Turner wasn’t easily appeased. He turned suspicious eyes on the three of them. “Fine,” he relented, “but I’ll question you one by one. And I’m separating you.”
That Luke couldn’t like, though he knew it was reasonable. Turner didn’t want them cooking up shared stories. Martin nodded calmly at the warning, followed shortly by A.J.
“Whatever we can answer, we will,” she said.
She glanced at Luke and smiled slightly. She was telling him he’d be okay, that he’d done what he had to. The simple message soothed his anxiety. His shoulders unkinked at least halfway.
Separated or not, they’d get through this together.
*
Turner’s interrogations ended pretty much as A.J. expected: with the detective making no arrests and mentally planning his press conference. Truthfully, there was no one to arrest. Martin had shot Sven to stop him from strangling her while she was unconscious. Luke had killed Wilhelmina to save Martin. Their stories coordinated because they were genuine. Most of Turner’s questions for A.J. involved how they’d concluded the masseuse and Sven were behind the other attacks.
Though he rolled his eyes, he heard out her suggestion that he check whatever phones and computers he found among the pair’s belongings.
“One of them should have the original video of Teresa Ricci kissing Luke outside Michelson’s. You’ll be able to prove they filmed it. And that Wilhelmina manipulated the Listie shippers to do her bidding. Also, if one of them doesn’t own the blue sedan that hit her, they assuredly had access.”
“I know my job,” he told her.
“Sorry,” she said, though she wasn’t. If he’d known it that well, he’d have solved the case before them. “Oh, if it happens you’d like a record of our receptionist’s undercover work on the Listie site, I’m sure she’d be happy to copy you on that.”
“Your
receptionist’s
undercover work.”
A.J. smiled sweetly. “All Hoyt-Sands employees have smarts and initiative.”
Between what she and Martin had given Turner, A.J. was certain he could spin his department into looking like geniuses. That was fine with her. Right then her main desire was quality time communing with her pillow . . . preferably with it next to Luke’s.
Sadly, she couldn’t lay her head down yet. Luke was updating his staff on the situation’s resolution—and thanking them for not losing it when the shit hit the fan. A.J. and Martin shared a similar briefing with their team. Then they checked on Szymanski, who spoke to them sleepily.
“Walk?” Martin asked once they’d shut their coworker’s door behind them again. “I could use a breath of air.”
A.J. supposed she could as well. She followed Martin out the nearest exit to the balcony on the ocean side of the house. The sound of the waves was soothing; the night quiet enough to hear palm fronds rustle in the breeze. It was hard to believe her men had chased Wilhelmina around these grounds a few hours ago.
“Phew,” Martin said, leaning his forearms on the balustrade. He’d changed his shirt, and the new one was clean and bright. “I’m grateful that man’s hard-headed. I did not want to break bad news to Mrs. S.”
“Me either,” A.J. seconded. She braced straight-armed on the concrete header, taking a moment to stretch out her calf muscles. “Finding Szymanski collapsed at the bottom of those steps was—” She broke off. She’d just caught sight of the bare third finger on her left hand.
“Shit,” she said, horrified. “Luke’s ring must have fallen off! That diamond had to be twenty carats. And it was blue! God only knows what it’s worth.”
Martin had the chutzpah to laugh at her.
“This isn’t funny! If I don’t find it, I’ll need a couple lifetimes to pay him back.”
“I have it,” Martin said, digging down in his trouser pocket. “I’d have told you sooner but I forgot. I grabbed it off the floor in the basement. Wilhelmina wrenched it from your finger while Sven was strangling you. I guess she didn’t think you deserved to wear it.”
That painted an image she didn’t need in her head. “That is scary. I wasn’t even aware they were doing it.”
“It scared me too, believe me.” He opened his palm to show her the ring, which glinted even in low light. “Give me your hand. You may as well enjoy this while you can.”
She obeyed without too much thought. Her finger undoubtedly was the safest place for it. Martin slid the circlet on, his attention on what he was doing. His guard must have been down, because the expression on his face shocked her.
He was wistful. He wished the ring had come from him. Everything she hadn’t wanted to understand about his feelings abruptly became too clear.
Martin didn’t realize he’d given himself away. He patted her hand lightly. “This looks good on you, kiddo. Maybe you were born for luxury.”
