Kiss Me If You Dare

by Nicole Young

  Kiss Me If You Dare

  Nicole Young

  When readers last saw renovator Tish Amble she was running for her life, her boyfriend Brad left wounded and at the mercy of drug lords in northern Michigan. On Brad's advice, Tish heads for Del Gloria, California, to hide out with an old friend of his-professor Denton Braddock. Tish tries to start a normal life, enrolling in college and working on restoring a block of homes, but her past is catching up with her. Someone is sabotaging her work, and Brad hasn't called in months. Should she return to Michigan to find out what has happened? Or would a homecoming be more painful-and deadly-than she's ready for? Full of the fast-paced action and nail-biting suspense readers have come to expect from author Nicole Young, Kiss Me If You Dare is the thrilling conclusion to the Patricia Amble Mysteries.

  Nicole Young

  Kiss Me If You Dare

  The third book in the Patricia Amble Mystery series, 2009

  To Katey with love

  on your eighteenth birthday

  1

  In the sweep of the headlights, the house on the hill looked like a gaudy mansion dating from California’s gold rush era. I felt a surge of exhilaration. I could imagine the view of the mighty Pacific I’d have in the morning from windows overlooking the cliffs. And the thought of crumbling plaster around the panes got my blood pumping. Digging my teeth into this place would make the perfect distraction.

  Chunks of heaving cement led to an old-fashioned carport at one side of the home. The vehicle pulled behind an older model Honda and stopped.

  The driver cut the engine and touched my arm. “Despite her appearance, Ms. Rigg helps where she can. Please don’t undermine her desire.” He held my gaze for an extra beat, an Einstein look-alike with his shaggy white hair and Coke-bottle glasses. The lab-coat look with mix-n-match clothes beneath screamed “permanently out to lunch.” He got out of the vehicle and disappeared inside.

  Relief swept over me with his departure. We’d been cooped up in the car together on and off for the past seventy-two hours. And while Professor Denton Braddock obviously meant well with his endless stream of words to the wise, I felt like a four-year-old trapped in Mr. Rogers’ neighborhood.

  A blast of pain shot up my arm. The moist ocean air with its tinge of salt seemed to add to the agony. I rubbed at the bandage that extended from elbow to shoulder, ready for another painkiller. I grabbed at the handle with my good arm and opened the car door.

  A single bulb dangled above me in the weathered porch area. Shadows shrank and grew as the stiff breeze sent the light scuttling. I shivered, though the early summer evening was balmy.

  I stared at the entry to my newest renovation project and sighed. Fixing up houses and selling them for a profit had been my living for much of the past decade. But I’d intended to make the log cabin back in the deep woods of Michigan my final project. I’d been ready to settle down. Thanks to the redneck mafia, I had to live with Plan B-at least until I could return home and make my dream a reality.

  Ahead, warped steps led up to a screen door and into the house. I put a foot on the bottom tread. This was the first time I’d arrived at a renovation empty-handed. No cot. No sleeping bag. No coffeemaker. No tools. No Goodwill bargains. No identification.

  Just the clothes on my back. I even had to live under another name while I hid out in Del Gloria. No more Patricia Louise Amble, the name on my birth certificate. I was now Alisha Marie Braddock, the professor’s supposed niece visiting from Galveston.

  “Why Galveston?” I’d asked him somewhere between Minnesota and Wyoming.

  “I like how it sounds.”

  “I’ve never been to Galveston,” I said.

  “Then you can’t give any details about your previous life, can you?”

  I hated his answer. I’d walked away from great romantic possibilities with Brad back in Rawlings in order to dig into my past. I hadn’t felt right starting a relationship when I couldn’t give an intelligent account of my ancestry. According to Denton, I was now supposed to brush off any questions that would give clues to my identity.

  I scuffed across the porch and through the screen door. It slammed behind me.

  Beyond an entryway, I found the kitchen, tall and narrow with cupboards stretching beyond human reach along two walls. A library ladder would have been at home in the galley layout.

