She stirred, opening her drowsy eyes and smiling up at him. “Hey.”
Again that clenching in his chest at the heady shock of her bright blue eyes. He got it together enough to manage to smile back. “Hey, yourself.” Hearing the husky rumble of his voice, he cleared his throat. “I didn’t want to wake you, but I’m going in to work early.”
“You are? On a Saturday? Why?”
“I’m off on Sunday and Tuesday, not today.” He jingled his car keys. “If things work out the way I want them to, today is going to be a big day.”
“Hmm.” When she snuggled down into the bed, her sultry look invited him to join her instead. Though sorely tempted, he knew he’d have to resist. “Get some more sleep,” he said, already moving away. “You’ve got at least another hour. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Okay.” Her eyes had already begun to drift closed. “Have a great day.”
“You too.” One last glance, memorizing the sight of her. He knew he’d carry that image with him the rest of the day.
When he reached the police station and headed inside, he was surprised to see Lucas Gage already there.
“Morning,” Lucas greeted him. “You’re up early.”
“Yeah, so are you.” Hunter eyed the full coffeepot, slightly relieved. The standing rule was first one in had to make it. “Thanks for making coffee. I figured I’d be the one doing it.” He snagged his cup from his desk and poured, drinking it down appreciatively. “Ahh. I needed this.”
“I heard what you guys found yesterday,” Lucas said, his serious expression matching his tone. “It sounds like I have been blaming the wrong person for killing my brother.”
Cautiously, Hunter nodded. Lucas had been one of the most vocal against Demi, calling for her arrest in Bo’s murder, even though they didn’t have enough evidence to convict her. During this entire investigation, the team had been divided. As a general rule, Hunter had avoided those arguments, preferring to keep his head down and continue working toward finding out the truth. Things had gotten pretty heated with people taking sides—Gages against Coltons with no room for any space in between.
“I really thought it was Demi,” Lucas continued, scratching the back of his neck. As a bounty hunter deputized by the RRPD, he had long been in competition with Demi—and because she was a Colton and he was a Gage, there was also family-feud tension. “There was—is—so much evidence.”
“Which mostly turned out to be false,” Hunter pointed out gently. “Or planted.”
“Yeah, I heard. But at the time, it seemed genuine. I know some of the others felt that way, too. What’s killing me is that I tried to make my colleagues—her own family members—believe in her guilt. Makes me feel like roadkill.” The anguish simmering below the surface in Lucas’s voice touched Hunter.
“You lost your brother.” Hunter squeezed the other man’s shoulder. “In your grief, your actions were completely understandable. Plus, we really didn’t know if Demi was responsible or not. Until all the pieces came together, we were bumbling around in the dark just the same. All of us. Don’t beat yourself up about it.”
Lucas sighed. “Tim told me you’ve suspected Devlin for a long time.”
“I have. But until now, I didn’t have enough to go on. I’m hoping now that the chief will think I do. Plus, Goose found a bunch of data storage Devlin had hidden in his office. I turned it all over to the electronics guys and asked for a rush report. I’m hoping to get that today.”
“Interesting. Will you fill me in when you know?”
“Sure.” Hunter checked the clock. “I hope the chief comes in early. I want to run all this by him and see if he thinks there’s enough to charge Devlin with another crime. Even though it was the weekend, I’m sure he’s bonded out of jail by now.”
“Probably.” Lucas crossed over to the coffeepot and poured himself a refill. “That was pretty damn clever, too, getting him to buy stolen baseball cards.”
“Thanks.” Hunter shrugged. “I really needed that search warrant. Whatever works, right?”
Lucas chuckled and raised his coffee mug in a salute.
The front door opened and a moment later, Chief Colton came in, glancing from Hunter to Lucas and back again. “What are you two doing here so early?” he asked.
“We wanted to talk to you,” both men answered in unison.
The chief frowned. “Now? I come in early for a reason. This is my quiet time to work uninterrupted in my office and catch up. You know, before people start wanting to discuss cases with me or anything else. Especially on Saturdays.”
“But this is important,” Hunter pressed. “It’s about Devlin Harrington and the Groom Killer case.”
Shaking his head, the chief fixed himself a cup of coffee. When he turned back to face them, he motioned both to follow him. Once they were seated in the two chairs across from his desk, he sat and glanced at his watch. “Ten minutes. Go.”
Hunter and Lucas exchanged glances. Then, instead of rushing to state their cases, they laughed and both men pushed up out of their chairs. “We can come back later.”
“No.” Chief Colton motioned them to sit back down. “I want to hear you out. I really do. I just haven’t had enough coffee yet.” To prove his point, he drank deeply and sighed. “I’ve already heard what you turned up yesterday. Everyone has. News like that doesn’t stay quiet for long.”
“I know.” Hunter leaned forward in his chair. “We caught the Groom Killer.”
“Not so fast. We need more than that.”
“We’ve got the murder weapon that was found on his property,” Hunter pointed out. No prints on that, but still—the gun had been found on Devlin’s property. “And I’m still waiting to hear what the guys in electronics get off the data storage devices Goose located in Devlin’s office.”
