I was already regretting that little speech. It didn’t feel good to say those things to her, even though they were true. Resting a hand on my stomach to settle it down, I took a few steadying breaths and continued my search for Alex. I finally found him sulking over a big plate of roast beef. Stopping to gather my courage, I pushed myself forward.
“Hey, there you are,” I said, keeping Devon in the forefront of my mind as a reminder of why I was torturing myself tonight. “I’m ready for that dance now.”
Alex looked up from his plate, his expression one of suspicion. “Really?”
I nodded with a tight smile. It was the best I could do.
“All right.” Still keeping a wary eye on me, Alex found a place to set his plate down and then stood there awkwardly.
“All right.” I repeated, setting down my glass. “Let’s do this.”
The dance floor was crowded and high volume, with people laughing and trying to talk over each other. I led him to the edge by the front door, hoping it was far enough from the band to be able to hear each other or this was going to be for nothing. He seemed to be less skeptical as I let him slide his hands to my lower back. As I lifted my hands to rest on his shoulders, I kept my arms stiff so he couldn’t pull me into him. His cologne could’ve knocked out a horse. His palms were hot and damp through the cocktail dress. I forced myself to relax and focus.
He leaned toward my face. “Have I told you that you look beautiful tonight, as always.”
I dropped my head, trying to escape the smell of roast beef and cologne. Not a pleasant combination. Come on, Elle. You can do this. Use your womanly wiles, whatever that means.
Raising my chin, I said, “Thank you. And thanks for inviting me. This is a great party. Very festive.” How was I going to bring up the night Devon’s parents were killed and what he knew? “I haven’t been much in the Christmas spirit this year.”
“Why not?” Alex asked, his hands sliding down to rest on my hips.
I unclenched my teeth so I could answer him. “Well, you know ... Devon’s been in an awful mood ever since Clyde Lynch was released from prison. I mean, how would you feel if you knew someone had gotten away with murdering your parents?”
“Terrible, of course. I’m not an animal.” His chin jerked back and his gaze slipped off mine. When he looked back down at me, his suspicion had returned. “So, you and Devon are still ... together?”
We wouldn’t be if he knew I was here. “For the moment, yes.” True enough. Here goes nothing. I held his gaze. “Alex, it’s very flattering that you ... like me. I know there’s a good guy in here.” I rested a palm on his chest. “A guy who would do the right thing, even if it’s the hard thing. Even if it’s the dangerous thing. Because, you’re not a coward. Are you?”
His face twisted with offense. “Of course not.”
“I thought not,” I said gently. “So, think for a moment if it were your parents who were killed ... murdered. And someone knew something that could put the people involved behind bars for a long time. But that someone wouldn’t come forward with the information because they’d been threatened. Well, wouldn’t you think that person was a coward? Do you really want Devon Burke thinking you’re a coward?”
He stopped moving but his hands squeezed my hips firmly. “Look, Elle ...” His gaze suddenly moved behind me and a dark cloud passed over his face. “Speak of the devil.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
I closed my eyes. Oh God, please no. I didn’t want to look, but I had to know. Dropping my hands, I turned slowly and our eyes met.
Devon stood there in the doorway, his expression and his body completely still. But his eyes said it all. They were a hot, blue fire filled with disbelief, pain and anger. Time seemed frozen and all the noise of the party fell away. There was only the sound of my heart and blood pounding in my ears. All I could do was wait. Wait for him to turn and walk out of my life forever.
But instead, he slowly buttoned his suit jacket and moved toward us with the grace of a panther stalking its prey, his eyes and anger fixed on Alex. I stepped in front of him at the last second, seeing the murderous intention in his eyes.
“Devon, don’t,” I whispered through a constricted throat and heart. “It’s not worth it.”
His gaze swung to me and almost knocked me back. I’d never had his anger directed at me before and it stung like a slap. Tears pricked my eyes. I tried to apologize but I was frozen, like a gazelle staring into the face of the lion. Only I wasn’t afraid of him, I was afraid for him. “Please,” I managed.
