“You know the one. You need to be careful with this case. It’s a game-changer, and not everything is as it seems. There’s a lot of deception going on around the two of you,” Clara said just as a neighbor’s dog barked from the back of the house.
“How so? What kind of deception?” I asked, dropping the shade and moving to the kitchen to check the backyard.
“If I tell you, it might change the outcome, and I can’t risk that for you. This is your shot at getting things right. You both deserve it. It’s been a long time coming.”
My heart tightened. Since when has she ever cared about butting into my personal life? “Clara, is Stella going to get hurt?”
There was no answer.
“Damn it, is she?”
“Maybe,” Clara finally answered. “Listen, I’ve got to go. Just promise me that you two will watch out for each other. Okay, oh and, Ash, it really is time you quit playing these games and figure out what you want, hopefully before you lose it.”
“This isn’t some damn game, Clara.”
“If you say so, oh, and, Ash, don’t screw this up,” Clara said before the line went dead.
The barking dog in the backyard continued as I looked out the window. He was in the neighbor’s yard taunting a squirrel eating a nut on the back fence.
I went back into the living room and grabbed the files, spreading them out on her dining room table before settling in a chair. I began reading the case notes and separating out the pictures. One picture after the other, I compared the photos of the paintings from the basement that I’d just taken. They were almost identical. Some colors were wrong, but the pictures were remarkably dialed in, as if someone had taken a magnifying glass and held it over a single spot, and that was what she’d created in her painting.
None of the police pictures had the killer in them, just like none of her canvases showed his face.
If the cops ever found out about these paintings, they’d think that she had something to do with these crimes. Only someone with intimate knowledge would have gotten all these details right.
Hours later, I glanced at the clock to find that more time had passed than I thought.
I set the files aside and stood, stretching my hands over my head, and then I bounded for the stairs.
Stella’s door was wide open. She was lying halfway beneath her covers, wearing a tank top with her long tan leg sticking out from beneath the covers. The window was opened an inch, letting in the lulling sound of rain that had started outside. With her eyes closed, she held out her hand as if feeling my presence.
“I didn’t mean to wake you,” I said with hesitation.
She wiggled her fingers. “Quit being a creeper and come lie down with me. I’ll sleep better.”
I didn’t move.
Her eyes finally opened, and she smiled. “Still worried about my brother catching us?”
“Trying to keep my eyes on what’s important.” If things were different, I’d lie down with her and kiss her until I finally let that fire between us burn up everything in our path.
“About time you figured that out.” She smiled. “You know you want to.”
My shoulders tensed at the thought of someone kidnapping her, tightening my resolve to refrain from taking things further than I had already let happen.
She slid out of bed and crossed the room. She was wearing boy shorts and a tank top, leaving little to the imagination. When she wrapped her arms around my neck and pressed her lips to mine, I stood my ground for as long as I could until she pushed the buttons that broke my resolve again.
9
Stella
His large, strong palms rested on her hips and sent a tingle throughout her body. She unbuttoned his dress shirt and slipped it off his broad shoulders, resting her open hand on his chest. His body heat warmed her soul as his thumping heartbeat beneath her fingers quickened.
He wanted this.
He pulled her tighter, deepening the kiss as her fingers moved swiftly down the planes of his abs to his belt. She had it unhooked, along with his dress pants, before he even realized what she was doing.
He wasn’t getting away this time. Not if she could help it.
