Chapter 22
P olly’s eyes snapped open. It was bright. Well, the beam of light poking through the curtains was. What was the time?
She turned her head to look at Joel—or more accurately, stare at him. Yep, he was just as perfect as he had been last night. His eyes were closed, his long lashes splaying over the bottoms of his eyes.
Why was it that men always got the long lashes?
She mentally shook her head. This was not the time for that. She had to get to the church before the service finished, and if Joel worked out why she was going, he wouldn’t let her leave this house.
She wasn’t doing anything dangerous, per se . She just wanted to know who attended.
She rolled out of bed.
Second time sneaking out and second time not waking him. Well, he had woken last time, but that was only because she’d changed inside the bedroom. This time she was smarter. She was going to take her clothes with her and change in the bathroom off the hall.
She rose to her feet and, yet again, looked at him. Mistake. Big mistake.
He was beautiful. His muscular arm stretched over the white sheets, the tattoos up his back and down his arm giving him that edge of danger. Even his back was sexy. It was almost comical that she’d thought she could avoid falling for him.
With a silent sigh, she crept to her dresser, where she pulled out clothes for the day—leggings and a sweatshirt. Nothing fancy. All she’d be doing was sitting in a locked car and spying on churchgoers.
She was going to hell.
When she stepped into the hall without waking him, she almost wanted to give herself a pat on the back.
Success.
She took the quickest shower of her life. Yes, it was a risk, but after a night at the bar then everything she and Joel had done, a shower was necessary.
Then she stepped out of the bathroom and almost jumped out of her skin at the sight of her mother. Her mom obviously wasn’t expecting to see her either, because she screeched.
“Mom!” It was a shout-whisper from Polly. “Shh!”
Her mom frowned. “Honey, you scared me. I didn’t know you were in there. You usually shower in your bathroom. Why are you looking at me like you’re going to kill me?”
“Because I’m trying not to wake Joel.”
Her mother’s eyes bulged. “ Joel’s here?”
Jesus freaking Christ. “Could you have said that any louder?”
“Did you sleep with him?”
“I am not answering that question.”
A slow smile curved her lips. “You don’t need to. You’ve got that I-just-had-sex look on your face.”
“Gross.”
“Why’s it gross? Sex is?—”
“Do not finish that sentence. I don’t need my mother to tell me what sex is. I’m leaving. Do not wake?—”
“Me?”
Shit .
Slowly, she turned toward the deep, raspy voice…and there he was, looking tall and beautiful as per usual. “You’re dressed.”
His lips twitched. “Yes, ma’am. And showered. I do like to keep up with personal hygiene.”
“Morning, Joel,” her mother sang.
Polly wrinkled her nose. Why was there so much excitement in her mother’s voice? Was she actually excited that her daughter had just had sex under the same roof as her? And shouldn’t she be hungover?
Joel smiled. “Good morning, Liv.”
“Okay.” Polly clapped her hands together. “I’m running out.”
She rushed to the kitchen. But of course, steady footsteps followed.
“Where are you going?” he asked.
“I’m just checking something out.”
“What?”
She grabbed a granola bar from the pantry. “A church.” She didn’t want to lie. She was a terrible liar.
“A church?”
“Uh-huh. You’d hate it.” She turned to see him frowning at her.
“You have a sudden interest in faith?”
“Something like that.”
His frown deepened, suspicion creeping into his features. “I’ll come.”
“No. Like I said, you’d hate it.”
“We won’t know until we get there, will we?”
Dammit.
She tried to slip out from between him and the counter. “I actually want to do this alone.”
Out. Good.
She got all the way to the door and had just started to open it when a hand pressed to the wood, sealing it closed.
Heat tickled the back of her neck. Then his breath brushed over her skin. “What’s going on, Polly?”
“Nothing.” Why couldn’t she lie without becoming breathless?
His mouth grazed her neck, sending a shudder down her spine. “Then why can’t I come with you?”
Her heart started to beat faster, and she almost wanted to tilt her head and see if he’d kiss her.
No. She had to go. And dammit, it looked like she was going to have to take him with her. “ Fine . You can come.”
“Really?”
She turned. “But I drive.”
He frowned. She expected him to argue on the driving part.
Instead, he slipped an arm around her waist and lowered his head.
“You forgot to do this when you snuck out this morning.” Then he lowered his head and kissed her, and she almost forgot…
about the church. About the suspicious secret boyfriend.
A throat cleared from the hall. “Um, Polly?”
She pushed Joel’s big chest, and he stepped back. “Yeah, Mom?”