His gaze tracked down to my hip where Alex still had one hand resting, then back up to Alex behind me. His neck was flushed. His jaw twitched. His whole body tensed and exuded a threat. “Kindly get your bloody hand off of my girlfriend.” His voice was a whisper but held the threat of violence as surely as if he’d yelled.
I felt the warmth leave my hip. Maybe Alex wasn’t so dumb after all.
Then Devon slipped his hand in mine. “Let’s go.”
We’d only made it a handful of steps before Alex yelled, “Hey, Elle can make her own choice. She’s a grown woman.”
Or he is as dumb as I thought.
Devon stopped abruptly, his hand squeezing mine, his other hand curling into a fist. I could feel his body vibrating. I wrapped my hand firmly around Devon’s arm and turned back to Alex. “It’s okay. I’ll be fine.”
Devon continued forward, pulling me through the doors into the outside air.
“Elle! Devon! Wait!” Hope was running behind to catch up with us.
I stopped in my tracks, pulling him up short, needing the presence of my best friend, my rock, at this moment. “Devon, wait.”
Reluctantly he stopped, then dropped my hand and began pacing, running his hands through his hair feverishly.
It was hard to watch, knowing I did this to him. I hurt him this bad and there was nothing I could say to fix it. The image of me in Alex’s arms would be burned into his memory. The tears fell. I’d never felt so helpless. What have I done?
Hope reached me, wrapped her arms around me. “It”ll be okay,” she whispered in my ear. “He loves you.” Then turning to Devon she yelled, “Stop acting like the jealous boyfriend for one minute and listen.”
Her raised voice worked. Devon stopped in his tracks and turned an exasperated stare on her.
Hope glared right back. “She did this for you, you know. Put herself in the crosshairs of a man she can’t stand to try and change his mind about testifying against the dirtbags who murdered your parents.”
He moved closer to us, his hands perched on his hips, his eyes darting between us and then finally resting on me. “You lied to me, Elle. Purposefully. You didn’t tell me you were coming here tonight. With ...” he threw a hand back at the building. “With him. It was a betrayal of trust.”
I wanted to run into his arms. To just hold him. I knew that’s what we both needed right now, but I couldn’t handle the rejection if he pushed me away. It would crush me. So, instead I held my ground and tried to reach him with my eyes, pleading for him to understand. “And what would you have said if I’d told you my plan to come here and try to talk some sense into Alex?”
“Not to go, of course.” His Irish accent grew thicker with his anger.
“Exactly. But I had to try.”
“It’s not worth it, Elle.” Devon’s anger dissolved into pain.
Hope’s arms were crossed tightly as she watched our exchange. “It’s not worth Elle spending a few hours with Alex to have a chance at putting your parents’ murderers behind bars? You know that’s not true.”
Devon shook his head. “He”ll never testify.”
Hope argued back. “But what if he will? What if he just needed someone to call him out as the coward he is?”
Devon rubbed his forehead. “I just ... I just ... can’t right now.” He lifted his head. “Elle, will ya come home with me now?”
The sadness in his voice hit me like a gut punch. With a
mixture of relief that he even still wanted me at his house and dread at what the night held, I hugged Hope, promising to call her tomorrow and followed Devon to his Jeep. I’d pick up my car tomorrow. There was no way I was leaving his side tonight.
A silence filled the space between us on the drive home. A silence that wasn’t empty at all, but pregnant with unspoken words, unwieldy emotions. Hurt. Sadness. Fear. Anger. Love. A storm was raging between us, and it seemed neither of us trusted ourselves to open our mouth for fear of what would come out. I swallowed the panic that threatened to blossom into a full-fledged attack.
Instead we moved like broken robots. The Christmas lights and wiry snowman seemed to mock our sadness as we entered the house and greeted the dogs. Buddha’s warm body was a welcomed comfort as I buried my face in his fur, and he licked the tear away that had broken free.
Devon held the door open wider. “I’ll take them down for a spell on the beach.”
