Page 117 of Desperate Acts

“What about his job?”

“He did most of it online. He only went into the office a few days a month unless he was called into court.”

Which meant it wasn’t just a hopeful wish to spend more time together, Lia silently acknowledged. It was a plan in the making.

“Vanna must have realized her ability to bully and blackmail the people she was inspecting would be threatened by his presence.”

“It’s a theory.”

Lia reluctantly nodded, settling back in her seat. “What now?”

“We go back to the beginning.”

* * *

Tate snapped shut his briefcase, glancing around the shabby office with a grimace. He was done playing sheriff. In fact, he wished now he’d never insisted on taking the job. Or at least that he’d had the sense to head out of town when that damned skeleton was found.

Of course, he’d always been overly confident in his ability to manipulate any situation to his advantage. He’d been doing it since he convinced his mother he deserved twice the allowance as his younger sister because “boy” toys cost more. And he’d been certain that once he had the bones hauled away, any danger to himself would be over. Not the most sympathetic means to deal with his former lover, but it wasn’t like she hadn’t tried to screw him over. More than once, right?

Everything would have been fine if it wasn’t for Kaden Vaughn and that bitch, Lia Porter.

What right did they have to stick their noses into his business? Vanna was dead. Their interference wasn’t going to bring her back. Not to mention that if they’d just left well enough alone, Burke and the judge would still be alive. Tate happily stoked the flames of his self-righteous indignation, thinking of the shit show that had plagued him over the past week. The anger helped to mask the terror that was humming through him like an electric charge.

A shame, really.

Thankfully, he was always prepared.

Whether it was paying a small fee to the receptionist at the local news station to let him know whenever the cameras would be out so he could be sure to get his face on TV. Or creating fake awards he could frame and have presented to him at the Lions Club. Only a fool left their fate to chance.

Which was precisely why he had a suitcase filled with clothes, a stash of cash, fake IDs, and keys to a cabin in Colorado he’d secretly purchased years ago. Better yet, he kept it hidden in a location his overly inquisitive wife would never discover.

It was time to get the hell out of Pike.

Chapter 27

Kaden’s nerves were on a razor’s edge by the time they reached Pike. The mere thought of taking Lia back to the place where she’d been deliberately poisoned was terrifying. Then again, there was no way he was leaving her alone in Madison. It seemed unlikely anyone could sneak into his brother’s condo but not impossible. It didn’t help that night had fallen during the long drive and snow had started to fall. No shocker, that. It was December in Wisconsin. At the moment it was just a few flakes lazily drifting through the air, but that could change to a full blizzard without warning.

Bypassing the first exit, Kaden drove until they were north of town before he veered off the highway. Not only was it closer to his destination, it allowed him to avoid being seen by the locals. The fewer people who knew they were back the better.

Especially tonight.

As he slowed the Jeep, Lia stirred next to him, stretching her arms with a wide yawn. Kaden smiled as a shiver of awareness raced through him. She’d been dozing off and on for the past two hours, clearly exhausted by their previous night together. He’d done his best not to disturb her sleep. He had plans to do more exhausting tonight.

Thankfully unaware he was already imagining the pleasure of stripping off her heavy sweater and jeans, Lia glanced out the windshield in confusion.

“Where are we going?”

“To the beginning,” he repeated his earlier words, turning onto a narrow lane that was packed with snow.

“I don’t know what that means.”

Kaden swallowed a sigh. He wasn’t entirely sure himself. He just knew the answers were in Pike.

“We’ve established motives for Vanna’s murder,” he said.

“A lot of motives. And a lot of suspects.” Lia grabbed the console as they rattled and skidded over the icy road. “Too many.”

“Exactly,” Kaden agreed. “Which would probably be great if we were cops who had the training and authority to question them.”

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