“Dryzek doesn’t have the balls to come after me. Why’d you visit a lowlife like that anyway?” Was Dryzek involved? Finn could see him stabbing someone, but no way could he see him diving that wreck. It took gumption and nerves of steel. Dryzek had neither.
“Most of the people I deal with are lowlifes.” She snorted, then grabbed her ribs. “I need to stop doing that. We just identified the body you found. The name is due to be released any moment.” Her feet searched blindly for her boots while her eyes tracked his response. Still doing her job, even here. “Len Milbank. You know him?”
Finn forced himself not to react. “I’ve heard of him.” He dropped to his knees and took her foot in his hands. She’d painted her toenails with little frog decals that seemed at odds with the serious police officer she displayed to the world.
She saw him looking. “I was on vacation.”
He said nothing but smiled as he pulled her socks over her toes, then slipped her foot into her boot, then repeated the process with the other foot.
Len Milbank. He should have left the scumbag inside that wreck to rot. “He was a friend of Remy Dryzek’s. Nasty piece of work by all accounts.” Definitely not a friend of Thom’s or his brother’s. Dammit. Things just kept getting more complicated.
“Any ideas what he might have been doing at the shipwreck?”
He rose to his full height. “Well, I didn’t know yesterday and didn’t experience any psychic visions overnight, so I still don’t know today.”
“Funny.” She gathered her bloody uniform and equipment belt. Finn held his hand out in an offer to carry them for her. He didn’t want her to freak by grabbing her weapons. She let him take them, and he held out his other arm for her to lean on. Strong fingers gripped his elbow. “Well, someone else besides you and Thom knew about that shipwreck because someone told Len Milbank. And that someone probably stuck a knife in his chest. I’m figuring the same someone just ran me off the road and tried to kill me.” Her fingernails dug into his muscles as she tried to balance her weight.
He slowed his pace and nodded to Anita, who began stripping down the bed before she left for the night.
“Take care of her, else you’ll answer to me in the morning.” The nurse smiled with easy familiarity.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Thank you for your help,” Holly called to the nurse and doctor, who both shouted responses. She hobbled unsteadily to the door. “Whoever the killer is, I’m going to find that person, and I’m going to put him in jail for a very long time.”
Holly woke up to find Thom Edgefield leaning over her, staring intently at her face.
She screamed, sucked in an agonizing breath, and shoved her hand against his chest.
He jumped back in surprise.
“What the hell?” Finn ran into the room, dripping wet with a towel almost draped around a pair of very fine hips. “I told you to keep an eye on her, not scare her half to death.”
“I didn’t do anything.” A blush darkened Edgefield’s cheeks. He wrung his hands in a clear sign of distress. “I was just looking at her face for identifying marks.”
“Jesus, Thom!” Finn slicked back short, sopping wet hair. “Sorry. Thom came by and said he’d listen out in case you needed anything while I was in the shower.” His expression was thunderous. “He didn’t mean any harm.”
“You make me sound like a complete imbecile.” Thom threw his hands up in the air.
“Well, sometimes you act like a frickin’ moron,” Finn almost shouted. Holly was with him all the way.
Thom pressed his lips together as his eyes drifted to the carpet and then away. “I better head home. Good night.”
Holly frowned after the man, or she would have, if she could get her face to move. Everything was swollen and sore.
“How are you feeling?” Finn moved to her side. The soap he used drifted on the air, and she was hyperaware there was nothing but a flimsy towel between him and nakedness. She was female enough to be curious. And that was not a good thing.
Her heart drummed uncomfortably against her ribs. When was the last time she’d felt even the smallest hint of attraction? Unfortunately, she knew exactly when it was and that was enough to put her off men for life. But something about this guy—
“Holly?” he snapped. Blue eyes drilled into hers.
