“So she’s out there and dangerous?”
“We’ll catch her. Her face is everywhere. But there’s something else.” The way his chin dipped and his eyes locked on her, she knew she should brace herself.
“The guy who attacked you on the beach is dead.”
What? “I don’t want to be relieved that someone is dead, but I wasn’t expecting that. You’re on the case, then?”
“I am working the case right here and now. You deserve to know the man who attacked you is dead.”
And still, he had more to say. She could tell by the angle of his chin. She didn’t know him well, but she knew at least that much about him. And right now, that look gave her chills. “I can tell there’s more. I’m listening.”
“I can’t know for certain, but you arrive in Hidden Bay, and you’re attacked. Diggins, who has a connection to you, is attacked, and Monroe. It feels like you’re at the center of what’s going on. Or rather, your research is.”
“I kind of figured that.” She couldn’t hold Braden’s stare. Rubbing her arms, she took in the stars and another set of clouds crawling toward them from out over the Pacific. “Why are you telling me this? What do you want from me?”
“I want your permission to stick close to you.”
Okay. She definitely hadn’t expected that. “So you can solve the mystery behind a ghost ship?”
“You bring up a good point. Solving that mystery could help resolve this, but in the meantime, I want you to be safe. I already told you it’s my priority.”
“And your sheriff would agree to you being my protection.” This felt off to her. “Braden ...DetectiveSanders ... not saying that I don’t welcome the protection, and if that’s what it takes for me to finish Dad’s book, I’m all for it. But why are you really doing this?”There’s much more to you than you’ve shared,and I might need to dig deeper.
“Thatcher insisted on it. I have his full support.”
Then it hit her. Maybe it had been staring her in the face and she’d been slow to see it. She stood tall and lifted her chin. “I get it now. You’re not so much concerned aboutmeas an individual. It’s because of who I’m related to. It’s because of my mother. You’ve learned that much about me.”
Braden lifted his hands in surrender. “I’m surprised you don’t already have security detail. But let’s be clear.” Then he closed the distance.
Cressida might have stepped back and fallen over a log, but he caught her and pulled her a little too close. “I would be here protecting you with or without Thatcher’s directive. I’m saying, regardless of your connections, I would be here, Cressida, for you ...You.” Then he leaned closer, and his next words she barely heard over the waves. “Do you understand?”
Cressida couldn’t move. She couldn’t speak. He was close enough he might kiss her. Against all common sense, she closed her eyes and lifted her chin.Kiss me already.
Pounding footsteps drew near, and he stepped away, reached for his gun. A jogger ran by them a little too close.
“Sorry!” he shouted.
And the moment was broken. What had just happened? What was going on between them?
Braden took two steps back. “Watch that log behind you.”
She couldn’t see his eyes in the shadows, but she could feel the intensity coming off him. What would it have felt like to have been kissed by him?
Come on, Cressida, you’re not some middle schooler with a hard crush.
“About Mrs. Monroe,” he said. “A deputy took her statement, but I talked to her later.” He hesitated, then, “She shot the man—your attacker—in self-defense.”
“Oh...” The thought of that poor elderly woman shooting and killing someone rocked through her.
Her knees buckled a little. She hadn’t met Evelyn Monroe, but the news still stunned her. She swiped at a couple of errant tears. “Is she okay?”
“She’s upset. And she said some things that surprised me. I’m still thinking about them, but I got you an interview with her too, Cressida.”
“But ... I can’t imagine she’d want to talk to me after this. How did you manage that? Why even focus on it?”
“She believes it’s imperative she speaks with you soon. She held back from telling me, but I strongly suspect it’s related.”
“Okay. You’re kind of scaring me.”
