Page 114 of Proof of Guilt

CHAPTER SEVEN

As little sleep as Theo had managed to get, he figured Ivy had gotten even less. After they’d arrived at the safe house, she’d quickly taken Nathan to the room they would share, but since Theo’s room was right next to theirs, he’d heard someone moving around in there most of the night. He figured that someone was Ivy.

He showered and made his way into the kitchen to get some coffee started, but got confirmation that Ivy hadn’t slept when he saw her at the kitchen table already sipping a cup. Her eyes confirmed his theory, too. She looked exhausted.

And beautiful.

Yeah, Ivy was probably one of the few women on the planet who could have managed that. Despite her rumpled hair and tired eyes, she still looked amazing.

He felt that old ripple of attraction. Always did whenever he was around her. But he told that attraction to take a hike. It would only distract him at a time when he needed no other distractions. And besides, he still hadn’t cooled off from her not telling him about Nathan.

“Are Jodi and Nathan still sleeping?” he asked.

She nodded. “But I figure they’ll be up soon. Anything new on the case?” she added. “I heard you talking on the phone a couple of times.”

He had, but Theo felt he’d gotten nowhere. “Gabriel questioned Lacey, and she denied knowing McKenzie. Lacey said he called her to set her up.”

Ivy groaned, and Theo silently groaned with her. With his coffee in hand, he went to the window to look out. The safe house was on an old ranch, only about thirty miles from Blue River, and it was out in the middle of nowhere. Which was a good thing. The pastures were flat, and he had a clear view of the road. That meant it’d be hard for someone to sneak up on them. Added to that, Jameson had put out a motion detector on the road to alert them if anyone drove up.

“Lacey lawyered up,” Theo went on. “So did August. And Gabriel doesn’t have enough to hold either of them. That means we’re at a stalemate unless SAPD or the CSIs find something to link the attack or McKenzie’s murder to someone.”

Someone in this case being August or Lacey.

And that brought Theo back to something he’d been wanting to ask Ivy. “Just how much does Lacey hate you?”

She looked at him for a moment before she answered. “A lot. Why?”

He lifted his shoulder. “Lacey said she made it a point to get to know anyone connected to you. It’s a long shot, but she could have discovered the link between August and McKenzie.”

He was talking softly enough not to wake Jodi and Nathan, and Ivy got up from the table to go closer to him, probably so she’d be able to hear him better.

“But if she wanted to set up August to take the blame for this,” Ivy said, “then why would she have allowed McKenzie to call her?”

“Maybe she didn’t allow it. He could have just screwed up. Or it could be he got spooked when he realized someone was trying to kill him and he tried to get in touch with her. Either way, McKenzie would have been a loose end.”

That was true even if Lacey or August wasn’t behind this. McKenzie had a link to two dead gunmen, and the mastermind pulling their strings wouldn’t have wanted to keep McKenzie around.

“August’s motive is to clear Travis’s name,” Ivy whispered. “But Lacey won’t inherit her father’s money if she kills me.” She made a soft gasp and touched her fingers to her mouth. “She’d have to get rid of Nathan, too.”

That wiped away the fatigue in Ivy’s eyes, and the fear quickly came. Theo had had a similar reaction earlier when he’d thought of how this might all play out.

“God, she can’t hurt him,” Ivy said on a rise of breath. Tears sprang to her eyes.

Hell. He didn’t handle these tears any better than he had the ones the night before at the sheriff’s office. This time, though, Theo put his arm around her.

Ivy melted against him.

That definitely wasn’t good because she felt soft—and right—in his arms. The years vanished, and for a few seconds, she was his lover again. Thankfully, it didn’t go past the thought stage because Ivy pulled away from him.

“Sorry,” she said, her voice low. He wasn’t sure if she was apologizing for the tears or the reaction they’d just had to each other. And Theo decided it was best if he didn’t have the answer to that.

“I’m not going to let anything happen to Nathan,” Theo promised her, and somehow that was a promise he’d keep.

She stayed at the window with him, and her gaze connected with his again. “Is there something you aren’t telling me?” she asked. “You’re not thinking of telling Nathan the truth, are you?”

That was two unrelated questions. “Nathan will eventually need to know,” he reminded her.

She kept staring at him. “But?”

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