her death, just irritation. Just like Heidi, even in death she brought him grief. Thank God Ember hadn’t come and seen this. The sight of Heidi’s pale hair soaked with blood was something he wasn’t going to forget for a good long time. Where the hell was Seth? He looked around, but didn’t see him and felt a wave of relief. At least he’d been spared this.
Trace sought out the officer in charge. The officer was older, maybe late forties, and stocky in build, but intelligence burned in his brown eyes as he looked at Trace.
“Can I help you?” he asked impatiently.
Trace exhaled in resignation before he said, “My name’s Trace Montgomery. Heidi Moore is the victim and she called me and asked that I meet her here.”
Immediately, impatience was replaced with interest. “Really? Well, the detectives are going to want to talk with you. They’ll be here in twenty.”
It was close to nine in the morning when Trace returned home. He keyed into the apartment and saw Ember standing in the living room with the phone in her hand. As soon as she saw him, she started toward him and there was worry and concern in her voice when she asked, “What happened?”
The sight of her so vibrant and alive made him silently move toward her and wrap her in his arms.
“Trace, you’re scaring me.”
“Heidi’s dead.”
Ember broke away from him. “What? Dead?”
“Murdered.”
“Oh my God.”
Her body started to shake, so he brought her back to him and held her close. “She was killed right outside of where we’d agreed to meet.”
Her voice wasn’t quite steady when she asked, “The cops don’t think you had anything to do with it, do they?”
“I’m not sure. There seems to be some discrepancy regarding the timeline because they were hammering me about when she called. They’re running our phone records to find out the exact time. I’ve been asked not to leave town.”
“That’s outrageous. Why would the timeline be of such interest to them?” She wasn’t really asking him, just talking out loud as she tried to work it out.
“And you have no idea why she wanted to meet you?”
“Only that she was scared of someone, said someone was going to kill her, but I didn’t push because I thought it was just another one of her games. Clearly it wasn’t.”
Her eyes went wide. “What about Seth? Where’s he?”
“He’s okay. He was home asleep. The police allowed me to come with them and I was surprised at how well he took the news. I realize there was no love between them, but she was still his mother.”
Ember said, “I imagine the cops found his reaction interesting. He no doubt is being looked at as a potential suspect.”
“They didn’t say as much, but I got that impression, yeah.”
“I don’t think he did it,” she said with fierceness.
“Neither do I.”
“Poor Seth. Regardless of his relationship with Heidi, I couldn’t imagine having to stay in that apartment where everything reminds him of her.”
“I agree.”
“Brandon mentioned that he and Seth were hoping to get an apartment together. Right now, he’s living in the group home in Hell’s Kitchen that you, Lucien, and Rafe stayed in,” she said.
“Really? That’s interesting. Next time you see Brandon, mention it to him. I’d help them cover the expenses.”
Ember reached for his hand. “I think it’s a wonderful idea and we can think about it later. Right now, you need to sleep.”
He allowed her to lead him toward their bedroom because he was exhausted. They passed Chelsea’s room and Ember looked back at him. “Are you going to tell her?”
“Not right now. She doesn’t know who Seth is and I don’t really want to burden her with it.”
“Good choice.”
When they reached their room, Ember turned to Trace and lifted his shirt over his head. Feeling her hands on the button of his jeans made him instantly wide-awake and he rose to greet her. She felt him as her hand moved lower to stroke his hard length through his jeans. Her nipples pebbled through the silk of her nightgown and he lowered his head to capture her breast in his mouth.
“You need to sleep.”
“I need you more.”
He took a step back and lifted her gown in one move. He devoured the sight of her as she worked his zipper to free him. He reached for her and tossed her onto the bed before removing the last of his clothes and pouncing, covering her body with his own. She was ready when his fingers found