because of your scars.”
“Then why’d you say it?”
Her cheeks flushed again as she found a spot on the wall behind him to stare at. “Because I can’t think with you half naked.” The way she spoke through gritted teeth told him she meant it even if she didn’t want to admit it.
It shouldn’t please him, but it did. Probably too much. He bit back a grin because it would only annoy her. Eve was one of the few women he knew who didn’t focus on superficial stuff. And she’d been one of the few people who hadn’t acted like she felt sorry for him when he’d moved home injured, scarred and pissed off at the world. No, she’d told him to get over himself and be thankful he was alive.
“Stay put and don’t get into trouble for sixty seconds, okay?” Without waiting for a response he hurried to his room and tossed on a pair of faded jeans and a sweater. He found her sitting in the same spot with that worried expression on her face. “What’s going on?”
“I just saw a murder,” she blurted. As she launched into a crazy story he was torn between strangling her and hugging her. When she finally finished she tucked a wayward curl behind her ear and stared at him with wide eyes.
“You really think Richard Underwood killed Martin?” Allen Martin was one of the sleaziest men Mac knew. He owned five car dealerships around the immediate area and lived up to that greasy car salesman cliché. But that didn’t mean he deserved to be shot.
“I…I don’t know who killed him, but Richard’s car was outside the house. Whoever chased after me wasn’t him. That much I’m pretty sure of. The guy had an accent.”
“How do you know?”
“When he called the phone—”
“That you took .” It was smart she’d taken it to call the police, but stupid that she’d been there by herself in the first place.
She gritted her teeth. “Don’t interrupt. When he called Martin’s phone he said ‘I hear it’ or something like that.”
“Then he was probably talking to someone.”
“Yeah, maybe.” Her eyes glazed over for a moment and he could practically see the wheels turning in her head.
“What is it?”
Instantly she jerked out of her trance and cleared her throat. “Nothing. Can I stay here tonight? I don’t think whoever it was recognized me but just in case I’d feel safer here.”
“You need to call Sheriff Marcel,” he said mildly, knowing it wouldn’t do a bit of difference in convincing her.
She shook her head. “No way. Those jerks don’t know what they’re doing. They’ll probably think it was me or something.”
Mac bit back a sigh because he understood her anger. Her parents had been killed by a drunk driver and the current sheriff’s predecessor had botched the entire process. It had gone to trial but when they’d lost the blood test results with the other driver’s blood alcohol content, it had been over before it began. And it didn’t help that the attending officer had been a new recruit and had gotten so flustered on the stand, the defendant’s attorney had ripped him apart.
“You can’t lump Marcel and his guys in with…his predecessor.” Mac didn’t even like to say Frank Reed’s name. It only made pain flash in Eve’s eyes and seeing that was like someone stabbing him.
“I can do whatever I want,” she said, though she’d lost most of her steam. “Besides, Marcel’s mad at me because he thinks I got in the way of his last investigation. I don’t want to give him more ammunition against me.”
“He’s pissed at you because you keep turning him down for dates.” How did she not know that?
Eve blinked twice then frowned at him. “He’s not serious .”
Mac snorted. Oh yes, the sheriff was. He’d been after Eve since she’d moved back to town a couple years ago. And he wasn’t the only one. It shouldn’t bother Mac. He had no claim on her. But damn if he didn’t want her for himself. Things between them would be too complicated though and he
“Then why’d you say it?”
Her cheeks flushed again as she found a spot on the wall behind him to stare at. “Because I can’t think with you half naked.” The way she spoke through gritted teeth told him she meant it even if she didn’t want to admit it.
It shouldn’t please him, but it did. Probably too much. He bit back a grin because it would only annoy her. Eve was one of the few women he knew who didn’t focus on superficial stuff. And she’d been one of the few people who hadn’t acted like she felt sorry for him when he’d moved home injured, scarred and pissed off at the world. No, she’d told him to get over himself and be thankful he was alive.
“Stay put and don’t get into trouble for sixty seconds, okay?” Without waiting for a response he hurried to his room and tossed on a pair of faded jeans and a sweater. He found her sitting in the same spot with that worried expression on her face. “What’s going on?”
“I just saw a murder,” she blurted. As she launched into a crazy story he was torn between strangling her and hugging her. When she finally finished she tucked a wayward curl behind her ear and stared at him with wide eyes.
“You really think Richard Underwood killed Martin?” Allen Martin was one of the sleaziest men Mac knew. He owned five car dealerships around the immediate area and lived up to that greasy car salesman cliché. But that didn’t mean he deserved to be shot.
“I…I don’t know who killed him, but Richard’s car was outside the house. Whoever chased after me wasn’t him. That much I’m pretty sure of. The guy had an accent.”
“How do you know?”
“When he called the phone—”
“That you took .” It was smart she’d taken it to call the police, but stupid that she’d been there by herself in the first place.
She gritted her teeth. “Don’t interrupt. When he called Martin’s phone he said ‘I hear it’ or something like that.”
“Then he was probably talking to someone.”
“Yeah, maybe.” Her eyes glazed over for a moment and he could practically see the wheels turning in her head.
“What is it?”
Instantly she jerked out of her trance and cleared her throat. “Nothing. Can I stay here tonight? I don’t think whoever it was recognized me but just in case I’d feel safer here.”
“You need to call Sheriff Marcel,” he said mildly, knowing it wouldn’t do a bit of difference in convincing her.
She shook her head. “No way. Those jerks don’t know what they’re doing. They’ll probably think it was me or something.”
Mac bit back a sigh because he understood her anger. Her parents had been killed by a drunk driver and the current sheriff’s predecessor had botched the entire process. It had gone to trial but when they’d lost the blood test results with the other driver’s blood alcohol content, it had been over before it began. And it didn’t help that the attending officer had been a new recruit and had gotten so flustered on the stand, the defendant’s attorney had ripped him apart.
“You can’t lump Marcel and his guys in with…his predecessor.” Mac didn’t even like to say Frank Reed’s name. It only made pain flash in Eve’s eyes and seeing that was like someone stabbing him.
“I can do whatever I want,” she said, though she’d lost most of her steam. “Besides, Marcel’s mad at me because he thinks I got in the way of his last investigation. I don’t want to give him more ammunition against me.”
“He’s pissed at you because you keep turning him down for dates.” How did she not know that?
Eve blinked twice then frowned at him. “He’s not serious .”
Mac snorted. Oh yes, the sheriff was. He’d been after Eve since she’d moved back to town a couple years ago. And he wasn’t the only one. It shouldn’t bother Mac. He had no claim on her. But damn if he didn’t want her for himself. Things between them would be too complicated though and he
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