Get a Clue (25 page)

Keep Cooper? “What does that mean?” she murmured out loud.

“Just that,” Cooper said from the bathroom doorway, one hand propping up the jamb. “Or better yet . . .” He pushed away and came closer. Naked. “Take a chance on me.”

“Cooper.” Her heart lodged in her throat.

“Come on, Bree. I'm falling hard here. Fall with me.”

Lodged in her throat and swelled. “It's not that simple.”

“Why not?”

“Because I'm bad at it.” She let out a low laugh, inviting him to laugh with her, but he didn't. He wasn't kidding. “You know my track record,” she said. “I fail at these things, with a regularity you could take to a bookie and make millions.”

“If you never try, you've failed before you've begun.”

“I
have
tried.”

“No, you went through the motions, but you've never really put yourself out there. Not like you did with me.”

“Cooper.” Words failed. She shook her head. “You scare me, you know that? All the way to the bone.”

“You either want to see me outside of here, or you don't.”

“This is about more than that, and you know it,” she said. “We already know we're sexually compatible. Now you're asking me if it can be more.”

“Why can't it?” he asked. “I like you. You like me. Let's take it where it goes.”

“But how will we know if it's right? How will we ever know?”

With a shrug, he pulled on his jeans as if they were discussing the weather. “You just do.”

“You're telling me
you
know?”

“Yeah. I do.”

For some reason, that made her mad. She shoved back the covers and got out of bed. Stalked toward him. Poked a finger in his chest. “Well, maybe it's not that easy for me.”

“Why not?”

His eyes were clear and full of things that took her breath. She knew he had a slow and easy smile, somehow both so sweet and sexy that she always felt like smiling back when he flashed it at her. She knew how he made her feel with just a look, which was so damn special she always felt as if she could take on the world.

“Why not?” he asked again, softly, giving her one of those looks now.

“When you look at me like that,” she whispered, “I lose my place.”

“So start at the beginning,” he whispered back. “And tell me again why this can't work.”

“Besides the fact that we're so different?”

“Yeah, besides that.”

“Besides the fact that neither of us is currently employed?”

“Sounds to me like a great time for a change.”

“Damn.”

“Is that ‘Damn, you're right'?” he asked. “Or ‘Damn, he's lost his mind'?”

She just shook her head, frozen to the spot.

His smile congealed a bit but he slowly nodded. “I'll tell you what. I'm going to go start digging.”

“What am I supposed to do?”

“I don't know. You could sit here and keep letting life pass you by.”

“Hey, I don't let life pass me by! In fact, that's the problem. I jump at things without thinking them through.”

No longer quite so calm, he shoved his arms into a T-shirt and pulled it on. Inside out. Swearing, he ripped it off and righted it. “You get a jump on ignoring this thing between us, Breanne.” He grabbed a fleece sweatshirt. “Because I can't convince you that this would be a good decision, or that you're just afraid because deep down you know it's different, that what we have would be better than anything else you've ever done. That this is real and deep and yeah, scary as hell, but worth it. You go ahead and pretend you don't know any of that.” His hair was sticking straight up as he jammed on his shoes. “And I'll get us out of here so you can rush back to that life you want so badly, where you can pretend you never met me, where you can pretend you didn't fall as hard and as fast as I did—”

“Cooper—”

“Don't.” Whipping around, he pointed at her. “Don't even try to tell me I'm wrong.”

She couldn't, she didn't have the breath, and when he'd left, quietly shutting the door behind him, she turned to the bed, looking at the rumpled sheets, remembering how much she'd shared with him right there in that spot. It'd only been a few nights, and yet she'd shared more with him than she had with any other man.

How had that happened?

And what did it mean?

Afraid she knew, she reached for her clothes. She'd just laced up her boots when she heard pounding feet. Going to the door, she opened it. Shelly was running toward the stairs. “Shelly?”

Shelly stopped. Turned back. Wearing a long, flowing, flowery skirt and a blue hoodie sweatshirt with the hood up, she smiled tentatively.

“What, you're taking fashion lessons from Dante now?” Breanne asked.

Shelly's smile went from anxious to nervous as she pulled the hood off her head. Her hair wasn't neatly pulled in its usual ponytail, but wild and uncombed. Probably from another Dante romp.

“So where's the fire?” Breanne asked her.

“Fire?” Shelly's eyes went wide. “Oh, my gosh, there's a fire?
Fire!”
she screamed, and then went running.

“No, I was just—Shelly, come back! It was just an expression, there's no—Damn it.” Breanne took off after her, moving down the stairs.

