She gestured toward the window. “You have a backpack or something out there? Handcuffs?” She’d tie him up and leave. By the time he got free, she’d be long gone.
“I didn’t come here to take you in, Demi. You don’t have to tie me up and run.”
As if she’d believe him. A man like him would say anything with a gun pointed at his head.
“I came here to tell you the Red Ridge PD is almost a hundred percent sure you’re innocent.”
“Almost?” That was rich. Did he really expect her to melt in relief and blithely go with him?
He let out a long exhale, no longer so amused. “It’s Devlin Harrington who’s been killing all the grooms. Police just need the missing gun and hopefully prints or other evidence that will link him.”
The police had no evidence against Devlin and he still thought she’d be safe returning to Red Ridge? “I know it’s Devlin.” She’d known for quite some time.
Devlin had behaved strangely toward her after she rejected his invitation to dinner one night. A few months later, she found herself accused of murder. While that hadn’t made the connection for her, recalling that Hayley Patton had rejected him as well made her begin to wonder if that meant something. Sure enough, it did.
“I also know he’s obsessed with Hayley Patton and a witness claimed to see me kill the last groom victim,” she continued. “A low-level drug dealer with a rap sheet said he saw me fleeing Bo’s murder scene. Really? That’s a credible witness? Another witness was killed. Can no one see a pattern here?”
“The police do.” Lucas moved slowly and began to rise, keeping his hands up and looking at her warily, testing her.
“Stay on the floor.” She took a step back. She’d never get away from him if he got the upper hand.
Lucas stood all the way up, his hands shoulder height. “I’m not going to take you in, Demi.”
“How can you expect me to trust you?”
“You don’t have to. Just believe me when I say you’ll be safe in Red Ridge.”
She wavered a few seconds before she skittered back to caution. She could not trust him.
“How did you know Devlin was obsessed with Hayley?” he asked. “One of the witnesses confessed to being paid, and that story was in the news, but what about Hayley?”
“I remembered how he used to watch Hayley. His girlfriend, Gemma Colton, brought him to a rare family gathering that her branch of the family deigned to attend. It was as though he forgot all about her when Hayley showed up. He had a creepy way of just staring at her. Then he’d make derogatory comments about Hayley, strange comments, like her dress was too short or she had on too much makeup. It was as though he thought she should be more modest. One or two comments like that and I wouldn’t have noticed, but he always criticized the way she looked and he did in a weird way, as though he was offended. I also found a social media webpage of his. He assumed a different name but I recognized him in a couple of photos he had posted. He posted a lot about his girlfriend and never mentioned her name, but he had many, many photos of Hayley and made up stories about things they did together that clearly never happened.”
“You need to give me the link. That’s more evidence against him.”
He was just trying to get her to lower her guard. He’d do anything to have another successful bounty to add to his rock-solid reputation.
They proceeded to have a stare down. Demi wasn’t one to be uncomfortable, but Lucas’s handsome face always threw her off. Not to mention his tall, muscular and fit body. She looked away first.
“The police won’t arrest you, Demi. You can go home,” Lucas said. Smooth talker.
Demi spotted the baby monitor on the kitchen counter and experienced a flash of panic. What if Wolf made a sound? Lucas might redouble his effort to haul her in if he found out she had his nephew in a hidden room.
“You say the police don’t have the evidence they need to arrest Devlin. Well, they have evidence against me.”
“They know the necklace was planted and the killer wrote your name in Bo’s blood, making it look as though Bo wrote it as he was dying. They know the witness who claimed to see you running from the crime scene lied.”
“How do they know that?”
“Everything came out because of a sexual harassment case last month. No one even realized it was connected until the pieces starting fitting together. Hunter Black—he’s a cop with the PD—found out that an employee of Colton Energy lied about bigwig Layla Colton sexually harassing him. Her phone and email were hacked. Only one person would have a motive to ruin her and that’s Devlin Harrington. He didn’t want his father marrying her. Hunter found proof of the hacking and, in turn, other evidence was dug up—evidence that connected him to being the Groom Killer. Devlin is now on the run, like you.”
Demi lowered her gun, stunned by this revelation. “What evidence?”
“A gun was found buried in his backyard. It’s the same gun used to kill some of the victims, but there were no prints.”
That further interested her. She resisted. This was Lucas Gage, Bo’s brother and her longtime enemy and professional competitor. He could be playing her until he found Wolf—his nephew—and subdued her long enough to take her into custody. He had ample reason to want to get her, and get her good.
A gust of wind reminded her a storm was underway. If she didn’t make a move now, she’d never get away. She walked into the kitchen and stopped at the counter with her back to Lucas. Blocking his sight of the monitor, she slid it between the coffee maker and the toaster oven. Then she turned to face him.
“That’s very compelling, Lucas, but I’m not going anywhere with you.”
When Lucas had first seen Demi from his vantage point on the floor, he hadn’t recognized her. He’d thought he’d wound up at another dead end, breaking into a strange woman’s cabin. Then the changes registered, the shorter hair she’d colored dark, the baggy hippie-like clothes. Her pretty green eyes were still the same, all full of fiery courage and defiance. She was the most fearless woman he’d ever met. The most competitive, too. She annoyed him as much as she intrigued him. He was sure she felt the same about him.
He still sat at the kitchen island and she stood on the other side, distrusting, still holding the gun. She might dress up as a hippie, but she looked casual but modern right now. The jeans flattered her shape, long legs and narrow hips. A soft blue thermal top was both practical on this cold night and attractive, molding to her form and reminding him that he’d always been attracted to those breasts.
He’d been so relieved when he realized he’d finally found her, relieved that she was the woman supposedly named Chelsey Carter whom he’d been tracking, and unable to deny that his relief stemmed from something much more emotional. She could handle herself and he felt bad for doubting her innocence, for going after her with more determination than he’d ever had for any other fugitive. Devlin Harrington had proved himself very dangerous, paying off fake witnesses and killing all those grooms. He’d do anything to preserve his evil way of life. More than he wanted to make amends for doubting her, Lucas wanted to protect Demi until the real Groom Killer was captured. One problem with that? Demi hadn’t liked him before he started hunting for her.
“How did you find me?” Demi asked.
Her demeanor had changed. She’d softened. Had she begun to believe him? He studied her unreadable mouth and the slight angle of her face. Were her eyebrows raised a little more? The easing of tension would do that. But Lucas knew this woman more than she realized. She might have dropped some of her guard, but she most definitely did not believe him.
“Do