Page 39 of Sweet Sin

“Mr. Shaw was shot…most likely with this gun. His body’s in the tub.”

Without thinking, I begin to walk toward the bathroom, but Falcon yanks me back. “You don’t want to see that.”

“Are they really going to try to frame me? Shooting him with my gun?”

“You have an ironclad alibi,” Falcon says. “You were with me.”

“An ex-con,” I mutter.

“Hey.”

“Sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry. It’s a valid point. But the two assholes knew you were with me. I don’t know how they knew if they came here first. I may be an ex-con, but we can prove you weren’t anywhere near your place at the time of Shaw’s death.”

“I know….” I bury my head in my hands. “I came here to get away from all this, and now I’ve dragged you into it. Jordan. The Shaws. God, the poor Shaws.”

“You didn’t drag me into anything, Vannah. I came willingly.”

“Without knowing what you were getting into.”

“I’d have found out eventually.”

“What’s that mean?”

He pauses a moment, frowns. “I…uh…had some people look into you. I got the information today.”

“So you knew?”

“No. Not until afterward. My source called me after—”

“Oh, my God… How could you not trust me?”

“For Christ’s sake, Vannah. I just believe in checking things out.”

“Would you have let me go if you had found out about my family before all this went down?”

I regret my words immediately. Mr. Shaw is dead, and Mrs. Shaw was attacked. I nearly killed a man, and Falcon was dragged into this. Why am I being so petty? Clearly, Falcon shouldn’t have trusted me.

I shouldn’t have trusted that my family could keep me out of danger.

But he looks into my eyes, his own on fire. “Not a chance, Savannah. I don’t know how it happened, but somehow, I’ve fallen hard.”

Part of me melts, even in this aftermath. It’s not an admission of love, but it’s something. And the truth is? I feel the same way.

I open my mouth to say so, when—

“Help!” Mrs. Shaw shrieks from the kitchen.

I rush to her side. “Mrs. Shaw?”

“It hurts. It hurts so bad!”

“I know. I know. Help is coming.” I rise and look through her cupboards for some aspirin or ibuprofen. “Can you check the bathroom, Falcon? See if there’s something for her pain?”

He nods and walks to the bathroom. Good, because he’s right. I don’t want to see what’s in there. Especially if it was done with my gun.

Falcon returns. “Nothing over the counter, but I found these. Percocet.”

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