Monroe, Melody S. - Verdict (Siren Publishing Classic) (19 page)

“Tell me anyway.”

“They think
you
killed Cho.”

Tension nearly strangled him. “Because of the photo?”

The black SUV pulled out of the lot. The plates were from Georgia. It could have been the same vehicle. Lake City was no more than forty miles from the Georgia border.

“Yes.”

“And Thomason suggested they put an APB out on me.” He slammed his fist against stucco wall.

“More or less.”

What an ass. Stone nearly burst a vein. “Here I am trying to protect Susan from a killer and my own coworkers think
I’m
the one who’s guilty?” This case had been FUBAR from the start. “Did Harrison agree with Thomason’s assessment?” He paced in front of the room, his gut churning up a storm.

“No, but with the evidence right in front of him, he had to do something. Harrison agreed to bring you in for questioning. That’s all.”

That’s all?. Stone wished he smoked, or drank heavily. Going for a run to burn off his excess energy was out of the question since Susan wasn’t in any shape to join him, and he refused to leave her alone.

“I need a place to hide until all this mess gets straightened out.”

From the noise in the background, Tom must have been tapping his feet or drumming his fingers on a hard surface. “Why don’t you two stay at Dad’s in West Virginia?”

Tom and he used to spend every summer at the cabin. He was hoping Tom would offer the place. “That would be great, but what about your father? I don’t want to put him in jeopardy, nor do I want him arrested for harboring a fugitive.”

“He’s here with me. He came for my birthday.”

Oh, shit. He and Tom always celebrated their birthdays together. “Hey, sorry I missed it.”

“We can party later. You know where the key is, don’t you?”

“Couldn’t forget.”

He knew every nook and cranny of the two-bedroom cabin, not to mention all the hiking trails surrounding the remote site. The only problem would be convincing Susan to hide in the dark, scary woods.

* * * *

“In the daytime, this place is rather charming.” Susan didn’t want to spoil Stone’s excitement about his friend’s cabin. At night, the woods would be a different story.

A large gust of winter wind swooshed past, and she shivered. Stone stepped behind her and ran his hands up and down her jacketed arms. She inched backwards to bridge the gap between them. If he tilted his head down, she bet his chin would have skimmed the top of her head. Their closeness warmed her.

“Tom and I came up here every summer. It was the best time of my life.” He dropped his arms and stepped back.

Because of way his voice trailed off, she debated turning around to drink in his expression but decided not to intrude on his privacy.

Instead, she studied Stone’s childhood castle. A big picture window took up most of the left side of the single-story log cabin. Underneath the window were two wooded window boxes that contained only dirt and some unidentifiable dead flowers. When the weather warmed, she bet the flowers would come to life and dress the cabin in color.

She looked up. “It has a chimney! I could use a glowing fire right now.”

She’d been in such a rush when they’d gone shopping, she hadn’t purchased warm enough clothes for February, and Florida’s selection of down jackets was close to zero, and to think she had a closet full of ski clothes at her house. Stone had said they’d stop in Brevard and pick up some gear, but once they found Gary Cho, all thoughts of shopping dropped off their radar.

As he searched for the key, she looked down the gravel drive leading to the cabin. Driving on the pebbles had made lots of crunching noise. If someone came up to the cabin, Stone and she were sure to hear him. It was kind of like their own alarm system. She liked that.

“I got it.” He waved the key.

Mr. Traynor had hidden it under the lip of a bird feeder. What a clever man.

Stone took their suitcases from the trunk and showed her inside.

The fireplace was the centerpiece of the cozy room. “Nice.” She could have done without the rifles below the mounted deer head though, but refugees couldn’t be picky.

He set down their suitcases. “It’s small, but the cabin has all the comforts of home.”

She liked how the light streamed in through the kitchen window. The view of the forest would be amazing once spring came and the mountain laurels bloomed. Right now, patches of snow were tucked under some rocks, and only dots of green shot up from the ground.

She hoped she wouldn’t be here that long because as soon as the FBI caught the maniac who was killing the jurors, she’d be free to go home and practice law again. A rush of excitement grabbed her until she realized Stone would be off on another assignment, protecting someone else, and she’d never seen him again. It wouldn’t matter to him that they had amazing sex. Their encounter was probably just relief to him.

She kept her back to him as she pretended to study the view, not wanting him to see her chin quiver.

“Pretty nice, here, huh?” he said.

He seemed excited to be back in a place that elicited good memories.

“It’s much nicer than I imagined.” She forced cheeriness into her tone.

Trying to live in the here and now, she passed the kitchen table and checked out the small cooking area. She trailed her fingers along the worn countertop. The stove needed a good cleaning, but Tom’s dad seemed to have equipped the cabin nicely.

She faced him. “Mr. Traynor doesn’t mind if we stay here?”

“He’ll be in Washington for the next week or so. When he comes back, we’ll have to find someplace else to stay.”

“Too bad. This house is nice.” She wrinkled her nose. “Do you think we could open a window for a few minutes? It smells kind of musty.”

“Hank probably took a vacation before he visited Tom, but I like the smell. Reminds me of the delicious aroma of those cinnamon buns Mrs. Traynor used to make. And her sourdough bread was amazing. Man, could she cook.” His eyes shone as he went to the window behind the kitchen table. “I know this one opens.” He lifted the sash.

Cold air rushed in, carrying with it the sweet smell of pine. “Thanks.” She waited until he faced her. “You know, I am feeling a lot better and can manage on my own. If you want to go back to Washington to straighten out this mess about the FBI thinking you harmed Cho, I’m okay with that.”