“I’m fine.” Her voice came out all husky, and he passed her a cup of water from the bedside table. He wasn’t just sexy, he was kind and compassionate too. Definitely a heartbreaker, and she liked hers intact. She grabbed the cup with relief and glanced around the room, avoiding looking at him as he just stood there, nearly naked except for the water droplets that glistened against his tanned skin.
“You look like shit,” he told her.
She almost choked on the water. That should banish any fantasies of naked mud wrestling from her head. He took the glass from her hand and placed it back on the table.
“But a hell of a lot better than you should, considering.”
Someone had tried to kill her. When she considered the shape the SUV was in, that person hadn’t been too far from succeeding. “Did I remember to thank you for getting me to the hospital?”
“You promised me sexual favors for life.” His grin was wicked.
“Ha, ha. Funny man.” But her heart thumped crazily in her chest. She didn’t want to like Finn. She certainly didn’t want to want him. “I like what you’ve done with this place.” Avoiding the thoughts that swirled inside her like an unhealthy cocktail, she checked out her surroundings. The walls were wood. Two desks set into the walls. One single bed, which she was lying in, another set of bunks pushed against the opposite wall. He seemed to care little about material things. There were no pictures on the walls. Nothing but plain utilitarian space. She wondered what his bedroom looked like and put a rapid halt on those thoughts. Blood filled her cheeks, but she doubted he’d notice considering the mess that was her face. Both eyes were swollen. Her nose throbbed like a beacon. “Exactly how bad do I look?”
“Like you’ve gone ten rounds with a heavyweight champ.” He grimaced, and the towel slipped an inch. Mesmerized by the dark blond hair that arrowed down from his navel she couldn’t look away.
“I guess I’m going to have to cancel the photo shoot with French Vogue.”
He laughed. Relaxed and ridiculously at ease. Almost naked with her in bed.
Great. Just great.
She felt the heat building in her cheeks and tried to shift up the bed, ignoring her protesting ribs. This guy was still involved with this case. She could not be having carnal thoughts about his incredibly ripped, smooth-skinned, and definitely hot body.
“The cabins are set up for grad students and visiting profs. I’m here all year round, but I let people stay in here if the lab is short on space.” He kicked up those wide shoulders, and muscles flexed beneath taut skin. Her mouth went dry, and it had nothing to do with pain meds or whiplash. “I guess I could get somewhere better, but I spend most of my life working so I don’t see the point. It’s cheap, convenient, and beats the hell out of what I had in the military.”
“You were in the army for sixteen years.” She latched on to this tidbit.
He raised a brow and waited.
He did that, she’d noticed. Kept his silence and waited for the actual question rather than fill the expectant quiet. Not many people had the nerve for silence.
“You weren’t that far from a full military pension. Why’d you quit?”
His lips twitched, barely. “I’m not quite ready for retirement.”
“Was it because Thom got beat up?”
He shrugged and distracted her with the sort of smile that got women in serious trouble. Even smart women. “Not everything in life is about money.”
Finn Carver had a knack for avoiding answering her questions. As a cop and a woman, it put her on edge.
Annoyed, she tried to throw off the covers to get out of bed and away from the effect he had on her, but they
were tucked in so tightly she could barely move. There was so much to do. The last thing she needed was to be in bed, ogling man candy when there was a murder to solve.
Jimmy Furlong was going to love this.
“I have to go,” she said.
“Nuh-uh.”
“Where’s my gun? If I shoot you, you’ll have to let me up.”
From the determined look in his eyes, he was ready for a fight, which suited her perfectly. But every movement she made shot streaks of pain into her ribs and up her side. Her neck felt like she’d been unsuccessfully lynched. He sat down on the edge of the bed, trapping her.
With a snarl of frustration she lay back against the pillows, breathing hard. She tried not to notice his flat abs or smell his clean, soapy scent. The man was totally gorgeous and she was a primary investigator in a homicide. She didn’t have time for distractions.
“I could arrest you,” she growled.
“I thought you owed me a favor?”
