I groaned and went to shut the door, but he shoved his foot in the way. His now familiar pine scent washed over me, but it was mixed with sweat. Was he nervous?
“Didn’t you get any sleep?” he asked.
“I slept like a dog.” I folded my arms, not ceding my position in the doorway.
“You mean with one.”
I scowled. So, he did know. Heat itched up my neck and stained my cheeks. “What do you want?” I nodded toward the items crammed under his arm, two boxes and a rolled-up newspaper.
He extracted the paper and tossed it at me. “Page two.”
I opened it with a crack and flipped quickly. A handsome man gazed demurely out from amongst the text. The black and white image didn’t do justice to the long blond hair he had pulled back in a ponytail, nor the slim frame hidden beneath a tailored jacket. The caption read: Prolific Lothario, dubbed ‘The Sheriff’ found brutally murdered in the town of Bellinor. My stomach seized. My eyes locked upon the words.
Clement reached forward and gently took the paper back. “I’ll summarize for you. He was found alone in a room at the Diamond Nightingale early this morning. His body had been shredded. His entrails...disemboweled. There was so much damage that the cause of death could not be ascertained.”
Acid crept up my throat. At least the scratches were hidden.
“I didn’t do it,” I said.
“You were the last to be seen with him.”
“I was here all night.” I swallowed. I clamped down on my thigh muscles, trying to stop the tremors that fired through me.
“Do you want to read the preliminary coroner’s report? They’re having a special doctor brought in who deals with this level of torture to confirm. As head of the castle guards, I attended the autopsy so I could be prepared to issue a threat warning for the prince.”
“I don’t want to know.” I sucked in air, trying desperately to dilute the vomit swirling at the back of my throat.
“Tam.” His voice softened. He leaned closer, his hand gently tipping up my chin. “Look at me.” I swallowed down another mouthful of bile. “I know you’re lying.”
“I didn’t do it!”
“I saw you there last night, with him. And in the market, you were the one to warn me. I know you know him.” He shook the paper at me. “But there is no mention of that and there never will be. Why do you think I’d tell?”
I didn’t answer.
His thumb stroked my cheek, and he sighed. “If you’re in trouble, if you’re next, tell me.”
I pulled out of his grasp. “There’s nothing to tell. I wasn’t there.”
I’d paid my debt. I’d done my part. I just had to keep it together until I could find Siobhan—who usually found me anyway—and wheedle my way out of tagging the prince. Even if the Sheriff was right, and he was involved in the murders, or hunting those with my kind of magic, it really wasn’t my problem. This was why I should have kept out of it and why I should be halfway across the country on my well-deserved break. I shouldn’t be responsible for assassinating the crowned prince for Goddess’s sake.
I gritted my teeth. I should’ve called for Siobhan straight away last night, but then those murderous sheets distracted me. Lilyanna would go too now that she’d been almost strangled—I’d make her—and we could leave this creepy-as-fuck castle behind us.
“I wish you would trust me.” Clement’s hand balled into a fist; his muscles locked tight. “Aren’t I your friend?” He infused the word with such a girly intonation that I snorted, pulled from my stampeding thoughts. He relaxed an inch, a shadow of a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
“Is that all you want to be, Clement?” He froze again, his dark eyes glued on mine. Tension warmed the air between us and my stomach twisted for a different reason.
“I think you might be a little more than I can handle.” He swallowed, his teeth crushing his lower lip. The distance between us narrowed. “Besides, I would like to keep my intestines inside my body.”
I pushed him away, noting how firm his chest was despite myself. “Goddess damn you, I didn’t do it.”
He grinned and my heart lurched. “Here.” He handed over the two small boxes. Both were wrapped in a golden ribbon and surprisingly heavy. “It’s for the dinner this afternoon. Specially requested by the prince.”
“I’ll give them to Lilyanna when she wakes up.”
“The smaller one is yours.”
I rattled it. “I don’t wear jewelry.”