  Far overhead, two bulbs cast a dim light on the room. The cream-colored walls seemed in perfect condition. The finish on the dark cabinetry shone to a high gloss, without a fingerprint in sight. I ran my hand along a cool stone countertop. Though clearly a replacement, the flawless surface looked original to the home. All in all, a remarkable restoration job.

  I crossed my arms and leaned against the counter. When Brad set me up with this hideout, he’d assured me that Denton was offering food and shelter in exchange for my restoration skills. I could only assume the rest of the house, minus the kitchen, needed my expert touch.

  The thought of Brad delivered a new dose of pain, starting at my heart and radiating to every limb.

  A door swung open at one end of the room. “Welcome, Miss Braddock,” said a woman’s voice.

  Remembering my name change, I stood to attention at the brisk Irish accent.

  “I’m Ms. Rigg.” She spoke the title as if Mizz was her given name as she shuffled into the light. “Do you need help with your bags or can you get them yourself?”

  Ms. Rigg was a tiny woman wearing a black cotton dress over black socks and black sneakers. White legs poked out beneath her hem with each step. As she drew closer, I realized her small stature could be attributed to a curved spine. The hump on her back rose almost as high as the top of her head.

  I tried not to stare. “No. I’m fine. I have no bags.”

  “Then what about food? You must be hungry.”

  I focused my mind on my stomach. It growled on cue. “Food would be great. Thanks.”

  The words seemed to trip a switch. The woman moved with purpose to the stove and lifted the lid on an oversized pot. “Beef stew. The professor’s favorite.”

  Steam billowed as she stirred. The succulent scent of juicy tomatoes and spice filled the air.

  “Mmmm. Smells delicious.” I liked the thought of a built-in cook during my stay in Del Gloria.

  She plopped the lid back and retrieved a stepping stool from a corner of the kitchen. She set it down near the sink, climbed up, and pulled open a cabinet. Even with the added height, she struggled to reach the bowls. At her grunt, I intervened.

  “Here. Let me help with those.” Just a smidge under six feet, my height came in handy in the restoration business. Those hard-to-reach corners were easy for me. Long arms, long neck, long legs… I either resembled a supermodel or an ostrich.

  The fingers of my good arm barely touched the smooth ceramic bowls before Ms. Rigg swatted me away.

  “Don’t you be interfering in my kitchen.” Her voice rose to shrill peaks. “It’s bad enough the professor agreed to take you in. Barely through the door and you think you own the place.” Gray hair in a bun shook loose with her anger. “Well, you don’t own it yet. Relation or not, you’ll not be taking my place in this house.”

  I recoiled at her words. “I’m sorry. I just meant to help. And please, don’t worry about me. I’m not really-”

  The far door swung open.

  “Alisha.”

  Professor Braddock strode in. For a moment he seemed strong and decisive, not the awkward nerd-type I’d ridden here with.

  He took me by the arm. I winced at the pressure on my bandage.

  “I’m showing Alisha to her room. She can help herself to stew later.” Denton led me out of the kitchen. We stopped just outside the door.

  He turned me towa
rd him, showing no mercy to my wound. “Heed my words. You will not survive if anyone suspects you are not who I say you are.”

  I shook off his grip. “Sorry.” I cradled my arm. “She got so defensive. I didn’t want her thinking I was here permanently.”

  “Perhaps you are here permanently. We won’t know for some time.” His lips pursed under a bushy moustache as he started to walk. “I warned you about Ms. Rigg. I specifically asked you not to help her.”

  I hurried to keep up, thinking back to his parting words in the car. “I had no idea she’d be so offended.”

  He halted at the foot of a grand staircase. “Now you know. Don’t help unless she asks.”

  I stared at a mole on his cheek. Denton certainly offered asylum-as in loony bin, not sanctuary. What had Brad been thinking? When I found the body in my basement two projects ago, the killer had been behind bars within six months. Could I last around here for six months?

  I sighed and followed Denton up the stairs. It wasn’t as if I had a choice.

