“I’m tired and angry and everything is about to explode again.” He blew out a long breath. They were close enough that he could see a few strands of her hair move in response. “You should run away from me.”
“I’m not going anywhere.” She lifted her head. Not far and not away from him. Watching him every second, she slipped in closer until her mouth hovered over his. “Yes?”
The word blew across his lips on a whisper. He should shout no and get up . . . He leaned in. His mouth slipped over hers, light at first. Exploring. Then the need to know more, taste more, bolted through him.
His fingers slipped into her hair and her scent wound around him. A buzzing started in his head as her mouth slid over his. Every worry fell away until all he could feel and see was her and the heat threatening to overwhelm him.
Worried he’d go too far too fast, without thinking it through, he pulled back. Every muscle screamed at him to dive back in. To kiss her until his need for her erased everything else. But that was about his needs and he needed to remember hers.
Unable to fully break contact, he balanced his forehead against hers. “Tessa.”
“Close your eyes.” She shifted until her back rested against the sofa and guided him down to put his head against her lap. “We’ll deal with the world later.”
BEN TEXTED. SHE’D been dozing when the buzzing started. First it came from across the room, then stopped, so she ignored it. Less than two minutes later, her phone started.
Between lifting her butt to retrieve the cell from the small space between two cushions and shifting and sliding until she wrenched out from under Hansen and landed on the floor on her knees, she was sure she’d wake him up, but no. Hansen had drifted off, becoming boneless as he slept across her lap.
She glanced at him now, finally at peace after a day of backbreaking emotional blows. The story about his sister still shook her. She’d tried to listen and stay calm, not let the horror of it bring her to tears. He’d needed a friend and comfort tonight. She’d offered both, but that kiss had been for her.
The desire to touch him drove her until finally she’d reached out, half expecting him to pull away. When he didn’t, when his lips touched hers, at first soft, then more insistent . . . excitement had exploded inside her. The heat and the need. She wanted more. So much that when he’d pulled away her lips chased his.
She opened the door to Ben before he could knock. He stepped inside, clearly ready to call for Hansen, before his gaze went to the sofa. Some of his bluster vanished and the frustration pounding off him eased at the sight of Hansen sleeping on his side.
Ben’s shoulders unclenched as he looked at Tessa. “How is he?”
“Kind of a mess.” She hadn’t mentally prepared for the answer, but she had to ask. “Any news on Kerrie?”
“Still out, but Lela thinks she’ll be fine.” Ben shrugged. “Who knows what she’ll say when she wakes up.”
“You can’t believe Hansen would hurt her.”
Ben didn’t hesitate in his response. “No, but people will say anything under stress.”
That horror hadn’t even occurred to Tessa. Now a new wave of panic moved through her, shaking her right down to her bones. Chilling her from the inside out. “You believe she’ll blame him? That’s a stretch, don’t you think?”
“Did he tell you how he knows Kerrie?” Ben finally dragged his gaze away from Hansen and back to Tessa. “They have a pretty sordid history. I found the connection between them after just a few online searches.”
Everyone would know. On an island filled with secretive people, Hansen coveted anonymity more than others. He was about to lose all of that. “The connection is Hansen’s sister. Her marriage. Her death.” The weight of all Hansen had been through hit her. “What a mess.”
Ben shook his head. “This looks bad, Tessa.”
“He didn’t do it.”
“You’re his alibi for a period of the night, but not all of it.”
She tried to figure out what that comment meant. Nothing in Ben’s tone gave him away, so she tried to match that flatness. “I know.”
“Be careful about overstating or drawing conclusions. It’s safest for you, and for him, honestly, if you stick to the facts.”
Ben made it sound so easy, as if the wrong word or a few minutes of unaccounted-for time couldn’t hurt Hansen.
“I would have heard him if he’d engaged in some sort of battle before he came to my door, or if he got up during the night.” When Ben continued to stare at her, the words fumbled in her brain. “Come on. He’s your friend, too.”
