Rayne smiled and touched his shoulder. “You’re a good friend. And I know Ivy appreciates it too.”
Becket paused and looked away, running a hand over his hair in the same way Garrett did. “Well, to be honest, knowing someone shot Ivy doesn’t sit well with me at all.
If I ever find the guy
. . . well, just know that he’s going to wish I didn’t.”
Rayne winced and nodded. “I kind of feel the same way.”
Becket sighed and moved to walk away, but turned back and looked her in the eyes, his brown eyes serious and dark. “I like your sister, Rayne. She’s a sweetheart and she gets to me. I don’t know why, but she does. I’d probably do anything for her,” he admitted and then glanced at Asher in the kitchen before walking away.
Rayne stared sadly after Becket and sighed. Life was just too complicated. Asher left immediately after Becket and she went to the kitchen to clean up the rest of the dishes. She slipped them into the dishwasher and finished wiping down the counters when Garrett joined her.
“Well, everyone’s settled with blankets, pillows and towels. You’re the only one who needs tucking in now,” he said, smiling at her slowly as he walked toward her.
Rayne blushed and held up a hand. “There will be no tucking in for me, thank you very much.”
Garrett laughed and put his hands on her waist, pulling her closer as he bent down and nuzzled her neck. “I think it would be fun. I could tuck you in, read you a bedtime story and then give you a goodnight kiss. What do you say?”
Rayne laughed and wrapped her arms around his back. “I say, do I look naïve?”
Garrett sighed loudly in disappointment. “I guess you’ll have to walk me to the door then.”
Rayne followed him to the door, wishing he could stay but knowing that he had to get up early the next day and go to work. She leaned up on her tiptoes and kissed him, taking the initiative for the first time. Garrett seemed pleased and allowed her to do as she wanted and she found herself enjoying the power of controlling the kiss much more than she’d expected. When she stepped back and looked up at him, he was looking at her with a faint smile on his face.
“You make it so hard to leave,” he murmured, cupping her face with his large, calloused hands.
Rayne grinned and went to kiss him again, but he shook his head. “Don’t make it impossible now.”
Rayne sighed happily as he ran his hand down her hair and looked at her one more time before walking out the door and shutting it behind him. She moved to the window in the living room and watched as he jumped up into his truck and drove away.
Some men wrote poetry from their soul, some men painted with passion and some men made beautiful music. But Garrett Murphy could look at a woman and with his eyes alone make them feel like they were most beautiful woman in the world. She would take his eyes over everything else.
She sighed and locked the door before checking the windows and turning off all the lights. Tomorrow was a big day. She would be speaking to Tate Matafeo again, she had a video conference with her lead investigator and she had to figure out some way convince Garrett that she was going to stick.
Cleo drove Ivy to her checkup at the hospital and as Rayne watched them drive away felt a moment’s gratitude for Cleo. The woman was friendly, kind, down to earth and one of the happiest people she knew. And she could also protect her sister. Knowing that meant she could breathe.
On the other hand, knowing someone had shot her sister had just upped the stakes and she wasn’t willing to play anymore. She glanced at her watch and flipped open her laptop. She logged in and went to her video conference where Keith Trasker was already logged on, waiting for her. He was the head of her investigative team and she was paying him a lot of money to give her answers. And so far, she hadn’t gotten even one yet. That had better change.
She clicked the icon and Keith’s homely, hound dog face appeared immediately taking up the screen. She didn’t waste any time and filled him in on what had happened to Ivy along with Graham showing up on her doorstep. Keith made notes and didn’t speak until she was finished.
“I’ll need the phone number of Officer Matafeo,” Keith said and took down the number she gave him. “Ms. Nyman, I wish I had good news for you. With the attack on your sister, we need answers yesterday. The sad truth is that I can’t give you the answers you need. The partial license plate from the witness has led us on a wild goose chase and I’m sad to say that I don’t think we’re going to get anywhere with it. I think your best bet is to work the investigation now from Fircrest. If we can find the shooter, we can kill two birds with one stone.”
Rayne sighed in disappointment and sat back in her chair. “You’ve got nothing for me then.
Nothing
.”