“That could be anything,” the chief said. “Hell, we already know he was involved in purchasing stolen collector’s items. Honestly, I agree with you that he’s probably the Groom Killer. His obsession with Haley Patton most likely was the catalyst that made him start killing.”
“Then why don’t we—” Hunter began.
“But.” Chief Colton held up his hand as he interrupted. “Unless we find handwritten confessions on those thumb drives, all we’ve got is circumstantial. We could charge him, but there’s not a grand jury in this county that would indict based on this. We need more.”
“What about the witness who admitted to being paid off to say he saw Demi Colton kill Xavier?” Lucas asked. “He even admitted that Devlin’s voice sounded like the man who asked him to do it.”
“Again, not enough. We need prints on a murder weapon or an actual eyewitness. Or, like I said, a confession.”
“Which isn’t likely to happen.” Hunter couldn’t keep the glumness from his voice.
“Unless those data storage devices turn out to be a gold mine of information, no.”
Lucas swore softly under his breath. “There’s got to be something we’re overlooking.”
“Maybe so.” The chief began riffling through papers, clearly dismissing them. “Get back to work. We’re so close on this. I’m confident that with the team we have, we’ll find that missing puzzle piece soon.”
Silent, Hunter and Lucas walked back out into the squad room. A few more officers had arrived and a second pot of coffee had already been started.
“He’s right, you know,” Lucas said. “Much as I hate to admit it. I wish we could find Demi and let her know we’re close to catching the real Groom Killer so she and her baby can come back home.”
Hunter thought about Demi Colton, forced to give birth alone, on the run with a baby, unable to reach out to her family or friends. He shook his head.
“Me too, but there’s no way to get in touch. Plus, you know as well as I do that we can’t take her off the prime suspect list until we have solid evi
dence against Devlin.”
“We will.” The certainty in Lucas’s voice matched the resolve in his expression. “I hate that I blamed Demi all these months, so I’m going to dedicate myself to nailing that SOB. But first, I’m going to find Demi. She deserves to know what’s going on. And she deserves my apology.”
Lucas turned and walked away before Hunter could respond. If anyone could find Demi, highly skilled at tracking and staying hidden, another bounty hunter could. And Lucas was the best there was.
Back at his desk, Hunter turned on his computer and checked his emails. No news on the Larson family, and nothing from the electronics department on the stuff Goose had found. Even though he’d asked for a rush assessment, he’d only turned it over to them late yesterday. Most of them would just now be arriving at work, so he couldn’t go down there and bug them yet.
An hour later, the chief walked out and called a team meeting. Chief Colton outlined everything they’d learned about Devlin Harrington, even though he said he knew most of them were already aware. He asked them all to be vigilant and continue to work hard to get enough evidence so the killings would stop and Demi Colton could return to Red Ridge.
When he asked if there were any questions, no one spoke, which meant they’d all hashed everything out among themselves earlier.
“Good,” Chief Colton said. “Then we’re all clear on what we need to do. Find irrefutable proof that Devlin Harrington is the Groom Killer and bring him back in if he’s already bonded out. If not, we’ll get him charged with murder while he’s in custody.”
“Crystal clear,” Hunter said. Several others echoed his words.
Once the chief had returned to his office, everyone went back to work. Except Lucas. Watching him from the corner of his eye, Hunter noticed he turned and left once more.
Time seemed as if it moved in slow motion. Hunter must have checked his computer ten times over the course of the next ninety minutes. Nothing.
Once again, Hunter resisted the urge to pick up the phone and bug the guys in electronics. He’d wait, even though he knew it was going to be a long, long day until he learned exactly what was on those flash drives.
His desk phone rang, startling him. The double ring let him know it was an external call rather than internal, which meant it wasn’t the one he’d been waiting for. Answering, he listened for a moment, at first shocked and then realizing he wasn’t after all. Hamlin Harrington was on the line. Trying to use his money and social standing to learn what he could about the charges against his son.
Hunter stuck only with the basics. “Attempting to purchase stolen collector’s items. Baseball cards, to be exact.”
“Which he says you stole.” Hamlin’s smug, pompous tone made Hunter clench his teeth. “Doesn’t your crime completely negate his?”
“It doesn’t work that way,” Hunter replied, even though he figured Hamlin already knew that. Part of him wondered if the older man would mention Layla and the broken engagement, since he no doubt already knew she was staying with Hunter.
But he didn’t. Instead, he mentioned the name of a well-known attorney from Sioux Falls. “Not only did he get Devlin’s bail lowered, but he got everything pushed through on a rush basis. He’s released and home, without a scratch.”
Released? Hunter swore under his breath. Of course someone with the financial resources of the Harrington family would have gone through the system in record time.
“I’m confident he’ll get my son off, especially considering the way you used entrapment to arrest him,” Hamlin continued. “And rest assured, once he does, we’ll be filing charges, both against you personally and the entire Red Ridge Police Department. I intend to have your badge.”
