Page 26 of Shiver

She nodded and tried to school her expression so he wouldn’t see her fear. There had been no one there. She’d let her imagination run away with her. He was giving her an odd look, staring at her with speculation lighting his eyes. She tried to smile, but couldn’t shake the tingling at the back of her neck or the sensation that someone was watching her.

“Is everything all right?”

“Yes.” She stopped herself from taking another look over her shoulder.

“What’s that you’ve got?” He gestured toward her hand. She held up the daisy, clutched too tightly in her grasp.

“Just a flower I found on the path. A gardener must have dropped it.”

Riley frowned, his look setting her teeth on edge.

“What is it?”

“I don’t recall seeing daisies on the estate.”

His words brought fear surging back through her veins, the flower slipped through her fingers as a tremor rushed through her.

“I bet it fell out of one of LuAnn’s arrangements.”

“That must be it.” Devra rubbed the chill out of her arms. Keep moving, she thought. Don’t let him see your fear.

They continued down the river path, walking in silence. She used all her inner strength to try and pull herself together. Coincidences happen all the time, she thought. Of course, LuAnn’s bouquets had daisies in them—perfect, beautiful, yellow daisies. With shaky fingers, she picked a star jasmine blossom as she passed a massive vine and inhaled its sweet scent.

“Why’d you leave the house?” Riley asked. “Did LuAnn say something to upset you?”

She looked up. “No, of course not. She seems like a very nice woman. I just needed air. I’m sure your family is lovely.”

His eyes caught hers, sending a fluttery heat through her tense muscles. “They are nice and very important to me. I’ll do anything for them.”

Even railroad an innocent woman? Unbidden, the thought sliced through her. Even if she had managed to get away from a killer, what exactly had she gotten herself into instead?

A twig broke behind them. She turned as fear careened through her chest. Someoneisout there—watching.

He followed her gaze. “What is it?”

She scanned the trees and bushes for any sign of movement. “Just jumpy, I guess.” She let out a shaky breath and turned back to him. He was big and strong enough to protect her. She would be okay as long as he stayed with her. But would he?

“Don’t worry,” he said, apparently reading her thoughts. “You’re perfectly safe here. No one knows where you are.”

She looked into his dark brown eyes and wished she could believe him, wished she could trust him. But every time she looked at him like this, his gaze knocked her off-kilter and made her feel self-conscious like she couldn’t rely on her instincts.

“I can’t shake the feeling that someone is watching me,” she admitted, feeling slightly foolish.

He took her hand and squeezed it, sending a jolt coursing through her. “You’re going to have to trust me to do my job. We’ll get to the bottom of your mystery man at the hospital and whether or not he was the one who broke your window.”

Dismayed by the warmth seeping through her, she pulled her hand away. “And if he murdered Michelle.”

“Exactly.”

Fatigue filled her and, for a moment, she ached to lean into his strong chest and let it all go. Let someone else take care of her for a change.

Luckily, Riley turned and continued down the path. Longing for something he could never give her ballooned inside her as she watched him walk away. She shook off her disappointment and followed him. She needed food was all. The sooner she ate and went to bed, the better. A good night’s sleep would put this new situation into perspective—would puthiminto perspective.

He wasn’t her knight in shining armor; he was a cop who could send her away. She’d do well not to forget that.

They were almost back at his house when she noticed a speedboat rocking gently against the dock. “Is it yours?” she asked, immediately entranced by the vessel.

“Sure is. Want to go for a ride?”

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