For the dive, she remembered. “This is your favor?” She gestured to the bed.
“Getting you into bed was definitely on the list.” His eyes heated, then he looked away. Broke the connection. “I set up an oh eight hundred meeting here for your team.”
Her eyes widened a fraction. Even that hurt like a bitch.
He reached for the bottle of tablets and shook out two, handed them to her. “I have to be at the dive shed by quarter after eight, so you’ll have the place to yourselves.” Steam billowed through the open doorway behind him. The shower was still running. “You can search the place if you like, eliminate me from your inquiries.”
But she knew from the intelligence in his eyes that all his secrets were hidden inside that finely packaged mind of his. And suddenly she wanted inside—inside that mind, and closer still. She swallowed the pain pills with another gulp of water.
Her phone rang. He picked it up, looked at the display, and handed it over. “Your father.”
She recoiled and her head started screaming. “I don’t want to talk to him.”
“He already knows about the accident.” Those blue eyes of his were cool now. Dark and cool, like the deep ocean. “He called earlier, and I apprised him of the situation.”
“You had no right.” Her fist clenched around the cell. She had to answer it. But she didn’t want to be yanked off the case.
“I told him you were a bit beat up, but the doctor said you’d be ready to return to work first thing in the morning.”
Her mind whirled. She’d assumed Finn would have done his best to get her off the case, and she didn’t know why the fact he hadn’t made her feel all warm and fuzzy inside. She pressed the answer button, never dropping his gaze. “Hi, Dad. No, I’m fine. Sore, but fine.”
She covered the mouthpiece as Finn turned to leave the room, that damp towel clinging to his butt in an erotic display. “Hey,” she called. He glanced over his shoulder. “Thanks.”
He nodded and she heard him going back into the bathroom.
She turned her attention to her father.
“How are you really feeling?” Her father’s voice was deep and rich as hot chocolate and always filled her with warmth.
“I ache all over, but nothing’s seriously damaged except my pride.”
“Well, we all have to deal with that at some point or other.” There was a pause. Her dad was good at saying a lot with his silences too. “We’ve got people working the scene, trying to catch this person. Do you think it’s related to the homicide you’re working?”
Holly squinted out the windows into the solid darkness. “It seems the obvious thing, but you’re the one who taught me to look at the facts and not jump to conclusions.”
He blew out a gusty sigh. “I’m not happy about this, Hobbit. Not only has one of my officers been attacked, but the fact you’re my daughter makes it hard to sit back and follow procedure. It was bad enough you getting stabbed last month…” Her father had always been the most honest person she knew. “I want to fly over there and rip off someone’s head. Instead, I have to sit behind a desk and let others do the job for me.”
“Dad, I know how to handle myself—”
“I know that. But,” there was a thick swallow, “after losing your mother, you’re all I’ve got left, and I’m damned if some joker is going to take you away from me.”
“Never gonna happen.”
“Staff Sergeant Furlong suggested you step back from the case until you’re feeling better.”
I just bet he did. Holly swallowed the instinctive retort. “There’s nothing wrong with me that a few hours’ sleep won’t fix.”
“Humph.” Thankfully he changed the subject. “Who’s the guy playing nursemaid?” As if he hadn’t already run a zillion background checks.
“Finn Carver is a former Special Forces soldier who found me minutes after the crash happened and drove me to the hospital. Only way they’d release me was if I had someone on call if I needed help. The command group has work to do. He volunteered.”
“He’s the one who found Len Milbank’s body.”
“Correct. And he took me down to the shipwreck to look at the crime scene too.”
“Alone?”
“That’s right, Dad. Alone. And I’m still alive and breathing.”
“Any chance he’s the person who ran you off the road?”
“None.”
“You’re sure?”
“Actually, Dad, I am totally one hundred percent sure, and you can tell the deputy commissioner the same thing.”
“Smart-ass.” But he laughed.
“I learned it from you.”
