“Because.” She took a deep breath. “It’s time for me to pick up the life I left behind.”
Holding the leash loosely in one hand, he leaned casually into the wall and crossed his legs at the ankles. “Is this because of Deputy Cameron?”
“He was the spark, maybe, but the fire is my own.” She pulled out one of the dining table chairs and sank into it. “Time has been flying by and I didn’t realize it. I’ve been in a daze, I think, since Dani’s death.”
“And a couple nights of hot sex snapped you out of it?”
She shrugged, then smiled sheepishly. “It is really hot, but I’ve had great sex before. There’s something there, you know? Something more.”
“Yes, I know.” He pulled the chair out beside her. “So what are you thinking? You’re just going to drop everything and run off with a guy you’ve known a few days?”
“I dropped everything to come back here. Getting on with my life eventually had always been my plan, although I lost track of that for a while—”
“I think you’re losing track of what you’ve got here.”
“I’ve never been really happy here in Lion’s Bay, Jim,” she reminded softly. “It’s why I left in the first place.”
“And Deputy Cameron doesn’t have anything to do with your decision?”
“I already answered that question.”
He rubbed the back of Columbo’s ears. “When are you going to grow up, stop being flighty, and commit to something?”
“Excuse me?”
“One guy to the next, one town to the next. Without any concern for the people who care about you and went out of their way for you?”
“You sound like Chris.” Darcy slid her chair back and pushed to her feet, unnerved by his unexpected and provoking remarks. “We’ll talk later, once we’re both thinking straight.”
“Sit down.”
“I don’t think so.”
“Sit the fuck down.”
She stared at him, finding the harshness of his words very much at odds with his calm voice and demeanor. A chill ran down her spine. “What the hell is the matter with you?”
“I’ve done a lot for you.” He gave her a mocking smile. “Don’t you think I have the right to get pissed when you throw me over for a gung-ho deputy who’ll be in and out of your cunt as fast as he’s in and out of this town?”
Darcy turned away, heading around the opposite side of the dining table to get to the front door.
Columbo started barking violently. She’d scarcely registered the addition of a third voice in the conversation when the leash whipped around her neck and yanked her back.
Her head slammed into the edge of the table and her vision blackened…
JARED WAS SEALING up the contents of Mitch Quinn’s locker at the fire station when the hairs on his nape prickled with warning. He paused, knowing he was wasting time closing off an avenue that was a dead end to begin with. In the meantime, something was wrong. It hit him in the gut, and he knew better than to ignore it.
He pulled out his phone and called Darcy. When he reached her voice mail twice in a row, he went to the contact list hung on the station’s wall and called Ralston. When he got no answer there, either, he returned to the sheriff’s department and entered the interview room to confront Quinn.
Setting his palms on the table, he asked, “Why did you run?”
“I didn’t run, I—”
“Listen, I don’t give a shit, Quinn. The recorder isn’t on. It’s just you and me.”
Mitch shot him a look. “Do I look like a moron?”
“You look like a guy who’s being set up. You have no one to corroborate your alibis for the nights of the fires, you have electrical wiring in your locker similar to the type Merkerson was known to use…With everything else we’ve got, it’s not looking good.” Jared saw cold defiance shift across Quinn’s face and changed tactics. “You consider Darcy Michaels a friend, don’t you? I know she’s real hopeful that you’ll be promoted to full-time soon. I bet she puts in a good word for you every chance she gets. Does that mean anything to you? Or do you just care about yourself?”