Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty-One
Claire
I had almost blurted out my feelings for Vance. When he’d touched my face and told me that he thought I was special for all the things I was usually criticised for, I had felt like my heart was going to burst. All the things I’d told Cheyenne came bubbling back up, forcing their way to the surface.
Thank God Mayor Evans had walked out of the restaurant, saving me from pouring my heart out in a way I wouldn’t be able to take back. Flirting was one thing. It was easy to blow it off and call it innocent fun. But telling him that I was actually falling for him?
It could ruin this new partnership. That was the last thing I wanted.
He and I were working together as partners in a way I had never expected.
He treated me with respect and valued my opinion.
Sure, we teased each other, traded barbs back and forth.
But it wasn’t like the taunting I got from people like Trey.
When Vance and I teased each other, there was respect underneath it.
We did the same thing on the SAR team. Joking and teasing made the work feel lighter and helped build comradery. It was all in good fun.
Vance was a great partner. I valued working with him, and in an odd way, it soothed the loss I was feeling about Cheyenne.
I didn’t want to blow everything up by losing control of my emotions and making this bigger than it really was.
We got out of Vance’s SUV and started walking toward the mayor’s office building. I slipped on a pair of sunglasses and strutted a bit. It was fun to play bad cop—even if it meant I was going to get dressed down in a minute.
It didn’t bother me. Not coming from Vance, anyway. He respected me and I trusted him.
When we reached the doors to the mayor’s office, he looked into my eyes. “You sure you’re good with this?”
I straightened my shoulders and raised my chin, finding that fire within. A mask that wasn’t a mask at all. “I’m good. Let’s do this.”
I pulled the door open and walked inside the building, with Vance on my heels. He’d deliberately relaxed his posture, acting nonchalant and slightly amused by my attitude. All part of the act.
We walked down the hallway on the left to where the mayor’s private office was. His door was cracked and we heard voices inside. One of them was female—and very giggly.
I shot Vance a look. His brows rose.
Should I knock? I lifted my clenched hand and mimicked the action.
He weighed it briefly then shrugged, leaving it to me.
So I barged in.
The mayor was sitting at his desk, with his administrative assistant leaning up against it. When the door opened, he ripped his hand away from where it had rested on her hip. She skirted away, putting on a professional posture, but she couldn’t hide the fact that her top two buttons were undone.
The mayor’s face flashed with fury when he saw me, but then his eyes went to Vance. He quickly shifted to the practiced smile he always used when cameras were around.
I stuck my thumbs into my belt loops and cut right to the chase. “Mayor Evans, we need to talk to you about your son.”
“Excuse me?”
“You know what I’m talking about,” I said, deliberately pushing his buttons.
“Looks like Tony got himself into some trouble, huh? What, did you think nobody here in Wildwood would find out he was dating Katelyn Brown and that they had an epic blowup the night she disappeared? What are you trying to cover up?”
His face turned red. “How dare you speak to me that way? First, you barge into my office and interrupt a meeting without even knocking, and now, you’re accusing my son of being involved in something that happened here, when he was at school in Laramie?”
I stepped forward, putting my hands on his desk. “We both know Tony doesn’t like taking no for an answer. Is that what happened? Did she try to run away from him? That’s the kind of thing that would make him angry, isn’t it?”
His eyes glittered with rage. “You’re out of your mind. There will be consequences, young lady.”
Vance stepped in, holding up a hand. “I am so sorry,” he said, acting shocked.
“When Deputy Hawkins said she had a lead we needed to follow up on, I had no idea she was planning on accosting you. Otherwise, I would have stopped this sooner. Special Agent Vance Weston.” He shook the mayor’s hand eagerly, acting like it was an honor to meet him. “Wyoming DCI.”
The mayor eyed him suspiciously. “Mayor Anthony Evans,” he murmured, looking from Vance to me.
The mayor’s assistant slipped out. Vance pretended not to notice.
“Hang on now,” I said. “I have some questions that need to be answered.”
Vance turned back to me, his jaw open. “Seriously, Deputy Hawkins? Mayor Evans is right. You are way out of line.” He put his hands on his hips and glared at me.
“Tony Evans has a rock-solid alibi for the night Katelyn left town—on her own accord, as I have been trying so hard to make you understand. I know you’re new to this, but alibis mean something where I come from. ”
He turned to the mayor, shaking his head and rolling his eyes. “Rookies. When Sheriff McGrath paired me with her, I should have known something like this was going to happen.”
“Deputy Hawkins has always been trouble,” Mayor Evans muttered, shooting me a dark look.
Anger flared in Vance’s eyes. He shut it down almost instantly, too fast for Mayor Evans to notice. But I did. And I loved him for it.
The mayor gave me an insolent smile. “Perhaps you should have stuck with your old title, Little Miss Wildwood. I think prancing on a stage was better suited for you than law enforcement.”
Vance glared. This time he didn’t try to hide it—he turned his anger into fuel for his performance. “Don’t worry. Sheriff McGrath may not be able to control her, but I will. I will personally make sure Deputy Hawkins doesn’t give you any more trouble over this.”
Mayor Evans took a deep breath and smoothed the front of his jacket before giving Vance that practiced smile again. “Well, I’m glad to know someone on the case has some sense. I’d hate to think we were wasting resources looking in the wrong place.”
“Exactly.” Vance turned to me. “Deputy Hawkins, you need to apologize to Mayor Evans. Now.”