  2

  Denton jogged up the steps, speaking to me over his shoulder. “Ms. Rigg has been with my family since I was a boy. When my parents died, I continued to employ her-not only out of obligation, but also from gratitude. She served us well over the years, always treating my home and family as her own. It’s rare to find that kind of loyalty in today’s world.”

  He led me down a hallway, gloomy in the fading light.

  “Why was she so offended when I tried to help?” I asked. “She practically snapped my head off when I reached for that bowl.” It had been a brown bowl, deep chocolate brown, not unlike the color of Brad’s eyes.

  Denton paused in front of a closed door. “She may only be the housekeeper, but Alexa Rigg fancies herself mistress of Cliffhouse. She takes her work seriously. Perhaps too seriously. Her duties have become a heavy weight on her shoulders.”

  “Can’t you tell her to ease up?” I said. “I’d love to help where I could. It’s silly to have her wait on me hand and foot when I’m perfectly capable of helping myself. And I really don’t think she enjoys it.”

  His hand rested on the doorknob. “Her world is one of conflict. I can’t make her choose peace when she prefers drama.”

  The door swung open to reveal an airy bedroom with a row of windows along the far wall. I strode to one and peered through the blackness at a thin rose-colored glow where the water met the sky, like a view of Earth from outer space, a fringe of sunbeams defining the horizon. I drew in an awed breath. Who could embrace conflict within sight of paradise? Ms. Rigg must be living with her eyes closed.

  I turned to Denton. “What about you? Don’t you prefer peace in your own home?”

  Taking a step back, he smiled. “Yes. That’s why I stay out of the kitchen.” He gripped the doorknob. “Sleep well, Patricia. You’ll need it.” The door shut behind him.

  I waited awhile after his footsteps died away before tiptoeing to the kitchen for a serving of Ms. Rigg’s beef stew. I erased all evidence of my meal, then took a stealth tour of the house, roaming from one amazing room to the next-avoiding those with closed doors. By the time I found my way back to my bedroom, I was convinced Cliffhouse presented the finest renovation I’d ever seen.

  The next morning, lying in a big four-poster with the morning light filtering through silk curtains, I absorbed more of my new home. The room was fit for a princess. The whole house fit for a queen. Not one area seemed in need of repair. I could almost feel my muscles going limp from lack of hard labor.

  The ceiling soared well past the acorn-shaped tips of the bedposts. A single imperfection in the drywall, a tiny lump of paint almost directly above me, gave my eyes a focal point as my mind drifted Brad-ward. I strained to remember the expression on his face as I drove off in his SUV, headed to Del Gloria. He must have waved. Said “I love you.” Maybe even had tears in his eyes. But all my mind could produce was white static, like snow on an off-the-air station.

  What could I remember? The way his eyes sparkled like stars in a sky of midnight blue just before he kissed me on the porch and promised to pick me up a few hours later to shop for an engagement ring.

  I shifted under the covers and held my left hand above my head, examining the third finger over, wondering which set I would have chosen if my world hadn’t crumbled that day. White or yellow gold? A solitary diamond or a dazzling cluster? Simple or flashy? I smiled at the thought. Simple, of course. Brad loved a woman with dishpan hands, not some ivory-skinned debutante.

  I lay there a few minutes more, wishing I could pick up the phone and give him a call. Then I swung my legs over the side of the mattress. A groan accompanied my efforts. The three-day trip to Del Gloria had been excruciating with my bum arm. I rubbed at the ache near my shoulder. The bullet had torn through the flesh, but missed the bone.

  A drug deal gone sour and I’d been caught in the middle. Brad had been there too… but the details were hazy. The blast of a weapon, pain knifing through my body, the steady glare of the sun as I drove west in a race for my life.

  The next thing I knew I’d rammed into the back end of a mom-and-three-kids minivan somewhere this side of Minneapolis. My arm was bleeding, but other than that, no one had been hurt. I was brought in for medical attention, lucid enough to evade questions by claiming I couldn’t remember anything-including my name. Weirdly, it was mostly true at the time. I’d handed them the slip of paper in my pocket, the one that said DENTON BRADDOCK in Brad Walters’ handwriting. They dialed the phone number. Denton must have known all the right things to say because they left me alone after that.