“This is about to get rough. Us trying to fill in the blanks for him invites trouble.”
His words stopped whatever had been jumping around in her stomach. “I hear you.”
“As soon as you two are awake tomorrow, come to my office. We have a lot to discuss. Facts only, got it?”
“You’re not going to talk to him now?”
“Be there by eight.” He shot her a knowing gaze that made it clear he was granting a reprieve. “Whatever his story is, he needs to have it straight and be ready by then.”
Chapter 11
Hansen managed to sleep with Tessa—on her, actually—and not kiss her again. He chalked up the glaring oversight to yesterday’s shit show. A testament of how debilitating and all-consuming a mix of grief and worry could be.
He looked at her now as she closed the passenger side door of his car. She shot him a big smile before trotting across the parking lot toward Ben’s office. She looked ready to pick up a shield and sword and do battle for his honor. She’d said as much this morning over coffee as she prodded him to get dressed and get moving.
Sexiest. Woman. Ever.
She hesitated right as she got to the door. Being only a few seconds behind her, he almost ran right into her but still didn’t know what stopped her short. Sure, more people than usual milled around. A few glanced at him, then looked away instead of holding eye contact. He assumed that’s how life would be here now.
He followed her gaze until it landed on Doug, the kid who’d touched her and just happened to be the pride and joy of his mother, Ruthie. Doug didn’t look very tough right now. His mouth opened and closed a few times as his wide-eyed gaze traveled from Tessa to Hansen and back again.
Tessa’s eyebrow lifted. “Problem, Doug?”
The tone would crumple lesser men. Doug stood there and took it, even though he did look like he wanted to scream and run.
“Nothing.” Doug shuffled, smartly not turning his back on Tessa. He put about three feet between them before banging his thigh on the bench outside of the office door. He fell in a heap into the seat.
Tessa shook her head. “Smooth.”
“Anything we need to talk about, Doug?” Hansen figured he might as well use some of his newfound dangerous reputation on the island to make this kid understand there were consequences to his actions.
Doug shook his head hard enough to injure himself. “No, sir.”
Tessa snorted.
“I’m just waiting.” Doug nodded toward Ben’s office. “My mom’s inside.”
Not what Hansen wanted to hear. Talking with Ben—fine. He’d be fair. Getting debriefed by Ruthie? No fucking way. He seriously considered getting back in his car.
“Don’t even think about bolting.” Tessa didn’t give him a chance to disagree after issuing the order. She opened the door and went inside, leaving Hansen standing in the doorway with Doug.
“She scares me,” Doug said under his breath. He kept staring after her. Sat up straighter in his chair to look through the window on the top part of the door and watch her.
“Remember that next time you try to touch her.”
All of the color drained from Doug’s face. “I didn’t mean—”
“Apologize to her, not me. And do it soon.” Feeling as if he’d at least accomplished something today even if he did end it by getting thrown into a jail cell, Hansen let it go . . . for now.
&
nbsp; He walked inside, expecting to see Ben and Tessa and now Ruthie, but Sylvia paced around the outer office as well. He guessed she showed up as backup support against whatever idea or rule Ruthie might come up with to screw him.
“Maybe we should do this outside so everyone on the island can watch,” he said dryly.
Ben looked up. “Lock the outer door. There are too many of us for my office. We’re using the conference room.”
The logical solution would be to remove a few of the people present, but Hansen chose not to point that out. He figured Ben had his reasons for wanting a display.
“Arrest him,” Ruthie said without waiting for the conference room door to close behind them.
That explained Ben’s reasons. Ruthie had taken on the roles of cop, judge, and jury. Hansen sat down. He should have seen this coming.
Ben gestured for the rest of them to fill in the seats around the table, then looked at Ruthie. “Calm down.”
“Like, way down.” Sylvia rolled her eyes. “Good lord, woman.”
“He’s a killer.” Ruthie stayed on her feet. She hovered in the small area between the end of the table and the door, crowding in closer to Ben than Tessa.
Tessa shook her head. “What is wrong with you?”
