Nick retrieved two forks from a drawer and was searching for plates when the microwave dinged. From the angle she sat, she could see the absence of any crockery in the cupboard.
Holding the container, Nick spun around his kitchen at a loss to do. He looked kind of adorable when he was lost. Like a puppy.
She indicated the counter. “I won’t tell if you don’t.”
He grinned and her heart tripped then sped up. Damn traitorous organ. Didn’t it know all it did was set her up to ache?
“I like your style, Riley O’Neill.”
They ate mostly in silence. At first it had been awkward, both eating out of the container, their forks clinking as steel met steel, the tines locking together but they worked it out and stuck to their own assigned sides to avoid such issues. It was fun. More fun then she’d had in a while. She relaxed, enjoying the slow culmination of their comradery. Riley was almost sad to see the end of it.
Finishing up, Nick stacked their dirty items into his dishwasher and started it.
Riley studied his back, the contours which outlined his hard muscles that shifted as he moved. He was one of the finest male specimens she’d ever had the pleasure to look upon with his wide shoulders, thick chest and arms, and tapered waist.
He wasn’t just handsome. He was downright sexy and she wanted to lick him all over.
Nick straightened and she quickly looked away, afraid to be caught ogling him. Her skin flushed and she swallowed against a dry throat.
“It’s still early. Wanna watch a movie? I’m sure I can find some chick flick we can enjoy.”
What did it say about her that this was the most exciting proposition she’d had in some time?
“Sure. But only if you make it a mindless action instead. You know the ones that have more special effects than storyline.”
“I can manage that. Why don’t you get comfortable? Want something to drink?”
“Water.” She needed something to cool her down. Riley almost giggled. It was almost the dead of winter and yet she was decidedly warm.
He handed her a glass, sat and then, remote control in hand, began flicking through the selections available. Riley sank to the couch on the other side, as far from Nick and his delectable body as she could get. Which seemed to war with what she really wanted to do. Kicking her heels off, she stretched out her legs only to snap them back when her feet encountered warm steel.
Nick’s gaze slid to her. “Stretch out. I don’t mind.” He took hold of one foot and eased it back to where she’d had it before, feeling as though she’d been burned. She did the same with the other before he could touch her. She found she liked his hands on her bare skin far too much.
Riley settled on the couch and waited for the movie to start. It wasn’t long before they were amidst unbelievable stunts and corny dialogue. She didn’t care. It was just the thing she needed to relax into the night.
She lasted a quarter of the way through before struggling to keep her eyes open. While she didn’t want this night—and this new peace between her and Nick—to end, she had two choices. Fall asleep and wake to Nick nudging her where she wouldn’t be accountable for her sleepy actions or go to bed now and simply fantasise about them.
Riley picked option two.
It was safer.
Yawning, she stretched then scooped to retrieve her heels.
“I feel like such a lightweight but I’m exhausted. I’m going to head to bed.”
“Okay. I’m just going to finish this. See you in the morning.”
Riley nodded. Rolling her shoulders, she was surprised to find she wasn’t as tense as she’d thought she’d be.
Tonight was just what she needed to get her mind off her troubles. That, and a sexy detective who’d been in her dreams for almost two years.
She leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek. His stubble was rough against her lips. An electric zing raced through her bloodstream, awakening each individual nerve ending. Everything inside her froze. She hadn’t meant to do that. Her stomach knotted, worried about his reaction. Nick simply nodded.
“Sweet dreams, Riley.”
She smiled.
She planned to.
Chapter 10
When Nick got to the LAC—Local Area Command, he immediately assembled the team for a meeting. He’d called them last night after Riley had gone to bed, detailing the new circumstances and each and every one of them had reacted violently. Riley was one of their own. She was Nick’s woman. None of them said it those simple terms but Nick heard the unspoken words. It didn’t matter to them that he and Riley had never shared a kiss let alone anything else and up until last night hadn’t spent more than a few hours in each other’s company it was just a fact. Nick desired her so therefore she was his. He’d never mentioned his attraction except to James and his partner would never break a confidence, but then he didn’t have to. It would be clear even to a blind man.
He hadn’t been able to relax, knowing somewhere in the city, a man wanted to do harm to her. Which had made this morning harder when after his morning run he’d had to lay down some ground rules—knowing they wouldn’t sit well with Riley. Rule number one being not to leave the apartment under any circumstances. One word had been all it taken for him to receive a death glare. He got the feeling Riley wasn’t much of a morning person. He liked learning these little bits about her.
For what he had thought would be a full-on battle of wills, Riley well known for her workaholic status, she accepted his terms.
“The bastard’s been in her apartment, I’m sure of that. He described everything down to the smallest detail.”
He had spent the better part of the night reading through the entire novel, learning all that he could. The killer had stepped up. This time there were three would-be victims, Riley O’Neill the last but not if Nick could help it. He outlined to the team his plan. The killer was cocky and whatever his motives for sharing his intentions with Riley, he had helped the police by describing his victims with exceptional detail. While it hardly closed the case, it did give them a place to start. Nick had already called for the sketch artist to be ready and as soon as he provided the man with the manuscript will begin drawing the women the killer had fixated on.
