“Yes.” Ana gripped the back of an old wicker chair. “I already figured out Terence was your inside man. And it’s obvious the shooter wanted him out of the way. A three-way split is much more lucrative. But why not make it a two-way split? Or better yet, take it all. Frank, Eric, Terence, and someone else. Who’s the other guy, Mom?”
“I don’t know.”
“I don’t believe you. You had this planned down to the second.” Tilly and Bill Miller were known to spend years planning a job that would take only seconds to pull off. Ana was afraid that since her dad had died, her mom had focused on the heist to bury her grief. And she’d dragged Frankie into it with her.
Tilly looked at her with stricken eyes. “There was no fourth guy in the plan. Just Terence, Frankie, and Eric. You know it’s safer to keep the number of people involved to the bare minimum.”
Ana knew neither Frankie nor Eric would’ve deviated. Tilly would’ve trained them better than that. Most likely Terence had brought in someone to guard his interests, someone he’d thought he could trust... and ended up paying for it.
“Jesus, Mom. The shooter is going to turn on Frankie and Eric the first chance he gets, if he hasn’t already. I need to get to him before that happens.”
Tilly picked up her teacup and saucer, the china rattling as her hands shook. “Are you here for the reward or the gems?”
“You know why I’m here. You knew I’d come, because you knew who the insurer was before you went after the diamonds. That was part of the fun. I’m sure you figured there’d be no harm done—you mastermind your perfect heist, Frank follows in dad’s footsteps by pulling it off, your daughter claims five percent of the take in a legitimate finder’s fee, and the owner gets their gems back.”
“No one was supposed to get hurt,” Tilly breathed, looking stricken.
“Someone always gets hurt, Mom. They don’t make stealing illegal just to spoil your fun.” Sighing, Ana pinched the bridge of her nose. “When were Frankie and Eric supposed to show up here?”
“Not for a week.” Tilly met her gaze with unusual somberness. “We knew the insurance company would bring you in on this, and we didn’t want any lines being drawn between there and here and you.”
“Thanks,” Ana said sourly.
“Frank’s not even supposed to call until he gets down to Florida. He and Eric planned on stretching the trip out over a few days.”
Crossing her arms, Ana snapped, “No matter how clever you are, you went into this knowing I could face prosecution along with you. By not turning you in, I could be seen as an accessory after the fact. And if I took the finder’s fee and Frankie’s involvement ever got out, I’d have a hell of a time arguing that I wasn’t a participant in a multi-million dollar fraud against the insurance company.”
“Jake would never let that happen,” Tilly argued.
“He isn’t God, Mom,” Ana muttered, her stomach knotting at the thought of facing her high school sweetheart again. Jake Monroe—a man she’d never gotten over. “I’ll have to talk to him. Maybe Eric’s contacted him. I’d expect it, considering how protective Jake is.”
“Will you be staying in Whisper Creek until this is worked out?”
“I’ll be staying tonight, at least. If Terence survives—God willing—I’ll be heading back to Manhattan to see him. And if I sniff out any leads on who Terence might’ve brought in as the fourth, I’ll take off to pursue those. How’s the Wi-Fi at the house?”
“Still not good. I use the computer here at the shop when I need reliable internet access.”
“Then I’ll stay at Victoria’s Inn.”
Picking up her briefcase, Ana exhaled harshly. “Let me know if you hear anything.”
“Anastasia.” Her mother’s voice stopped her when she reached the door. “You’ll watch out for Frankie, won’t you? He’ll be all right?”
“I’ll do my best, Mom.” But she couldn’t make any promises. She couldn’t even be sure she wouldn’t go down with them.
Reaching for her sunglasses on the top of her head, she stepped outside.
And found a deputy U.S. Marshal waiting next to her car.
Chapter Two
Ana’s breath caught and her heartbeat accelerated with a mixture of surprise and guilt.