Nodding, I went and checked on my mother. Luckily, she was snoring peacefully. My body collapsed against the door frame, and I stayed there for God knows how long, watching her with a deepening sadness. How do you force someone to care about themselves? To value themselves? Did my biological father have a hand in destroying her self-worth when he left her pregnant with me? Or had she always been this way? I’d never know. Her childhood was one of a hundred things she’d never speak of.
The nurse’s soft footsteps padded behind me from the bedroom across the hall. “I got her to walk around the yard today, but she’s still refusing to eat anything except peanut butter and jelly.”
“That’s all she thinks she deserves,” I whispered.
“What’s that?” she asked.
I sighed. “Nevermind. I’ll talk to her tomorrow.” I pushed my drained body off the wall. “You’re a life saver. Thanks for being here for her.”
I took a moment to gather my courage before I entered the bedroom, expecting Devon to be sitting on the edge of the bed, waiting to start the argument that was inevitable. Surprisingly, the room was empty. Buddha trotted in from the opened front door and gently nudged my hand. He’d brought in the scent of seawater with him. Devon must still be down on the beach with Petey.
“I’m all right, big guy. Mommy just did something really dumb.” I scratched his ears and kissed the spot between his eyes. “Go lay down.” Instead, he followed me around as I slipped out of the cocktail dress, shoes and jewelry. I desperately needed to wash Alex’s cologne off my body. Under the cover of the shower noise and steam, I released the tears that I’d managed to mostly hold in check.
When I was scrubbed raw, my skin red, my emotions emptied, I opened the bathroom door and peered out. The room was dark. The two dogs were stretched out on the bed. Devon was nowhere to be found.
Quickly drying off and slipping into an oversized t-shirt, I flipped on the light. There, on my nightstand, was a note. My heart dropped like a stone. With shaking hands I opened it and read:
“Elle, I need some time to sort through things, spending the night inland. We’ll talk tomorrow. Devon”
Clutching the note to my heart, I fell back on the bed. I stared up at the ceiling fan, wishing I could go back in time and change this night. Forget about my stupid plan with Alex. Devon was right. He wouldn’t ever testify anyway. All I’d managed to do was hurt the one man I would die for.
Will he ever be able to forgive me? What if it was he who had betrayed me, with my worst enemy? What if he went off behind my back with Georgia Waters? Would it matter if it was for a good reason? Closing my eyes, the tears ran down into my ears. No, if I found him in her arms it wouldn’t matter at all. I’d never be able to erase that image from my memory.
I cuddled up with the dogs. Then my eyes popped opened.
Wait, how did Devon know I was at the Christmas party anyway? Of course. Georgia Waters. She must’ve called him. I should’ve known she’d get even. Why couldn’t that woman just mind her own business? How many relationships did she intend on wrecking in one lifetime. Was there some homewrecker award she was going for?
“Ug,” I growled, pressing my face into Buddha’s white fur to keep from screaming.
There was no way I was going to be able to sleep tonight. I got up, threw on a pair of yoga pants and a jacket over the long t-shirt. I had to do something to keep my mind off of Devon.
I thought about Georgy as a possible suspect. Not being a Moon Key resident, he had to have come here tonight either via the ferry or his own boat. Most likely, his own boat. Would he be arrogant enough to drive it here if he was the dognapper? Only one way to find out. I’d have to check the guest marina. Luckily the Christmas party would go on late into the night.
It took me thirty minutes to walk down Moon Key Drive, past the private marina and waterfront condos. The fresh air cleared my mind and I remembered what the boat was called. It was a Bowrider. When I finally arrived at the guest marina I pulled up an image of a Bowrider on my phone so I knew what I was looking for. It’d been too dark, and too much going on, the night of the botched ransom attempt for me to know the boat by sight.
I strode down the sidewalk beneath a row of tall, skinny palm trees. Boats were tied up on both sides of the marina and along the wooden walkway in the middle. Lots of boats. Visibility was limited, with just a single lamp glowing yellow in each corner of the marina and heavy cloud cover. I’d have to start from one end and make my way around.