Keith nodded his head in regret. “I understand if you want to pull us off. Frankly, if it were me, I would. We’ve hit dead end after dead end. But with the attempt on your sister’s life, it’s crucial that you move fast before he tries again. I can refer you to a good guy I know in Seattle who you can trust. He’s a solid family man and a good investigator.”
Rayne nodded her head and took the name and number before closing the meeting, feeling depressed and powerless. She hoped Tate Matafeo had better news for her.
She texted Cleo and then peeked out the window. She was now so paranoid that she couldn’t leave the house without checking for suspicious cars or men hanging around. The street was completely quiet so she walked out and locked up before hurrying to her car. When she got in, she immediately locked the doors and realized she was breathing fast.
She was scared. She hadn’t taken the time to process it, but her body knew what she didn’t want to accept. This guy, Graham or whoever it was, had her terrified. And she hated that.
They needed to find the person who was terrorizing them before she died of a stress heart attack. She drove quickly to the station and jumped out, glancing at her watch. There was no way Ivy would be done with her checkup appointment but that was probably a good thing. She didn’t want Ivy to be stressed out any more than she already was.
She glanced around quickly and then laughed at herself. Who in their right mind would attack her five feet away from a police station? She hurried inside and asked for Tate and was led back to his desk immediately.
She sat down and could see that Tate was talking to a man in another cubicle and decided to check her messages while she waited. Five messages from Graham and two from Liam.
Typical.
She scanned the messages from Liam. The first was asking her to meet him for lunch.
Not gonna happen
. The second was garbled sounding as if he hadn’t meant to call her and was talking to someone else. She went back and replayed it and listened closer. It was two people talking, or fighting.
And then she heard her name clearly.
Rayne frowned and shook her head in frustration before moving on to the messages from Graham.
Was she available for dinner? Was she available for lunch? Why was she ignoring him? Didn’t she care about him at all?
And then the last one.
She was going to regret ignoring him
.
Rayne swallowed sickly and looked up as Tate walked over to his desk. He looked at her with narrowed eyes and motioned to the phone with his head. “Your face just went white. Bad news?”
Rayne breathed in and out and shrugged. “I don’t know, maybe. Remember we told you that we think the man who killed our parents and shot at Ivy is my half-cousin, Graham? I think you should hear these messages.”
Tate nodded and she handed him the phone. He tapped the prompt to replay the messages and sat down as he listened and took notes. When he handed her back the phone he nodded his head.
“Nothing concrete, but definitely an implied threat. We want to hunt down your cousin and question him today. Would you mind calling him and finding out his whereabouts? Better yet, tell him that you’re here at the station and that you would really appreciate it if he came by.”
Rayne swallowed sickly and looked away. “I don’t want to see him.”
Tate nodded and smiled kindly. “That’s very understandable under the circumstances. You won’t have to see or speak to Graham. We’ll have you safely off the premises before he gets close. You have my word.”
Rayne ran a shaky hand through her hair and nodded, before tapping Graham’s contact number with her finger. She closed her eyes and winced as Graham’s low growly voice greeted her with excitement.
“
Rayne
! There you are. For a bit there I was worried you were avoiding me,” he said with a low laugh that made her skin crawl.
Rayne cleared her throat. “Now why would I want to avoid you? But listen, that’s not why I called. Something horrible has happened and I’m down at the Fircrest Police Station. Ivy was shot,” she said, her voice quivering.
There was silence on the other end and then Graham’s heavy sigh. “Rayne, I don’t even know what to say. I can’t imagine how traumatic this must be for you especially after the way your parents died. I’m coming down and I won’t take no for an answer.”
Rayne’s eyes widened and she nodded to Tate. “Okay, Graham. Thanks, I appreciate it,” she said softly and then disconnected. “He’s on his way.”
Tate smiled as his eyes went hard and Rayne felt bad for the criminals Tate Matafeo went after.
“Good, I’ll let my partner know. Sit tight for a minute and I’ll be right back.”
Rayne sighed and leaned her head back as she stared at the discolored and stained ceiling.
This could not be her life
. She was a world renowned concert pianist. She was the pampered and sheltered daughter of one of the wealthiest families in San Diego. And here she was, sitting in a police station because someone was trying to kill her and her sister. Twisted and strange. That was now her life.
“Hey there.”