He placed his hands on her shoulders. “You can’t get rid of me that easily. I will not leave you until he’s caught. Too bad we have no idea where he is.” He smiled and her insides turned to mush.

Stone tilted her chin upward, and from the dreamy look in his eyes, she knew he was going to kiss her. She closed her lids, her heart racing, body waiting. He placed a kiss on her forehead and her stomach caved. Damn.

Her eyes sprang open as she took a step back. “You’re right. Absolutely right. The moment you leave here, the guy could find me.” God, this was more embarrassing than when she made the same error of judgment with Timmy Jackson. At least she was only ten then and had a good excuse.

He must have decided their interlude was a one-time affair. Too bad. Then again, Stone was only hired to protect her and nothing more.

She tapped his chest. “I wasn’t trying to get rid of you. I didn’t want you to feel obligated to stay by my side.” Giving him a way out would ease her conscience.

“In case I didn’t mention it before, I have a price on my head. I’d like to stay hidden for a little while longer. The Bureau will catch this guy. Don’t worry. Then you can move back to Washington and resume your life.”

What if I don’t want to resume my stressful life?
“Great.”

“Come on. Let’s unpack. We need to discuss what we’re going to do for money.”

“Money?” Any joy she’d experienced being alone in the cabin with Stone evaporated.

He tapped her nose. “Think about it. I can’t use the FBI credit card anymore since the Bureau will know where we are. I only have enough cash to buy about three days’ worth of groceries.”

She hadn’t realized their situation was so dire. “I can wait tables. I got through law school at a diner next to the college.” She wasn’t going to let him support her.

He picked up her suitcase. “We’ll figure something out. Go pick a bedroom.”

For a split second, she wished the place only had one bedroom, so they could make love all night and cuddle.
Don’t be so romantic
.

“You said you and Tom came up here every summer. Which room did you stay in?” He’d probably feel more comfortable there.

“Tom and I shared the one on the left.”

Sight unseen, she chose the one on the right.

He put her bag in her new room. “Why don’t you take a shower, change, and we can go for a winter stroll,” he said.

He had to be kidding. “It might get dark before we get back.”

“We won’t go far. Besides, we have another two hours of light.”

Suddenly, she liked the idea of holding his hand, talking freely, sharing her thoughts. “I’ll hurry.”

When she emerged from cleaning up, Stone had placed a dark blue down jacket, a pretty navy scarf, and matching gloves on her bed.

“Where did these come from?” Her gear wouldn’t have kept her warm for long.

“The Traynors are big hikers and hunters. There’s a large hidden basement where they keep all sorts of camping gear. I pilfered them from down there. Tom’s mom passed away a few years ago. His dad apparently never got rid of her things.”

His gaze slipped to the ground. Susan hurried to get into the clothes. She didn’t want him to dwell on the loss.

Once dressed, they headed out. The trail going west behind the house took them past two waterfalls, separated by a large gap. “I never expected the woods to be so magical. This place is really beautiful.” Shoulder to shoulder, she looked up at him and smiled.

He took her gloved hands in his and pulled her around to face him. “I find there’s more beauty right in front of me.”

If he hadn’t been holding her hands, she would have covered her face. Surely the scars on her cheek made her ugly. He must be saying nice things to help her relax and forget about being in the woods. Before she could tell him he was out of his mind, he leaned over and kissed her, his warm breath fanning her lips. Her eyes automatically closed and she moved closer. She wanted to open her mouth and invite him in, but then she’d want more, a lot more. If he rejected her, the hurt would tear her apart.

She wanted to take off her gloves and run her hands down his face and under his jacket, but she was too busy tasting his lips. Before she finished exploring the wonders of Stone Watson, FBI agent, he cupped her face and pulled away.

Hey.
Bereft of contact, she sagged.

He angled his body toward the waterfall and waved toward the cabin. “Maybe we should get back.”

What happened to,
Wow, Susan, that was an amazing kiss. Let’s not stop?
He knew how good they were together. Or at least, she believed they had something special.

“Sure.” Men were jerks.

What had she expected him to say given it was forty degrees outside? That he wanted to strip and make mad passionate love on the ground? Perhaps he wanted to head back and be more comfortable in the bedroom. Her pulse raced.

At least she wouldn’t be cold on the walk back to the cabin. His kisses had thoroughly heated her.

* * * *

Stone yawned and fought the urge to turn the Jeep around and head back to the cabin. He’d gotten absolutely no sleep last night. He’d wanted to head into Susan’s bedroom more than anything, but sex always messed things up. His head wasn’t on straight enough to make love to her. When he was acquitted, he’d find a way to be her lover again.

He glanced at her resting form. Feet propped up on the dash, eyes closed, but from her uneven breathing, she wasn’t asleep.

He pulled to the curb at the town center and cut the engine.

She yawned, stretched, and unhooked her seatbelt. She ran her gaze down the street. “You really think the hardware store will hire you just like that?”

“I’m not planning to work there. I want some leads. Working small jobs makes me more flexible since I don’t want to stay at any one job for long.”

“Makes sense.”

If he could have worked under an assumed name, he would have, but the town folk of Shepherd Hills knew him as a friend of Hank Traynor’s boy. Hiding his identity in this town was impossible.

He had told a small fib to Susan. He did have money to last a week, but staying around the house with nothing to do might have led him to do something stupid. The kiss in the forest had ignited his blood once again. He wanted her, but no good could come of their relationship once she resumed her life as a lawyer, so why set himself up for disappointment down the road?

Asking Susan to come along while he searched for a job only added to his desires, but he wouldn’t leave her back at the cabin.

She eased out of the Jeep. “Look.” She pointed to the Shepherd’s Diner a few businesses south of the hardware store. “They have a Help Wanted sign.”