Millionaire's Last Stand by Elle Kennedy
How had Jamie gotten under his skin in such a short amount of time? When he’d given in to the attraction last night, it was only supposed to be about sex.
“Why do you look so serious?”
Her gentle voice penetrated his thoughts and he met her eyes. “You could have been killed,” he said, clenching his fists to his sides. “Christ, it’s like every woman I get involved with is destined to lose her life.”
A strange look flitted across her face. “Cole—”
“Maybe I should get you out of town,” he interrupted. “I’ve got a place in Tahiti that we can—”
“No way. I’m not leaving Serenade.”
“Even if it means you getting killed?”
She stuck out her chin. “I’m going to be here to catch this guy. I don’t run and hide when things get a little dangerous.”
“A little dangerous?” The rest of his irritated speech went unfinished as the keypad by the door buzzed, indicating someone was at the gate. Apparently Finnegan hadn’t wasted any time in getting here.
After pressing the button to open the gate, Cole glanced at Jamie’s sports bra and frowned. “You should put something on.”
“Why?” She suddenly laughed. “Because of Finn?”
“Yes, because of Finn,” he snapped back.
“Trust me, he doesn’t look at me that way.”
Cole doubted it. The bra she wore covered everything, but did nothing to hide the fullness of Jamie’s breasts, or the flat expanse of her creamy stomach. Still, she made no move to reach for her bloodstained shirt.
“If he even looks at you funny,” Cole threatened.
She must have heard the contempt in his voice because she laughed again. “What are you going to do, beat him up?”
He glared at her, ready with a comeback, but then the doorbell rang and he strode off to let the sheriff in. When Finn burst into the kitchen and spotted the white bandage covering Jamie’s upper arm, he let out a curse that had Cole raising his eyebrows.
“Did you see the shooter?” Finn asked immediately.
“No,” Jamie answered. “But he was definitely behind me. Probably hiding in the woods somewhere.”
“Where were you, exactly? I need the precise location.” After Jamie relayed the information, Finn dialed a number on his phone and spoke to his deputies, who were apparently on their way.
He hung up, saying, “Max and Anna will comb the woods. They’ve got the forensic tech with them, so if there’s any trace evidence, he’ll find it.”
As Jamie had predicted, Finn didn’t even seem to notice her scantily-clad appearance. After a cursory glance at her bandage, he gave her a deep scowl. “Now I’m getting you out of here. No arguments, Jamie.”
Cole wasn’t surprised when she argued. “I’m not leaving.”
Finn just gaped. “This house is evidently not as safe as you insisted. You were just shot, damn it. Where was the damn security system?”
“The motion sensors only go off when someone reaches the edge of the yard,” Cole spoke up. “The shooter was obviously beyond the perimeter, somewhere in the woods.”
Finn turned to glare daggers at him, but spun around when Jamie held up a hand and said, “I thought of something.”
The sheriff’s expression displayed an irritated flicker. “What, that you should get the hell away from this man?”
“No,” she said, looking just as annoyed. “I had an idea about why Teresa might have been killed.”
Finn faltered. Cole could sense the other man still wanted to argue some more—it was probably what he did for fun—but Jamie’s revelation was too tempting for either man to ignore.
“Pour me a cup of coffee, Donovan,” Finn barked. Then he glanced at Jamie. “I’m listening…”
Cole bristled at the sheriff’s coffee demand, but at least the other man seemed willing to quit scowling at everyone and actually listen to Jamie. So, swallowing his pride, Cole moved to the counter and prepared coffee for a man he didn’t particularly like, pouring himself a cup too.
They gathered at the table a few moments later, and Jamie spoke with the pensive slant of her head. “Cole said something before you got here,” she told the sheriff, “about how it feels like the women in his life are targets.”
Finn’s face turned red, as the implication behind Jamie’s words settled in. Cole expected the man to explode at the thought of a romantic connection between Jamie and his main suspect, but Jamie hurried on, quickly diffusing the bomb before it went off. “It got me thinking about why. Why is someone coming after me? Since I got here, we haven’t come up with any new leads about who the killer might be.
“The killer has no reason to want me off the case,” she continued. “Especially considering we’ve got zilch for leads. Maybe if we were getting close, sure. But I can’t see this guy making a preemptive strike just in case I happened to figure it out. He’s too smart to stick his neck out like this, to risk getting blamed for trying to kill me. He got away with killing Teresa—I’d imagine he’d want to stay out of sight and hope he remains in the clear. Which makes me think we’ve got the motive all wrong.”
Cole was extremely intrigued. And quite fascinated by the way her brain worked. “What do you mean?”
“We’ve been assuming that Teresa was killed because she pissed someone off, because someone wanted to hurt her.” Jamie’s voice went grave. “But what if that person was trying to hurt you?”
“Me?” he said in surprise.
“Think about it. You’re a powerful businessman, I’m sure you’ve made some enemies over the years. Maybe the reason we can’t catch the man who killed your ex-wife is because he’s not connected to your ex-wife. Maybe he’s connected to you.”
