Pierce knocked on the back window, and Bud dutifully rolled it down. “Mr. McLintock, who wants you dead?” Pierce asked.
Bernie reared up. “I think it’s obvious, don’t you? It’s Hoyt. It has to be. He thinks I killed his dad.”
“Did you?” Pierce asked mildly.
“No,” Bernie bellowed, his face turning crimson. “I did not kill that bastard. Even if I had known all of this, I would’ve just hit him in the face, boycotted his business, and probably tried to get him kicked out of the Kringle Club.” He said the last as if it were the worst thing that could happen to a guy.
I bit my lip, not having had a chance to discuss the illegal origins of the club with Bernie yet. It’s not like I could bring up the subject with Bud in the vehicle.
A gust of wind knocked snow off Pierce’s head. “What about Florence?”
Bernie looked at Pierce like he’d lost his sanity. “She loves me.”
“Uh-huh,” Pierce said, shoving his hands in his pockets.
I rolled my eyes. “I don’t see Florence running through a blizzard and shooting at people, Grant. Come on.”
He leaned toward Bud’s window again. “Doesn’t mean she didn’t hire somebody.”
My phone buzzed, and I lifted it to my ear. “Albertini.”
“Anna, it’s Thelma,” Thelma whispered. “We have a line on Sharon Smith but need a ride. If you give us a ride tomorrow morning, we’ll cut you in on the action.”
I stilled, noting that both Bud and Pierce had zero-laser focused on me. “Sounds good. I’d love to go shopping tomorrow with you. I’ll call you first thing.” I ended the call, trying to be calm.
Pierce angled his head to see the jewelry box falling out of the bag on the floor. “You look like you shopped today.”
“I did.” Grateful for the distraction, I grasped the box and opened it to reveal the black and silver watch. “What do you think?”
“For your dad?” Pierce asked, straightening.
I looked back down at the timepiece. “No. For Aiden.”
Pierce snorted. “That’s a nice gift for your dad, somebody you’ve been married to for twenty years, or somebody you’re about to dump. Tell Devlin ‘good riddance.’” He turned and strode away, walking over to a couple of crime techs.
I sighed. Well, I thought Donna had drawn either Vince or Bosco’s name in the family lottery, and maybe she’d buy the watch from me. As for the goofy tie, that was going to Detective Grant Pierce.
What in the world was I going to get for Aiden?
Dog and teenwere snoozing peacefully in my living room with the Christmas tree lights sparkling all around them because I’d pushed off dinner with Aunt Yara until the next night, considering I hadn’t even picked Violet up from work until after nine, borrowing Tessa’s Rogue again. I’d just told my aunt that work had interfered, which was mostly true. There was no reason to tell her about my being shot at. Again. Especially since the shooter had been aiming for Bernie and not for me.
So I’d been staring at the ceiling from my bed for several hours when I heard Aiden come in the front door. Something clumped—probably his boots. It was interesting how easily I identified his footsteps, considering we hadn’t been in the same place very often the last six months.
He moved inside the bedroom and quietly shut the door, just a shadow against the wall.
I levered up on an elbow. “Hi.”
“Hi.” He tugged his shirt over his head, dropped it on the floor, and unbuttoned his jeans.
My libido woke right up to match the rest of me.
“Get naked,” he whispered, his Irish brogue stronger than usual.
I sat all the way up. “No. You get me naked.”
His flash of a grin warmed my entire body. “That I can do.” Then he was on my bed, over the covers, over me. Full on, shoving me back, his mouth on mine.
Aiden Devlin could kiss. This, I already knew. Add in his slightly cold but firm lips, more than slightly hot tongue, and he melted the worries of the day completely away for a moment.
