“It’s not something I like people knowing.” She glanced down to his hand on her knee but didn’t move away.
“Is that because you think she did it or because you think she’s innocent?”
“It’s because I never made up my mind. Luke and Michael were never fond of her to begin with, so it was easy for them to paint her as a killer and move on with their lives. But I couldn’t accept it so easily with no evidence. But I could never look at her the same. I came home from Oxford and moved into the family home. It was left to me. They had a stipulation in their will that anyone considered an official suspect in the case of their murder would get nothing. The police didn’t know that when they pointed a finger at her, that they were destroying her future. And when she asked for my help, I never called her back.”
Jace thought back to the crazed woman he’d taken down that night. He didn’t know all the details from the night Emma’s parents died, but he sure as hell wouldn’t be surprised to learn she was behind it. “Have you tried to talk to her again?”
“Her lawyer had told me that she doesn’t want to see any family members. You’d think that once someone is in jail, you could force them to face you, but apparently they still have the right to piss off family from behind bars.”
“Well, if she doesn’t want your help, I don’t think you should feel bad about going back home without cracking into her psyche.”
Emma sighed. “You’re right. And I’ve known that. But it was nice to do something. Luke and Michael are off changing the world, Joslyn has been traveling to all corners of the earth and getting into all sorts of trouble and I’ve been...hiding. Hiding behind different majors and colleges and my big-ass mansion. I just wanted to feel like I was being active instead of passive.”
“Why don’t you get out there and do something you want to do? Not something your sister or family makes you feel obligated to fix or find out. But you have the time and resources to really make a difference if you wanted to.” Jace tried to think about how different his life would be if he’d grown up with money. Would his dad have drunk less, or would his poison just be higher-shelf liquor? And who knew how different things would’ve ended up for his brother.
“I’ve been thinking about it a lot. Maybe now that Joslyn is going away, it’s my turn to live and stop playing it so safe.”
Before he could ask her what she meant by that, the GPS told him to get off the highway and onto a secluded service drive. The lights along the road were sporadically burnt out, making it harder to see anything in the dark street. “I’m just going to make a wild guess that this isn’t the type of area Joslyn would usually frequent?”
They drove along an abandoned old dock road. Every mile or so, there would be a building along the water with a light on, but for the most part the entire area seemed abandoned and boarded up.
Emma had her nose practically pressed to the glass as she tried to make out their surroundings. “Yeah. This isn’t exactly her scene.”
The GPS signaled their destination was on their right, and Jace turned in to one of the empty, crumbling parking lots outside the dock. He put the car into park and for a moment they both just sat there. He wanted to get out and look around for any reason Joslyn would come out here, but he didn’t want to leave Emma in the car alone. Or have her step out of the car. He was unarmed and had no idea what was out there, but he was damn certain this was a textbook definition of a sketchy neighborhood.
Before he could make up his mind, Emma pushed open her door. “Are you coming?” She stepped out.
“Damn it,” he muttered under his breath as he got out and locked the doors behind him.
Emma looked around and wrinkled her nose. “I guess the stories about Jersey weren’t exaggerated.”
“Well, you can’t exactly judge an entire state by this.” He scanned the surroundings and looked for any sign of movement. Instinctively, he reached around to where he’d have his gun strapped to his thigh during missions, but he came up empty. Once again, if Emma had told him she was meeting some random dude that afternoon, he probably would’ve actually come prepared. “I don’t think we’ll be able to find anything here.”
“Let’s at least see if the door to the dock is open. There has to be some reason Joslyn would come out here and put a fake name in her GPS.” Without waiting for a response, she headed toward the boathouse at the front of the dock.
“My guess is that she was meeting someone here. I doubt we’ll be able to find out anything by breaking and entering.” Though by the looks of the broken windows on the dilapidated boathouse, there had already been plenty of activity there.
Emma turned the knob on the door and it swung open. She looked over her shoulder at Jace. “What about no breaking and just entering?”
“I’m going first.” He brushed past her. There probably wasn’t anyone too dangerous inside, but the last thing he wanted to do was have Emma sneak up on someone high on some strange cocktail of drugs.
The inside of the boathouse was in just as bad, if not worse, condition than the outside. The salt water wasn’t gentle and the metal and wood had seen better days. He pulled out his phone and turned on the flashlight app. The entryway was closed off from the enclosed dock, which was big enough to hold a moderate-sized cargo or fishing boat. This canal area was too small for any of the bigger ships to make their way through, but it had direct access to the ocean and was probably prime location for all sorts of questionable things to make their way into the country.
“Let’s make this quick.” He turned to the rusty metal cabinets. “We’ll do a quick scan to see if there’s a USB drive here, but if we don’t find anything in ten minutes, we’re getting out of here.”
Emma shook her head. “Are you afraid of something?”
“Yeah. I’m afraid the hundred thousand dollar car outside is going to be missing by the time we’re finished here,” he muttered as he pulled open the first cabinet. It was mostly empty except for a few abandoned mugs and plates. He reached up and carefully felt around the top shelf where he couldn’t see to make sure there was nothing hidden out of sight.
