He glanced down at his feet where the body would have been before glancing over his shoulder and took in the dirt path that cut through the woods, the same one that ran from the restaurant to the boating docks a few miles away. Without a word, he made his way around the boulders and up the grassy embankment, turned around and-
“You can’t see the path from here,” Ashlyn said as she joined him.
“Ye wouldn’t even know that it was there,” Shayne absently murmured as he glanced both ways before stepping back onto the road and took in the incredibly beautiful scenic country road before he glanced back at the wall of boulders blocking everything from sight.
“Makes ye wonder how a hitchhiker passing through managed ta find it,” Shayne said, deciding that it was time to find out.
CHAPTER 10
There was something seriously wrong with her, Ashlyn thought as she sat in the parking lot of the Winter Falls Tavern, the upscale restaurant where Jillian worked as a hostess the day she disappeared.
The fact that this was becoming a daily observation was starting to concern her, but something, mostly the fact that she started questioning her sanity after she met the man currently stumbling past her car, told her that he had something to do with it. She watched as Shayne slapped his hand against an oak tree just as his legs threatened to give out, bent over and took a deep breath before turning an accusing glare on her.
At least he wasn’t dry heaving this time, Ashlyn thought as she reluctantly turned the car off and climbed out in time to watch him try to stand up only to bend back over and mutter, “Kill. Me.” Deciding to take this moment to regroup, Ashlyn made her way to the trunk of her car and went over everything that she’d learned the last time that she was here.
Winter Falls Tavern was built in 1735 by the McClellan family and was still run by the family to this day. It started off as a tavern, providing lodging, stables, meals, and up until the 1830s, it doubled as a town hall, post office, and courthouse. It wasrumored to be part of the Underground Railroad with secret tunnels and passageways, helping close to five hundred slaves escape to Canada.
In the late 1800s, it closed its doors to lodgers and focused on the restaurant. It went through different phases only to be turned into a high-end restaurant in the early 2000s. It was set on a beautiful lake with a gorgeous waterfall, which made it perfect for weddings and gave her the excuse that she needed the last time that she was here to ask questions.
Ignoring the large man that was now hugging the tree and thanking God that he was alive, Ashlyn opened her trunk and grabbed her emergency bag. After a quick search, she found the fake engagement ring that she used the last time that she was here. She slid the ring on before closing the trunk and watched Shayne do whatever it was that he was doing and found herself wondering what the hell she was thinking when she agreed to this asinine plan.
She worked alone for a reason.
She didn’t trust anyone.
Not with her reputation, her clients, her business, or her life. She liked being able to decide which cases she took, how she was going to handle them, and being able to change plans on the fly without anyone slowing her down. She didn’t like anyone getting in her way, making her second-guess herself, having to worry about anyone screwing up the details, and she didn’t like distractions and there was no doubt in her mind that he was a distraction.
She’d lost count of how many times she’d found herself thinking about him over the past month when she should have been focused on her job. She’d never had that problem before and now, it was a constant battle just to get through five minutes without thinking about him.
She couldn’t understand it, but every minute that she was away from him left her feeling on edge, like something was wrong, like a part of her was missing, and when she was with him...
It wasn’t enough.
She didn’t like this overwhelming need to go to him, to be near him, or the fact that she couldn’t seem to stop thinking about him, and she hated this. But, right now, she didn’t have a choice, not if she was going to give Julia’s family the answers that they’d been waiting for. She just...
Christ, she had no idea why she took this case in the first place.
She normally avoided missing person cases, but there was just something about this case that had her breaking her own rules and she had absolutely no idea why. She liked cases that had a deadline, paid well, and she knew without a doubt that she could solve. This case was ten years old, there weren’t any witnesses, leads, or anything that she could work with and the family couldn’t afford her rate, but for some reason, she couldn’t say no.
“This would probably be a good time to go over the rules,” Ashlyn said, slipping back into work mode so that they could get this over with. She needed answers and as soon as she had them, she wouldn’t need the man currently glaring at her.
“There are rules?” Shayne asked, pushing away from the tree as he took in everything, from the lake to the incredibly beautiful waterfall spilling over large rocks into the lake below to the meticulously manicured lawn, hedges, and trees surrounding them before taking in the tavern that looked like it had been frozen in time.
“There are always rules,” Ashlyn said as she stood there, debating how she wanted to play this one out as she ran her eyes over him, taking in everything from his neatly combed jet-blackhair, chiseled good looks, incredible build and clothes that fit him to perfection. The glare was going to be an issue, but then again, she could work with that, Ashlyn decided as she released a shaky breath, nodded to herself, and slapped a smile on her face before she did what she had to do.
“What are ye doing, lass?” Shayne asked, unable to help but frown as he watched her take his hand in hers.
“Lowering my standards,” Ashlyn said as she gave his hand a gentle tug that had him reluctantly following her.
“I thought we were going over the rules,” Shayne said, adjusting his hold so that their fingers were entwined and she had to force herself to ignore just how good it felt to hold his hand.
“There’s really only one rule,” Ashlyn said as they made their way up the beautifully designed stone walkway lined with black pavers and white bricks.
“And that is...” Shayne said, letting his words trail off as she felt his thumb slide across the back of her hand in a soft caress.
“Don’t say anything,” Ashlyn said as the next caress of his thumb caused her breath to catch.
“Ye just want me ta look pretty, is that it?” Shayne asked in a teasing tone that had his brogue thickening and somehow managing to sound even sexier. God, she really was pathetic, Ashlyn thought as they made their way up the stone stairs leading up to the tavern.
