From Winter's Ashes: Girl Next Door Crime Romance Series - Book Two (29 page)

It was the unsettling polarity of it all that tweaked his unease, making it feel like they were heading straight into the eye of the storm. And that nothing was quite what it seemed.

“Is no one here?” Declan Whyte’s castle loomed all around them with an unnerving silence and an eerie cast of moving shadows. They’d let themselves in, and while Joselyn disarmed the alarm for their entrance, Finn shed both his overcoat and suitcoat and draped them over the round marble-topped table gracing the center of the giant rotunda that was the foyer.

“Well, my dad’s rarely here. Gloria and Erwin are usually early to retire to their house on the west edge of the property.” Continuing to tinker with the touch screen embedded in the wall, she didn’t bother to raise her eyes.

“Gotcha. Need some help?”

She continued to tap on the screen. “Something’s up with the security system. It’s not showing if it’s armed right now or not.”

“Are all the doors locked?” It seemed simple enough to Finn. Lock the doors. Stay inside.

She turned, clearly annoyed which was a little bit cute. She shucked off her coat with a single frustrated jerk and chucked it at him. “There are over twenty entry doors into this house.”

Turning her eyes back to task, she tried again. “Ehhh, stupid thing!” She hung her head. “I guess we should probably go check the doors, to be safe. If we split up, it should only take us about fifteen minutes.”

“I don’t think so. I’m not letting you out of my sight. And not only because you look so
fine
in that dress.”

A slight, spreading grin couldn’t be contained by the soft bite of her lip, nor her shoddy effort to scowl. “I demand to know what’s going on.” She crossed her arms, no doubt aiming for cold and prim, but paired with the scorching hot dress the dichotomy was fascinating. And quite possibly the sexiest thing he’d ever seen.

He shook his head, needing to get ahold of himself, which she mistook for his refusal and haughtily stomped her foot in protest. He couldn’t help but grin. The sassy show of defiance only uncovered another inexplicably cute and sexy side of Joss he found irresistible.

Great focus, Iron Man.

She tapped her foot impatiently as he moved closer. Though he despised the thought of scaring her for no reason, he wouldn’t lie to her. “There, uh … there was someone with a gun near the restaurant.”

She went stock still, her teeth clamping hard on her lip until the peachy skin turned white.

He kept moving forward. “We don’t know if it has anything to do with you. We’re being care—”

Beep! Beep! Beep!

The low whine of a siren called out and stopped Finn in his tracks. Joselyn whipped around; the LCD screen over her shoulder flashing red.

“Finn.” The tremor in her voice fired a ripple of dread through his body. She turned slowly and looked him dead in the eye. “Someone’s in the house.”

Chapter 35

Joselyn Whyte

Don’t panic.

A thread of terror zip-lined through her system. Her thoughts splintering. Someone with a gun. Someone trying to kill her. Someone inside this massive house. Run. Hide.
Move
.

Self-preservation instincts had apparently booted her brain out of the driver’s seat because she found herself running down the hall, jerking Finn behind her.

“Joselyn, stop. Where are we going? I need to—” Not knowing where the oomph came from to tug along a resistant 200-pound tower of brawn and stubbornness, she hauled Finn into the east den to the third bookcase on the left. With quick precision, she located and levered down Milton’s
Paradise Lost
and then shoved Finn behind the hidden door.

The lock clicked behind them, and Joselyn activated the screen to the right.

“Wow. That was unexpected.” From the corner of her eye she could sense his anxiety pulsing in time with the spastic rhythm of his chest. Knowing she would come completely unglued if she saw that panic reflected in his eyes, she studied the screen, attempting to make sense of the defunct security system.

“Joss.” The heat from his hands seeped through the fabric of her sleeves as he gripped her shoulders and turned her to face him.

She kept her eyes low to conceal her doubts, but she suspected he could feel the palpable current of fear skittering through her body.

“Look at me.” His fingers tightened on her arms. She lifted her gaze. “I want you to stay here, lock the door behind me, and call 911.” His eyes said so much more as they lingered a moment longer.

Turning away, he jerked at the door. But it didn’t budge.

“Joss, open the door.” He spoke into the door, the tense line of his shoulders seeming to coil like a snake about to strike.