Emma followed suit, though she seemed much more apprehensive before she stuck her hand into the darkness. Good. At least she had the sense to be nervous about something. This place was straight out of a horror movie. If anything, she was the one who was supposed to want to get out as soon as possible.
“We can come back tomorrow when we can actually see and look around again,” she said.
Jace went through the last cabinet and then started in on the drawers, which were mostly populated by cobwebs. “Sounds good to me,” he muttered as he came up empty. “I’m going to take a look by the dock. Stay here.”
He opened the door to the enclosed dock area. The only sound was the crickets from outside and the gentle lapping of the waves against the old wood. Emma stood in the doorway as he made his way over the creaking boards of the dock. “Why am I staying here? If you think the boards are going to break, I weigh less than you.”
“Yeah, but I can guarantee I’ve spent more time in water-based military training than you.”
“Smart ass,” she muttered. “Why don’t we just leave? We can’t see a damn thing anyway.”
Jace ran his light over the shelf along the side of the wall, but there was mostly empty beer cans and cigarette butts. Whatever Joslyn had been doing out here, they’d probably never know unless she specifically told them. “Yeah, we can head out.” Right as Jace turned to leave, he hit a soft spot in the wood. He heard the ripping of decaying wood fibers and blindly reached out, gripping onto the shelf as his foot fell through.
“Oh my God!” shouted Emma.
“Stay there!” Jace carefully balanced between his one good foot and his hand on the shelf as he tried to pull himself without ripping the shelf off the wall or causing more damage to the dock. After a few tense seconds, he once again had both feet firmly planted on the wood. He looked around him, praying his phone hadn’t ended u
p in the water.
“It’s over here.” Emma took a step toward him. Not three feet in and the boards once again gave way. But Emma didn’t have his reflexes. There was no time for her to grab anything to hold her steady as she plunged into the black water beneath him.
Jace lunged forward and slid on the dock as he approached the hole she fell through. He forced himself to remain calm as he stared down into the darkness, but less than two seconds later, he headed for the side and took a deep breath as he prepared to jump over.
A form emerged from the water right beside him, and he turned to see Emma taking gasping breaths as her legs and arms worked to tread water.
Jace let out a sigh of relief as he narrowed his eyes at her. “What part of stay there didn’t you understand?” He held out a hand as she got closer to the dock.
“That’s not fair! You walked way farther out than me and you’re a beast!” She grabbed his hand and he helped haul her up. After her torso started to clear the top of the dock, he wrapped an arm around her back and pulled her flush against him as he carefully rolled them both over until her feet cleared the dock. Freezing cold water soaked through his shirt and jeans, but he didn’t let her go. He could only imagine how deep the bitter cold, dirty water soaked into her bones. She lay still on top of him for a moment and he could feel the shivers she was probably trying to suppress.
“Are you okay?”
Another shiver racked through her. “No. I’m cold and pissed.”
Her Southern accent was more noticeable in her anger, and he cracked a small smile. “You have seaweed in your hair.” He plucked it out and tossed it back into the black water.
Emma set her hands on his chest and pushed up. “Do you have any idea how much seaweed was down there? It was disgusting! I thought it was going to grab me and pull me down.”
Jace had swum through his fair share of seaweed-infested water and he knew exactly how disconcerting it could be. But he couldn’t stop himself from giving her a hard time. “Come on. You’re not saying a little old plant scared you?”
She gave him a playful punch to his chest. “You’re such a show-off. I can’t believe that you made it all the way out there without an issue and I took two steps and fell in.” She glanced to her left and rolled her eyes. “Not even your phone fell in after all that!”
Jace let out a laugh and caught her wrist as she went in for another blow. “Hey, I’m not going to apologize for being good at what I do. I walked on the edge closer to the support. You ran out right onto the weakest part of the planks.”
Emma stared down at him and in a flash, the joking air was gone, replaced by something decidedly hotter than the ocean water that now soaked through their clothes. “I guess I hired the best,” she said softly.
Jace saw the moment she realized that they’d crossed a line and she started to push away. He gripped her arms and held her steady. “Stay to the edge, okay?”
She nodded as she gently stood. Jace had been cold before, but as he lost the added warmth of her body heat, a deep chill set in. Once she was up, she stood still. “You want to head out and I’ll watch where you step?”
“Sounds good.” He rolled to his side so he could just reach his phone and then gingerly stood. Once he was steadily up, he took shorter strides so Emma could easily follow his path and stuck toward the edge of the dock. When he was at the door, he turned and held a hand out to Emma to help her over the threshold. Luckily the car was still in the lot, and he immediately turned the heat on full blast.
To Emma’s credit, she didn’t complain about the cold, but as soon as warm air was spitting out, she held shaking hands up to the vents.
Jace put the car in reverse and backed out of the lot. “I’ll get you back home in no time,” he promised.
“No! I can’t go back to Luke’s like this!”
“I thought you weren’t as worried about what he thought?”
Emma emphatically shook her head. “He told me that this was dangerous and if he sees me walking in like a drowned rat, it will make his already oversized ego expand even further. Just let me get cleaned up at your place. Maybe when it’s later, I can even sneak back and he won’t even notice how filthy I am.”
