She felt Christian’s fingers skate over her collarbone to pull the strap of her dress down, his mouth following in their wake and Lily gasped at how sensitive the area was, the pleasurable shivers making goosebumps spread over her skin.
Almost desperate to get her hands on him, she was half tempted to tear the shirt and be done with it when she felt Christian’s hand on the back of her knee. Another gasp was torn from her and she closed her eyes, her fingers stilling as she enjoyed the sensation.
The knock on her door could not have come at a worse time, and the responding snarl from Christian assured her that he felt the same. Lily’s body was screaming for her to ignore it that whoever it was would eventually go away, but as she sat there, trying to catch her breath, the knock sounded again, this time louder, accompanied by, “Lily, it’s Sheriff Cooper.”
SheriffCooper? Coop never referred to himself that way. With dread pitting in her stomach and all of the blood draining from her face, Lily launched herself off of Christian’s lap to tear open the door.
Panic twisted her heart, her stomach dropping as she saw the somber expressions on the faces of Tarvahl Pierce, the head of the council, and Riley Cooper who was wearing his badge, proclaiming loudly that this visit was official. Her knees nearly buckled, and she was grateful when she felt Christian’s hand on the small of her back offering support.
“Oh, God… Daisy?”
Tarvahl held out a hand, just shy of touching her. “No, no, as far as we know, your sister is fine.”
Relief washed over Lily in waves and she closed her eyes for a moment as she tried to calm her heart.
Coop cleared his throat, and when she opened her eyes to look at him, he ran a frustrated hand through his hair. “Can we come in?”
Feeling the need to sit down after the scare she’d been given, Lily nodded and waved the males forward. Collapsing on the battered couch with Christian at her side, she gripped his hand hard. “So what brings you out here?” Her voice sounded gritty, the words barely above a whisper.
Tarvahl remained standing, but Riley sat on the front edge of the recliner, bracing his elbows on his knees and clasping his hands. He looked from Christian to Lily with a hint of curiosity in his eyes, but then he frowned. “Maybe we should talk alone.”
Lily held on even tighter to Christian. She wasn’t sure what was happening, what Riley and Tarvahl felt they needed to tell her, but she needed Christian beside her right now, needed to tap into his strength. “He stays.”
Riley nodded and shifted slightly in his seat, obviously uncomfortable. “Two detectives came into the diner tonight looking for you.”
Lily blinked in confusion before she felt her face blanch again. “Kramer.” She hissed, thinking of her former father-in-law and pride leader. The male would stop at nothing to see her dead. Obviously, he’d somehow found out that the story he had been fed of the car accident that had taken both her and Daisy’s life had been false. “They found me somehow, didn’t they?”
Riley shook his head. “That was my first thought too, but these are homicide detectives.”
“Homicide? I don’t understand.”
“They claim they want to ask you some questions. Said you might be able to aid them in their current investigation, but when Vahl and I made some calls we were told that, as of right now you’re considered a person of interest in regard to at least one murder and one attempted murder.”