Darryl Hill, a man with brown eyes and matching short-cropped hair spoke up. “What about the manuscripts themselves, at least in the first case? Was it deliberately addressed to Riley or was it purely coincidental? Surely she’s not the only one in the publishing house to read submissions?”
“Riley found it shoved under her apartment door.”
The eldest of them, Matt Murphy sat up straighter. “Do you think he placed them there himself? What kind of security does Riley’s building have?”
Nick recalled the details he’d stored on her apartment building. “I’m not sure. Riley says she has several manuscripts delivered directly to her home and the mailman obligingly pushes them under her door. I don’t recall seeing a postage stamp so it stands to reason they could’ve been delivered in person. As for her building, it’s pretty secure but we all know if someone wants to get in, they’ll get in. Little deterrents won’t stop them.”
James frowned. “What about the mailman? Is he a possible suspect?”
“Philip Melville has been a mailman with an impeccable record for over twenty years. He has a wife and two kids who say he was at home during both murders. I’ve already checked.”
“Okay, so not the mailman. What about her neighbours?” Matt asked, his green eyes narrowing.
“No single guys unless you count the eighty-five-year-old across the hall. Other than that, the men are married with young children and have mainstream jobs which wouldn’t give them a lot of leeway. Besides, they are sure to be missed by their wives.”
Darryl made notes on the pad in front of him. “Wouldn’t hurt to check things out, run a search against them and Brittany Hudson and Olivia Charles and see what pops up. Our last check between the women came up a bust but this time who
knows.”
“Good, I’d also like to throw Riley into the mix. He could be fixating on her because she has the means to publish his books but it could be for an entirely different reason. Like you said it wouldn’t hurt to check it out.”
“I’ll do a complete search on Riley, I doubt you’ll find much on her but it’s probably best if it’s done by an impartial eye.” This was from James.
“This is personal for all of us. Don’t forget that. Riley is family and some SOB out there is threatening her.” Matt voiced what they were all thinking. “He isn’t going to get close enough to her. Where is she now?”
Nick’s gut tightened. “My place.”
Three pairs of eyes bored into him.
“Is that such a good idea, surely we can arrange for someone—Watson maybe, to watch her?” Darryl advised.
“I can’t trust this to anyone. Riley means too much to me.” It was the first time he’d admitted it out loud, let alone to the men who were like brothers to him. He didn’t care. They would understand his need to protect and guard Riley himself. They all feel the same way about their own wives.
“All right, but be careful,” Matt told him. “The last thing we want to see is Riley or yourself hurt and you two are volatile together.”
You can say that again. Sometimes Nick thought the two of them would implode just being in the same room as each other. He had to find a way to watch Riley at the same time as he kept his distance. If he allowed himself, he’d forget all his best intentions and then they’d be up shit creek without a paddle—or not, an inner voice taunted him. You don’t know for sure what the future will bring and while you keep your tail tucked firmly between your legs, the best thing in your life might just walk away without a backward look. Sometimes the greater risk is not to take a chance.
But it wasn’t just his future he was risking, it was Riley’s as well, and all their friends.
***
Hours later, Nick closed the apartment door behind him. His gaze immediately fell on Riley sitting in his favourite chair, a novel in her hand. A steaming mug of coffee rested on a coaster on the table beside his chair. His breath caught in his throat and butterflies danced in his stomach. Strange how in less than twenty-four hours, she already looked like she belonged there and he couldn’t ignore the way his heart had thumped knowing she was at his home, waiting for him. She looked beautiful. Riley always did but today it seemed she did even more so, her hair glowing from the naked light bulb above her, her feet neatly tucked beneath her body.
“Hey.” Seeing him, she put aside the novel. “I didn’t know what time you’d be back or if you wanted me poking around your cupboards or not, so I figured we’d call out for dinner. Chinese. Indian. I know this great Thai place.”
She stopped before him.
“Okay.”
She bit her lower lip. “Sorry. I’m not used to be cooped up all day. I guess I’ve kinda just been storing up my words.” She smiled brightly. “How was your day?”
“Fine. We’re no closer to finding out who our killer is though.” He brushed past her and fixed himself a stiff drink.
Riley followed him. “You’ll catch him. Of that, I have no doubt.”
Nick grunted.
“What is it? Is everything all right? Oh God.” She gasped and held her hand over her heart. “He hasn’t killed already, has he?”
Nick studied Riley and tried to see the woman in the file that James had given him. It was hard to imagine but it was true. He had the evidence and as they say a picture was worth a thousand words. Well he had a picture and the words were telling a story.
“No, he hasn’t, not yet.” He downed the contents of his drink. The harsh liquor hitting his empty stomach with vigour.
“Then what’s wrong? And don’t lie to me.” She eyed his newly poured Scotch.
“Ha, that’s rich coming from you.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Nick stalked towards her. “Tell me about this,” he ordered, dropping the file he held onto the leather couch.
