Trust Me: The Lassiter Group, Book 1 (8 page)

A brittle smile cracked her lips. “I still don’t.”

“It’s the truth.”

“And did Blackwater provide you with Cara’s background information in case you needed it? Or did you take the initiative and do some digging on your own?”

“Ask me something only someone close to Cara would know.” He’d worked side-by-side with her for the last three years and had known her through Caleb for a few more before that. There wasn’t much about his partner that he didn’t know.

She snorted, still not buying it.

“I know Cara was at Samuel Blackwater’s party before she met with you the night she died.”

The knife eased off. A little. “And how do you know that?”

“I called in some favors.” He nodded, hoping he was getting somewhere with her. Otherwise, one or both of them was going to wind up hurt when he disarmed her.

“And what was Cara doing at Blackwater’s party?”

“Working on something classified, but that’s all I know.” Joe was going to have his balls on a platter for not only lying about his fishing plans, but following a lead alone and worse, losing control of the situation. Telling her anything about the Lassiter Group at this point would earn him a one-way ticket to the unemployment office, and he happened to like his job.

Most days.

Today wasn’t looking to be one of them, though.

“Classified,” she repeated, sounding unimpressed. “That wasn’t Cara’s answer.” She reached for the door handle with her free hand.

“You’re the only one who can help me, Max.”

“Help you what?”

“Nail the real killer.” At least that part wasn’t a complete lie. If Max didn’t kill Cara then she was his only connection to finding the bastard who did.

She tipped her head, her expression betraying nothing. “And what makes you so certain that I didn’t kill her?”

“You two were tight once.” He knew they’d gone through police academy together and Cara had shared more than a few stories when they had time to kill while on assignment.

“People turn on each other all the time.”

“Maybe I just don’t think you’ve got it in you.” Christ, he almost sounded like he believed it.

Her eyes narrowed dangerously. “You don’t have a clue what I’m capable of.” The deceptively soft tone only managed to emphasize the warning. A warning he’d be stupid to ignore since she’d nearly knocked him out, used him to break her fall and attempted to seduce him.

Now he knew why Joe had been relieved when he said he was taking a little time off. Clearly only a man bordering on burn-out would let a minor attraction cloud his judgment. Right now that kind of complication would be about as helpful as Max cutting him another airway.

Lucas frowned. “Are you trying to convince me that you killed her?”

Pain blinked across her face. “I might as well have.”

He could say the same. Hell, he
had
said the same thing, but not nearly as often as he’d thought it. Things had gone wrong on missions in the past, both with the Lassiter Group and when he’d been Special Forces, but what happened with Cara was different.

He’d let himself get too close to her, to all of the team, making it that much harder to accept his role in her death. He should have had her back that night.

“Look, I know more about you than you think, Max. You’re a first-rate detective with a knack for following your gut, which usually turns out to be right. You’ve had more arrests than most senior officers in your precinct and your quick thinking and loyalty to the department has not only earned you respect and admiration, but three commendations.”

Max laughed, the sound cold and sharp. “And here I thought I was going stump you on the pop quiz.”

“You’re also well known for your…quick wit.” Calling her a smartass when she had a piece of jagged metal jammed against his throat wouldn’t be all that bright.

“Are you always so…diplomatic?” she mocked.

“When the occasion calls for it.”

Her narrowed gaze suggested she doubted that very much. “And how exactly do you think I can help you?”

“By going back—”

“I’m not going back to New York.” The patient amusement vanished from her expression and her spine straightened.

“That’s the only place we can even hope to figure this out.” Especially by making a stop at Lassiter Group headquarters on the way.

She arched a brow. “We? There
is
no we. And there’s nothing in New York but a warrant for my arrest.”

“I can help you.”

Max withdrew the knife from his neck and slid back across the seat. “No, you can’t. No one can.”

Her hair shielded her face, but the vulnerability echoing behind her words tugged at him. Probably because he wasn’t sure anyone could fake the kind of blame he’d heard in her voice when she’d mentioned Cara.

Lucas probed his neck, studying the few drops of blood on his fingertips. “Max,” he began, but any words that might convince her escaped him.