“I can’t,” she whispered.

“I’m going out there. I’m not gonna sit around and cower behind a locked door until help arrives. This guy could get away, and we still don’t know who he is. This has to end. Now disarm the door.” He was still facing the exit, as if he couldn’t stand for her to see his face. With his voice skating on the razor’s edge of menace, she wasn’t sure she wanted to.

“I can’t.” And she was relieved she couldn’t.

He whirred around. “What do you mean you can’t?” he roared. His eyes were glazed with fire, a violence in them she’d never seen before.

Had she just thought she was relieved? Scratch that.

She took a step back. Then another. Putting distance between them. Her heart a panicked bird in a cage, the frigid outpouring of that old terror bathed her skin with goosebumps and wracked her whole body with tremors. “I—It’s—ah—p—panic room. There’s a timer, but the security system isn’t working right. We’re l—locked in here.”
Together.

Finn wouldn’t hurt her, would he? The wild rage in his eyes drew upon her every fear until she was immersed back in those torturous moments when her instincts had failed her.  

Finn took a step forward, his eyes softening. But she’d already jumped back, bumping into a shelf on the wall.

Seeming just as startled, he raised his hands and eased forward. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Not trusting her voice, she could only nod her acceptance. But the paralyzing fear held on.

He kept closing in, and she had no place to run. With aching tenderness he surrounded her with his arms and breathed the soothing words into her hair. “
Baby, I’m so sorry.”

Without even knowing it, her heart started to settle, her breaths evened out. And somehow her arms were around his waist, her face nuzzling into his chest.

Oh, her traitorous heart was so easily won.

“It’s fine.” She pulled away, sniffling back embarrassing tears.

Finn took in their surroundings. “So, now what?”

Joselyn’s father had always been paranoid about others being out to get him, stealing his wealth, taking what was his. She supposed it was why the estate had two vaults, or panic rooms. One in the west wing, one in the east.

Only they sort of looked like walk-in closets—as if the house were lacking storage space. Everything from winter coats, bottled water, a card table and folding chairs, to some innocuous boxes and a stack of blankets lined the shelves of the maybe twelve-by-twelve room. Though not much of that was inherently visible due to the black walls and the single canned light in the middle of the room that suggested the receding darkness was endless. It felt like one of those interrogation rooms on
CSI
.

“I guess we wait,” Joselyn said. “Wait until either the timer runs out or the authorities arrive. Hopefully the alarm is functioning enough to trigger a call out because I left my purse by the front door.”

Finn patted his pockets and groaned. “And my phone is in my jacket on the table. I hate feeling this helpless.”

The last of her unease about Finn’s presence wicked away. The intensity he’d shown was his protective instinct urging him to fight for her. The thought now warmed her clear down to her toes.

The shaft of light glinted off the golden threads of his hair and spilled over the planes of his face, etching the angles with a fierce sort of strength.

And then he smiled, a little bit of mischief slipping through the sultry tip of his lips, making all traces of danger seem like a silly dream. “You know, we’re still technically on our date. It’s about time we had a little privacy. Don’t you think?”

Heat pinched her cheeks. Hopefully the shadows concealed the way the thought tempted her. “Stop looking at me like I’m a tasty snack.”

“But you are a tasty snack. And after that
Happy Meal
appetizer for the paparazzi, I’m finding I’m suddenly famished.”

Strangely emboldened, she stepped up to meet him under the light and patted his washboard stomach. Bad idea. Terrible. She snatched her hand back as if burned.
“Poor little fella. Unfortunately,
I
am not on the menu tonight.”

What were they going to do, make out in the closet until someone found them? Based on the heat they could conjure up without even touching, they could get carried away a little too easily.

And one of them had to be the sensible one here, right?

Right?

Finn’s eyes blazed with hunger, that heady musk of strength and spice laid waste to the inches between them, making her burn. As if grasping fistfuls of sun-scorched sand, she felt her willpower sift through her fingers.

In the only act of self-preservation she could find, she turned back, pretending to peruse the shelves for a distraction yet still feeling the singe of his stare.

