“That there’s nothing connecting any of these cases other than the fact that they were all women, who were, unfortunately, kidnapped, otherwise your brother would have made it official and formed a task force to look into it already,” Ashlyn pointed out, watching him closely for any telltale signs that she’d hit her mark.
“Unless it’s just a theory at this point,” Shayne said, keeping his gaze locked with hers.
“If it’s just a theory, then there’s no harm in sharing it,” Ashlyn pointed out.
“I’m afraid that I can’t do that, lass,” Shayne said, sighing heavily as he reached over and plucked the coffee out of her hand and took a sip.
“And why exactly is that?” Ashlyn asked, plucking the coffee out of his hand.
“Because then ye wouldn’t need me,” Shayne said as she took a sip, needing a caffeine fix now more than ever.
“I don’t need you now,” Ashlyn pointed out.
“If that was true, ye wouldn’t be here now trying ta find out what I know,” Shayne said, leaning back in his chair while he considered her.
“Which I believe we’ve established is nothing more than a theory,” Ashlyn said, moving to take another sip of coffee only to have him pluck it out of her hand.
“Which is more than ye have now, lass,” Shayne said, shooting her a wink as he stood up and headed for the door, leaving her sitting there and-
“Goddamn it,” Ashlyn muttered as she grabbed her bag and quickly went after him.
“I’m willing ta work with ye, lass, but I’m not about ta tell ye anything that could put ye in danger,” Shayne said as soon as she caught up with him.
“So, you’re doing this to protect me?” Ashlyn asked, reaching over and plucked the coffee out of his hand.
“Ye need protecting, lass,” he said, placing his hand at the small of her back as they moved to cross the street, the simple touch sending a wave of pleasure tearing through her body so fast that it startled her.
“And the fact that I don’t need you to protect me?” Ashlyn asked even as he gently grabbed hold of her elbow to steady her when she stumbled.
“Doesn’t matter,” Shayne said, shaking his head when she realized that they were standing in her driveway.
“What are we doing here?” Ashlyn asked, watching as he made his way around her car to the passenger side and-
“Yer taking me out ta lunch, lass.”
Winter Falls, New Hampshire
“The old oak tree,”Aidan said while Declean stood there, considering the small woman currently rubbing her temples with her fingertips as her murderous glare shifted from Shayne to-
“The boulder,” Declean said when Ashlyn’s gaze flickered to the large boulder by the side of the road, letting him know that’s where she was debating hiding his body after she killed him with her bare hands.
Again, not that he could blame her, Shayne thought, doing his best to ignore the remnants of the nausea that threatened to knock him on his ass as he took in the spot where Jillian Mathers was found dead twenty-five years ago. Christ, he hated riding in cars, Shayne thought as he ran his eyes over the oak trees surrounding them and the wall of boulders behind him that shielded her body from the road before he pulled his phone out of his pocket and pulled up the file that he had Aidan download for him.
“Yer going ta need help dragging my body, lass,” Shayne said as he opened the crime scene photos and noted the exact spot where they found her body.
“I’ll make do,” Ashlyn said, making his lips twitch as he noted the differences from that day to now, the rotted oak tree that had been photographed directly behind her body had since fallen over, the trees were thicker, the overgrowth had taken over more of the clearing and started making its way around the boulders, and the shoeprints surrounding the body were long gone.
“She’s not here,” Aidan said, forcing him to bite back a curse. He’d been hoping Jillian’s spirit was still here so that they could get answers.
“Are you going to tell me what we’re doing here?” Ashlyn asked as she plucked the phone out of his hand and began scrolling.
“Making sure that we didn’t miss anything,” Shanye said as he stepped into the small clearing where the body had been found and shifted to match the footprints the killer left that day.
“Two inches to your left and three inches back,” Ashlyn said, correctly guessing what he was doing.
“Here, lass?” Shayne said, moving back and to the left.
Worrying her bottom lip between her teeth, Ashlyn studied the picture as she slowly moved behind him only to force him to bite back a groan when she placed her hand against his back, sending a wave of pleasure through his body as she gently pushed him forward another inch. It was the curse fucking with his head, Shayne reminded himself as he pretended that he wasn’t painfully aware of the small woman standing behind him and took in everything the killer would have seen that day, from the branches blocking out the sun above him to the boulders blocking him from the road.