The deputy was a tall and leanly built man with cool blue eyes and a firm mouth. His chiseled face was impassive and his arms casually crossed. His long legs were braced slightly apart, anchoring him to the asphalt as he assessed her from head to toe from beneath the brim of his hat.
“Deputy,” she greeted him, regaining her composure.
“Anastasia.” His voice was whisky-rough and it spoke her name like a caress. “What brings you back?”
“Pit stop during a work assignment.” She shoved her free hand into her pocket to hide how it trembled. Wondering if he had more news than Tilly did, she asked, “Where’s Eric?”
Jake’s lips pursed. He had a gorgeous mouth. Neither too full or too thin and perfectly sculpted. That mouth knew every inch of her body. She still had dreams about what he could do with it. “He headed down to Florida with your brother.”
She nodded and somehow refrained from shifting on her feet. “I never did like Florida. Too much humidity for me.”
“How long are you gonna be in town?”
“A few days, at most.”
He adjusted his weight, his body moving with sleek fluidity. “So why are we wasting time talking about nothing?”
She stared at him, absorbing everything about the man she’d left behind. He was harder than before. Bigger, too. He’d been twenty-two the last time she saw him. He was fully a man now, his frame filled out. The formidable strength of will he’d exuded as long as she’d known him hadn’t changed. “Are we supposed to be doing something else?”
“Getting to the point would be good. You staying with Tilly?”
“No.”
“You married?”
She shook her head. “You?”
“No. You’ll stay at my place, then.”
Heat shimmered through her, her pulse quickening. She hadn’t expected him to move so fast. If she was honest, she would admit that she’d been afraid he would brush her off, having long gotten over her. Worse, she’d wondered if he had a woman in his life, someone who had a normal family she could be proud of and he could be a part of.
“How’s your internet access?” She was thinking about how much closer she’d be to getting a bead on Eric if she was staying at Jake’s house. She would also be closer to Jake himself, the man she loved so much it was like an aching wound in her chest.
“Sweetheart,” he drawled, his gaze hot. “You really want to start out that way? I was planning on easing you back into it, but if you’re eager to be punished, you just let me know.”
Her body responded to the sensual threat with familiar alacrity. Jake had always been able to make her ready for him with just a look, because she knew exactly where that look would lead—to dark pleasure that took her to her limits. “I have to work, Jake. It was a valid question.”
“I’m not saying it wasn’t. Just that it’s insulting to imply that the quality of the Wi-Fi in my house has a damn thing to do with whether or not I’ll be nailing you into my mattress tonight.”
She winced inwardly. He’d always been raw and blunt when talking about sex, but there was an undercurrent of hurt anger to his words now and it broke her heart. Not that she could show it. Her sympathy wasn’t what he wanted or needed, and it wouldn’t be fair of her to give it anyway, considering she was the cause of his unhappiness.
“Well—” She cleared her throat. “Glad we cleared that up.”
His smile sent goose bumps racing across her skin. “I’m not as far outside of town as Tilly is. My internet is just fine.”
“Good. I’ll need it.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of keys. “You know how to get there.”
Ana took them from him, swallowing hard at the sight of
the keychain. It was a round piece of wood, a one-inch thick cross-section of a small branch. She’d made the thing as an assignment in woodworking class. On one side she’d burned the letters Jake + Ana surrounded by little decorative hearts and asterisks. The other side read Forever.
“I’ve got some business to take care of,” he said. “I’ll call you at the house to see if you’re up for dinner in town or if you’d like me to bring something home with me.”
“I could cook.”
“Could you now?” He grinned. “I’d like that.”
“Sure you would,” she said dryly. “You’re a man.”
Jake pulled a business card out and gave it to her. “That has my office’s number and my cell number on it. Call me if you need me for anything.”
She held his gaze. “Anything?”
“Been that way for twelve years now, Ana. Despite spending ten of those waiting for you to get your ass back here.”