“Hard to get, huh? Yeah, that’s kinda hot. I can work with that. But mark my words, you’ll never last. By the end of the night, you’ll be begging for these lips on yours.”

Oh, yeah.
There was the old Finn. “Wanna bet?” She whipped around, feeling shielded by the dim light until she realized he’d followed her into the shadow.

“Oh, babe, you don’t know who you’re dealing with. You don’t stand a chance. In fact, let’s make it official.” Another bold step brought him into her air space.

“Okay, what’s the wager?” She stared up through the whispered streams of light, catching that cocky smile he loved so much.

An idea took root in her mind. Joselyn couldn’t help but smirk. “I know, how about a little performance?”

He leaned down and stole a quick kiss she couldn’t have dodged if she wanted to. Which, she didn’t. “Performance. Now we’re talking.” The devilment in his grin made him look like a fallen angel in the haloed glow. “What’d you have in mind?”

She shrugged, struggling to contain her grin. “Just a song. Choreography optional.”

“Is clothing optional too? Because I could get on board with that?”

“Ha!” Oh, he was all bluster. She could see the sweat sprouting on his brow at the idea.

Well, both ideas.

Her lips still tingling, she gave his chest a little shove. “What makes you think
that’s
a good idea?”

“Actually, I think it’s the best idea I’ve had in quite some time.” He wagged his eyebrows.

With a rueful shake of her head, she laughed. “Dream on. The original bet stands. I resist your kiss for the rest of the night, and you give me a serenade.”

“Does anyone win in this scenario?”

“I guess that depends on if you brought your A game.”

“Oh, I’m never without my A game. The question is … can you handle the heat?”

And therein lay the problem. She wasn’t sure she could.

Chapter 36

Finn Carson

Worst. Bet. Ever.

Why on earth had he agreed to this? In his desperation to protect her, his belligerence had left her frightened. Having her all twitchy and nervous wouldn’t help her keep a level head in this situation. He’d been looking for a way to ease the tension. 

So he teased her. Which used to have her spitting icicles. Instead, she’d flipped the tables on him. Beating him at his own arrogant game.

An arrogant façade, he realized, that was sinking in too deep—becoming a little too automatic. What he once viewed as protection was instead stirring up more trouble than he could handle. Because while his crassness was meant to intentionally provoke her, what he’d provoked instead was his desire for this woman who had—until recently—always been untouchable.

And it was the one thing he couldn’t seem to stop doing. The physical liberties that accompanied the public exhibition of their arrangement had him barreling past the warnings—past the boundaries he’d set to keep his affections in check—to make up for all those lost years without her. 

Yes, he talked a big game, but he wasn’t the guy who took advantage. No one would guess it but he was, in fact, the guy who never let anything go too far. At least, he was until now.

Finn fiddled with the poker chip he’d kept in his pocket since the hospital, contemplating his next move. Perhaps his luck had run out.
Hmm
. Then again, maybe it was just beginning.

Bracing his hands on the shelf, he caged her in and bent his head to trace the tip of his nose along the fragile tendon of her neck, drinking deeply from the sweet wintery scent of her skin, her hair, and the softly exhaled mint of her breath. “What song will you sing for me, Joss?”

“Little presumptuous.” She sighed the words. He felt the quiver pulse over her, her head tilting back, her resolve already fraying. He smiled against her neck and laid a chaste kiss over her heartbeat. Another near her earlobe, before skimming his lips over the tender shell.

She tried to turn away, but he grasped her shoulders and twisted her back around. Regretting it the instant he felt her tense.

“Joss? Joselyn, look at me. These hands …” which he rubbed gently down her arms, “will never hurt you.”

She swallowed and nodded. The shadows in her eyes lifting like a cloud of smoke, bringing an immediate sense of relief and a ballooning host of unanswered questions about who hurt her and who he needed to pulverize.

And then, well … then she was folding into him too easily, as if the space between his arms was for her alone.

“Ask me to kiss you, Joss.”

She drew her hands up and rested them on his chest, leaning into him as she raised up to her tiptoes. “Never,” she whispered so close he could taste her kiss already. Her eyes challenging him to forfeit their bet, the miniscule distance between their lips …

And both of their bluffs.