Finn let out a reluctant-sounding breath. “You might be onto something, Crawford. Maybe someone’s trying to get at Donovan here.”
The object of the discussion shook his head. “That’s ridiculous. Teresa and I were divorced. Anyone who read the tabloids knew that killing her wouldn’t cause me much pain.”
“It would if you’re then implicated in her murder,” Jamie pointed out. “Your company’s already suffering because of it. Maybe that was what the killer intended.”
“Come on, Donovan,” Finn mocked. “I’m sure you stepped on some toes on your way to the top. You must have pissed a few people off.”
Cole wrinkled his forehead in thought. “No,” he said, confidence ringing in his voice. “I built my company honestly, with integrity. I didn’t want to do it the wrong way, the way my…”
He didn’t finish the sentence, but he knew Jamie had filled in the blanks. The way my father did. But talking about his dad in front of the sheriff was about as appealing as painting his toenails pink, and he had no desire to give Finnegan more ammunition against him. Poor Cole Donovan and his crappy relationship with his daddy. Finn would pounce on that like a hungry lion.
“I have some professional enemies, sure,” Cole admitted. “Some guys I may have outbid on certain projects.” He paused. “George Winston comes to mind, but I can’t see the man going on a murder spree to get back at me for outbidding him. Competition is the name of the game. Anyone who gets into real estate development knows that.”
“What about disgruntled employees?” Jamie asked. “Someone you might have fired, someone who left the company with a bad taste in their mouth?”
Helplessness jammed in his chest, causing him to shrug. “I don’t think so, but I can look into it. I’ve got a very discreet P.I. I use from time to time. I was actually considering calling him to run his own side investigation about Teresa’s murder, but—” he shot Finn a stony look “—I figured you wouldn’t appreciate the interference.”
“How generous of you,” Finn said, sarcasm dripping from his voice.
Cole ignored the barb. “But I’ll give him a call now, see what he comes up with.”
“It’s worth a shot,” Jamie said. “Sure, we can keep digging around and try to sift through the end
Because they were involved. She didn’t say it, but the tell-tale blush on her cheeks said everything. Finn noticed it too, and frowned.
Cole ignored a nudge of annoyance. So what if the sheriff didn’t approve? He and Jamie were both consenting adults. They didn’t owe Finnegan any explanations.
“It’s an angle we can’t ignore,” Finn admitted in a grudging tone. “If our guy is going after the women in your life, then it’s most likely someone you know.”
“I’ll call my P.I.,” Cole said again.
With a nod, Finn pushed away his mug and stood up. “Come on, Jamie, let’s go.”
She remained in her seat. “I already told you, I’m staying here.”
Finn looked livid. “So someone can shoot you again?”
“I won’t leave the house this time. I pretty much painted a target on myself by walking out in the yard. I was distracted and didn’t think.”
“You’re still not thinking,” Finn grumbled. “Just because this theory of yours makes sense doesn’t mean he—” he jerked a hostile thumb at Cole “—isn’t a threat to you.”
Jamie let out a sigh. “I’m perfectly safe with Cole.”
Though her conviction brought a rush of warmth to his chest, Cole suddenly had to question the truth of her statement. Was she safe? It sure hadn’t felt like it an hour ago.
But could he really let her leave? Every protective instinct he possessed told him not to let this woman out of his sight. Great sex aside, he genuinely liked her, and the memory of watching her fall to the grass with a bullet wound to her arm tore at his insides.
Maybe they didn’t have a future, maybe great sex was all they’d ever have, but Cole suddenly realized that until Teresa’s killer was caught, he was not going to leave Jamie Crawford’s side.
“I hate it when he’s angry with me,” Jamie confessed as she and Cole settled in the living room after Finn was gone.
Her friend had made several more attempts at getting her to leave with him, but Jamie had stood her ground and Finn had eventually left in a huff. She hadn’t liked the angry way he’d stormed out, but it wasn’t enough to change her mind. Cole wasn’t to blame for what happened earlier. She’d gotten shot because she’d been foolish, because she’d been so frustrated with the lack of progress on the case that she’d stupidly drifted to the other end of the yard without thinking that anyone might be out there.
But who had shot her? Why was someone watching Cole’s house? It troubled her, and apparently it bugged Finn too, because he’d arranged to have his deputy Max stand guard in the woods for the next couple of days. Jamie had a feeling the mysterious shooter would be long gone though. He had to know that the forest wouldn’t be safe for him to hide out in any longer.
“He’s worried about you,” Cole said. “Frankly, so am I.”
She curled up on one end of the couch, resting her head against the plump arm. She was feeling a tad sluggish thanks to the painkillers she’d taken. It was probably the sluggishness that didn’t make her object when Cole scooted in beside her and wrapped his arms around her from behind. The position was too romantic, too intimate, but at the moment, the feel of his strong embrace was incredibly soothing.
“This is nice,” she murmured.
“It is,” he murmured back.
“By the way, what did your private investigator say when you called him?”
“He’s fully on board. He’s going to start investigating all my employees and business contacts. Discreetly, of course.”
“Good.”
