“She was the receptionist at Isabella’s Escort Service.” She paused, letting the information sink in his head a little. “Coincidence? I say no.”
He huffed and set his glass upon the counter, then started pacing in front of her. “But that still doesn’t make sense to me. Why would a friend I’ve known since college, want to set me up? We’ve been best friends for several years. He’s like the brother I never had.”
“Austin? What is Derek’s last name?”
He paused in his pacing to look at her. “Martin. Why?”
Little by little, everything was fitting together. But what was Derek’s motive? She took slow steps toward Austin, and stopped when she reached him. She touched his arm. “The owner of Isabella’s Escort Service is Mr. Martin. The ditzy blonde receptionist told us that when Kurt and I went there to ask questions. We could never find Mr. Martin. But I’d studied some pictures on the wall of that office, and the man who was in those pictures of the outdoors, was none other than your friend, Derek.” She took a deep breath and released it. “Did you know your friend owned a call girl business?”
“No,” Austin said softly.
“That’s how he met Hillary. And that’s how he was able to find girls for you so easily to go out with.”
“But…” He shook his head again. “I never once paid for his girls. Why would he do that if he owned the business?”
“Maybe he was trying to get you interested in a different way. Maybe he eventually wanted you to be one of their main clients.”
Austin raked his fingers through his hair. “I wish I knew what his purpose was, especially if he took my weapon and killed Hillary with it. But we can’t be sure, can we?”
“Actually, we can. Whoever took your weapon would have had to return it. Right?”
He nodded.
“Then I’m sure they’ll be on your security cameras.”
His eyes widened, and it was as if relief spread across his expression. “Yes, we could have caught it on the security footage.”
She shrugged. “Well, what are we waiting for? Unless…do I need to obtain a warrant for you to release it to me?
“Of course not. Let’s go look at it now.”
He led them out of the suite and into the elevators. She kept her eyes on the electronic board that displayed what floor they were passing. Excitement bubbled inside of her, anticipating the thrill of finally solving this case.
Out of the corner of her vision, she could see Austin staring at her. Suddenly, her nervous stomach turned into something else, and the excitement flowing through her grew warm.Not again!Why couldn’t she ignore these feelings she’d had for him? Why? Because she probably still had them.
“Brittany, I need to apologize for not telling you the truth about Hillary.”
Closing her eyes, she didn’t like the way his pleading voice tugged on her heart. “No, you don’t.”
“Well, you’ll have to listen to me, anyway. We’re in an elevator, so you have no choice.”
She looked back at the electronic display, thankful they were almost to the bottom level. “Only for a few more seconds.”
He reached over and pushed the red emergency button on the panel. Immediately, the elevator stopped. The sudden movement from the contraption made her stumble and she fell against him. His strong arms held her against him.
Heat consumed her, stronger than it had done before. His body against hers…was very bad! And looking into his smoldering green eyes was her undoing. Little by little, her heart began to mend, even though she fought it from happening.
“Please, Brittany, listen to me. I need to apologize and get this heavy restriction of guilt off my chest.”
And speaking of chests… Her hands splayed upon his muscular frame, and just as before, she loved feeling his erratic heartbeat beneath her palms.
“At first, the reason I didn’t tell you the truth about Hillary was because I was embarrassed that my cousin would go into that profession. You had once mentioned I had a kind and giving heart. Well, my kind and giving heart wanted to help her. No woman should have to lower themselves to do such a despicable thing. That’s why I’d paid the escort service to let her go. When she returned to me earlier this year and begged my help again, I struggled to say no.”
He paused, and his beautiful green eyes reflected the pain he must be experiencing. A lump of emotion clogged her throat.
“Remember our evening at the park? I had decided to tell you then, but you had to leave. Later that night when you dropped by, I was determined to tell you the truth.”
“Why didn’t you?” she asked softly.