As I walked to the far left corner, a boat engine roared to life. I whirled around. I couldn’t see past the sailboats and mini-yachts tied up in front of me, so I took off down the wooden deck.
Tripping on an uneven board, I stumbled forward and fell on my hands and knees. My palms stung. Ignoring the pain, I pushed myself up and ran. I hit the corner and made a right, sucking air hard. By the time I got to the end of the dock, the boat had made the turn behind the seawall and was almost out of the no-wake zone. With one more burst of energy, I climbed up onto the stone seawall and caught my first glimpse of the boat. It’s dark, wedged shape could definitely be a Bowrider. Two dark figures stood in the hull. Was that Georgy? And maybe his son with him? No way to tell. The boat took off, cutting through the water, leaving a white wedge of wake behind.
Resting my hands on my knees, I leaned over to catch my breath.
I spent another forty-five minutes walking the marina just to be sure, but there were no other blue and white Bowriders there. Luck was not on my side tonight.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Tuesday morning found me exhausted from restless bouts of sleep and checking my phone constantly for any word from Devon. I decided to skip my yoga practice on the beach before work. Just getting dressed was taking more energy than I had. I watched the dogs play in the backyard for a few minutes and then realized something. With all the drama yesterday, I hadn’t heard any news from Talia. The dognapper had got his ransom money Sunday night. Surely, if he was planning on returning Ginger, he would’ve found time to do it yesterday. No news was not good news.
I hurried back in, grabbed my phone and called Talia. No answer. I left a message and then texted her.
Please call me!
I heard the nurse moving about, so I went to the kitchen and made Mom an almond butter and spinach smoothie. When I walked in, the nurse was taking her blood pressure.
“Morning,” the nurse offered.
Mom glared at me. “Well, look who decided to grace our presence. And no, it’s not a good morning. I didn’t get any sleep because of all that racket those dogs made at two o’clock in the morning.”
I frowned. The dogs had barked at the door in the middle of the night but they’d calmed down and came back to bed fairly quickly. “Sorry, Mom. I’ll close them in the bedroom tonight.”
She apparently was in the mood to pick a fight because she added, “And when are you gonna do something with that rat’s nest hair of yours?”
I ignored her attempt to hurt me or suck me into an argument. Either way, I had neit
her the energy nor patience to deal with her today. “Mom, you’re going to have to get some nutrition in you. I’ve accommodated your sweet tooth as much as possible, but you have to meet me half-way. You will drink this.” I put it on the nightstand and walked out.
She was saying something to the nurse about the way I treat her, but my thoughts were on Talia. Still no text or call back. The sick feeling in my stomach grew.
When I opened the front door to leave, something white fluttered to the ground. I picked it up. It was a piece of folded typing paper. Buddha pushed past me as I unfolded it and read the typed words:
STOP INTERFERING OR THE DOG DIES
Adrenaline shot through my body as I glanced around the yard. This must’ve been what the dogs were barking about last night. My anxiety ticked up several notches. The killer had been standing on our front porch in the middle of the night. I glanced behind me for any sign of Angel. When I didn’t see her, I felt a little better.
Heading back to the kitchen, I found a plastic baggie and dropped in the note. I locked the door behind me, checking it twice before I found Buddha sitting in the empty driveway. Crap. I forgot I’d left my car at the clubhouse last night. And my bike was in the closet at the studio.
“Guess we’re walking.”
A few minutes into our walk down Moon Key Drive, a black sedan pulled up beside us.
“Elle?” a familiar voice called.
Waving, I led Buddha over to the car. “Good morning, Salma.” I nodded at the driver. “Officer.” Adjusting the yoga mat bag on my shoulder, I asked, “What’re you two doing on Moon Key this morning?”
Salma removed her sunglasses. “Devon found out Eva Gold gave her maid paid vacation for Christmas, which is uncharacteristic and unlikely considering her money troubles. We’re going back to interview her again. Didn’t trust that she’d make it to the station. You need a ride somewhere?”
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