when they found out Billy was still incapacitated and Jonas wasn’t Mr. Cooper. Unless... “I can’t imagine Mr. Cooper setting a fire like that personally, but he has lots of money. Maybe he hired someone to follow me?”
That was definitely plausible, and judging by the slight curve of the Dark Lord’s lips, he thought so too.
The cop looked up again. “That’s useful information, Miss Reynolds. We’ll certainly check into it. Can you think of anyone else?”
“Well, I haven’t lived here long, and I’m only renting the place. What if someone had a grudge against a previous tenant? Or even the landlady?”
Wow, this lying game got easier the more of it you did. I wasn’t sure whether that was a good thing or a bad thing, but much to my shame, I kind of enjoyed it. I was racking my brains for something else to say when a man pushed past me and planted himself in front of Emmy.
“Mrs. Black. Once again I arrive at a crime scene to find you right in the middle of it.”
“Nice to see you too, Chief. I see you haven’t taken on board the memo on tact that Senator Rutherford sent you last year.”
The chief’s face screwed up in an interesting mix of anger and confusion. “How do you know about that?”
“I know lots of things. But sadly not why that man set fire to my friend’s apartment tonight. There I was, sound asleep, when some arsehole decided to shoot out the window and throw a Molotov cocktail through it.”
“And yet somehow you survived then climbed up the outside of the building. The unknown male pursued you…” The chief looked at the other officer, who nodded. “And just as he climbed over the edge of the roof, he lost his grip and fell five storeys to his death?”
“That’s pretty much it, yeah.”
He stared daggers at her. “And you say you were staying in this apartment because you had an argument with your husband?”
“Oh, come on, Chief, last year you thought I had him killed. Why do you find it so hard to believe we had a little tiff?”
“I’m still not convinced by your story from last year, either.”
“Give it up, would you? Your lab made a mess of the DNA testing, and the fact that you’ve got no idea who really did get killed in that incident is hardly my fault. Instead of haranguing me, why don’t you focus on tightening your procedures?”
He opened his mouth, but Emmy didn’t give him a chance to speak.
“Now, if you’ve quite finished, I’m going home to get some sleep.”
She turned her back on him and stomped off, followed by her husband, who was smiling again. The chief looked as if he wanted to stop her, but after a long moment, he shook his head and disappeared in the other direction.
Well, this new world I’d landed in certainly was exciting.
“Do you want to go home too?” Nick asked.
I looked up at my apartment. The fire was out now, but blackened water still dripped from the windows, and a pervading smell of burnt plastic drifted through the air.
“I don’t have a home anymore.”
“Yes, you do. It’s with me.”
“You mean I can stay for a while?”
“I was hoping more like forever.”
“Are you asking me to move in with you?”
“That’s exactly what I’m asking.”
I let out a whoop and leapt into his arms.
“Is that a ‘yes’?” he asked.
“Yes, yes, a thousand times yes.”
It was soon, but it was right. I felt that in my heart. Sure, we’d had our ups and downs, but I’d learned my lesson on the need to communicate, and judging by Nick’s hourly texts and phone calls, he had too. Life had never been so good before, and no matter what the future might bring, I wanted to spend every minute I possibly could with the man in front of me.
He scooped me up in his arms and practically threw me into his car. “It’s a good thing most of the cops in town are here.”
“Why?”
“Because otherwise I’d get pulled over for speeding on the way home.”
EPILOGUE
I SAT IN front of the mirror while Bradley arranged my hair into a perfect chignon. It was a hairstyle I’d tried to do on myself time and time again, but each attempt left me looking as if I’d stuck a hedgehog to the side of my head. There were no such problems tonight, not with Bradley’s magic touch.
He’d also chosen my evening gown, a stunning red number I’d never have dared