“I–I’m sorry,” I sputtered. “I just thought—”
“It doesn’t matter what you thought.” Vance’s voice boomed.
He was acting, but I still jerked. He was so easygoing with me that I’d forgotten how intimidating he could be. How naturally that authority came to him.
How most people probably fell in line right away, and how it had likely shocked him that I hadn’t.
“ Thinking is my job,” he continued, his hands still on his hips. “Go for a walk. We men are going to talk. I’ll discuss this with you when we’re finished.”
He turned his body to where Mayor Evans couldn’t see his face and gave me a little wink.
My heart responded with a flutter that nearly knocked me off my feet.
“Uh…yes, sir.” My face flushed. Not out of embarrassment over the situation—but because my body was flooded with pure heat from watching Vance take control of that room. From knowing that he was playing Mayor Evans like a fiddle.
And from knowing that the mayor’s insult toward me had sparked actual rage in Vance, a protectiveness I’d only seen my brothers and myself. Watching Vance react that way about me… Oh, I was a goner.
I closed my eyes, barely even thinking about what I needed to do. “I’m sorry.” Then I turned and fled the room.
I knew I should sit and wait for Vance. But I didn’t feel like sitting, so I took off down the sidewalk, barely noticing where I was going. Hot energy coursed through my body.
Energy I didn’t have an outlet for. At least, not the kind of outlet I was craving right now.
Vance was off-limits. We were partners. Colleagues.
I didn’t want to screw that up.
But, oh, was I falling hard. He understood the worst parts of me. He liked the fact that I wore my heart on my sleeve. And he’d cared enough to get visibly angry when Mayor Evans had insulted me.
There was a ridiculous amount of chemistry between us.
Worse, it seemed to be growing, despite the fact that we were spending pretty much all of our waking hours together.
That was new to me. Normally, I’d found that the best way to prolong chemistry with someone was to not get too close. I knew myself. I got bored easily.
Vance wasn’t boring.
But he also wasn’t the kind of guy to be interested in someone like me, I reminded myself. We were great partners, but that didn’t mean he wanted anything more.
He was at home with millionaires, wore cologne that probably cost more than my monthly salary, and had lived in New York City.
He probably dated fashion models or elegant women like Leslie Evans who spent their summers in the Hamptons.
Women who flew to Paris to buy their lingerie and who only drank champagne and chardonnay.
Not women like me, with short fingernails and calluses on their palms.
I sighed, staring at my hands. I was no model, and I’d always thought fancy lingerie was unnecessary. Why spend a fortune on something you were only going to wear for five minutes? I’d never even been to NYC or the Hamptons. And I’d rather have a cold stout over wine any day.
That was me. And I was okay with that. But I had to be realistic. Vance would never be interested in someone like me. He was just a good partner—and a natural flirt.
Here I was getting all worked up and starry-eyed over nothing.
Pathetic.
I absentmindedly walked into the coffee shop, cringing when I saw every seat in the place filled with someone I didn’t recognize.
Then I cringed again when Emily came out from the back.
She’d come for the summer last year, hooked up with a local, and never left, despite the fact that they weren’t together anymore.
She had mean-girl energy and I generally tried to avoid her.
“Hi, Claire,” she said, giving me a wary smile.
“Hey, Emily. Two black coffees to go, please.”
Her eyebrows rose. “Two?”
“Yep.” I knew it would annoy her to death that I didn’t volunteer an explanation. Emily lived for gossip.
“Who’s the other one for?”
I cracked a grin. She couldn’t even pretend to not want to know. I lowered my voice, not wanting anyone at the tables to hear me. “Agent Weston. We’re working an investigation together.”
“Oh.” Her eyes got big and she leaned in close like she was sharing a secret, matching my quiet tone. “Are you investigating Katelyn Brown, that poor girl whose body they found in the woods?”
“I really can’t say.” That was a lie. But I knew it would drive her crazy.
She bit her lip. “Really? Because … I know something about that, and I’ve been wondering if I should say anything.”
My pulse rose. Part of me hated to take the bait, but if she really knew something, then I needed to know.
“Alright,” I said, glancing around to make sure no one was listening. “Yes, we’re investigating her death, and any information you have would be very helpful.”
She nodded, a serious expression on her face. “I’ve been debating about whether or not I should say anything. I don’t want to get anyone into trouble.”
“Anyone who is innocent doesn’t have anything to worry about,” I said, trying to reassure her. “But at this point, we don’t have a lot of leads. Anything you have would be helpful.”
“Okay.” She took a deep breath, then lowered her voice to a whisper. “When I saw her photograph on the news, I recognized her. I never forget a face. She’d been in here once, around Christmas time. It was right after I started working here. And I thought it was odd, because…”
I nodded eagerly, feeling fresh excitement. “Go on.”
“Well … she wasn’t alone.”
My excitement fell. We already knew that Katelyn had come to Wildwood with Tony over Christmas break. If Emily’s big news was that the two of them had gotten coffee together, that didn’t get us anywhere.
“Who was she with?” I asked, even though it felt pointless.
“See, that’s what I thought was so strange,” she said, glancing around like she was as nervous as I was about being overheard.
If Emily, the queen of gossip, was worried about someone overhearing her, then she might know something meaningful after all.
“Who?” I asked again.
She looked me in the eye, beckoning for me to move closer. Her eyes were wide and she spoke so quietly that I could barely hear her. “She was having coffee with Sheriff McGrath. And they looked awfully cozy to me.”