Читать книгу Colton's Deadly Engagement - Addison Fox - Страница 13
ОглавлениеShe was losing her mind. That was the only reason—surely it was the only reason—that Finn Colton stood in her living room proposing the most absurd thing she’d ever heard.
“Get engaged to you?”
“Pretend. Only pretend until we can lure out the killer.”
“But you think I’m the killer,” she pointed out.
The words chafed—more than she wanted to admit—but they needed to be said. Fifteen minutes ago he was looking at her like she belonged in the state penitentiary doing forty to life and now he was proposing they traipse around town like an engaged couple? Maybe he was the one out of his mind.
“I said you were a suspect.”
“Careful, Chief. You might give me the warm fuzzies.”
The problem was, the man did give her the warm fuzzies. Despite her better judgment—and she liked to think she had her fair share of it—Finn Colton did something to her. The man was too big, too in control, too...too everything.
And it bothered her more than she could say that the prospect of going on a date with him, even if it was fake from start to finish, warmed something way down deep inside her.
“Think of it as a win-win.”
“How’s that?”
“You can prove to me that you’re innocent and I can catch myself a killer. Everyone ends up happy.”
“You actually want to put yourself in the line of fire? The Groom Killer is actually killing the grooms.”
“I’m a cop. I’ll catch the killer before they can do any real harm.”
She mentally added cocky to the attractive list. Bo had been cocky, too. It had been one of the things that had drawn her to him. That bright, shiny grin that smacked of sass and confidence. The swagger that went along with it.
She’d been hooked like a fish and let herself be reeled in by that smile, that confidence and a host of empty promises.
Even as she thought it, it felt wrong to lump Finn in the same category as Bo. The two men weren’t the same, even if her hormones were having a difficult time parsing the differences.
“You’re pretty sure of yourself.”
“I’m pretty sure that this person needs to be stopped. And I’m also sure I need help to do it. Red Ridge is small. No one will believe it if I suddenly begin dating one of my employees at the station. People will believe you and I are for real.”
Once again, those sly fingers of need wove around her spine, gripping hard. “Why do you think that?”
“You’re an attractive woman. Presumably unattached right now?”
She ignored the sting of the presumption and gave him a quietly muttered “Yes.”
“I’m equally unattached. We’ve seen each other around town and decided we each liked what we saw. We got to talking and quietly began dating. I’ve been so wrapped in the case, I haven’t had a chance to take you out good and proper. So, now that it’s the month of love, I’ve resolved to change that.”
The month of love?
Was it possible she’d been so head down for the past few months she hadn’t even realized it was almost Valentine’s Day?
Even as Darby asked herself the question she knew the answer was a resounding yes. Not only had she forgotten it was nearly Valentine’s Day, but she’d long stopped looking for a valentine. Or even a man to enjoy an occasional date. When had she stopped trying?
Or worse, stopped expecting that she could be part of another relationship?
For the longest time she’d convinced herself that she was well rid of Bo Gage. And while it pained her that he was dead, on a very real level, she was better off since their divorce. But had she somehow closed her heart off to believing that she could love again?
Even before the reading of Bo’s will and the revelation of her inheritance, she’d been busy working. She’d had the occasional date or two but when they hadn’t turned into anything more, she hadn’t worried about it. Instead she’d focused on keeping her head down and her meager bank account growing.
Funny how little she had to show for it.
Maybe it was that little spark of defiance. Or maybe it was simply the idea of going out for an evening with an attractive man, no matter the pretense. Whatever the cause, Darby found herself warming to the idea of fake dating Finn, even with the warning bells that jangled like sirens in her mind.
“You want to take me out?”
“Every night, and I want to be as public about it as possible. Dates in the front windows of all the restaurants on Main Street. Walks in Red Ridge park, snuggling with each other for warmth.” He leaned in, his gaze direct. “We’re going to make everyone in town think we’re deeply in love and anxious to get married.”
“No one’s going to believe that.”
“Why not?”
“Because—” Darby scrambled to find some answer but came up empty. “We’re not in love. People can see the real thing.”
“Bo certainly made people think the real thing. He had a string of girlfriends, an ex-wife and a soon-to-be wife, and everyone believed he was as deeply in love with the next woman as the one before.”
“That’s different.”
“How?”
“Bo was...Bo. He was charming and a sweet talker. But none of it was real. There wasn’t any substance beneath the veneer.”
“Yet people believed it. Ate it up hook, line and sinker, best I can tell.”
Finn made a convincing argument—people did see what they wanted to see—but could the two of them really pull it off? And while it was fine for him to brush off the danger of the situation, it was dangerous. He might be a big, bad cop, but he was also as vulnerable to a bullet as the next person.
“You really think this is a good idea?”
“I do.”
“With me?” She pressed the point, unwilling to think too hard about the steady hum of desire that tightened her skin and tingled her nerve endings.
“Absolutely.” That gaze never wavered, but Darby didn’t miss the subtle calculation he couldn’t fully bury. “But I’ll do you one better.”
His gaze shifted then, focusing on Penny before roaming over the kitchen. When he finally looked at her again, all hint of calculation was gone. “You help me with this and I’ll pay off all your debts.”