Ana took a deep breath. He was everything she’d always wanted, but could never have. Lawmen and grifters didn’t mix. “I’m just passing through, Jake.”
“So you said.” He touched the brim of his hat. “See you later.”
~*~
Ana drove her Jag slowly down the tree-lined street, her gaze taking in just how much the area had changed since she’d left a decade ago. At one time—back when Jake’s home had belonged to his parents—the house had been one of only a few on a new street. Now the homes lined up one after another, forming the perfect picture of Small-town America.
She parked at the curb in front of the ranch-style house, smiling at the white picket fence that said a lot about the man he was. The yard was immaculately landscaped and a swing hung from the porch rafters. It was just the sort of normal family home she’d always fantasized she would have one day.
Unfortunately, she wasn’t normal and neither was her family. Her brain was filled with a variety of larcenous information, which was how she’d come to be an insurance investigator specializing in fine art and jewelry theft—her mind worked like a criminal’s.
Keeping Jake had never been an option for her, despite how much they loved each other. His brain had always worked out problems from the opposite side of the law, and he’d always planned on working in law enforcement. She couldn’t imagine him being anything other than a cop.
How could she ever ask someone like him to connect his life to those of a band of criminals? The reason she’d come back only proved how right she had been to walk away. What would it do to him, to his career, to their love if she went to jail? She’d known that one day Tilly or Frankie would land into trouble and when that happened, it would impact Jake. She couldn’t do that to him. In the end, she’d loved him enough to leave him.
“Yet here you are at his place,” she murmured to herself, grabbing her weekend bag from the passenger seat. She slung it over her shoulder and opened the gate, admiring the cobblestone pathway to the front door and knowing Jake must’ve laid it himself. She imagined him outside on a sunny day, shirtless and sheened with sweat, the muscles of his back and arms flexing as he worked his way across the lush lawn.
She wondered what he’d been thinking of while he was working. Had he imagined a wife waddling over it while pregnant with his child? Or his kids skipping along it on the way in from school? Or a dog bounding over it as neighborhood children played in the yard with his own?
Her hand clenched around the keychain she’d made for him when she was just sixteen.
Been that way for twelve years now, Ana.
Jesus. That was a heartbreaker. And yet she was touched that his love was as true as hers.
She let herself in, dropped her bag on a black leather couch, and took in the surprisingly modern style of the furnishings. He’d gone with pale blue and chrome with black furniture, and the cool palette went remarkably well with the warmth of the gleaming hardwood floors.
If she’d had any sense at all, she would have stayed at the inn. Leaving had shattered her last time. What would she suffer through this time? What would Jake?
Taking a deep breath, Ana pulled the much-loved scent of him deep into her lungs, her entire body tingling with awareness. Jake had been her first lover and her senses were trained to be attuned to his. He’d trained them, first with his hands and mouth, and later with restraints and the delicious bite of pain. It was a lifestyle they’d fallen into together, both of them realizing that she had a deep-seated need to surrender to his authority, and in the process, he’d ruined her for other men. Sometimes, when she was lying in bed at night, she wondered if she’d ruined him for other women.
Ana dug out her laptop from her bag and carried it into the dining room. Jake had a square, high table and she kicked off her heels before climbing onto a barstool. As her laptop powered up, she pulled out her cell phone and his business card, and texted him.
Password for your wi-fi?
A moment later, he replied. An@m1ne69
She stared at the code and smiled. “Ana-mine-69, huh?”
Wishful thinking or a hint? she texted back.
He answered fast. An order.
“Well. Some things never change.” Ana flexed her fingers and rolled her shoulders back, focusing her mind on the work ahead.
She was going to dig up information on Terence Parker and she was going to break the law doing it. She pushed aside her guilt, knowing it had to be done. “I hope you pull through, Terence.”
Ana had decided to focus on his relatives. She could imagine how it would feel to go into the heist as the lone outsider in a family group—a mother, her son and his best friend. Although Eric wasn’t technically related to them, he was practically a brother to Frankie. Terence would understandably want someone similarly close to him on his side.