Given what she’d just witnessed, his tone couldn’t pass for humorous.
A.J. knew she should pretend he was teasing, but on this night, after all they’d been through, she just couldn’t.
“Please tell me you’re not serious about me,” she blurted. “It’s a proximity thing. Or the lure of the forbidden, because I’m your partner’s kid. You’re not in love with me.”
He didn’t deny she had reason to be concerned. His mouth tipped to one side, both his hands holding hers. “Honey, you have no idea how lovable you are.”
“Never mind that,” she snapped then realized how she sounded. “I mean, thank you. I appreciate you saying that as long as you realize you’ve got to be mistaken.”
“You mean you
hope
I’m mistaken, because you’re in love with Luke.”
She bit her lip. “I can’t help it. He snuck up on me.”
“I know he did. I watched him do it.” Martin’s eyes were sadder and sweeter than she’d known they could be.
“He’s a good man,” she tried, wondering if this would make things better. “He probably saved both our bacon tonight.”
“I agree,” was Martin’s unsatisfactory response.
“So . . . we’re okay? Working together won’t be awkward if Luke and I . . . get involved longer term? You and I can still be in each other’s lives?”
Martin’s smile was more amused now, but his hands rose to clasp her face. “Of course we can. Things might change a little, but not that.”
His affection didn’t reassure her. “People always make those kinds of promises, but how often are they true?”
“They’re true this time, honey. You mean a lot to me, and not just because I’m carrying a torch for you.”
Crap
, she thought. Tears overran her eyes as his words hit her. He wasn’t just a colleague or a mentor. He was her friend. No way could she bear losing him.
“Hey,” he scolded. “None of that. We’ve had enough drama for one day.”
He was right, so she wiped her cheeks.
“I’m holding you to your word,” she warned.
He smiled and leaned back against the railing. She prayed she could count on him.
*
A.J. was heading up the house’s levels when she encountered Naomi coming down one of the ornamental staircases. She suspected the otherwise pointless steps were designed as posing ramps for elegant women to glide down. Naomi was scampering and not gliding, though she did look nice in her fluttery silk slip and robe.
“Oh,” she said when she spotted A.J. on her way up. “Just the person I was hoping to bump into.”
The tight hug she swept A.J into took her aback.
“I’m so glad you’re all right!” Luke’s old friend exclaimed, her scent reminding A.J. of a Victoria Secret store. “And congratulations, by the way. You’re totally stealing my backup date, but since you cracked the case and kept him safe, I guess I’ll forgive you.”
“Uh,” A.J. said, mildly off balance. “My team and I were just doing our job.”
“So modest. Good Lord, let me check out this iceberg.” As she took A.J.’s hand to display the ring back and forth, A.J. realized what her congratulations had been about. “Luke sure doesn’t skimp on the gifting front.”
“That proposal was just for show,” A.J. felt obliged to say. “To beat the bushes and get the guilty party to fly out.”
“Of course it was,” Naomi scoffed. “No one who saw you two snogging on that stage would assume you’re crazy for each other.”
A.J. opened her mouth and then shut it. She didn’t know how to respond to that.
Naomi laughed at her speechlessness. “You’re too cute. No wonder Luke wants to marry you. By the way, I did my Sherlock impersonation while your team had the party guests herded together. It turns out Jerry Talon was Wilhelmina’s client too. We think she may have sussed out the restaurant date through him. Maybe peeked at the appointment app on his phone when she had him all relaxed on her table. Actually, Jerry feels terrible about it. The Ricci girl might be alive if it weren’t for Wilhelmina going psycho over her kissing Luke.”
“It is sad,” A.J. agreed. “But Jerry Talon isn’t responsible for her death.”
“I suppose not.” Naomi’s mouth twisted. “On the ironic side, I guess sometimes everything really is about Christie. She was the person who obsessed Wilhelmina most. She’s scarpered by the way. Her old ‘flame’ the TV werewolf drove out to pick her up. Because she was so ‘traumatized.’ I swear I saw her take a selfie of them kissing by his Ferrari. She’s going to keep up that hetero front to the bitter end.”
Naomi’s use of air quotes suggested she harbored some bitterness herself. A.J. guessed it was too soon for her to let go of the breakup.
“That’s Christie’s right,” she said, hoping she was pointing this out gently. “Be glad you’re braver than she is. You’re the lucky one, really.”
