He skimmed the pages once, then read them in detail two more times. He knew in his gut that her report had to be right, but he didn’t want to believe it. Finally he closed the folder and looked at her.
“I’m so sorry,” she said.
“Brent and Driskell were working together?”
“An insurance scam,” Melissa said. “I finally realizedthere had to be two people involved, and Gramps and I checked it out last night.” She licked her lips, her eyes darting to Brent’s office door. “It was an inside job. I finally realized it had to be. There was no way to get through the system. Not unless there were two people who were intimately familiar with the setup.” She drew a breath. “I think you need to call the police in on this one.”
“Shit.” He ran his fingers through his hair. Her report would save him from the insurance sharks, yes, but it didn’t save him from the knife of betrayal that Brent had wielded so skillfully.
He stormed to Brent’s office and shoved the door open. Brent was at his desk, rummaging through the drawers. When he looked up, surprise and guilt flooded his face. “You son of a bitch,” Kyle said, the words a growl in his throat. “How the hell could you do this to me?”
Mel was behind him, her hand on his shoulder, as if she was afraid he’d rush into the room and rip Brent’s head off. Yeah, well, he just might do that.
“Do what?” Brent said, his eyes darting between Kyle and Mel.
Kyle tossed him the folder. Brent skimmed the pages, then looked up, all color drained from his face. “Who put this together?”
“I did,” Mel said from behind him.
“Dammit, Kyle,” Brent said, “you’re going to believeher?I’m your partner, man. You said it yourself. She’s a goddamn thief.”
At that, Kyle lashed out, punching his partner in the jaw. Brent spun around, landing on his behind on the hard linoleum floor.
Behind him, Mel gasped, and Kyle turned to face her. “Sweetheart, I’m sorry about what he said. I’m—”
She held up a hand. “No. He’s right. Just like you told him. I am a thief.” She stood up straighter, her shoulders back and her chin high. “And I think it’s time for me to go.”
* * *
“MEL, STAY.”
Kyle caught up with her at the front door, his hand reaching out to hold it closed. “Don’t leave me now.”
Brent was still on the floor in his office, even so, his words echoed in the air.She’s a goddamn thief.
She steeled herself, sure she was doing the right thing. Shewasa thief. No matter what else she went on to do, that simple fact would always color her life. “I’ve made up my mind, Kyle. Please don’t make this harder than it is.”
“Don’t make it hard? What do you expect? I’m sure as hell not going to make it easy.”
“Kyle, please.”
“Mel, we’re good together. Andyou’regood. Stay with me. Work for me.” He waved the folder. “This is what you do. Don’t walk away from it. Hell, don’t walk away from me.”
She shook her head. “I can’t stay. You know how I feel. I never made any secret of it.” She drew in a breath. She knew she was doing the right thing, but this was so much harder than she’d ever imagined. “And now I need to go.”
“Dammit, Mel. I love you.”
She flinched. She didn’t want him to love her, and she didn’t want to love him. But she did. And that made it so much harder.
“Stay,” he said, his words filling the silence she’d left. “Stay and work for me.” He cast a glance toward Brent’s door, his jaw tightening with anger. “It looks like I’m in need of a new partner, anyway, and this is the perfect job for you.”
“Perfect?” She felt a swell of anger build in her stomach. “You think a job where I break into houses is perfect for me? It’s not perfect. It’s exactly what I’ve been wanting to get away from. And if you think it’s perfect, then you don’t really know me at all.”
“Maybe I know you even better than you know yourself.”
His words held the force of a slap, and she flinched.
“You love it, Mel. The thrill. The challenge. And, yes, I know your past, but so what? Itisyour past. I love you anyway. You’re trying so hard to be someone you’re not. Quit trying. Just be yourself. Just be the woman I love.”