God... Frankie. Her throat tightened with fear and her eyes stung. Her baby brother had never really had a chance to walk the straight and narrow. And if something happened to Eric, it would destroy Jake.
“One step at a time,” she muttered to herself. “Find the fourth.”
~*~
“You’re making the rest of us look bad, Jake.”
Jake looked up from the paperwork he was trying to clear so he could take the next day off. Luke Stiles—one of his fellow deputies and a longtime friend—stood in the doorway, grinning. “I heard Ana’s back in town and staying at your place.”
“Ah, Whisper Creek, where the whispering about other people’s business never stops.” Leaning back in his chair, Jake gave himself permission to think about the woman who was as much a part of him as his badge. She’d been the most important thing in his life since her family drove into town when she was sixteen. Together they’d helped each other cross the threshold from adolescence to adulthood, and they’d discovered what they needed from the person they loved. A lot of people never figured that out.
And some never found their soul mates.
He still didn’t get why they weren’t together. He understood that she’d needed to get out of Whisper Creek to spread her wings, but he couldn’t figure out why she hadn’t let him go with her. He’d cajoled and begged and threatened and teased, making her tell him a hundred times over that she’d never leave him. But in his heart he’d known she would go; he’d seen the truth in her eyes.
She loved him; he knew that and didn’t doubt it. There would never be another man for her, not one who knew her as deeply and completely as he did. They’d experienced so much together, raw and searingly intimate encounters that bound them tighter than gold rings and vows.
But as the years passed and she didn’t come back to him, he realized something was keeping her away and today proved it. The love was still there in her beautiful green eyes. She still wanted him and obeyed him, still craved his hunger for her. If she left again, he’d have his answer—it wasn’t him; it was Whisper Creek. And if location was what was keeping them apart, he’d paddle her ass for not saying so.
Luke leaned against the front of Jake’s desk. “Is she
back for good?”
“Don’t know yet.”
“Ah... okay. You two coming into town for dinner?”
“She’s cooking.”
“Really? You should know I was in Home Ec with her for a semester. She couldn’t crack an egg.”
Jake smiled. “Warning noted.”
“You sure about that?” Luke’s smile faded. “She did a number on you last time, Jake. I don’t want to see you like that ever again.”
“I’m not the only one who got hurt. Guess Ana and I can’t quit each other.”
He waited until Luke left the room, then pulled out his cell to call Eric. His younger brother was supposed to check in twice a day, but he hadn’t called since yesterday morning. Which, unfortunately, wasn’t totally unexpected.
“Hey, Eric,” he said, when he reached voicemail. “You’re supposed to be checking in. Yes, I know you’re a grown man now, but this isn’t about what’s good for you, it’s about doing something good for me. I worry.”
He took a breath, thinking.
“Text me when you get a chance or leave me a message. Shit, send me a picture if you can’t be bothered to type or talk. But don’t send me a damn mug shot or I’ll be kicking your ass all the way to jail.”
Chapter Three
Ana finished her report and emailed it to her contact at the insurance agency. It was difficult showing progress when she didn’t want to give up any names. Even using the guard’s name was tricky, because he might flip on Frankie or Eric if he felt the heat. So she’d reported that she was researching the backgrounds of all the store’s employees, which didn’t make her look any more competent that the local cops, but she’d dug up a couple dark spots that would’ve been viable leads if she didn’t already know who was responsible for the crime. The information should be enough to make it look like she was worth her fee... at least for today.
As for her hunch, she’d discovered that Terence had two brothers—one was a tenured professor in Virginia and the other had a sealed record that she’d hacked. Richard Parker had a previous armed robbery conviction when he was fifteen and a variety of petty larceny and drug charges. His record was clean as an adult, but her parents proved that not getting caught didn’t mean you were straight.
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