Page 19 of Cruel Ice

“Um.” He wiggled his fingers. Long, strong fingers. “Are you planning to ever shake my hand?”

Her fingers pressed to his. Declan’s hand immediately closed around hers. Warm. Slightly rough with calluses. Utterly dwarfing her own hand.

And she realized that, though they had shaken on the deal, he had not actuallyagreedon her terms. Not with his words. “Uh, Declan?—”

He let her go. Turned for the door. “We need to grab a bag for you and then get back to my suite. I sent James to keep an eye on our asshole bartender so that the jerk wouldn’t leave town. But you need rest before we interrogate him.”

You sent James…and you’re telling me this, now?As for interrogations, maybe that should be the business best handled by the cops. “About the interrogation…”

Declan had already climbed from the limo. She scrambled to follow him. When she got out of the limo, Marley couldn’t helpbut wince. The limo was hugely out of place on the quiet street. Itblockedtwo driveways. And her neighbors were out and gaping as they unpacked groceries.

Marley sent them a quick wave, and then she grabbed Declan’s hand and began towing him toward her slightly sloping front porch. The cold had long since withered her flowers. “Be out as fast as possible, Andy,” she promised.

At the door, she paused to free Declan and to fumble with her keys only…

The front door was slightly ajar. Ajar as in—the lock had been smashed. “Oh, no.”

“What?”From Declan.

But he didn’t give her a chance to explain. Instead, his hands closed around her waist. He lifted her up and placed her behind him.

“Fuck,” Declan swore as he glared at the lock. Then, “Get back to the limo. Get inside it.”

She tapped him on the shoulder. His head jerked back toward her.

“My house,” Marley informed him. “AndI’mthe PI. You’re the one who should go back to the limo.”

His look questioned her sanity.

Why? She was being incredibly sane. “Declan, it’smyhouse.”

“Some bastard broke inside!”

Yes. “And that bastard could still be inside.”

“Get in the limo.”

Their business relationship was clearly not off to a good start. “Get out of the way.”

He didn’t. He did push open the front door and head straight inside her home. Like he was some fierce cop and not say, oh, a tech billionaire who had no business stormingany place.But, storm, he did. She hurried right on his heels. As soon as they were inside…

A shocked gasp tore from her as Marley stared around in horror. This wasn’t some robbery—what she’d feared when she saw the broken lock. This was—this was…

Destruction.

Chaos.

Rage.

Her home hadn’t just been ransacked. Her home had been utterly destroyed. Picture frames smashed. Her TV obliterated into hundreds of pieces. Her couch cushions slashed to bits of stuffing. The floor was littered with wreckage, and as she stared at the remnants of her life, pain knifed straight into Marley’s chest.

This wasn’t a break-in.

This was a message. This was hate.

She took a step forward, only to have Declan’s arm immediately wrap around her waist. He hauled her back against his body. “You go nowhere without me.” A savage growl.

He was really missing the PI part of the equation, but she was too busy burning with rage and a strange grief to discuss the point with him. They needed to search the house to make sure the perpetrator wasn’t still inside. Her gut said the jerk was long gone. That he must have come under the cover of darkness to wreak his destruction or else her nosey neighbors would have seen him entering her place and obliterating her lock.

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