Page 73 of The Pretender

“I’m never going to live here.” She visibly shivered as she made that declaration.

“Unless you’ve said that to a reporter and it’s all over the internet, this person likely wouldn’t know that.” But Harris understood. Being there temporarily and limiting the time spent inside the main house made the visit tolerable. She could pick an end date in her head, think of a future somewhere else. But moving onto the island meant living with the memories every single minute. Harris hadn’t been able to do that in his own life.

He’d relocated across the country to keep from getting entangled or ending up as his mother’s lifeline to the outside world. So, he got it.

“So now we get more records from this forum and try to trace this guy.” Damon leaned back in his chair. “I also want to search through the data collected from the cloned phones from Craig and Stephen.”

Gabby eyed up the darkening skies outside and the almost empty coffeepot. “It’s going to be a long night.”

She needed a break. For him and Damon this was work. It centered on trying to clear her name, and without anyone knowing he was even involved, Harris’s. But for her this was about investigating friends and family. Emotionally it had to tug and pull at her. Knowing the truth sounded good unless the truth meant more heartache.

“You head to bed.” Harris looked around at the stacks on the floor they hadn’t touched yet. “We’ll organize what we have, then I’ll be there.”

She looked like she was going to argue but then she nodded. “Okay.”

He stood up. “I can walk you back.”

“I’m fine.” But her eyes were starting to droop and the rest of her hair slipped out of that makeshift knot on the top of her head.

Harris found the look pretty adorable, but she did need sleep. “Since I almost strangled your uncle this afternoon, I’m not sure that’s true.”

“It’s a full island.” She stood up and sighed at them in the men-are-so-difficult way she’d perfected. “Uncle Stephen and Kramer were over by the fire pit earlier. Ted and Craig went to the boathouse to pick up something Ted spilled when he was working in there earlier.”

As a show of independence or defiance or whatever, it sounded like she planned on fighting this to the end. Unlucky for her, so did he. “Is that information supposed to make us feel more secure?”

“I’ll be fine.”

Damon folded his arms behind him. “You can kiss. I won’t watch.”

She frowned at him. “You’re kind of nosy.”

“Right?” But Harris thought it sounded like a damn fine idea.

He maneuvered her out of the study. After a quick look at the staircase to see if Stephen had come down, Harris opened the front screen door and guided her outside with a hand on the small of her back. A second visual scan of the grounds for trouble convinced him that the island was quiet. He could see the fire pit blazing and hear male laughter.

He could watch every step from this position as she walked to the guesthouse so he decided to let the subject drop. But not the kiss.

He leaned down and caught her mouth with his. That fast the exhaustion drained away. Every muscle burst to life. When he lifted his head he thought about suggesting they go back and test out that table in the guesthouse. The thing looked sturdy enough to hold them both. But then he saw the strain it took for her to keep her eyes open and he dropped the subject.

“I’ll be down soon.”

She reached up with a hand around the back of his neck and gave him a kiss that suggested she might not be that tired after all. “Wake me when you get in.”

Harris reentered the study a few minutes later. He didn’t realize he was whistling until Damon stared at him with one eyebrow raised. That was enough to cut off the tune.

“So, Uncle Stephen.” Damon hadn’t changed his position. He still leaned the chair back to the point of tipping and folded his hands behind his head.

With just the two of them in the room Harris didn’t have to weigh his words. “Even after he calmed down I almost choked the guy just for fun.”

Damon shook his head. “Let’s not do that. Then we’d have to cover up a rich guy’s death and Wren would get angry.”

“He’s off.”

Damon tipped the chair forward. “Wren?”

“Don’t be a dumbass. Stephen. The rage, the way he went after Gabby, it was pretty sick.” Unreasonable, bloated, troublesome. A lot of words fit.

“Weird since they’re related.”

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