Page 77 of Ambush

He caught her hand and walked with her to the front door, where he pulled it shut and tested to make sure it was locked. Karson’s Sporting Goods was across the street, and the parking spots were all open. Maybe they’d catch Karson alone. They waited for a sports car to zip down the road and then jogged to the door of the business. Through the plate-glass windows he spotted Karson at the register. There were no customers Blake could see.

The door jingled as they entered, and Karson smiled when he saw them. “Blake, Paradise, what a nice surprise. What are you searching for tonight?” He was a big guy, muscular with sun-streaked blond hair. He wore a purple polo shirt with the store logo on the front.

Blake released Paradise’s hand and approached Karson. “Just a little information. You’ve likely heard of the attacks at The Sanctuary.” He waited for Karson to nod. “We realized we hadn’t considered Hank’s death as a possible link.”

Karson paled under his tan. “I thought Hank died in an accident.”

“Mom and I never believed that. It was very unlikely he was in the haymow. So we started poking into the weeks before his death. Were you angry when he fired Lacey after he caught the two of you making out in the vet office?”

Karson grabbed the edge of the counter and gaped. “No. I mean, it wasn’t my business.” He shot a panicked glance at Paradise. “Molly doesn’t know about this. Please, for the sake of our family, don’t say anything. I haven’t seen Lacey since that day.”

“Did you go see Hank? Maybe try to talk him into letting Lacey keep her job?”

“No, we never spoke of it again. Actually, I never talked to him after that confrontation. He died the next day.” He blinked and inhaled. “I mean, that sounds bad, doesn’t it? I didn’t mean itthat way. I went home to Molly and my kids that night and never strayed again. You have to believe me.”

Blake wasn’t sure what to think, but he’d gotten all the information Karson was going to give out willingly.

***

Jesse’s Restaurant was busy as usual. Blake had opted for the newer location on the bay out on Fort Morgan Road, and it was Paradise’s first visit there. Their legendary blue-crab-and-crawfish gumbo was the first thing she ordered for her appetizer.

She had been on plenty of dates over the years, but she couldn’t remember a time when she had more butterflies taking up residence in her stomach. Maybe the first time the man across the table from her tonight had asked her out as a gangly teenage boy had come close. But the Blake of today had erupted into the full potential she’d glimpsed in him all those years ago. And he was too handsome for words with his shock of dark hair and eyes as blue as the water in the bay outside the window.

Blake set down his glass of iced tea. “You’re staring at me. Did I do something wrong?”

She shook her head. “Sorry. Just thinking about what Karson said.”Liar, liar.If she tried telling him the truth, what would he say? His humility wouldn’t let him accept any of the thoughts teeming in her brain right now. “Did you believe him?”

“I don’t know. He’s strong enough to have killed Hank, and his panic at his affair getting back to Molly was very real. Would that kind of raw fear be enough for him to kill to keep it quiet? Maybe so. But I’m not sure he has murder in him.”

His phone dinged with a message. “He couldn’t be sure no one else knew either. But we don’t have a better suspect right now.”He glanced at his phone. “The predator zip line is ready for testing. Mom will be excited. We got the report from the engineer, and that thing is strong enough to hold an elephant. I need to tinker with the lighting a bit, but I’ll do that in the next couple of days and we’ll be ready to fly.” He grinned. “Pun intended.”

“Visitors are going to love it.”

“We hope so. It’s been in the works a long time. We had to jump through all kinds of hoops to make sure it’s safe.” He reached across the table and took her hand. “But enough about that. Have I told you lately how beautiful you are?”

Her cheeks heated and she found it impossible to think with his thumb rubbing lazy circles in her palm. “Not lately, no. You’re a handsome guy, Blake. And smart and kind. Why are you still single?”

The light eked out of his eyes, but he kept possession of her hand. “I traveled with the Marines a lot, and there was a certain amber-eyed girl whose memory stepped between me and any other woman I dated. Three or four dates and I was usually sent off somewhere again. Anyone I dated soon vanished from my thoughts, and I realized I didn’t care enough to try managing a long-distance romance.”

“I don’t think that’s all the story.”

“Maybe it’s notallthe story, but it’s the most important part.”

His thumb continued to drive her crazy, but she didn’t want it to stop. “And the rest of it?”

“I had this sixth sense that Mom might need me. I can’t explain it, but it was enough to halt any interest in laying down roots anywhere else. This place called to me: the tupelo trees and the Spanish moss, the gators and the pelicans. They all tugged at my heart no matter where I went.”

“That makes a lot more sense than your carrying a torch forme.” Though every cell in her body wanted to believe that was the root of why he was still here for her.

His thumb stilled, and his fingers tightened around her hand. “Don’t discount that, Paradise. I know it’s hard to accept. We were kids, but what we had was real. It wasn’t some stupid teenage crush. I’ve always seen you and known you inside. And you have always seen me. You know it’s true.”

She gave a jerky nod. “I felt it too, but I tried to tell myself it was stupid and childish.” His thumb stilled, then resumed its lazy circles. “Is there going to be a future for us?”

He opened his mouth, but the server came with their appetizers. Just as well. If she let herself think about the future, she wouldn’t be able to keep her brainpower focused on who killed the Mason woman. And Hank.

Chapter 37

Paradise adjusted Blake’s tie. “You clean up pretty well.”

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