the oddest look before sliding into the car.

  “What?” he prodded.

  “I can open my own doors.”

  “Stop being so damned independent,” he growled, wishing she understood how much he enjoyed taking care of her. “Let me help once in a while.”

  Asher wasn’t just talking about the car door. He wanted to impress upon her that he was someone she could rely on. She might be too proud to accept financial help from him, but he could be there for her in other ways. As a sounding board to bounce ideas off of. As muscle in case she got into another tight situation like the one with Mika Sorenson’s husband.

  “Whatever.”