Page 25 of Cruel Ice

He’d never had someone like her in his world before.

“I told you, IthoughtI wanted safety.”

“But what you really want is to fuck a killer?” The words just rumbled out.It’s what I am. What I’ve been since I was sixteen years old, and Parker—damn him—knows that dark truth about me.

She flinched. “Okay, below the belt. Parker is a straight jerk on that score.” Her brows beetled. “First of all, my cousin Ophelia is married to the man she’s, uh, involved with. And Lane Lawson was cleared of the charges that originally put him in jail. He was not a serial killer.”

Lane Lawson.The name rang some bells. A lot of them. Once upon a time, Lane Lawson had been hunted by the FBI because the Feds believed he’d been a serial killer. He’d been locked away, only to later be released. His sister and the lead FBI agent who’d locked him away had been the ones to free him. Except…wait, didn’t the tricky bastard break out of his cell before he was actually cleared?

“Parker mentioned Ophelia.” The lock of hair had slid forward again. Once more, Marley tucked it behind her ear.“Ophelia is my cousin. Second cousin, actually. She’s a great PI. It’s because of her that I got interested in the work—and in the Ice Breakers.”

Okay, shit. The distant bells weren’t just ringing. They were clanging hard in this head. “The Ice Breakers?” Surely not. Surely, she was not involved with?—

“They are a group that solves cold cases.”

Sonofabitch. How could the world be this small?

“They started online. Everyone came from different backgrounds. A reporter, a bounty hunter, law enforcement—you name it. Different people, but the same goal. Closing cases that have remained opened for years. Helping families solve mysteries that have haunted them.” She turned away. Walked toward the floor-to-ceiling windows that looked out over the city. “With my background in psychology, I thought I could help build victim and perpetrator profiles. I started working with them thanks to Ophelia’s connections, and then I decided to get my PI license as I became more involved.”

He didn’t speak. Mostly because he wasn’t sure what to say. Should he reveal his own connection to the Ice Breakers? Could he trust her with that intel?

“The Ice Breakers have made the news a great deal. The more cases that they solve, the more attention they attract. Like I said, the group started online, but it’s grown by leaps and bounds. Now Archer Radcliffe finances the operation. Families in need don’t pay a cent. Archer takes care of everything.”

He knew Archer. Billionaire. Secretive SOB. Once suspected of murder himself, only Archer had been cleared of the charges.Courtesy of the Ice Breakers.

Declan and Archer occasionally traveled in the same circles. Never friends. Business rivals. Sharks who understood not to swim too close to one another.

Declan’s gaze skimmed over Marley as she gazed out at the city. Darkness had fallen. It would soon be time for them to hunt.

You don’t have to tell her about your connection to the Ice Breakers. You don’t have to tell her anything.

She glanced over her shoulder at him. “We should get started on your case. Let’s find the bartender. Talk to any other staff members who were at the club you visited. Then we can scout the area around it. We’ll hit up any potential witnesses we find.”

“I know about the Ice Breakers.” A confession he hadn’t intended to make until the words actually slid from his mouth.

A nod from Marley. “Like I said, they make the news a bit so?—”

“My brother is friends with a few of them.” Again, an admission that he hadn’t planned to offer. He didn’t talk about his brother with anyone.

She’s not just anyone.

Marley whipped around and faced him fully. “Your brother? I didn’t know you had a brother. I thought I’d read you were the sole heir to your father’s—” Marley broke off, as if uncertain how to end that particular statement.

“Twisted nightmare of a legacy?” he finished for her, trying to be helpful.

“That wasn’t what I was going to say.”

No, of course not. Because Marley wasnice.“This is confidential information.” Once more, he closed the distance between them. “As in, it doesn’t leave this room. Understand?”

Her head tipped back as she stared up at him. “Consider me a vault.”

And, oddly, Declan thought he could trust her.Don’t betray me, Marley. You won’t like the way I respond to betrayal.“I didn’t know my brother was alive.” He’d hoped that the guy was but after so many years of searching, hope had pretty much beena memory. “He disappeared when I was a kid.” His brother had been two when he vanished. “Over the years, I hired dozens of PIs to find him. To turn up something that would lead me to him.” But there had been nothing. “James told me I had to move on. That my brother was dead. Just like my mother was. They both supposedly died in a fiery car crash. No bodies were ever recovered because the car went down a ravine and exploded. Empty caskets were put in the ground. Everyone else bought the story of their deaths, but I didn’t. I couldn’t.”

She reached out and curled her fingers around his hand. Marley didn’t offer words of sympathy or comfort, but he could see both in her expression. She stared at him as if she wished she could take his pain away.

Uncomfortable, he almost stepped back.

Don’t retreat. Not from anyone.Declan cleared his throat. “Then I turned on the news one day, and, lo and behold, I saw him. All grown up, of course, but it was him. Hell, it was like looking into a mirror.” His free hand rose and brushed over his scar. “Minus one big difference, of course.”

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