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It would probably have been a terrible mistake, but one he could live with. Like literally live with for at least a couple of months. The idea had been firmly lodged in his brain the minute he’d realized why she was hesitant to stay with him. She didn’t trust herself to keep her hands off him, and realizing that had been the best thing that had happened to him in a long time. The whole earlier conversation with his friends about guarding himself and being careful had been tossed in the garbage bin, and he’d been ready to see if it could work. After all, she needed a place to stay. If she got into the habit of sleeping with him, living with him, working with him, she might decide not to leave at all.
That had been his true mistake. He’d let an optimistic thought in, and that was the moment the phone had rung.
Roxie Guidry was in uniform, and her hair was in the neat bun she always wore when she was on duty. She stood in the middle of the hall as though waiting for him. Since she’d been the one to call, she likely had been. “He’s not under arrest.”
“Then why didn’t you let him walk home?”
Roxie sighed. “Because he’s your brother and Armie would have my head if I hadn’t called you. You know you didn’t have to come down. I could have given him a ride back home.”
“What happened?” He hadn’t even asked. He’d heard the deputy stating that Paul was at the station house and his brain had gone to the worst—or in this case most likely—scenario. “I thought for sure you’d arrested him.”
“No.” She shook her head. “He actually called us out. He was at the bar on the edge of town. He was meeting with some friends and when he came out, his car was gone.”
“He’s lying. Paul doesn’t have friends.” What was his brother up to now? “Did you ping the GPS?”
She winced. “He says he had the service turned off a couple of months ago.”
“He had the security on his hundred-thousand-dollar vehicle turned off?” Quaid felt his blood pressure tick up.
She held her hands up as if to say she wasn’t involved in that. “I’m going to look into it, Quaid.”
“Here’s what you have to understand, Deputy. Armie will likely explain all of this to you in the morning since this is my brother’s first time in town since you started working here. My brother is an addict of the first order. He’s a liar and he’ll charm the pants off anything he can if it means he can get a little more money. You can’t trust a word he says.”
“Well, the car is absolutely gone,” Roxie replied. “I’ve got proof that he drove up in it. There are several witnesses to Paul arriving at the bar. There are no cameras out at the Back Porch, so I need eyewitnesses. I’m going to call the highway patrol and see if they’ve got footage of a Porsche on any of the highways going out of town. Right now I’m writing up a report so he can file it with his insurance company.”
“Let’s hope he still has insurance.” Quaid didn’t say that this might be a whole new scam. As much as he couldn’t stand his brother, he wasn’t going to throw him under the bus for committing insurance fraud until he was sure he was right. “I would assume a Porsche will stick out like a sore thumb around these parts.”
She shrugged. “Absolutely. If some kids took it for a joyride, someone will brag about it. I’ve got one of the other deputies monitoring social media because they often film themselves and put it online. He’s in there finishing up. I’m actually kind of glad he didn’t drive home. When we got outthere he was definitely not in a condition to drive, if you know what I mean.”
“My brother is well acquainted with DUIs,” Quaid said with a huff.
“His record is clean,” she pointed out.
“Only because Armie wasn’t the sheriff when Paul was living here.” He was well aware that the old sheriff had been willing to sweep indiscretions under the rug when it came to the wealthy people of the town. What was “kids getting in trouble” for the Beaumonts, Daroises, and Haverys were felonies for the Cardets of the world. “I assure you he’s been arrested in LA.”
“Not in years, Quaid.” His brother stepped out looking far less polished than he normally did. “I did my community service and I did my time in rehab.”
“And you were in a bar tonight,” he countered.
“Well, alcohol wasn’t my problem,” Paul replied. “It’s not like anyone expects me to go without a drink for the rest of my life.”
“The rehab counselors would disagree.” Quaid looked to Roxie. “Hey, can I get a couple of cans of dog food? I have a canine guest and she’s going to need to eat in the morning.”
Roxie nodded. “Of course. I’ve got some in the back.”
Paul looked him over. “You got a dog?”
“I have a guest who has a dog.”
Paul’s brows rose over his eyes. “Ah, you have a woman. That’s a surprise. According to our mother you’ve practically been a nun for a year. She says you’re not dating.”
“And I’m not dating this one, either.” He wasn’t about to give his brother gossip to take to his mother. The last thing Jayna needed was a sixty-eight-year-old mean girl coming down on her. “She’s a professional contact. We’re working on a project, and she brought her dog along.”
“So you’re using the place for exactly what Dad used itfor.” Paul’s head shook. “Work and to get away from our mother.”
“I was getting away from you,” Quaid pointed out. He was about to start questioning his brother when Roxie showed up, a bag in her hand.
“Here you go.” She passed him Luna’s breakfast before turning to Paul. “I’ll let you know if we find anything out about the car. If it was stolen for a joyride, we’ll likely find it soon. If someone is breaking it down for parts, it’s probably long gone, but we’ll look into it.”