“I just wanted to say I hope you have a lovely day.” There was a deliriously happy smile on her mother’s face.
“Thanks.” She turned toward the door. “Let’s go.”
In the car, she waited for Joel to climb into the passenger seat, then took off, her gaze flicking to the time on the dashboard.
Five to ten. How was it already five to ten? The service ended at ten. Man, she’d slept in too late.
“You gonna tell me what’s going on?” Joel asked.
“Nope.” But he’d find out in about five seconds. She turned onto the street with the local Catholic church, but instead of turning into the parking lot, she stopped across the road but a little bit back. Perfect. A prime position to see every person who stepped out.
“Interesting,” Joel said. “We really are going to church.”
“You thought I wasn’t?” She pulled out her granola bar and broke it in half, handing him the bigger piece.
“I one hundred percent thought you were lying.” He took the bar. “I had a shortlist of places we were actually going.”
“Huh. What was on the list?”
“The river. That creepy house on the hill. The sheriff’s office.” He took a bite of his granola bar.
“I suck at lying. It’s much safer for me to stick closer to the truth.”
“You gonna tell me why we’re here then?”
“Not yet.”
She’d just polished off her granola bar when the doors to the church opened. She straightened. “They’re finished.”
A few older people she recognized from around town stepped out. A couple of families. She frowned at the sight of Anika and Mark. They were very much regulars at the café, yet she’d had no idea they attended church.
She gasped at seeing the next person who stepped out. “Jonah?” He went to church? Did her mother know? She’d never said anything.
“Are we here to spy on Jonah?” Joel asked.
She opened her mouth to tell him—but then Jonah stopped at the bottom of the steps and hugged a woman.
Who was that? She was young. Maybe early twenties? She had platinum-blond hair and wore a short navy dress. She was beautiful…and the hug wasn’t a quick one. It almost looked intimate.
“Polly?”
She jumped as Deputy Cox suddenly bent down to look through her window, blocking her view of Jonah. He wore a suit and his hair was slicked back.
“Hey. Hi.” She forced a smile to her face. “You, uh, you attend this church?”
“I do. I don’t usually see you here though.”
She glanced at Joel. “Yeah, we’re, um, we’re considering joining.”
Cox’s brows shot up, and he glanced around her to Joel. “Really?”
Joel lifted a shoulder. “If she says so, then it must be true. She’s a terrible liar.”
She narrowed her eyes at him before looking back at Cox. “Jonah goes here?”
Cox turned his head and followed her gaze. “He does. He’s been a member for a while.”
Interesting.
When Jonah started to walk toward the parking lot, Polly straightened. “We should get going.”
Cox looked back at her. “You can come in…”
She started the engine. “Maybe next time. I think I’ve got to work up to that point.”
He frowned but stepped back. “Okay. I’ll, uh, see you later.”
“Yes, see you later.”
The deputy had just walked away when Jonah pulled out of the parking lot. Polly didn’t wait to think about what she was doing, she just started driving.
Joel cleared his throat. “Uh, Sunshine, care to clue me into what’s going on?”
“He kept his house when he married my mother. But I’ve never seen it.”
“And you suddenly want to see what it looks like?”
“Don’t you?”
“Polly, if he is a killer, that information won’t be stamped on his front porch.”
She rolled her eyes, and when Jonah pulled up in front of a house, she parked across the road just a few houses back, far enough so that hopefully he wouldn’t notice her, but close enough that she could still see him.
“Why were we at the church, Sunshine? You were surprised to see him, which makes me think you had a different lead.”
She watched as Jonah climbed from his car, then crossed the yard. “There have been rumors that Jenna was seeing someone.”
“The information we got was that she was single.”
“That’s why it’s a rumor . Jenna didn’t make it public knowledge for some reason.”
“And you think it’s Jonah?”
He stepped into the house, and finally she looked at Joel.
“Last night, I overheard some women saying that this mystery boyfriend was a part of the local Catholic church. And boom, Jonah’s there.
Jonah, who was holding a gun in the woods near where Jenna was found.
Jonah, who came home late a few times but wouldn’t tell my mother where he went. ”
Joel frowned.
It didn’t take long for Jonah to step back out of his house again.
“He’s leaving already?” The question had no sooner left her mouth when he got into his car and drove away.
“I’m going in.” Where the hell those words had come from, she had no clue. But hell, it wasn’t a bad idea. Not in her head anyway.
“Going in where?”
She climbed out, hearing the curse from Joel behind her. “Inside the house.”
“Polly, stop!”