“I also spoke to Ian,” Cole told her, gently skimming his fingers up and down her uninjured arm. “Apparently the company that wants to buy me out doubled the offer.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
He went quiet, and they lay there in comfortable silence. Jamie couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt this content. Surprising, since only an hour ago she’d been flat on the grass dodging bullets. But the serenity also succeeded in making her edgy. This thing with Cole was about sex, not intimacy. Even if she wasn’t investigating his ex-wife’s murder, they probably still couldn’t make it work. She lived in Charlotte, was pretty much married to her job. He lived in Chicago when he wasn’t in Serenade, with a job that was just as demanding. He was a millionaire, she came from a trailer park.
As uneasiness moved through her body, Jamie twisted around to meet his dark eyes. “What are we doing here?”
“Well, we’re lying down on the couch, and in a bit, you should probably take a nap because, after all, you were shot.”
“You know that’s not what I meant.”
He swallowed. “I know.”
“Are we being foolish? I mean, I know we have chemistry together, but neither of us want a relationship. So why bother? Why spend all this time together when it won’t go anywhere?”
His chest heaved as he exhaled. “I don’t know.” He hesitated, then spoke in a gruff voice. “All I know is that I like being with you.”
She bit the inside of her cheek. “I like being with you too. I feel so comfortable with you, Cole. And I like how you don’t seem bothered by my job. A lot of men think a woman doesn’t belong in law enforcement.”
“Well, I can’t say I like that you hang out with killers all day long, but I respect what you do, Jamie.”
It warmed her heart to hear him say it. In the past, her career had gotten in the way of her relationships, a cold snippet of reality that had made her wonder if she’d ever find a man who could respect her work.
“I respect what you do too,” she told him. “Even if you do end up selling your company.”
“I don’t know what I want to do,” he confessed. “Ever since I moved to this town, I’ve had a tough time leaving. I’m not sure I want to travel so much anymore.”
She totally understood. Everything was so simple and beautiful in Serenade.
Except for the crazed killer roaming about.
The memory caused her to sigh. “There’s no reason to even talk about this. Neither of us is in a position to make any kind of real decisions until we find whoever killed Teresa.”
“And whoever’s trying to kill you,” he said roughly. His arms tightened around her. “I won’t let this bastard hurt you again, Jamie. I swear, I’m not letting you out of my sight until we catch him.”
Her heart did a somersault, and suddenly her vocal chords had a life of their own. “I don’t know what I feel for you,” she whispered. “Mostly confused.”
“Tell me about it. I’ve been confused since the day you showed up at my door.”
She shifted around again and saw the bewildered expression on his chiseled face. “I truly didn’t think I’d ever want to be in another relationship,” he added. “After the divorce, I shut down.”
“That’s understandable. People tend to do that after they’ve been badly hurt.”
“I was more than hurt,” he said hoarsely. “That woman destroyed me. I gave her everything I had and she always demanded more. In the end, I had nothing left.”
“You have a lot left,” she said, bending close to brush her lips over his.
His tongue teased the seam of her lips, bringing a shiver to her skin. He kissed her softly, one hand toying with her hair, which she’d released from her ponytail. He played with the auburn strands as his mouth moved over hers. After a few breathless moments, he pulled back and said, “You should really take that nap. You just got shot.”
“I’ll do it only if you join me.”
“If I join you, we won’t get any sleep,” he growled.
His reply made her grin, and the confusion and indecision she’d felt a moment ago dissolved as she leaned in to kiss him again. Who needed to talk about the future? For the first time
“I don’t need sleep,” she murmured. “Maybe if the bullet went through…but it was just a graze, and the cure for grazes isn’t sleep.”
He shot her a dubious look. “Yeah, then what’s the cure?”
“Sex. Lots and lots of sex.”
Chapter 13
Cole smiled as he stared at the sleeping woman in his bed, memorizing every beautiful detail before quietly leaving the bedroom and closing the door. He headed downstairs and made some coffee, then sat at the table and wondered what the hell he was doing.
He and Jamie had spent the entire afternoon in bed, only coming up for air so he could draw them a luxurious bubble bath in the Jacuzzi. Afterward, he’d ordered her to lie down on the bed and proceeded to pamper her with a full body massage that had them both groaning with pleasure and impatience. His clothes had disappeared soon after and he’d tugged her onto his lap and let her take the lead this time, worried that he might hurt her shoulder if he was on top. Jamie had straddled him, moving in a slow, sexy rhythm that drove him wild, and when they both exploded with passion, she’d rolled over, closed her eyes and promptly fallen asleep.
And now he was alone, sifting through a pile of conflicting emotions and asking himself how on earth Jamie Crawford had managed to break through the shield he’d constructed around his heart. He shouldn’t want her this much. He shouldn’t care this much.
He was done with relationships, unwilling to take another risk and let down his guard. Truth was, Teresa’s betrayal had done a number on his pride. She’d cheated on him. Lied to him. Made his life a living hell. And yeah, Jamie was nothing like Teresa. She was kind, compassionate, patient, but that didn’t mean she didn’t have the power to destroy him.
And he refused to let another woman have that much power over him.