The faintest beeping sounds wove through his subconscious, but somehow in not thinking this through, he’d made up his mind to allow a few more minutes of reckless behavior before he cut his rampant desire off at the knees. And walked away with the win.

He tightened his grip around her low back. Her hands slipped up around his neck, her fingers tickling the damaged skin and threading into his hair.

Screw the win. The real prize was right here. The banter. Their budding friendship. The magic of her kiss …

Yes, back to that.

He leaned down the last inch, simultaneously lifting her to meet his expectant lips—

“Well, well, would you look at that, Archer?”

Sal’s voice stomped out the flames, reducing the sensual sparring match to some kind of awkward, teenage basement grope fest. And they hadn’t even been kissing, yet. Or groping. But in light of their position and the kiss that was a millisecond of enjoyment away from Finn’s lips, they had no choice but to jerk apart, reacting with the shame of being caught red-handed. And red-faced.

“I’m glad to see you guys were keeping busy and not runaway with panic.” Archer grinned, all superior like he hadn’t also crossed the line when he’d thought Sadie was a murder suspect and went and fell in love with her anyway.

As much as Finn tried to form a comeback to that effect, nothing came. The stilted silence beside him meant Joselyn went blank too.

“Conveniently locked in this tiny room with a beautiful woman. Finn, you scoundrel, did you plan—”

“All right, all right. We get it, you caught us.” Finn interrupted Sal’s jest. “What’s important right now is did you catch the gunner?”

“Yes and no.” Archer finally stowed the infuriating smile. “We caught the guy with the rifle, but we’re pretty sure he’s not involved with the other attempts on Joselyn’s life. His name’s Donnie Fuller. He was released from a psychiatric facility two days ago and was apparently staked out in protest of Joselyn’s father’s support for the war. His brother was recently killed in Afghanistan. He’d assumed Declan Whyte would be in the restaurant since the reservation was under his name.”

“We’re not entirely sure how he found out where Mr. Whyte would be dining,” Sal tagged in, “but your father has been pushing this thing with you two pretty hard, and we figure with the publicity Donnie got confused. Not too difficult considering the man is a loony toon. Anyway, when Declan never showed, Donnie split. He confessed his intent to kill.”

“Okay, then why did he follow us here?” Finn folded his arms, knowing full well he looked defensive.

“He didn’t.”

“What do you mean?” He felt a chill rake over his skin.

“We caught him right after you guys split. It was only a half-hour ago that we were informed there was a security breach here.” Shrugging, Sal wedged his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels. “Turns out, the groundskeeper, Edwin—”

“Erwin,” Joselyn interrupted.

Sal’s gaze landed on Joselyn, a smile crept over his lips. “
Erwin
, came back over to the house to get his wife’s sleeping pills she left over here during the day. The alarm went off, and he forgot the code. It was recently switched, but the real problem was that the system hasn’t been working right for days.”

Archer cleared his throat. “Someone from the security company was supposed to come fix it today. Gloria said they never showed. Then when we couldn’t find you, Gloria suggested we check the safe rooms. We tracked down your father to figure out how to override the lock, and there you have it. You’re all caught up.”

“So, what you’re really saying is you still don’t have a suspect.” Finn could feel the heat on his cheeks, felt the frustration and embarrassment hitting all the telltale markers.

“Unfortunately, no. No suspect.” Archer agreed, looking equally frustrated for at least
some
of the same reasons.

“Fantastic.” Finn pushed past Archer and Sal and spoke over his shoulder, “Come on, Joss. Let’s get you home.”

If at all possible, Finn was more on edge than before. Not knowing who the predator was or when he might strike was enough to screw with anyone’s mind. The force of his anxiety drummed against his skull.

Glancing over at Joselyn, he could see it was getting to her too. The stiff line of her body held none of its usual grace.

And even though they had a security detail on their tail and a team back at Sadie’s condo sweeping the area, a grim feeling overshadowed their every move. Like they might, at any moment, encounter the wrath of a faceless enemy.

Unnerved by the helplessness, he itched to do something—
anything
—to be a hero. But the only thing he could think to do was lighten the mood. He was good at that.

“So what’d you think of our first date?”

