Page 54 of Dragon Detective

Victor huffed. “You don’t have enough on me to book me for anything. Anything, I say!”

“I’m sure we caught it all on camera.” I pointed to those I’d mounted. “As soon as you leave, I’ll email you the footage,” I told the detective.

“Wonderful.” Detective Carter grabbed Victor’s upper arm. “Seems to me we’ve got enough to charge you with a few crimes. What do you think your rep in town will be after word of this gets out?” He urged Victor along the path. “Folks around here frown on a person trying to ruin someone else’s business.”

“You’ve got nothing,” Victor shouted as they continued down the walkway. “Nothing!”

Hannah sagged against my side. “I can’t believe it was Victor all along. He’s made it so hard for me to get my B&B ready to open. All that useless vandalism. He gave me a big heartache, all because he saw me as competition when there truly are enough customers for both of us. Sure, there are other B&Bs in nearby towns, but our buildings are on the water. That alone draws people from all over the country. Even from out of the country. We could’ve both been successful. Instead, this is going to damage his business. I’ll recover, but I doubt he will.”

“You’ll press charges,” I said.

“Of course. He cost me considerable money and time. Maybe for restitution, he can be made to pay me back for all that. I’m sure the insurance company will go after him, regardless. I’d rather they did that than raise my premiums.”

“You can notify them tomorrow.”

She nodded, and her gaze fell on the hoe. “Did you notice that the hoe jumped away from the wall of my building and conveniently fell in Victor’s path?”

“I did.” I walked over to look at the ground where the hoe had been leaning, but I didn’t see how it could’ve pretty much leaped away from the building, let alone fallen in Victor’s path aboutfive feet away. Returning to Hannah, I studied all the windows, though the perp had been caught, and I could finally relax my guard.

There . . . On the third floor. Was that someone peering through the glass?

I blinked, and they were gone, but that wasn’t good enough for me.

“Inside,” I barked, taking her hand and urging her to the locked back door and into the kitchen. “Lock all the doors and stay inside this room.”

“What’s happening?” she cried out, her voice edged with fear.

“Maybe nothing and maybe . . .” I left her, bolting from the kitchen, down the hall, and up three flights of stairs. When I reached the top, I ran to the room where I’d seen the shadow and flicked on the lights. They bathed the newly renovated room, but though I scoured the suite, I found no evidence anyone was there.

Hannah arrived as I was sighing with irritation.

“You didn’t lock yourself in the kitchen,” I ground out.

“I’m perfectly capable of dealing with whatever this is. I keep telling you that. What do you think I did before you came into my life?”

I wiggled my spine, loosening my tension. “You’re right. I’m sorry. You’re more than able to handle anything. But I thought I saw someone up here, though it must’ve been my eyes playing tricks on me.”

“Oh.” She peered around before advancing on the small table near the door. “What’s that? I’ve never seen it before.” A gold ring set with garnets sat on the smooth wooden surface, and she lifted it, tilting it to study it in the light. “This wasn’t here earlier. As I finish each room, I furnish it with the essentials, but I’d never leave something like this on a table. I bet if I went to the attic and to the jewelry box I saw one time while looking for alamp, there’d be one less piece of jewelry inside. Not that I’ve done an inventory or anything like that, but you know what I mean.” A smile grew on her face. “This is a sign from Justin.” She squinted at the ceiling. “Thank you for helping us with Victor, Justin. I bet you anything he knocked the hoe into Victor’s path, making him trip.”

I didn’t believe in ghosts.

I didn’t.

But . . .

Chapter 26

Hannah

We went downstairs, and while Reylor stacked the pieces of railing and sent Detective Carter footage from the cameras, I drove to Kraken’s Keep to pick up our meal he’d paid for when he placed the order. We ate in the small dining room and packed away the leftovers, sitting in the front parlor after that to relax.

Reylor sat beside me on the sofa, his arm stretched across my shoulders. He kept fingering my hair and each time he made the simple gesture, heat spiked through me.

I’d had time to think about my ex and my hiatus, plus the way Reylor was so eager to stand by my side, and I’d come to a decision. I wanted to be with him even if taking a chance might result in being hurt again. I didn’t think Reylor would ever cheat. Being fated mates might make a difference with that, though I supposed he could still cheat if that was something he craved.

I sensed it never would be. This guy was steady and true, and he was making it clear in so many ways that he adored me.

With that in mind, I slid off the sofa and moved to stand between his thighs.

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