“You’ll what?”
“Pay it off. All of them. I’ve got solid savings and I’m always open to an investment. You help me with this and I’ll see to it that you’re out from underneath whatever debt Bo Gage managed to run up in his twenty-nine years of living and then inconveniently deposited into your lap.”
It wasn’t possible. Whatever emotions had carried her to this moment, from anger to sadness to frustration, none of them compared to the sheer disbelief at his words.
“Why would you do that?”
“I consider it a fair exchange.”
“But you can’t pay for all of it. The house. The breeding business. I need a new dog because Penny can’t breed another litter.”
“Then I’ll pay for a new dog. I’ll pay for three of them if you want. Tell me what you need to get set up and I’ll do it.”
Three dogs? Not just fixing the business but an expansion, too? A real opportunity to go for it and make something of the business Bo had loved but clearly hadn’t had a head for.
“But why?”
“Why not? It’s my money. More, it’s my town and I want to invest in it. You help me catch a killer and I’ll help ensure Bo’s business continues on under your ownership and management.”
“But—”
“Consider it an offer you can’t refuse.”
That cocky smile was back, along with something warm and endearing that made her think of naughty little boys who swiped extra chocolate-chip cookies then tried to hide the chocolate stains on their fingers.
Only, Finn Colton wasn’t a little boy.
And the stakes were far higher than a possible tummy ache from overeating sweets.
“You want to catch a killer so badly you’ll put yourself in their sights?”
“Yes.”
“That’s the only reason?”
The smile faded, all trace of humor gone. In its place was a sincerity that nearly took her breath away.
“There is another reason. If I’m as wrong about you as you say—” He held up a hand before she could even protest her innocence. “Give me a chance to finish.”
She nodded, willing him to continue. It hurt to hear how little he still thought of her, but she was willing to give him his due. “Okay.”
“If I am wrong about you, and I’m perfectly willing to accept that truth, I’d like to see you end up in a better place. I’ve come to understand Bo Gage a bit better since his murder. It’s abundantly clear he made life easy for one person. Bo.”
It seemed mean to speak that ill of the dead but Darby could hardly argue with Finn’s assessment. Bo had lived life for himself, the rest of the world be damned.
“But the one other thing I’ve learned is that Bo loved his dogs more than anything else in his life. He loved Penny and he loved the litters he ultimately sold to the K-9 unit and beyond. More than once he’d head over to the training center, catching up on how a pup was doing and seeing that he or she performed to their utmost potential.”
“He did love the business. And Penny was as important to him as anyone in his life.”
“Maybe he saddled you with all this because he believed you’d take care of it. That you’d handle it and make something of it all.”
Darby’s gaze drifted to Penny. The dog had eventually lost interest in their conversation and had stretched out near Lotte, her head on her paws and her eyes closed.
“You have no reason to take care of her,” Finn continued. “Yet you’re caring for that dog as if she were your own.”
The compliment—and the glowing kindness—had caught her off guard. Where she’d come to accept the grudging acknowledgment that Finn believed her guilty, it was something else for him to extend such a kindhearted thought.
“She is now.”
“Can you honestly tell me Hayley Patton would have done the same?”
“I try hard not to compare myself to her.”
“That’s wise.” Even though he kept a straight face, there were distinct notes of humor lilting his voice. “You also know I’m right.”
“Maybe I do.”
“So, what do you say? Are you in? Are you willing to help me catch a killer?”
Darby had long known that choices made in desperation usually came out poorly. She needed Finn Colton’s help and she was hardly in a position to say no him.
She should feel trapped. Caged. And thoroughly out of options.
So why was it that she couldn’t feel anything but a clamoring sense of excitement?
“I’m in.”
* * *
Finn took his first deep breath in a month as he walked to his SUV, Lotte at his side. It had taken some convincing, but Darby had agreed with his ploy.
The idea had seemed so right at the time, but now that he considered his actions in the bright winter sunlight, they struck him as reckless and stupid. He’d always prided himself on being neither, so it was a bit of a head slap to realize he might have misstepped.
His conversation with Darby replayed in his mind. He did his level best to recall when he’d suddenly veered off into the realm of stupid romantic comedy movies and TV shows that had been on for too many seasons.
A fake relationship and engagement.
Was he insane?
Putting aside his doubts about Darby—and the bleach bottle he’d just stuffed in the back of his SUV offered up a big one—he had no business dragging a civilian into a police investigation. Yes, the Groom Killer had targeted men so far, but who knew if the perp would add brides into the mix?
Was Finn putting Darby in danger, inadvertently making her a target?
Their county profiler had indicated the targets seemed deliberately male, with the method of death cold, impersonal and somehow masculine. But that didn’t mean anything. Or it wouldn’t mean anything if something happened to Darby under his watch...
Finn squelched the thought. Nothing was going to happen to her. He’d protect her and see to it that he caught a killer in the meantime.
The drive to the precinct was quick and he detoured through the lab with the bleach before heading toward his desk. The squad room was humming, his staff all in full swing with a busy start to their week. He was pleased to see Detective Gage at his desk, focused on his computer screen.
