Page 36 of Forged in Secrets

“I get what you’re saying,” she said. “She’s an immature, bratty airhead. She doesn’t even care that her best friend might have been kidnapped, or even killed.”

He winced at the mention of Katie’s possible death, but Grace went on.

“But have you ever considered that maybe that’s exactly what Jade wants us to think?”

She paused, her eyes eagerly searching his own, no doubt waiting for him to experience the same flash of insight she had. Unfortunately, anger had a way of dulling the edges of his brain.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“You said it yourself,” Grace continued excitedly. “She casually let it slip that she doesn’t have an alibi. She can see that unlike the police, we’re going to keep digging.”

“Right. She probably figures it’s better to be forthcoming about a half truth than to end up getting caught in a lie.”

“Exactly. And if she’s scared of getting caught, it’s because she knows there’s evidence. Evidence that wouldn’t look good for her.”

Ben paused, trying to work through everything he’d learned about that night. He assumed that the police would have at least checked the security footage, but even if they hadn’t, Mistflower Resort security almost certainly would have.

They would have noticed that Jade had left the room for a second time that night, but seeing as neither Detective Hayles nor Patrick had mentioned it, it must not have seemed important to them.

“She clearly knows there’s footage of her coming andleaving again that night,” he said, thinking aloud. “So why even mention it to us? It’s evidence she would assume we already had.”

Grace got up from the lounge chair, her face filled with renewed excitement as she paced back and forth in the sand beside him. “Because Jade isn’t an airhead with anger problems. She wants everyone to think she is so we take her testimony at face value.”

Ben’s brow furrowed. “She must know she’s drawing us to pay more attention to the details.”

Grace grinned at him. “I actually don’t think she realized that, at least not at first. She’s not stupid, but she has an inflated ego. It’s pretty clear she played Detective Hayles very easily.”

“So you think she thought she could do the same with us?”

She nodded. “But then you started pushing her, and she got scared. That’s why she bolted. In a way, you being a butthead got us exactly what we needed.”

Ben chuckled. “If only it had been a strategic move rather than just me losing my temper. I’m sorry. Again.”

For a second, she looked up at him, her cheeks lifting as she smiled.

She was so close. He could reach down and kiss her, give her the apology that he knew they both wanted.

Instead, she reached over and rested her fingers against his arm, which was still enough to make his chest warm. He was sure he was blushing, and thanks to his pale complexion, she could probably notice it.

“You know, just because I’ve had a little crush on you for years doesn’t mean I’m desperate for your approval,” she said, letting her touch fall away again. “It’s taken me years, but I know who I am. I’m a daughter of the King.I’m not going to disintegrate just because you’re a grouch sometimes.”

Her tone was light, but still, her words left him reeling.

Her crush on him wasn’t a secret, but until she’d said it aloud, he’d somehow doubted it was true.

Even more than that, though, he was struck by the rest of her words–and by the look in her eyes that told him there was more she’d left unsaid.

Grace wanted him to know she was strong and capable. She’d more than proven she had far more investigative insight than he’d assumed. But there was something else, something more hidden behind those dancing blue eyes that made him lose his mind.

He glanced over at her again. He didn’t mind how dumb he looked as he stared, lost in thought. He didn’t mind the way she slipped her fingers into his like it was the most natural thing in the world. He didn’t even mind the annoying music that had started up yet again, turning the peaceful beach into another raucous party.

Grace loved God, and she believed He was looking out for her. He knew that, and he wanted that kind of faith that always seemed just out of reach.

But there was a reason that she’d been scared when she’d seen that fire at the resort, and when she’d braved the bonfires at the beach. A darn good reason.

She was a survivor, and like she said, he wasn’t going to break her by mistake.

“So, you have a little crush on me, huh?” he said instead.

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