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Did she know who she was waiting for? Did she know it was me? I’d been careful the night of the wedding not to tell her a thing about me, mostly because I didn’t want her running and tattling on me to her new stepfather. Either way, she was here, and there’d be no getting rid of her before I talked to her.
Shit.
I forced myself to finish the walk to my desk, catching her eyes as I set my coffee cup down. Her gray eyes widened the moment she saw me, her lips—just as full and luscious as I remembered them being the night of the wedding—parted with a wordless question. She took in my outfit, the badge on my chest, and squirmed in her seat.
After running a hand down the front of my shirt, I sat down across from her. “What can I do for you today, Miss Montgomery?” It was better to cut to the chase; the sooner she said whatever it was she was here for, the sooner she could be on her merry way.
“You,” Brianna muttered. “You’re in charge?” Her voice didn’t sound as strong as I remembered it being, probably because of the shock of seeing me. She tugged at her sleeves, and it was only because I’d been the one to find her and Gareth in the kitchen that I knew what she was hiding: her bandage.
I nodded once. “I am.”
“I don’t believe this.” Brianna frowned at me, and then she leaned forward, dropping her voice to a bare whisper, as if someone else was in the room and could hear us, “You gave me alcohol at the wedding!”
“Yeah, I seem to recall that night just fine, thanks.” What I did that night with her wasn’t something I was proud of. In fact, up until I’d found her unconscious, her arm covered in blood, in Gareth’s arms, I’d done my best not to think of her.
She was making it hard, though.
And then something hit her. “You were the one that came out to the house that night, when I called in a body. You called me a rat.” That got her to glare at me. I didn’t doubt she was trying to appear upset and hateful, but all that was dwarfed by how I found her pouting kind of cute.
Ah, shit. Why did I have the feeling this girl was going to be nothing but trouble?
I leaned back in my chair, the thing creaking with the movement. “You were a rat. You were trying to get Gareth in trouble with the law, and unfortunately for you—”
“You’re in Alistair’s pocket,” she huffed, finally understanding. “Is everyone else here in his pocket, too? If I go to someone else—”
“All complaints come to my desk,” I told her. Brianna didn’t know how close I was to Alistair, why I was in his pocket. She didn’t need to know. What I did all those years ago had sealed my fate. “Why are you here, Miss Montgomery?”
“It’s Dent,” she told me. “Not Montgomery. I’m not a Montgomery—I never will be.”
“Noted. Miss Dent, then.”
Brianna couldn’t stop glaring at me. “This is going to be a waste of time.”
I reached for my coffee and took a sip, and all the while I never broke eye contact with her. “That depends what you’re here for. You’re dancing around the subject, which leads me to think you’re here to try to sic us on Montgomery Manor. Let me guess.” I paused, and then I lowered my voice, “Is there another body in the pool house?”
Her mouth dropped open. “You’re seriously joking about that? There was a—” Her voice had started to raise, but she took a moment to calm herself down, probably realizing there was no point in getting upset about it now. “Gareth killed someone, and you’re acting like it’s no big deal. How often do you cover things up for him?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said, shrugging. “I was simply doing my job. Now, care to share with the class why you’re here today?”
I could tell Brianna wanted to scream. Lunge at me, hurt me, yell, do something that would make her feel less helpless in all of this. But that’s the thing—here, in Eastcreek, the only people who weren’t helpless were Alistair and Gareth. Everyone else, me included, simply played the role they were given. We had no other choice.
In the end, Brianna pursed her lips. “My friend Erin isn’t responding to her messages. I’m worried Gareth did something to her.” She’d stopped posturing. I could see how much she cared for her friend. She’d braved coming alone to the sheriff’s office all to try to help that friend.
It was something I could admire about her.
“Her parents haven’t reported her missing, if that’s what you’re asking.” I folded my hands and leaned forward, over my desk somewhat. “And if, say, Gareth was involved, what do you expect me to do, hmm? Alistair was gone the last time you tried to rat out his precious nephew, but he’s home from his honeymoon now, and I can only imagine what he’ll do if he finds out you tried again.”
Brianna’s gaze fell to her lap, and for just the quickest of moments, she looked anxious. Scared, maybe. Like she didn’t know what to do. But then those emotions faded, and her eyes met mine once again. “Please, Rick. I’m just worried about my friend. I want to make sure she’s okay, and if she’s not…” She swallowed hard. “Then Gareth lied to me, and I need to make him pay for it.”
I couldn’t say anything to that, not right away. The last time someone had said the wordpleaseto me… shit, I couldn’t remember. And the way she said that last part, how she’d gone from unsure to decidedly certain that she had to make Gareth pay for his alleged crime against her friend, I was struck then just how unique this situation was, how different she was.
She’d tried to do what was right by calling about the body in the pool house, and now that she knew going to local law enforcement would get her nowhere, she was willing to take matters into her own hands.
Huh. I didn’t think I’d ever met anyone who was willing to get dirty to take a Montgomery down.
I knew what I should tell her. I knew how I should go about this, but as I sat there, staring at her, I couldn’t fight the feelings inside. They were the same feelings I’d had the night of the wedding, the reason why it had been so easy to be comfortable with this girl. Maybe, somehow, I’d sensed she wasn’t like anyone else, and I’d found myself drawn to her.
Or maybe I’d wanted to sneak in a taste of Alistair’s new stepdaughter and Gareth’s new stepsister.
