Page 44 of Final Cost

Maybe my churning thoughts are too loud, because he suddenly looks up, his expression softening when he sees me. That gives me just the encouragement I need. “Hey,” I say.

“Hey.” His expression clears a bit more. Not all the way to a smile, though. I get the feeling that the last two days have been so tough that he’s forgotten how. “Come in.”

“Not sure if I should,” I say, heading straight to him. I’ve got a sudden urge to smooth the hair away from his temples. It’s all ruffled, a sure sign he’s been running his hands over his head in frustration. “I hate to interrupt your scheming. You look like you’re playing 3-D chess in your mind.”

A flash of a smile. “Just planning. Come here.”

We reach for each other. He gives me just enough time to smooth his hair and kiss his forehead before he reels me all the way in, his arms, circling my waist with all the tenderness in the world and unyielding strength. Basically like two iron clamps encased in velvet. He murmurs something indistinct, pressing his face to my neck for a good long nuzzle. We stay like that for a minute, both eager to steal this little slice of heaven from yet another difficult day. Then it’s over. He lets me go and sits back in his chair, his sudden businesslike demeanor filling me with dread.

“We need to talk,” he says, gesturing me to the chair nearest his.

I sit and wait. The massive lump newly wedged at the base of my throat prevents me from saying anything.

“The police have me on video driving near the beach the night Ravenna died.” His gaze slides away from mine as he settles his elbows on his knees again. “I didn’t mention to them before that I was that close to the area.”

I hesitate. I want to reassure him, but my thoughts are spinning too hard as I try to come up to speed. “So… You, what? Lied to the police?”

“Nothing like that,” he says, blowing out a breath as he shakes his head. “I didn’t remember everywhere I went that night.”

My heart sinks. That’s not the kind of reassurance I’d hoped to hear right now. “You’re not the kind of man who doesn’t remember things, Lucien.”

Self-deprecating smile. “I disagree. When I’m missing you and you’re all I can think about. With the way I was feeling when you were gone? It’s a wonder I kept the car on the road at all.”

My heart melts into a gooey mess. What am I supposed to do withthat? “So it’s my fault you didn’t tell the police the truth?”

“Not at all,” he says. “I take full responsibility for my actions. But I have a question: doyouremember everything you did when we were apart?”

He’s got me there. It was only a few days, but they were the longest of my life. They passed in a blur of tears, anger, and bittersweet memories. “Touché.”

“I know it doesn’t look good, but I have some irons in the fire.”

“Like…? I could definitely use some good news.”

“I have a call out to Ravenna’s doctor from her hospital stay. I’m waiting for him to call me back. I’m hoping he might reveal something else about her state of mind. Something that might help us.”

“Yeah, but didn’t he refuse to speak to you?” I say, frowning. “Because of Ravenna’s right to medical privacy?”

“Yeah. She told him not to speak to me. Which suggests she had something to hide from me. I’m not sure if that doctor-patient privilege still applies now that she’s dead,” he says. “It’s worth a shot. Plus, my investigator is still trying to find Winwood. So are the police. I can’t shake the feeling that this whole thing hangs on him.”

“Any leads?” I ask hopefully.

His somber expression as he shakes his head says it all. “I’m running out of time, Tamsyn. The walls are closing in.”

This scares me worse than anything else that’s happened. Lucien isn’t the type to admit defeat or even the possibility of defeat. “Don’t say that.”

Wry smile. “I haven’t given up yet. Like I said, I’ve been doing some planning. That’s what I want to talk to you about. It involves you so I need to bring you up to speed. I know how you feel about me doing things behind your back. Please note that I’ve learned my lesson on that count.”

“Noted,” I say. “You get full marks for being a changed man.”

“Thank God.”

“So…?”

“I changed my will,” he says quietly. “You’re my sole heir.”

I sit there in a stunned silence while this information tries to penetrate my brain. Whatever I’d expected, it wasn’tthat. “What? Why would you do that? You’re not going to die, Lucien.”

A muscle pulses in the back of his jaw as though he’s clenching his teeth. “If I get arrested, anything goes in jail.”

---