He knew cookie dough was her favorite, dammit.
“I did everything to protect you. Don’t forget that.” He curled his fingers under her chin. “I will continue to protect you. There is nothing I would not do for you. In order to keep you safe, I would lie, cheat, and kill. Know it.” Then he kissed her. A hard, angry brush of his mouth over hers.
Her hands lifted. To push him away—she was semi-sure that was her intention, but he backed away before she could. Push him away…not pull him closer. Right?
“Lock the car,” he ordered flatly. “Do not leave until I get back.”
“Where the hell are you going?”
His smile held a shark’s edge. “The cops must have a reason to get inside. An alarm will send them rushing to the scene. And when they do go inside…” He tilted his head to the right. Game on. “They’ll find that open bedroom drawer of his.”
That was his plan? “War—”
“I’ll be right back.”
Then he was gone. Rushing for the house. Her fingers slid over the door handle. She thought about slipping out of the car. Running away.
War lied. He was talking to the cops all along.
She had to blink a few times. If she ran, where would she go? If Dylan was the one after her, if the cops could stop him and she could put this nightmare behind her…
War lied.
Why had she started to count on him? Why had she fallen back into her habit of trusting him so easily? Why? Why? Why?
But she knew the answer, even as pain pierced through her heart. She knew exactly why she’d been so willing to believe what War said to her.
Because, deep down, she still had a weakness for him. She still cared too much.
And because she cared, she hurt.
Her finger slid around the handle again and—
War ran toward her. He yanked open his door. “You didn’t fucking lock it.”
Rage poured through her. “And you fucking lied to me.”
He flinched. “Rose…”
“Are you working with the cops? Tell me the truth!”
He stared straight into her eyes—and nodded.
Chapter Nine
“He says the mask isn’t his. Says the phones aren’t, either. According to Dylan Nelson, the guy has no idea how that stuff got into his drawer.” The detective had taken off her coat and rolled up the sleeves of her white shirt. Detective Lynn Slater slanted a glance toward Rose. “Though he totally copped to the pics being his. Turns out, he is quite a fan of yours.”
Rose’s chin jerked up. “Not funny.”
“No, I don’t think anything about this situation is humorous. I tend to find dead women particularly unfunny.” Lynn stared at her with hard, golden eyes. “You should have come to the police station sooner.”
She knew Lynn. Their paths had crossed more than a few times as Rose covered the crime beat. But during most of those crossings, Lynn typically just said “No comment” and told Rose to get the hell out of her way.
Lynn’s hair was cut short, sliding against her jaw. The cut made her golden eyes seem bigger. She was small, but Rose knew she could move fast when the situation called for it. Lynn hadn’t been a detective very long, only two months since earning the promotion.
“I came to you before and told you about Barbara,” Rose gritted out. “You didn’t believe me, and she died.”
Lynn tapped her pen against the side of the table. They were in an interrogation room. Lynn on one side of the table. Rose on the other. A silent War stood with his back pressed to the wall on the left. Rose didn’t look at him. Not then. She was too busy trying to keep herself in control.
“You were tied to two murders, Rose. You knew the cops wanted to see you. You knew I wanted to see you.”
Rose leaned forward. “I also knew that I had a killer on my trail. Someone who wanted me dead. I thought if I could find him first, then I could stop him from killing someone else.”
“Hunting killers isn’t your job,” Lynn informed her crisply. “It’s mine.”
“Yes, well…” Rose offered her a brittle smile. “When I came to you before, you and your partner didn’t seem so interested in doing your job. Where is Neal, by the way? Shouldn’t he be skulking around and telling me that I’m in his way?”
“He took an early retirement. Now I’m in charge of the investigation, and I can assure you, things will be handled differently.”
Rose straightened in her chair. Neal was