That silence again. Holly decided to wait it out in case she blurted something stupid.
“I spoke to his former commanding officer.”
Of course he had.
“Guy said he was an excellent soldier, one of his best. You know I have a great deal of respect for our armed forces, right?”
There was a “but” in there. “Of course.”
The silence took on a cautious quality. “Just make sure you’re both on the same side before you trust him too much—understand?”
A quiver of embarrassment rolled over her skin. “I would never do anything unethical, sir.”
“Hell, Holly, I’m not talking about sleeping with the guy—although, jeez, that’s not what a father wants to think about. He’s a former Special Forces soldier. He can do things most cops can’t even contemplate. Remember that. Until you know more about him, keep your guard up.”
She didn’t tell her father she trusted Finn—it sounded foolish and naive on such short acquaintance. If she was wrong she didn’t want to look like an idiot, and she’d been wrong before. These were dangerous waters, and she had no intention of drowning in them.
Her father let out a low rumble of frustration. “If I could get over there and nurse you myself I would. I’m in the middle of a meeting with a bunch of feds from across the border—I just slipped out for a moment. I could try to find someone from the agency that looked after your mother…” The words brought the usual pang of loss, a thousand different memories stretching between them.
“No.” She ran her fingers over the cold metal of her gun. “Finn Carver has the eyes of the entire RCMP watching him tonight and he knows it. I’ll be fine.”
“If I hadn’t had at least fifteen different reports that he was a trustworthy guy, I wouldn’t contemplate leaving you there, you know that, right?”
“I’m not a kid.” She smiled. “I love you, Daddy.”
Another big sigh blew into the phone. “I love you too, Hobbit.”
They said good-bye, and she clicked off thoughtfully. There was another good reason to stay here tonight. Gaining Finn’s trust was a good way to dig deeper into this town’s secrets. She wasn’t about to fall for the golden boy good looks or protective charm. She was disciplined enough to admire the beauty without succumbing to temptation—wasn’t she?
Only one thing mattered to her, and that
was the quest for justice, even when the victim was a two-bit thug who’d probably got exactly what he deserved. But there was a reason justice was blind and cops didn’t try cases. It was all to do with men like Len Milbank and Finn Carver.
CHAPTER 8
Jeff Winslow knocked on the bedroom door just as she was pulling on her equipment belt. “Come in.”
All her belongings—complete with a new uniform—had turned up sometime during the night. As she’d slept like the dead, she assumed one of the guys had brought them over, and she didn’t want to ask who’d seen her snoring. She had to move with extreme caution so as not to jar her sore ribs. Thankfully, the pain meds made her feel less like she’d been sawn in half.
She could do this.
“Thanks for meeting me here. I just needed a solid sleep to get back on my feet.”
“You shouldn’t even be on the job.” Jeff’s eyes crinkled in sympathy as he took in her bruises. “Are you sure you’re up to this?”
“It looks worse than it is.” If only. “Let’s go into the living room and set up.”
Finn—fully clothed, thank god—had left a pot of coffee, which dripped and sizzled, releasing a mouth-watering aroma. She’d seen him briefly before he headed out the door and had managed to pin down her hormones so she could view him with a little more detachment this morning. Sure, he was gorgeous and brave, but she dealt with that sort of alpha male every day. Normally it didn’t affect her.
The chivalry was an unexpected turn-on.
Mentally she kicked herself.
The car accident must have shaken her up, made her a little extra vulnerable, but everything was back under control today. He’d left out the makings for toast, so she made herself some while Jeff set up his laptop and screen projector. Corporals Messenger, Chastain, and Malone rolled in, their booted feet shaking the floor as they climbed the stairs and pushed in the door. Tiredness edged everyone’s features.
She felt them all weighing her abilities by her battered features and determinedly held her hand up. “I know I look like crap, but I’m perfectly fine. Just a few colorful bruises and a hell of an incentive to bring this guy in. Where’s Steffie?”
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