Page 47 of Maverick Detective Dad
She suspected Hudson had installed the best equipment possible, but nothing was foolproof.
Turning off her phone flashlight, Everly trailed along behind Noah as he glanced through the bedrooms. There were some things out of place, objects that’d been moved on her dresser, for instance, but she’d already noticed those items earlier when she had come to pack the suitcase. She suspected the CSIs had done that when they’d searched the place.
She paused in the doorway of the nursery and felt the mix of feelings wash over her. Part of her felt guilty for putting herself at risk like this because her daughter needed her and here she was making herself bait. But she also needed Ainsley to be safe, and this might make that happen.
Might.
The next round of thunder shook the glass in the windows, and she had to wonder if the killer would venture out in this. He would if he wanted them badly enough.
She checked the weather app on her phone and saw that the storm was predicted to start tapering off around two in the morning. A time when the killer might believe Noah and she would be asleep. They wouldn’t be. Everly seriously doubted either of them would be able to sleep tonight, but the killer might pick that hour to come after them.
Everly took two towels from the guest bathroom and handed one to Noah. He used it to dry his face, but there wasn’t much he could do about his clothes.
“I don’t have anything here that would fit you, but I could put your jeans and shirt in the dryer,” she suggested.
Everly wished she’d given that offer more thought or that she hadn’t met Noah’s gaze at the moment she said it. Because if his clothes were in the dryer, he’d be naked. The corner of his mouth lifted again in that blasted smile that had a way of making her forget, well, pretty much everything.
“Got a hair dryer?” he asked.
She shoved aside the effects of that smile, the effects of Noah himself, and nodded. Everly went to her bathroom, got the dryer and handed it to him.
“I’ll change in my closet,” she muttered, heading that way.
When she’d first thought of using herself as bait, she hadn’t considered one of the hardest parts of this would be having Noah so close. Of course, she knew how he could make her body burn, but she’d thought the danger would have been enough to keep the heat in check.
She was wrong about that.
Everly hurried to her closet and grabbed a casual cotton dress from a hanger. It was loose to the point of being unflattering. Something she wore for comfort on the weekends when she’d been playing on the floor a lot with Ainsley. But a big advantage was that it had pockets so she could carry her phone and be able to hear if anyone triggered the cameras on the porches. Of course, Noah would be listening for that as well, but it didn’t hurt for them both to be aware of what was going on.
From the guest bathroom across the hall, she heard him using the hair dryer, and thanks to a night-light near the sink, she could see him.
Mercy, did she.
When she glanced in, she saw that he’d taken off his shirt to dry it. He was doing that while he kept his attention on his phone that he had put on the vanity. Probably because he’d been concerned he wouldn’t be able to hear the alarm over the sound of the dryer.
He looked up when he spotted her, and their eyes locked again. Locked for a couple of seconds anyway before he slid his gaze down her body. Apparently, Noah didn’t find the dress as unflattering as it was because she saw that flash of need in arousal on his face before he shut it down. Not completely though, but he managed to put a leash on it.
“Is everything okay?” he asked, shutting off the dryer. “Let me rephrase that. Is everything okay with the house?”
She nodded and considered holding back on what was whirling through her mind. Not the desire this time. That was whirling, too. But this had to do with, well, everything.
“We’ll have to rethink the past fourteen years,” she said.
“Yeah,” he agreed, and setting the dryer on the vanity, he stepped out into the hall to go to her. He hesitated though, and she knew why. It was hard to leash the heat if they touched.
But that’s exactly what Noah did.
He pulled her to him, and in the same motion he brushed a chaste kiss on her temple. “It’s going to be hard not to hate Helen for what she did,” he said.
Everly made a quick sound of agreement. The woman had changed everything for them and had put a wedge between them that had lasted all these years.
But suddenly that wedge was gone.
It had been dissolving since the killer had put them in his sights, but Everly felt the last shreds of it fade away. All she could feel now was Noah, and while taking what he was offering was probably a mistake, Everly went with it anyway.
She put her mouth to his and kissed him.
NOAHHADKNOWNthe kiss was coming, but he realized he hadn’t steeled himself up nearly enough. Then again, it was impossible to do that when the kiss was coming from Everly. Especially this kiss.
