Chapter One
Honor’s Edge Investigation Office
Winter was avicious, screeching banshee of cold, snow, and ice.
Samantha Price had always loved it.She supposed it was easier to love when her apartment was above her office, and as long as she had adequate supplies ready and didn’t lose power, the weather didn’t affect her much one way or another.
She liked the howling wind, the bitter cold, waking up to a dumping of snow.She liked thestruggleof it all.
Which she supposed said a lot about her psyche.Probably not in a good way.
So far, this winter had been of the milder sort.There’d been an early snowstorm months ago, but since then just the typical bitter cold.Usually, it’d be her slow season at Honor’s Edge Investigations—not that cold weather necessarily stopped people from doing things that needed to be investigated, but people were less likely to want to brave the cold to get the answers.But her father’s sentencing a couple months ago—life in prison—had drummed up some business due to the media coverage, and with Benjamin Bennet’s trial coming up, she knew more would come in.
Honor’s Edge had solved an old murder and a new murder, and that had all sorts of people with mysteries of their own wanting help.
So, Sam was planning on a busy winter.It had to be some kind of poetic justice that discovering her fatherandBenjamin Bennet had both been murderers was what was currently keeping her business afloat.
Somethinghad to be justice in that shitshow.Steady business and her coworker, more like a full partner these days, she supposed.
Nate Bennet was more than a coworker or business partner.She had to admit, despite a lot of lingering… questions, they werefriends.He’d been there for her during her father’s sentencing.Which had felt… strange.Aunt Lisa still wasn’t speaking to her—the sentencing had made that worse.But Nate and Aly Cartwright—her former best friend—were making a pretty conscious effort to fold Sam into their lives.
Weirddidn’t even begin to cover it.Considering otherwise she’d bealone, she kind of had to put up with it.
And this morning brought some more of thathaving people in her lifeweird andputting up with it.
Jill Harrington marched into her office this cold November morning.Not with Aly.Not with anyone.
Jill wasAly’sfriend.So unless she was here about her mysteriously mute grandmother or otherwise needing some kind of investigative work, Sam couldn’t fathom why Jill would have made the trip to town.
“Hi,” Jill greeted, unwinding her scarf as she stepped forward.
“Hey.Everything okay?”
“Yep.I had to drop my grandmother off at a doctor’s appointment, so I was killing time in town and thought I’d talk to you in person, since you’ll probably brush me off on the phone.”
It was thebrush me offthat had Sam holding herself very still.She wouldn’t brush off work, so that meant it had to be something…personal.She tried very hard not to pull a face.
“I want to do like a bridal shower–bachelorette party combo for Aly.She wouldn’t want anything too wild for a bachelorette party and considering the small amount of people she wants to invite, doing two events just seems a bit much.”
“Oh.Well.Okay.”Sam and Aly werefriendsagain, sort of.More or less.She could go to some bachelorette party–bridal shower.Late arrival, early exit, hide in the corner.
“You are the entire guest list, Sam,” Jill said.“I mean, aside from me.”
“I…” She was still getting used to having Aly as a friend again.It wasn’t that she minded on principle.It was more the idea of doing something normal andgirlyhad her feeling very,veryout of her depth.
The door behind Sam opened, which had to be Nate coming in for his shift.Sam didn’t look back at him.He’d see the panic in her eyes.Call her on it or tease her for it—either way, no thanks.
But Jill looked at him.“Tell her to say yes.”
Nate moved into Sam’s line of sight as he headed for his desk.He looked from Jill to Sam.Considered.“Say yes,” he told her.
Sam frowned at him.“You don’t even know what she wants me to say yes to.”
Nate did the same thing—looked to Jill then back to Sam again, assessing in that detached military way of his, even if he’d been out of the military for a while now.“Well, using my superior investigative skills, Jill is here without Aly wanting you to say yes to something.Which means it probably has to do with Aly.Which probably means it has something to do with the wedding.So.”He shrugged.“Say yes.”
Jill looked at her triumphantly, like Sam would justsay yesbecause Nate told her to.It made her want to say no.A knee jerk reaction she resisted because…
It was an effort, akindness, for Jill to make this special trip.Sam was damn alone in this world and really shouldn’t say no to any kindness.Not if she wanted to stop feeling so damnlonely.