Rayne whipped her head around and felt her whole body come alive as Garrett walked purposefully toward her. She stood up and ran to him and his arms wrapped around her like iron. “I stopped by the house to check on you but you weren’t there. I texted Cleo and she told me you were down here all by yourself. Why didn’t you tell me?” he said, pulling back and staring down into her face.
Rayne shook her head and stared at him, noting his eyes were dark with worry and his forehead was creased. He was genuinely concerned about her. He really did care.
“I guess because it didn’t even occur to me. I’m just so used to handling everything myself. I don’t need you to hold my hand, Garrett. But it’s sweet that you want to,” she added, hugging him tightly.
Garrett hugged her back but made an impatient sound in his throat. “You shouldn’t be used to handling everything yourself. It’s not right and that’s changing right now. Rayne, you need me. And . . .
I need you to need me
,” he admitted softly as he ran his thumb under her jawline.
Rayne melted against him and lifted her face to kiss him. “You are the sweetest man,” she murmured and wanted to say more but pulled away when she saw Tate walk back.
Garrett looked over his shoulder and nodded to Tate. Tate didn’t look surprised to see Garrett with her and held out his hand to shake. Garrett grasped it firmly and the two men smiled grimly at each other.
“Good to see you, Garrett. I was going to have Office Merchant escort Rayne home, but I trust you can see that she gets home safely. We have Graham Mitchell on his way down right now and we need to ask him some questions.”
Rayne held up her hand. “Wait, before I go, I need to know if there’s any information on Ivy’s case? Have you found anything new about the car?”
Tate shook his head. “Because of cutbacks, my partner and I are the only two working Ivy’s case. We’re working as hard as we can but we haven’t come up with anything yet. I’m hoping that will change when we talk to Graham. Now if you don’t want an awkward confrontation with the man who may or may not have shot your sister, I suggest you leave with Garrett.”
Rayne frowned and nodded her head, grabbing her purse and taking Garrett’s extended hand. “Call me as soon as he leaves please. I want to know everything.”
Tate nodded his head. “Tell Ivy I’m doing everything I can.”
Rayne sighed but tried to smile her thanks. “We appreciate it, Tate.”
She hurried away with Garrett and as soon as she stepped outside, she felt ten times better. “I don’t think I like police stations very much,” she said as Garrett leaned down and kissed her lightly.
“I’d be surprised if you did. Let’s get some lunch. Follow me in your car to The Iron Skillet. My treat,” he added with a wink.
Rayne laughed and followed him the three blocks over to the restaurant owned by Rob Downing. She hoped to have the chance to see Wren since she’d promised to come by this week.”
Garrett walked in and smiled at the hostess who blushed and smiled at him probably in the same way she’d blushed and smiled at him when she’d first met him. Rayne smiled as he took her hand in his and they were seated at an intimate table in the back.
“If there’s anything you need, anything at all, you just let me know,” the cute, perky blond hostess said, touching Garrett lingeringly on the arm.
Rayne rolled her eyes as Garrett smiled and assured the hostess they were fine.
“Next week I’m buying you a huge gold necklace with the words,
Dating Someone. Back OFF
. And I’m going to make you wear it everywhere you go,” she said, turning to glare at the hostess.
Garrett glanced up from his menu and grinned. “I can’t believe how jealous you are. She was just doing her job. She’s paid to be friendly.”
Rayne tilted her head, raised an eyebrow and gave him
the look
. Garrett grinned and set his menu down.
“You’re so cute when you’re mad. But if it makes you feel better, fine, buy me any necklace you want and it can say,
Property of Rayne Nyman
. Better yet, I’ll get a tattoo with your name right across my chest.”
Rayne perked up and smiled as she leaned forward. “
Seriously?
You would do that for me. But wouldn’t it get in the way of any of your other tattoos,” she said staring at his chest curiously.
Garrett laughed and picked up his menu. “Don’t you wish you knew,” he murmured.
Rayne laughed too and glanced over the menu as their waiter arrived.
“Hey Jason, will you let Wren know Rayne and Garrett are here and we’d love to say hi if she has a minute?” Garrett said and Jason nodded his head.
“Can I get you an appetizer?” he asked.
Garrett blew out a breath and nodded. “I’d love the calamari. Rayne? What sounds good to you?”