Smiling, she refused to allow herself to think about her problems or the future, choosing instead to revel in this moment, in the pleasant way her body ached yet her inner turmoil felt calm and at peace. Her thoughts brought too much pain, and she wanted to allow herself to bask in her happiness, however temporary.Her phone buzzed, the insistent sound reminding her she’d left the ringer on vibrate like she always did when she went to bed. “Who could that be?” she asked, loathe to leave his arms.“It’s three in the morning,” Alaric commented. “Only bad news comes at this hour of the night. You’d better answer it.”Though she’d much rather just let the call go to voicemail, she reluctantly pushed up from the bed and crossed to the dresser. Alaric's room somehow felt cozier and more welcoming. Of course, a lot of that probably had to do with the fact that he occupied it.When she snatched up her phone, the Unknown Caller on the display made her groan. “If this is a wrong number…” she mu

As Alaric walked out of the office, his phone rang. Glancing at the caller ID, he nearly groaned out loud. It was his boss, and Alaric had a pretty good idea why he was calling."I knew you'd call soon. I rushed up here to see you." “I saw your pretty mug on TV this afternoon,” Bobby Brown drawled. “What the hell were you thinking?”“I had no idea those reporters would be there,” Alaric protested. “And I still have no idea why.”Bobby snorted. “Christopher Wesley again. Man, that guy had more secrets than even we knew about.”“What now?”“Someone leaked to the media a story that Wesley had a secret lover. A male lover. " Bobby paused, apparently to let that sink in.“It had to be Chris,” Alaric mused out loud. “That was Christopher's boyfriend, and we’re ninety-nine percent sure he’s the one who’s been threatening Vanessa. You heard about the exploding drone?”“I did.” Bobby went silent for a moment. “You mean you knew about Christopher being gay?”Alaric explained about the photo al

“We’re only holding him for the Feds,” he said, his expression pained. “He’s facing a multitude of charges, from racketeering and money laundering to attempted murder.”Alaric spoke up for the first time. “If that’s the case, then why is Vanessa here?”“Good question.” The sheriff nodded his approval. “I asked Mrs. Spencer here for two reasons. One, because Mr. Wuncler here assured me that he wanted to apologize.” He shot Chris a hard look of reproach. “And second, I’m guessing the FBI will need to ask you a few questions.”“Not without her attorney present,” Alaric quickly responded."He's right," Vanessa added, “While Christopher never involved me in his business dealings, now that I’ve been made aware he committed several crimes, it’s probably best that I obtain legal counsel.”Chris burst into laughter, surprising them. He began an insulting slow clap, eyeing her with what appeared to be begrudging approval. “Look at you,” he chortled. “Pretending to be a saint. Why did you get m

Chloe snorted. “I looked, believe me. Despite that, I still haven’t a clue what Christopher did with it, but I’m guessing it’s sitting in some private offshore account right now. I would venture a wild guess that Chris knows exactly where it is, but I haven’t had any luck in locating him.” With her gun still trained on Vanessa, Chloe squinted her eyes. “I don’t suppose you know where he is, do you?”For a second, Vanessa considered shaking her head. Instead, she decided to go with the truth. “He’s in police custody in downtown Anniversary.”“What? Why?”“He’s been threatening me. He’s the one who shot out my back window and sent a package bomb.”“No.” Though the hand holding the pistol never wavered, Chloe appeared on the verge of hysterical laughter. “Are you serious?”“I am.” Eyeing the gun, Vanessa decided she might as well ask point-blank. “What are you doing? Why are you holding a gun on me?”“Tying up loose ends. You truly didn’t have any idea about anything, did you?”“You mea

“I’m fine.” Her dismissive look told him she was anything but.“Do you want to talk?” he asked, still clinging to the stubborn hope that a future between them might be possible.“Not now,” she responded. “Not today. Maybe not ever. I’m not sure we have anything to discuss.”Though his heart sank, he managed to smile and nod. “I understand.” And the sad part was that he did. Clearly, he needed to resign himself to a life bereft of her. Despite trying not to watch him, Vanessa saw the myriad raw emotions cross Alaric's handsome face. For the first time since she’d met him, he appeared vulnerable. She shouldn’t care—she didn’t care—or so she told herself."Paul said the reason why he'd come was to tell me that they found something in Christopher's office when they searched it. It was a thumb drive, and it indeed proves that Chloe was in on the whole thing with him. He gave it to me and I checked it out when you were with the paramedics. I have to go to the station."She waited for him to