“I suppose.” Naomi heaved a dramatic sigh. “It’s just my bad luck she was brilliant in the sack.”
*
Luke felt less exhausted but more restless once he’d taken a shower and shaved. Uncertain where he’d spend the night, he pulled on jeans and a T-shirt. The danger was over and with it A.J.’s reason for being here. He knew she had feelings for him. He thought he’d effectively conveyed his. The problem was he wasn’t certain she’d admit their connection was serious.
Have faith
, he thought as he checked the bedside clock yet again. 12:23. Wasn’t she going to let her team go to bed? Luke had shut his damned phone off. Hadn’t even checked the latest figures from
Final Death
. He didn’t care what they were, though he probably would tomorrow.
And
there were at least a dozen pressing calls in his message queue.
Everyone and their brother wanted to speak to him.
He squeezed his right hand shut and opened it again. He’d killed another human being, a living, breathing person. Because of him, Wilhelmina didn’t exist anymore. The fact that she’d been threatening A.J. and Martin meant he wasn’t sorry. He was, however, sad.
No one should lose their life that way.
He straightened when he heard quick footsteps. They were A.J.’s. He’d know them anywhere.
“Luke?” she called from the sitting room.
“In here,” he said.
He sat on the bed to wait. She came as far as the doorway. She’d changed into her standard bodyguard getup: black trousers, white shirt . . . minus her jacket and holster. His face must have showed his worries. Her brows creased in response, which touched and calmed him at the same time. She cared, even if—at the moment—she seemed awkward.
“You okay?” she asked.
“Working on it. Tonight feels surreal.”
“It’ll be that way for a while. Shooting someone is hard for most people.”
“You ever—?”
“Twice. Never as a cop but twice on assignments. It’s hard to wrap your head around, even when you know you didn’t have a choice.” She seemed to notice she’d been twisting his engagement ring around her finger. She stopped and pulled it off, holding it out to him. “I have this. It went missing during the fight, but now I have it back. It’s making me nervous. You should put it in a safe or something.”
Luke didn’t move to take it. He wasn’t letting her off the hook that easy. “You’re not stupid. You have to realize I want us to be engaged for real.”
She rolled her lips together. He thought she’d argue, but “Maybe I want that too,” she said.
His heart jolted in his chest. He began to rise, but she held up her hand.
“Don’t get up. I want to say this from where I am so you know my brain isn’t addled by hormones.”
She made him smile at the funniest times. “Why, Alexandra, you flatter me.”
She frowned. “Are you going to let me finish?”
Fighting his grin, he gestured for her to continue.
“So,” she said after a big, deep breath. “You know I have issues with trusting people. My childhood, my stint as a cop, my job . . . They’re not like your reasons, but they’ve made trust seem like a fool’s game to me. Or they did, until you hired me to guard you.” She shook her head in wonder. “You’re a miracle to me. The way you won’t let your heart turn hard. Your willingness to give everyone a chance. You’ve made me want to be that way myself, at least a bit. I love you, Luke. I admire you, I respect you, and—if you’ll have it—I want to give you my heart.”
Luke forgot how to breathe. She’d knocked his emotional socks off and then twisted them in knots. He was so humbled, so grateful he didn’t know how to express it. “
If
I’ll have your heart . . .”
He ran out of words. He went to her. He held her face like a chalice to press his lips to hers. Or he did at first. When her arms slid around his back and tightened, his technique turned less delicate.
She returned the kiss with enthusiasm. His blood flashed hot, his groin growing heavy as they rubbed their hard and soft places together. Loving that, he palmed her butt to urge her closer. Her pubis undulated on his swiftly hardening erection. God, it felt good. He gasped for air, which gave A.J. the chance to pull back.
“I forgot to say,” she added breathlessly. “I lust after you as well.”
He laughed. “I never would have guessed.”
She shoved his chest. “I’m being serious here, damn you.”
He saw she was. His smile gentled. “You’re right. The lust thing is important.” He caressed her lips with his fingers before they could turn down. “Here’s me being serious. I love you, Alexandra Hoyt. I admire you, I respect you, and I want you in my life. Richer or poorer, dangerous or safe, there’s no one I’d rather lie down with and wake up next to. You’re my angel. You would be whether our paths had crossed before or not.”