“Apparently, Ruthie went on the internet last night and now thinks she knows Hansen’s life story,” Ben said.
Sylvia reached for the coffeepot in the middle of the table and started filling the mugs. “And wants to talk all about his supposedly scandalous past. As if she doesn’t have one.”
“I don’t.” Ruthie managed to gasp and sound horrified at the same time.
Sylvia glared at her. “Do you want me to start talking?”
“How dare you suggest that—”
“You’re so busy poking your nose into other people’s lives. Is it because Daniel is away?” Sylvia asked, clearly wanting to land a shot. “He’s been on that business trip for, what, three weeks?”
“You have no right—”
“Enough.” Ben raised his voice and drowned out the arguing. “Everyone has secrets. I’d prefer if we didn’t vomit the irrelevant ones out here. Let’s stay focused and respectful.”
Hansen was starting to wonder if he even needed to be here. Ruthie had condemned him. Sylvia and Tessa took turns defending him. Ben pretended to be Switzerland. It sounded like something was going on with Ruthie and her husband, and Hansen didn’t want to know a single detail about that.
It wasn’t as if he could deny the basic facts of what Ruthie may have found on the internet. He had screwed up back then, all those months ago. He did threaten Judson and he absolutely did know the dead man no one else on the island seemed to have a relationship to.
Ruthie turned on Tessa. “Do you know what you’re sleeping with?”
When Ruthie grabbed Tessa’s arm, Tessa jerked out of the hold. “First, don’t touch me without permission. That’s a thing in your family and I don’t like it.”
“What?”
“Second, Hansen is a who, not a what. And, yes, I do know him. A lot better than you do.”
Ruthie’s hand dropped to her side in a balled fist. “He’s a criminal.”
“I’m sitting right here. Maybe don’t talk over me.” Hansen had been willing to act all nice and quiet until Ruthie touched Tessa. She wasn’t the only one who could act like a shield.
Ruthie kept her focus on Tessa as if Hansen wasn’t even in the room. “That poor man had a restraining order against him. So did his wife and now she’s in the hospital.”
Sylvia whistled. Made it last a pretty long time, too. “Wow. You must be exhausted from all that conclusion jumping.”
While he appreciated the backup, Hansen had a question he needed an answer to because she knew more than the few basics someone might find on a quick internet search. “How do you know about the restraining order, Ruthie?”
She finally treated him to eye contact. “It’s public record.”
“Maybe.” Ben leaned back in his chair and looked up at Ruthie. “But it’s one you would have to dig to find and you haven’t had much time.”
“Do not play into this nonsense. Just because he’s well connected he gets to keep his violent nature quiet? No scandal for Hansen Rye?” Ruthie scoffed as she looked at him. “Well, you deserve whatever happens to you now.”
“Okay, really. That is enough.” Ben stood up.
Hansen wondered if Ben intended to escort Ruthie out. Some island rule probably prohibited such a thing, but a man could hope.
“You’re pretending to be a handyman but that’s a lie, too.” Ruthie’s smile turned feral. “You’ve been found out. All that money and prestige didn’t save you back in D.C., did it? Well, it won’t here either.”
That accusation hit harder than it should have. Back when everything happened in D.C., Hansen’s brother had stepped in and offered support and explanations. Some of his friends rallied. The expensive lawyer he hired insisted the situation would work out, and in a way, it had. They ended up reaching an agreement to spare everyone a hearing, but Hansen got the impression Judson didn’t want peace.
Ben held up a hand. “Everyone be quiet. Last warning.”
“He means you,” Tessa said to Ruthie.
But Ruthie had stopped listening. She lifted her chin and shot them all an I’m-superior-to-you glare. “I’m calling an emergency meeting of the board to resolve this matter. A vote of no confidence. Then we’ll bring in outside investigators and figure out how to contain Hansen until they can get here and take over.”
“What’s wrong with you?” Tessa wrapped her fingers around the mug in front of her. “Let Ben work.”
