Page 56 of Deadly Deception
Boone huffed. “You implied it would be fine.”
“It will be.” I was suddenly very confident. “Navarre isn’t alone any longer. No matter what comes of things, we’ll make sure he’s taken care of. We’ll see him through. It’ll take work, but that’s not something either of us has ever shied away from.”
Boone snuggled in closer. “Gaia, I love you.”
My heart banged inside my chest. It was the first time he’d said those words. It was also my first time. Channeling Nana, I said, “I love you too. Never doubt or forget that.”
“I won’t,” Boone promised. His breathing evened out until he lay in my lap, sleeping peacefully. Leaning my head back, I knew I’d have one hell of a crick in my neck, but I remained where I was and drifted off as well.
Right then, for that brief, blissful moment, I felt like I could protect Boone from all the bad in the world. It was a fleeting feeling. It was a feeling that wouldn’t last.
Chapter
Nineteen
Erasmus
We got word the next morning that Dr. Emily Scott was in stable condition. She hadn’t woken yet, but her doctors seemed confident she would. Not surprisingly, Dr. Scott had a concussion. She needed time to heal, and so far, that’s exactly what she was getting.
Sheriff Henson woke Franklin and me up to give us that information, and to let us know they’d found the missing bodies—or what was left of them. Henson didn’t explain further on the phone. He gave Franklin an address and asked how soon we could be there. I was surprised when Franklin rattled off a time that was over two hours from now.
Rolling over in our shared bed, I said, “We can be there sooner.”
Franklin threw off his covers and said, “Nope. Yesterday I promised myself we’d go out for breakfast this morning, and I aim to keep that promise. You need waffles.”
I blinked while rubbing the sleep from my eyes. “I can do without. I—”
“Waffles and lots of syrup,” Franklin insisted. Placing a knee on the mattress, he leaned toward me and captured my lips.Fuck, this man. This gloriously considerate, loving, man.I licked my lips when he finally released me, chasing his taste. “Waffles,” Franklin said again before heading off to the shower.
I’d showered last night, then fallen asleep on Franklin’s chest with my hair wet. I couldn’t exactly remember when we’d made it into bed, but it must have been long enough for my hair to dry that way. While I didn’t shower again, I did wind up dunking my head under the faucet, wetting it, and starting over. It was the only way I wouldn’t look like a madman.
True to his word, we stopped at a Waffle House on the way to our rendezvous. I was halfway through my plate of syrupy goodness when I remembered what Franklin and I’d finally admitted to each other last night.
I love you.
Three simple words that were everything and nothing all at the same time. Tears filled my eyes and the waffles on my plate swam in a sea of syrup.Love. The words were nice, they were perfectly beautiful. They were also unnecessary. How could I doubt the way this man felt about me when I had the proof happily digesting in my belly and the sweet taste of maple syrup on my tongue.
Pushing back the happy tears, I cut off an impossibly large bite of waffle and stuffed it into my mouth, tasting Franklin’s love.
“Call came in last night,” Henson said, exhaustion leaking through his voice. I was beginning to doubt this man slept. A yawn cracking his jaw, Henson stared across the sandy dunes at the ashes littering the remnants of a massive bonfire. “Lots of people come down to the beach. This time of year,bonfires aren’t uncommon. What is uncommon was the size and location of this one. It’s not along Lake Michigan. It’s deeper into the dunes. No one’s coming out this far in the middle of the night for good reasons.”
Henson tossed his hand in the general direction of the ash field and said, “This is all that’s left. I don’t even know if it’s all the bodies that were taken or just a few. The only reason we know they’re our guys are the metal toe tags left behind.”
I stood there, staring at the burnt-out pile. My feet were horribly uncomfortable. I hadn’t planned on trucking through mounds of sand. I hadn’t even considered that a possibility in Northern Indiana. Who knew? Evidently the locals, because this was a highly trafficked area in warmer weather. Franklin had tried filling me in on the way to the dunes. He’d said it had been a destination for him and his friends when he’d been younger. Given how huge Lake Michigan was, the beach area might as well have been on the Gulf of Mexico. The water was a hell of a lot colder and less salty, but when looking out at the massive expanse of water, it was hard to tell you were still landlocked. Even in the midst of autumn, the land held a certain level of beauty. I figured it would be gorgeous come sunset.
“Fuck,” Henson cursed, not for the first time. When I’d first met Sheriff Henson, I hadn’t imagined I’d grow to like the man. But somewhere along the line, I had. That’s not to say that I wanted to go out and have a meal or drinks with him, but he wasn’t bad for a human. And right now, he was beyond tired. Henson needed at least two days off and just as many full nights of sleep. I didn’t think he’d be getting either anytime soon.
“How many other officers know about this?” Franklin asked, his hands on his hips and legs spread wide against the wind.
“By now? Probably all of them.” Henson shook his head. “Sara got the call last night and dispatched the available officers.There’s no reason she should have considered we’d find this.” Again, Henson pointed toward the ash pile.
“That’s unfortunate,” Franklin said. “But I get it.” With a shake of his head, Franklin looked at me and said, “Can you do it?”
I tilted my head to the side and answered, “I should be able to. I can still feel their strings.”
Henson’s bent head shot up and his eyes were a little wild. “You can still bring them back?”
I nodded. “Theoretically.”