“I don’t care if you're Cara’s brother or the next Dalai Lama. I’m not going back to New York.” She pushed open the door and jumped out.

Lucas squeezed his eyes shut. How did this situation continue to slip further and further out of his control? Without either gun, he didn’t hold any leverage to gain her cooperation and even if he did, they’d lost their only method of transportation.

Gearing himself up for another fight, Lucas undid his seatbelt and climbed down out of the truck. A sliver of pain under his ribs made him pause. He glanced toward the smashed front end. Christ, they were damn lucky to walk away from this with only minor injuries.

Before he followed Max, he reached in and grabbed the handcuffs she’d left on the floor. He couldn’t see the key anywhere, but pocketed the cuffs just in case.

Ahead of him, Max glanced up and down the road, indecision drawing her brows together.

“Wait up.” There had to be something he could say to convince her to go along with him. Peacefully.

Her pace didn’t slow.

Lucas jogged to catch up to her, shaking off the fading dizziness. His ribs felt bruised, but he ignored the discomfort. What were a few more injuries anyway? Between the aching shoulder and the headache that hammered at the back of his skull, bruised ribs he could live with.

He reached out to catch her elbow. She whipped around, her gun in her hand and aimed at his chest.

He backed off, holding his empty hands up. “Whoa. I’m not the bad guy here.”

Her lips parted in feigned surprise. “Really? I guess I should give you your gun back then.” She swiveled back to the road, dismissing him as a threat.

“You’re scared,” Lucas called after her.

“You give yourself too much credit,” she tossed over her shoulder.

“Not of me, of going back to New York.”

Max stopped, but didn’t turn around. He noticed her knuckles tighten around the gun's grip. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You’re a good cop, Max. Cara must have trusted you enough to bring you into her investigation even after you were suspended. I know you didn’t kill her, just like I know that without your help the person who did will get away with it.” The more he said it, the more convinced he sounded.

She turned around and Lucas studied her so intently everything else faded from awareness.

Max’s ice-blue eyes wavered, then hardened. “Forget it,” she snapped and started walking just as the same beige Winnebago rumbled up and pulled to the side of the road.

The same older woman who’d asked for directions earlier rolled down her window. “You two all right?”

No, Max thought, they weren’t all right. The jerk wouldn’t take the hint and get lost. He couldn’t seem to absorb the fact that she wasn’t going anywhere with him.

“You two have an accident?”

Max nodded, resisting the urge to glare at Lucas when she felt him step up beside her. “We hit a moose, but we’re fine. Our truck isn’t going anywhere, though.”

“You guys need a ride?” The woman offered.

“You’re headed for Fundy National aren’t you?” The opposite direction of the border. “You sure you wouldn’t mind dropping me in the next town?”

The woman frowned. “What about your husband?”

“Oh, he’s not—”

“Now,
darlin’
, let’s not waste any more of these nice peoples’ time.”

Darlin’
, was it? Max glared at him. “I thought you were going to wait with the truck,
honey.
” She spoke through her teeth, subtly motioning to the gun she’d slipped into her bag when the couple had driven up.

His lips parted in such a genuine, breath-stealing smile she almost believed the melting warmth behind it wasn’t an act.

“You know I was just teasing you. I wouldn’t let the love of my life hitchhike all alone, would I? What if something were to happen to you? I’d never forgive myself.”

And the Oscar goes to
…
Max rolled her eyes. There was no way the older couple could possibly—

Sentimental smiles were glued to their faces and she knew the poor fools were soaking it up.

As Max contemplated her next move, Lucas reached past her and opened the door. “After you.”

She gave serious thought to driving her knee between his legs, but the woman appeared in the open doorway, ushering them inside. Holding her bag in front of her, Max started up the stairs.

“Up you go,
muffin
,” Lucas said. He followed the sickening sweet tone with a stinging slap across her ass.

The man had a death wish.

The older woman beckoned them inside. “Why don’t you two take a seat? I’m Charlotte and that’s my husband Henry at the wheel.”

