Page 3 of Into the Rain


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He extended a hand to help her up.

She stared up at him.

He didn’t move or blink, just waited for her to decide.

She took his hand. Long, strong fingers gripped hers, and she let him haul her to her feet. A jolt of…something shot up her arm. Of what? Awareness? It couldn’t be attraction because she didn’t even know exactly what this guy looked like. But it was something.

“Look, I’m really sorry I attacked you,” she said brushing the gravel from her jeans. Steeling herself, she looked up into his face. She had to tip her head back a long way; he was quite a bit taller than her. Most of the blood was gone now. His nose had stopped dripping, and he’d wiped the rest away with the edge of his sleeve. There was an awkward silence, where he merely looked at her with that assessing gaze of his.

She wanted to admonish him again for sneaking up on her; he’d caused this whole sequence of events really, but she held her tongue. Instead, she said, “But I don’t think there is anything you or I can do for my van tonight. I’ll call a mechanic first thing in the morning.” She straightened her sheepskin jacket around her shoulders and combed her long blonde hair out of her face. “I’ll be fine to sleep here for the night, and you can be on your way, Detective.” She spun on her heel, heading back to her van, already putting him out of her mind, looking forward to crawling into the rooftop bed and covering her head with the blankets to drown out the residue of the images still accosting the edges of her mind.

“I’m afraid I can’t let you do that,” the deep voice resonated from behind her.

“I beg your pardon?” She turned around to face him.

“There is a strict no camping rule here.” He pointed to the sign.

“Yes, I saw that, but surely—”

“Sorry. If Bert from the council knew I’d let you stay here, he’d have my guts for garters. They’re very rigorous with not letting people stay here.” The detective dabbed at his nose with his sleeve as he spoke, watching her over the top of his forearm. “If we let one person camp here, then everyone will soon be descending in droves.”

“Well, where am I supposed to go,Detective?” She couldn’t keep the snark out of her voice now. This guy was being ridiculous. And way too self-righteous. And perhaps even a little patronizing. It was one thing to sneak up on a girl when she wasn’t expecting it, but to be such a stickler for the rules when it was clear she had no other option just made him a pompous ass.

“I have a property up the road. You can park your van in my backyard if you like.”

She stared at him, her mouth hanging slightly open. This guy couldn’t be for real. “I’m not staying at your place,” she said, sounding each word out succinctly. “I will be fine right here for the night.”

“Have it your way.” The detective shrugged. “But Bert checks this parking lot every morning, first thing. He’ll slap you with a steep fine and order your van be towed when he finds you here.”

“Wow, this Bert sounds like a real dick,” Lacey muttered.

“No, he’s a good man, really. He has the community’s best interest at heart. He’s just a little overzealous, shall we say.”

Lacey stared at the tall man in front of her, then let her gaze drift to her van. She really didn’t want to have it towed away; then she’d be completely stuck with no transportation and nowhere to stay. But she didn’t know this man from a bar of soap. Just because he said he was a detective, that didn’t mean he was a good guy either. She studied him for a few seconds. She was no perfect judge of character, but he didn’t strike her as the type to sleaze onto a woman. He’d kept a decent distance from her so that she never felt intimidated or pressured. He came across as solid and dependable. And he was bearing the injuries she’d inflicted on him with a stoicism that told her he didn’t hold a grudge against her for landing him in the dirt.

“So, I can park my van in your backyard and sleep in it there. Is that what you’re saying?”

“Exactly. All I’m offering is a place to park your vehicle for the night. That’s all. You won’t get a better offer this late on a Sunday night.” Almost as if he could read the thoughts going on behind her eyes, he raised his hands in supplication. “I’ll show you my badge when we get back to my house,” he offered.

“Fine,” she replied irritably. “But I’m not even sure Dotti will start, let alone make it to your house,” she grumbled. “My name is Lacey, by the way,” she added.

“I’ll walk up the road, you can follow me,” he said, and she was again surprised at how he seemed to know instinctively she wouldn’t appreciate him getting into her van next to her.

To her astonishment, Dotti started after a few attempts and wheezed and coughed her way up the hill behind Detective Sergeant Favreau and his faithful dog as he led the way toward his house. What was she getting herself into now, she wondered as she followed his figure, lit by the beam of her headlights, up the road?

CHAPTER TWO

NICO STARED OUT his kitchen window and considered the Kombi van parked next to his large tin shed. In the pale morning light, he couldn’t tell if anyone was moving around in there. If the woman was up, there was no sign, and he decided that trying to stare a hole in the side of the van was doing no good.

He did wonder exactly what kind of problem he’d invited onto his property. The woman hadn’t seemed all that…stable. One second she was throwing him like he was a sack of potatoes onto the ground, the next she was practically hysterical, as if she were having a mental breakdown. Then, just as quickly, she’d pulled herself together. This woman had depth. She wasn’t just some easy target. Mercurial. Sharp-witted, but also unpredictable. And from what he’d made out of her in the dark shadows last night, she was also quite beautiful. Blonde hair down her back, caramel eyes, a slim figure in her hip-hugging jeans. She was intriguing, to say the least.

And Nico had always been drawn to intriguing. It was the main reason he’d become a detective.

Smudge pushed his wet nose into Nico’s hand, as if he thought perhaps Nico had forgotten about him. Nico leaned down and patted the dog’s head, smoothing his silky ears. Smudge had taken to Lacey straight away last night, and Nico always liked to think his dog was a good judge of character.

The weather had closed in during the night, and heavy clouds hung in the sky, everything muted by a fine, misting rain. Nico blew on his mug of coffee and shifted his gaze to the rest of his backyard. He had a couple of acres; it was the main reason he’d bought this property in Boat Harbour Beach. Living squashed into a small townhouse or villa in the center of town wasn’t his style. It meant a half hour commute back into Burnie every day, but that was a small thing to bear to be able to live in this place.

Thinking of work, he needed to get going soon. But he didn’t want to leave without talking to the woman in the van. Lacey, that was her name, he reminded himself. After her van had limped up his driveway and she’d parked it next to his shed, he’d made sure she had everything she needed for the night—handing her a key to the shed, so she could use the little bathroom he’d built into one corner, just in case he ever wanted to convert the shed to another living quarters—and then came inside to clean himself up.

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