“Scintillating.” Her eyes didn’t stray from the fogged window, or the dark smog blurring the passing landscape beyond it.

Okay, well, that didn’t work.

“You mean you’re not gonna go home and scribble in your diary that I fulfilled all of your deep-seated fantasies about me from high school?”

Her head whipped back, the soft flutter of her hair fanned out and draped around her shoulders like a silk scarf. But instead of the amusement or playful annoyance he was expecting, daggers beamed across the bench seat and struck him perplexed.

“Doesn’t that get old? Can’t you ever be serious? I know tonight was a false alarm, but this is scary. It can’t be smoothed over with your sarcasm and your ass-backwards charm. Someone is trying to kill me. Someone might kill you too! And you think you can keep badgering me because I was in love with you in high school? You think that gives you license to taunt me forever? To play all these mind games, stringing me along. Grow up, Finn. ” Her voice broke, and she turned away.

All the air stole out of his lungs. He tore his gaze back to the road for safety’s sake, but although he was looking, he wasn’t seeing yellow lines … he was seeing red.

Was she messing with him? Fair game, Finn supposed, because he’d been doing his share of that too, but this jab hit hard. Harder than the fist she’d planted in his jaw days ago.

He eased on the brake and pulled the truck onto the slim shoulder of the two-lane road. In the distance their entourage followed suit.

“What did you say?” He managed to tamp down his temper, but the words still growled from his throat.

She turned back to him, the slightest sheen glowing from her eyes. “Why did you pull over?”

“Don’t change the subject.”

Pained silence settled over them, and he saw it again, that little flicker of enlightenment. Then panic. “This is a really dangerous place to stop.”

“So then start talking,” he hissed.

“Why? It’s not like it will change anyth—”

“Were you or were you not in love with me in high school?” He interrupted, not able to wait for her to finally get back to the topic at hand.

In the dim glow cast from the dash, he saw her swallow, her eyes riveted on her hands in her lap. Her words growled right back. “As if you didn’t know.”

“How would I have known? All I knew was that you’d said I wasn’t good enough to breathe the same air as you.” His heart hammered in his ears. If she was messing with him now he’d never forgive her.

“How thick could you possibly be? From the first moment we met I hung on your every word. I practically begged you to kiss me in the music room when you sprinted away like I had leprosy, and then Cody was trying to get you to see the light and ask me to prom, but
no
, you kept treating me like some pathetic groupie. Well, not anymore. I’m through being under your spell.”

“Joselyn, I was in love with you too.”

“
Oh
, that’s rich. You know, I was right. You really are a jerk! Take me home. I’m officially done with this.”

“No! I was crazy about you! Obsessed, even!” And now he was yelling at her, feeling very close to being full-tilt crazy again. “But I was so insecure I didn’t think you felt the same.”

“Finn, I know you. If that were true, you would have pursued me. Asked me out. I don’t know why you are doing this, but we can’t undo the past.” The brokenness in her voice about shattered his heart.

He unlatched his seatbelt and slid across the bench to her side. Cupping her face, he saw the truth shining in her eyes. “We were manipulated. Both buying into a lie.” Finn’s father’s words flooded back to him.
Seems to me you’re casting judgment based on a half-truth. Maybe even a full deception.

Oh
, how had he not seen it back then? Cody’s jealousy. His lies. The beautiful beacon of Joselyn’s love.
“Imagine how different things might have been for us had we only known this sooner.”

A tear slipped down her cheek. She tried to turn away, but Finn held on, stroking the glistening trail off her velvety-smooth skin. She drew in a shaky breath and slowly lifted her eyes. “Don’t you see? The damage is done.”

“
Ahhh!
” A rap on her window made her scramble out of her seat with a panicked squeak. She landed on Finn’s lap, and for the briefest moment she clung like ivy.

Looking over her shoulder, Finn’s eyes connected with the steely glare from Joselyn’s titan U.S. Marshal.

Before Finn could react, Joselyn was somehow slipping off his lap and out the door, replaced by a rush of glacial air, and a cold, hard knot in his chest.

The passing prism of headlights illuminated her swimming eyes before she left the parting comment he knew was coming, “Go home, Finn. It’s over,” and slammed the door.