Jace tightened his hands on the steering wheel. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.” It wasn’t that he didn’t want her at his place. The problem was that he wanted her there way too much. Between kissing her last night and getting a bit more than professional with her after pulling her out of the water, he was skating on thin ice at the moment.
And if it weren’t for the freezing cold water, she’d already know exactly how much being close to her got to him.
“Come on. I’ll be quick, I promise. If I make a mess on the way in, I’ll even pay for a cleaning service so your security deposit is safe, okay? Everything is white at Luke’s and I can’t exactly clean all night without him noticing.”
Jace tried to think of any reason he could give her for why his place was out of the question. Damn it. If she hadn’t been there already, he could’ve had a lie ready in a second. But he couldn’t blame a roommate or fussy hotel policy for keeping her away. “Okay,” he finally said. “But you’ll have to be quick.”
She smiled in victory as she huddled closer to the heater. Really, this shouldn’t be a problem. She was soaking wet and covered in dirt, and tiny remnants of the seaweed and algae she’d fought her way through clung to her clothes. Hell, she didn’t even smell good at this point.
But damn if he couldn’t stop thinking about the feel of her. Twice now he’d had her in his arms. The first time had been an act, okay. But just now at the dock...that was playful. As though they were on some kind of date. She’d smiled down at him and laughed all while her soft curves were splayed across his body.
And now she was going to be in his apartment, which consisted of a bedroom and bathroom. She’d probably have to shower, too, so he knew he was going to be in trouble.
Because in a few minutes, Emma would be naked in his bedroom.
Emma let the warm water from the faucet wash over her shoulders and stream down her back. Dirty water pooled by the drain as the dirt and grime started to come off. Another night, another strike out. She turned around and held her head back as she let her hair get soaked.
She looked at the soap and shampoo lined up on the side of the shower. All scent-free. She thought back to the times she’d been alone with him, only then realizing that she hadn’t been overwhelmed by the smell of cologne that seemed to follow some men around wherever they went. Emma picked up the bar of soap and ran it up and down her arms to get all the dirt that hadn’t wiped away yet.
After quickly shampooing her hair, she shut off the water and stepped out. As much as she’d love a long and relaxing shower, she didn’t want Jace to think she was taking advantage of his water. She pulled one of his green towels off the rack and wrapped it around her, tucking the fold into the top of the towel to hold it together before she used another towel to dry her hair as much as possible.
Biting her lip, she stared at her fuzzy form in the fogged-over mirror. Should she just walk out like this? He said he’d have clothes for her, but it felt rather immature to crack the door an inch and ask him to pass them through. They were both mature adults, and she had worn dresses that bared more skin than the oversized towel wrapped around her.
But she’d never worn those in front of Jace. And they weren’t surrounded by people, as if they were at a party. It was just the two of them in his one-room apartment. And, as much as she tried to push it to the back of her mind, they’d kissed the night before. Sure, it might’ve meant nothing to him, but there had been a few moments during the day that the line between employee and employer had been blurred.
She let out a soft laugh. She had a feeling Jace didn’t have much respect for lines and boundaries. No matter if Jace had been more pleasant with her today, he wasn’t about to jump all over her because she wasn’t wearing as many clothes as normal. She would jus
t walk out there like a normal adult woman and he would react like a sane adult man. Nothing to worry about.
With a steadying breath, Emma pulled open the door and stepped out. Jace sat at the small desk in the corner and scrolled through the computer. He swiveled around and for a moment, he didn’t say anything. His eyes scanned over her body and she saw his Adam’s apple bob as he took a deep gulp.
“I’m sorry,” she muttered. “I just need some clothes.”
He stood and shook his head. “No. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to...” He broke off and took a deep breath. “I have some clothes over here for you.” He crossed the room and had to walk in front of her to get to the other side of the bed, where he’d set out some folded clothes. “Nothing fancy. Just a t-shirt and sweatpants, but at least they’re clean and dry.”
“It’s perfect.” She held out a hand.
“I’m sure they’ll be big, but the pants have a drawstring, so they should stay up.”
“Thanks.” She started to turn to the bathroom, but at the last minute, she twisted back around. “What did you intend to say?”
“When?” he asked, but his clenched jaw told her he knew exactly what she was asking about.
“I walked out of the bathroom and you said you didn’t mean to...something. I’d like you to finish your sentence.”
He cocked his head and considered her for a moment. “I don’t think you really want me to answer that.”
Emma squared her shoulders. “I think I’m a grown woman and I asked you a question.”
“Fine. I didn’t mean to ogle you like a fourteen-year-old virgin. I should’ve been more professional than that.”
The corner of her mouth hooked up. “I knew it! You were affected by that kiss last night.”
“The kiss you started. And yes, I’m a red-blooded male. You can’t expect me to be a robot when a woman like you makes a move.”
Her heart beat faster in her chest as she replayed his words in her mind. She’d gotten what she wanted. An admission that she wasn’t the only one going insane. Now she should turn back and get dressed and pretend this whole conversation never happened. “A woman like me?”
Devereaux Billionaires Complete Series: Books 1-4 Page 10