Riley slowly leaned down and flipped the manila folder open and Nick knew she was staring down at a photo of herself, although younger, barely out of high school. She quickly closed the folder and took a deep breath.
Her cheeks turned pink.
“This girl is gone.” Her tone told him that was the end of discussion. She tossed the file in the general direction of the coffee table. It missed and fell to the soft carpet.
“And if this has something to do with the case?” He needed to know, the picture asking more questions than the report answered.
“It doesn’t.”
He stared at her with unbending eyes. “Riley, it’s important.”
She threw up her arms. “What do you want to know?” Her voice was little more than a snarl. “Do you not get how embarrassing this is? I was nineteen, naïve, stupid. I met him not long after my grandparents died. Declan had moved to Victoria. I was alone. So, I did what any lonely girl does. I fell in love. The worst mistake of my life.”
She sank to her knees in front of the file, opening it up again and looked down at the mug shot, her blue eyes haunted, at least they haunted him. “At first it was a fairy tale. Then I was arrested. Joyriding in a stolen vehicle.” She snorted. “That’s when the truth came out. He was a criminal, using me for respectability. While I went to work, he was stealing and cheating on me.”
Her lip quivered. “The cops let me off with a warning, in respect for my father but not before telling me how ashamed my father would be for how I ended up. Not that they needed to. I was already there.”
Nick waited, knowing there was more, not willing to interrupt Riley’s story. He had a feeling this was the first time she’d spoken about that time of her life, that the events probably had a lasting effect on her even now.
“He thought I was so stupid, and for a time, I was. Blinded by what I believed was love. But once my eyes were opened everything fell into place. Every conversation he’d had in my presence, every person I’d met while on their own meant nothing, suddenly with context became clear and I gave the police everything. The stupid girl had the power to take down his entire operation.”
Her eyes darkened. “He didn’t like that. He found me before the police could arrest him. Tried to get his vengeance using his fists. He wouldn’t be deterred. So, I shot out his knee with my brother’s Browning.”
“Jesus, Riley.”
“I couldn’t kill him. Despite him destroying the person I had been and trying to beat me into subservience, I couldn’t. I left him writhing on the floor and never looked back. I came to Harbour Bay—it seemed to have a healing quality I desperately needed.”
He couldn’t argue with that. Many people he knew had flocked to town looking for a better life.
Riley glared at him, her eyes bright with anger and a little sadness too. “I look back at those days in mortification. How desperate I was to be loved that I didn’t see at first the type of man he was. That it took being arrested for me to open my eyes.”
He could imagine how much that day had affected her. He knew only too well how shame stayed with you long after the event.
She handed him back the folder. “I don’t want this brought up again, Nick, understand?”
“Riley.” Her name was said on a sigh. “I’m going to have to do a search for him. He could be the one we’re looking for. Who else would have a searing grudge against you?”
“You know perfectly well it doesn’t take much and believe me if he was in my apartment I would know. Besides, I doubt he even came looking for me. I meant nothing to him.”
“I don’t know about that. Men don’t tend to forget someone who sent them to prison, let alone who blew out their knee.”
Riley shrugged. “He was a coward. But do what you have to. I just don’t need to know.” She blew out a breath while at the same time composed herself. The fire inside her once blazing now nothing but a glowing ember slowly dying. “So
, Thai?”
Without waiting for his assent, she called the restaurant on the cheap supermarket mobile they’d purchased after leaving Riley’s in her apartment and ordered take-out.
He didn’t argue, instead, he rolled her words around his head. She may not want to know but he did, for his own peace of mind.
Chapter 11
Nursing her first coffee of the day, Riley almost burnt her tongue as she gulped down the hot liquid as Nick appeared. The man could rock running shorts which not only displayed the corded muscle of his legs but drew attention to his thick thighs. The shirt plastered to his torso revealed his abs, biceps, and pecs.
Everything about him was plain unfair. No man should look that good. At least have the grace to make him ugly instead of raven-haired with sapphire blue eyes. His dark stubble he’d yet to shave added to the allure.
And they called women sirens.
Even his personality wasn’t so bad. He wasn’t arrogant or chauvinist. He simply was someone’s idea of perfect and mixed him together. Someone like her.
And he knew her darkest secret—her deepest shame. Something she’d not even shared with her brother or Megan.
She had thought she might pass out the moment she’d flipped the folder open, and stared down her younger self, a woman so eager to be loved she’d allowed a man to manipulate her. Something she refused to let happen now. She was the one in control, the one who dictated how a relationship went which explained why she’d been single most of her adult life.
She wanted to hate him for dredging up her past yet she found she couldn’t. While she wanted to forget it ever happened, it still had power over her to this day.
Sleep had eluded her, memories of the past dancing inside her head. She’d finally given up and decided to sit and watch the sunrise. Nick had one of the best views in this part of town.
“Mornin’.”
Nick studied her as he entered the kitchen. He retrieved a clean glass from the cupboard. He’d obviously unpacked the dishwater before retiring the previous night. Filling it with water, he took a healthy swallow.
Fatal Fiction (Harbour Bay Book 5) Page 6