And with that, Hamlin ended the call.
* * *
After Hunter left early for work, Layla allowed herself to doze, luxuriating in the pleasant way her body ached after a night spent making passionate love. After eyeing the nightstand clock a few times, she knew she had to get up, even if what she really wanted might be to stay in bed all day. She finally rose and showered, trying to decide whether she’d go volunteer at the K9 training center as she’d originally planned or stop in at Colton Energy.
Though she’d honestly intended on taking a true vacation from her job, she’d never been the type to put aside her responsibilities. And since she’d rejected her father’s plan to marry her off so the company could obtain a cash infusion, she felt compelled to at least try to come up with another, more workable plan.
And with it, her father would have to own up to his own part in the problem and promise to act more responsibly.
Luckily, she knew Fenwick would still be out of town. Though to be honest, even if he wasn’t, he never worked on Saturdays, so there’d be absolutely no danger of her running into him.
While she knew she’d have to deal with him eventually, she was not in the mood today. To her surprise, when she got off the elevator on the executive floor, she saw him seated behind his desk in his office.
Damn. Swearing under her breath, she had a second’s futile hope of keeping her head down and making it to her own office unseen. But no, that was not to be. She’d barely taken two steps when he called out her name.
Now she really regretted the impulse that had made her come in.
“Dad?” She squinted at him, calling on her nonexistent acting ability and hoping she could pull off pretending nothing was wrong. “Why are you up here on a Saturday?”
“I can’t just let this company sink. I’ve worked my entire life to make Colton Energy what it is. I refuse to give up.”
She nodded. Now or never. Heart hammering, she took a deep breath. “You’ve got to stop the crazy spending. When you dip so deeply into the profits, you deplete our cash flow. Without that, all the other departments, from purchasing to payroll, can’t function. When they resort to using our line of credit, our debt skyrockets. And when we can’t pay the balance in full, the interest rate charges rack up.”
“I know.” At least he had the grace to look ashamed. He looked down, spreading his hands to indicate piles of paperwork. “I enjoy living the good life. But my credit cards are all maxed out and I can’t use them. I actually came in today to see if there was any excess money I could take to live on, but there’s not. At least, not if we want to make payroll.”
He appeared so shell-shocked, she actually felt sorry for him.
“Would you like me to help you set up a personal budget?” she asked gently.
Rubbing the back of his neck, he finally nodded. “Sure. And I’m going to have to ask you to take over the accounting department. I want to require your signature on anything that flows out of this company. Including cash withdrawals.”
“What about Dan?” she asked, shocked. The current head of accounting and her father had been friends since grade school, and Dan had worked for Colton Energy since Layla had been a small child.
“He’s going to retire. I’ve already spoken to him.”
“Retire? With what kind of severance? You know we don’t have a lot to work with here.”
“I do. And believe me, Dan is well aware. Especially when one of his junior accountants pointed out all the flaws in his bookkeeping. It’s a mess. I need you to straighten it out.”
While she loved a challenge, this sounded different. Like there might possibly have been something criminal involved. No way did she want to be any part of that, especially since she still had Mark Hatton’s false charges hanging over her.
“What do you say, Layla?” her father asked, a note of pleading in his voice. “Will you take the job?”
“Before I agree to do that, I need to know a few things. Are our books up to par, or is the IRS going to come down on us with a hammer if they do an audit?”
Now Fenwick appeared positively uncomfortable. “I don’t know. Dan was in charge of all that.”
/> “But you have your suspicions,” she pressed. “Tell me the truth. I deserve that much. Did you report all income or ‘forget’ to do that since you made a cash withdrawal?”
His shoulders sagged. “Again, I didn’t check everything Dan did. But I think it’s safe to say he might have forgotten to put in a few entries.”
Which meant things were a big, honking mess.
“I’ll need to take a look at everything,” she said. “I’ll block off all reservations for conference room B next week and have everything brought in there.”
Hope flooded his face. “Then you’ll take over the accounting department?”
“That’s not what I said. I want to do an in-depth audit of the books and see how bad a mess we’re in. Once I know more, I’ll be able to make a decision.”
Fenwick pinched the bridge of his nose while he considered her words. What he didn’t know—or maybe he did—was that as executive VP of Colton Energy and daughter of its CEO, she might already be on the hook for his actions.
“I understand,” he finally replied. “Are you back in your town house now?”
Though the question made her tense up inside, she took a deep breath and tried not to show it. “No. I’m still staying at Hunter’s place.”
“Really? Do the police still feel you’re in danger?”
Because he seemed genuinely worried, she considered softening the truth. But in the end, she figured he needed to know, so she told him. “It’s possible I still am. The police think the same person who got Mark Hatton to make false accusations against me is the one who’s been trying to harm me.” All without giving her father a name.
Fenwick’s face darkened. “Do they have any idea who?”
“I’m sure they do. But without proper evidence, I think they won’t be releasing any names, even to the mayor.” Especially to the mayor.
“Come stay with me,” he entreated. “You know you’re welcome.”
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