“It is raining, and the outer bands of the kind of storm that blows roofs off buildings have landed,” Ben said. “It’s not a great time to gather people across the island.”
Ruthie pointed at Hansen. “Then arrest him and put him in a cell. That’s the only way to know we’ll all be safe until the real police can get here.”
Ben shook his head. “I don’t arrest people based on an internet search.”
“We vote tomorrow morning. The storm should have died down by then.” Ruthie clearly had made up her mind and switched to dictator mode.
“Which will give you just enough time to tell everyone on the island what you think you know about Hansen and what the outcome of the vote should be.” Sylvia sighed as she stood up again. “You are tiresome.”
“If you’re so horrified, feel free to skip the meeting.” Ruthie opened the door and started to leave, but not before glancing at Ben again. “Do your job or be prepared to lose it.”
She slammed the door behind her hard enough to cause the wall to shake. Then the silence descended. It lasted until Tessa’s confused expression gave way to a question. “They can vote to have someone arrested?”
“She’s ridiculous.” Sylvia took a long sip of coffee, emptying the mug, before setting it back down again.
Wrongheaded and over-the-top, yes. But Ruthie had reason to be concerned and Hansen recognized that much. “She’s not totally wrong about me.”
Tessa put her hand on his knee. “Hansen, stop talking.”
“Hansen, she’s right. You probably should have counsel,” Sylvia said.
“I talked with my lawyer this morning. No one can get here because of the damn storm, but—”
“Then ask one of the lawyers on Whitaker to help or pretend I’m your lawyer and listen to me,” Tessa ordered. “Mouth closed.”
She rose to his defense just as he knew she would. That kind of faith was humbling and, he feared, not totally deserved. Still, he couldn’t deny the warmth that spread through him when the we’re-done-here tone moved into her voice.
He slid his hand over hers. “I didn’t kill anyone. Hell, I didn’t even know they were on Whitaker. It makes no sense that they’re here, but that’s beside the point. They do have a restraining order against me because I didn’t back off. I wanted to make Judson’s life miserabl
e.”
Tessa shook her head. “That’s no one’s business on Whitaker.”
“It’s sort of mine.” The chair creaked under Ben as he sat down again. “Keep going.”
“I’m guessing the court order is about your sister?” Sylvia asked, then shrugged when Tessa shot her a look that suggested she wasn’t helping the situation. “I have the internet, too. Or I did until it went out five minutes ago when the wind kicked up.”
Hansen studied his friends, and that’s what they were. They’d come to the part of the story when he needed to fill in some details. His lawyer had cautioned him to stay quiet and let him handle everything with Ben. Right now he likely was trying to call in and getting the answering service.
Smart advice. Solid. The same thing he’d tell anyone in his position—shut up and stay out of the way. But the details mattered, especially since he had no idea what Kerrie might say when she woke up. He wasn’t sharing anything that wasn’t in a court record back home. Every word he said now could be traced back to what really happened back then.
And none of it meant he’d killed Judson.
He’d spent months trying to forget but for a few minutes, at least, he needed to remember. “I went after Judson to get him to tell the truth about what he did to my sister. But, really, the other reason for hounding him was to warn Kerrie. She needed to know how dangerous he was. Admittedly, I was very . . . energetic about it. They filed for protective orders to get me to leave them alone.”
Sylvia hummed in response. “Kerrie, too?”
Lying didn’t make sense and Hansen had no interest in trying. “I can’t be within a hundred feet of either of them.”
Tessa squeezed his hand. “And Ruthie somehow found all of this out.”
“It looks that way.” Sylvia tipped her mug to look inside, then shook her head. “The gossip hounds are going to go wild once they know about the court orders.”
Nothing new there. The last time he’d heard the thunder of whispers, he left his job, his family, and moved thousands of miles to Whitaker. “Believe me, I know how this game is played.”
“Okay.” Sylvia put both hands on the table and pushed up. “Let me go do some damage control and try to head off Ruthie’s mess tomorrow.”
Her Other Secret Page 10