When the door closed, Henry maneuvered the vehicle back onto the road and Max sighed in relief. Lucas wouldn’t try anything as long as Charlotte and Henry were close by, especially with his gun tucked safely away in her bag. By sheer luck she’d managed to remove it from his pants before he came to in the truck.

Accepting the woman’s invitation, Max took a seat at the table.

Instead of sitting opposite her, Lucas nudged her. “Scoot down a bit,
sweet cheeks
.”

Max tipped her face up. “
Baby
, I think you’d be much more comfortable in the chair.” She clamped her teeth around the inside of her cheek to stop herself from doing something stupid. Like punching his wounded shoulder.

“You know I like to be close to you.”

Feeling the weight of Charlotte’s curious stare, Max had little choice but to scoot over and make room for him beside her.

He pressed up against her, draping an arm across her shoulder. She opened her mouth to tell him where his could shove his freaking arm.

“Would you two like something to drink?” Charlotte asked, cutting Max off. “You know,” she continued. “I’ve got a first-aid kit in the bathroom. You two could use a little bandaging.”

The moment Charlotte moved out of ear shot, Max jerked out of his embrace. His determination to play up this phony relationship unnerved her. But more alarming was the fact that her insides were drawn tighter than a bow. Every move he made warmed her from hip to shoulder.

Ignoring the confusing tightening in her stomach, she glared at him, lowering her voice to a whisper. “What the hell are you doing?”

“I’m not letting you walk away from this.”

“And you think pretending to be my husband is going to stop me?”

“Better they think us lovers than two suspects from yesterday’s shootout.”

Max snorted. “Lovers? Honey, the only thing I’d love to do to you right now—”

“Found it,” Charlotte sang out. The petite woman deposited the white tin in the center of the table. “I’m pretty sure there is a small bottle of rubbing alcohol in there to clean out those nasty little cuts.”

To humor the woman kind enough to give her—
them
—a ride, Max used the materials inside to clean the scrape on her chin and dab at the blood she tasted on the corner of her mouth.

Of all the injuries Lucas had, he choose to pay particular attention to the small cut she’d inflicted on his neck. If he thought he could guilt her into cooperating, he’d need to get a number and wait in line. There were already people ahead of him who’d been hurt by her determination to nail Blackwater—Sherri, Glen, Cara.

“So are you two on vacation, maybe a honeymoon?” Charlotte asked, that same sappy grin falling into place.

Max shook her head. “No.”

“Yes,” Lucas said at the same time.

Charlotte frowned.

He covered Max’s hand with his own. “What my wife means, is that, this isn’t our first honeymoon.”

The older woman beamed. “So you two renewed your vows? That’s wonderful. It’s so nice to see a couple still so in love. Nowadays married people just don’t spend enough quality time together.”

“Yes, well, it’s the least he could do after cheating on me with his assistant,” Max shot off, giving her a reason to shrug out of his grip. Not that it helped when her skin still felt warm from his touch.

Lucas didn’t recover as quickly as she expected and gawked at her.

Instead of being appalled by Max’s admission, Charlotte slid into the seat across from her and patted her hand. “Oh, dear.”

Lucas flashed a tight smile. “I thought you promised that was behind us, sweetheart? Or did you want me to bring up your indiscretion with your yoga instructor?”

The truck swerved and Max realized Henry was being drawn into their childish game.

“We both know that if you’d admitted your problem,” she glanced pointedly at his groin, “and started taking medication earlier, none of that would have happened.”

Lucas’s mouth fell open.

Max stole a peek at Charlotte who didn’t seem the least bit thrown by the conversation.

The older woman turned her attention to Lucas. “And why do you think it took you so long to admit you had a problem?”

“I’ve never had a problem with…my performance,” Lucas choked out.

Charlotte gave his hand a thoughtful squeeze. “It’s all right, dear. This kind of thing is very normal.” She leaned over the table. “Actually, Henry had some difficulty in that area too.”

“Sure did,” Henry chimed in. “And I got through it thanks to the support of my wife.” His and Charlotte’s eyes met in the rearview mirror.