Naughty Stranger (Dangerous Love 1)

“No, I wasn’t sure if you’d want me to,” he said. “Do you want me to call her?”

“God, no,” Peyton exclaimed, causing Justin to laugh. “Please keep the accident to yourself. I don’t want her to worry.”

“My lips are sealed.” He paused. Then he said, “That’s the call for boarding. Listen, don’t be a stranger. Keep in touch. All right?”

“I will.” She smiled. “Promise.” A sudden unexpected sense of closure drifted through her. They were both going to be okay. Maybe that’s why Justin had come to see her—to get closure for himself too.

“Tell Kinsley to call, will you?”

Peyton turned around, finding both Kinsley and Remy watching her while sitting on the bed. “I’ll tell her for sure. Bye.”

“Bye.”

The line went dead, and she returned her phone to the end table. “Justin says to call him.”

“Please,” Kinsley said. “He can call me if he wants to talk.”

Peyton laughed, thinking Kinsley would probably be the perfect girl for Justin. She’d keep him on his toes. “So, we’re stuck here at the house all day; what’s the plan?”

Kinsley raised her hand. “I got it all figured out.” She jumped off the bed and grabbed her bikini out of a plastic bag along with a big bottle of wine. “The sun and your dock is calling our name.”

Remy frowned. “Damon and I have some wedding plans to get to, but I’ll be back just as soon as I can.” She took the mug off the end table. “Drink up. I’ll read the leaves before I go.”

The tea was warm to the touch now, and Peyton drank it back quickly. She handed the mug to Remy again.

“Ah, yeah, okay.” Remy set the mug down on the table, then smiled at Peyton. “Yup, you’ll be fine. I’ll be back soon. Promise.”

Peyton laughed. “Bye.”

“Later,” Kinsley said.

When Remy left the room, Peyton turned to Kinsley and asked, “She truly thinks that tea leaves can predict what’s going to happen to me today?”

“Yes,” Kinsley said firmly. “Most of the time I think she’s lost it, but I’ve seen those teas do crazy things, so just roll with it.”

Peyton smiled. “Rolling away.”

* * *

With a tray full of coffees from Flaming Pie in hand, Boone entered the station a little after nine in the morning, determined to find answers to all the questions filling up his head. He hadn’t slept a wink last night with Peyton’s safety swirling in his mind. He’d kept his weapon on the nightstand, ready if needed, and he hated that his gut had him becoming this protective.

That was never a good sign.

And that’s why he’d called Kinsley over to the house to stay with Peyton this morning. He’d made sure all the windows and doors were locked before he left. Boone had also suggested Kinsley bring her registered small handgun with her, and she arrived with the weapon tucked into her purse. But he was even happier when Remy showed up too. Having them both there could let him focus on what he needed to do. Protect Peyton.

The station around him was a flurry of activity while he strode past the cubicles. When he entered the command center, he wished he didn’t have to come in today. He wanted to stay home, with Peyton, keeping her next to him where he could ensure no one got to her, but that was just his ego talking. To help her, he needed to solve this case, and find out who was driving that SUV.

Asher and Rhett were already sitting at the long desk next to the whiteboard with all the evidence they had gathered up until this point. Photographs, leads, dead ends; it was all there like a storyboard—only there were missing pieces. And those pieces were the only thing driving Boone today. “Mornin’,” he said, handing out the coffees.

“Morning,” Rhett said. He had dark circles under his eyes, indicating that he’d had as long a night as Boone had, though Boone suspected his lack of sleep was due to everything Boone had told him and Asher about Peyton’s past. Boone had no doubt Rhett had stayed up searching into Peyton’s life in Seattle. He should have been there with Rhett, but he wouldn’t have left her last night. Not after the story she’d told him. Before, he’d thought she was strong. Now knowing what she’d been through with Adam’s passing, he realized she was incredible. To survive such a tragedy, and still be brave enough to find happiness again…damn, she blew his mind apart with her strength.

Asher reached for his paper cup. “Come to me, my pretty.”

Boone took note of Asher’s even darker eyes and pale skin before taking the first seat next to Rhett. “Updates?”

Rhett slid the lid off his coffee cup and reported, “The crime techs couldn’t lift any prints; the truck had been scrubbed clean. I took another hard look at the Francis file last night. I didn’t find anything new that we missed, leading me to believe you might be onto something with your suspicions that this has nothing to do with Lauren Francis and everything to do with Peyton.”

Boone nodded, not surprised by any of that, and then turned to Asher, finding his friend looking back to his usual solid self, even if he looked tired. The thought came as a relief. Remy’s engagement could very well put Asher into a tailspin. The fact that it wasn’t told Boone one thing: Asher had made a decision. What that decision was, Boone didn’t know, but Asher didn’t look like a man who had lost the woman he loved. He looked determined. “Anything on your end?” he asked Asher, staying on task.