  “It appears you’re suffering from trauma-induced memory loss,” the physician told me later as he treated my injury. “Dr. Braddock is flying in from California. We’ll release you into his custody.” He made it sound like he knew Dr. Braddock personally, as if he was confidently turning me over to the care of some renowned practitioner. How could I have known he meant Dr. Frankenstein?

  Now here I was. An inmate of the coastal sanatorium. I walked to a window. At least this time my prison had a view. The lawn in front of the house sloped down to meet a two-lane road flanked by guardrail. Beyond, the land dropped away into a wispy blue ocean that disappeared into the morning fog. I lifted the sash a few inches. Through the screen came the crash of water against rocks. I’d expected the sound to be soothing. But the ebb and swell along the cliffs seemed vicious. Ferocious. Unsettling. I pushed the pane back into place. The roar died, swapped for a muffled whoosh.

  A morning routine was out of the question. I had no soap, shampoo, or makeup. Not even a change of clothes since my own had been too bloodstained to salvage. The professor said all I had to do was ask and he’d get me everything I needed. But how foolish was that? I was thirty-three years old. I’d provided for my own needs practically my whole life. I had no intention of begging him for money or anything else.

  In the adjoining bathroom, I splashed water on my face one-handed, thinking that at the very least, soap should have been provided for guests. Denton hadn’t remembered all the basics when he’d speed-shopped for my wardrobe, though his thoughtfulness let me check out of the hospital fully clothed instead of with my skivvies peeking through the gap in the back of my gown. And at least he’d remembered a toothbrush and toothpaste. Still, I wished I’d grabbed a bar of soap and a minishampoo before checking out of the Lumpy Mattress Motel yesterday.

  I toweled off, pausing as I got a glimpse of myself. The woman in the mirror looked strained, with dark smudges beneath her eyes. I touched a finger to the skin. Time was catching up to me. Subtle crow’s feet splayed my temple area, a testimony to periodic heartbreak. A deeper gash across my forehead labeled me a worrywart. A crop of gray highlights tufted from the center part of my below-the-shoulder auburn hair, the effects of chronic anxiety.

  I forced a smile. My bottom lids arched up. Brad told me it made me look exotic. But squinty-eyed was a more apt description.

  Letting my smile fade, I
ran a finger across the frown lines framing my mouth. I looked haunted, like the ghost of Tish Amble. Something more than disappointment had changed the appearance of my face.

  Sure, I got frustrated with life when a visit from the Yooper Godfather put my marriage proposal on hold- Yooper being the name you call somebody from the U.P., as in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. But there was something else, something beyond dejection in my eyes. Something I couldn’t finger…

  A heavy knock sounded at the door.

  “Alisha. We’re leaving in ten minutes.”

  It was Denton, barking orders in a voice so unlike the soft-spoken one he’d used at the hospital to schmooze the staff.

  I looked in the mirror one last time, helpless to do anything about my appearance.

  I shrugged at myself in apology. “Coming,” I called.

  With one arm working and the other too tender to be of much use, I slithered into my Levis, and topped them with a five-dollar tee in blaze orange. The jeans fell a tad on the short side. I managed to roll up the bottoms a few turns, making them into pedal pushers, my cure for everything that landed at or above my ankles. I checked my trim silhouette in the mirror and raked fingers through my hair, having no choice but to leave it down. There was no getting around the fact that ponytail holders required two operating arms. I gave the overall look a thumbs-up, grateful I didn’t know a soul west of the Mississippi.

  The hall was empty. I made my way past closed doors painted white and trimmed with gold leaf, then down the sweeping staircase to the kitchen, where Ms. Fussy-britches busily buffed the stovetop with a white cloth.

  “Good morning,” she said with her lilting Irish accent. “Morning,” I returned in my strictly Midwestern one. “I’m just going to grab a quick bowl of cereal.” I paused, nervous my words may have offended her. “If that’s okay,” I added.