Daylight streamed in all the windows. It was the first time since she'd been here that she'd seen the place in full light, and she was blown away by the difference. Everything seemed warm and cozy, gorgeously simple, not gloom and doom. Above, the sky was a squinting azure blue, so big and bright as it shined through the skylights it almost hurt to look. At the bottom of the stairs, she could see through the foyer windows. Everyone was outside. Patrick and Cooper were bent over one snowmobile, its hood up. Dante was over the other one. Beside him was Lariana and . . . Shelly. She wore dark jeans and her fluffy white sweater that went to her knees, her hair up in a perfect ponytail.

No skirt. No sweatshirt. No wild hair.

Breanne turned and stared down the hallway past the kitchen, where she could still hear footsteps running away from her. “Shelly?” Feeling almost disembodied from reality, Breanne took one more look outside, then turned and headed down the hall. “Hello?”

“No one's here!”

That was Shelly's voice. Breanne would have sworn it, but Shelly was outside, she'd just seen her there. With goose bumps raised over every inch of her body, Breanne came to the kitchen.

Empty. “Hello?” she called out, half afraid to get an answer.

“I told you, no one's here! Don't you listen?”

The voice hadn't come from the kitchen. Breanne moved out of there, past the dining room, which was also empty. “Where are you?”

“Go away!”

The voice came from the back, the hallway with the servants' rooms. It was darker here, but not as dark as it had been on previous visits. Uneasily, Breanne stared at the door to the cellar straight ahead, beyond which lay Edward's body. Then she turned and eyed the other four doors, all closed.

She could feel someone behind one of them. “Who are you?”

“I'm not telling,” came the soft whisper. “I'm not supposed to tell.”

Breanne stood there in the middle of the servants' quarters, both confused and terrified. “Shelly?”

“You like Shelly. You're her friend.”

The voice came from the left. Breanne took a step toward the two doors there. “Yes, I'm Shelly's friend. Who are you?”

“You're nice. You'll understand.”

Door closest to the cellar door. The one that had been locked all this time. “Understand what?”

“What happened.”

Breanne froze with her hand outstretched for the handle. “With Edward?”

Silence.

“Who are you?” Breanne asked.

More silence.

“Can't you tell me who you are?”

“I'm not supposed to.”

Heart pounding, Breanne wrapped her fingers around the handle. “Why not?”

“Because I'm a secret,” she whispered, sounding just like Shelly.

But it wasn't, Breanne knew that now. “A secret?” Damn, the door was still locked.

“I'm supposed to stay quiet and out of trouble while Shelly does her job.”

Breanne stared at the wood. “You're Shelly's sister.”

“Yes.” A delighted giggle followed this, and then a click, and the door opened.

Shelly's face, and yet not. The eyes were slightly different, slightly slanted down. The mouth was fuller, softer. “I'm her twin.” She grinned. “I'm special.”

“I bet you are,” Breanne said softly, her throat inexplicably tight. “What's your name?”

“Stacy.”

“Stacy.” Breanne smiled gently. “Shelly told me she had a sister. She said you are close. She loves you very much.”

Stacy beamed. “I love her, too. That's why I'm real quiet. I was real quiet, wasn't I? You didn't even know it was me your first night here!”

The face she'd seen hovering over her, of course. “Yes, you were real quiet.”

“I can't let Edward see me. He says I'm retarded, but I'm not. I'm not!”

Breanne's heart twisted. “That wasn't nice of him.”

“He's not nice. He's mean. I used to help Shelly, until I broke a plate. He—” She frowned, then hugged herself, turning away.

A surge of hatred for the unknown Edward welled up. “Did he hurt you, Stacy?”

“I'm not supposed to talk about him.” She hunched tighter into herself. “He doesn't like it. He told Shelly I couldn't come here with her anymore.”

“So you hid.”

Stacy didn't answer. Instead she began to hum very softly beneath her breath.

“Edward's gone now,” Breanne said softly. “He can't yell at you. He can't hurt you.”

“He's not gone!” Stacy tossed a fearful look over her shoulder at the closed cellar door. “He's right in there. I've seen him!”

“Stacy, he's dead.”

She blinked huge, hurt eyes at Breanne. “Are you sure?” she whispered.

At this moment, Breanne was sure of exactly nothing, except she had a fierce surge of protectiveness for this beautiful, sweet woman.

“See, you're not sure, either.” Stacy covered her face. “That's why I did it. So he couldn't hit Shelly—”

Breanne went cold with fear, but not for herself. “Stacy, did you have something to do with Edward's death?”

But Stacy was no longer talking. Just humming and very slightly rocking back and forth.

“Stacy?” Breanne stroked Stacy's wild hair. “Can you tell me what you did? Something to protect your sister?”

Stacy kept humming, and rocked faster.

“Oh, Stacy.”

“He always yelled,” she said unhappily. “He scared me. I'm glad he's dead.” She covered her face again. “Bad Stacy.”

“Stacy!”
This shocked cry came from Shelly, standing at the end of the hallway. She looked both horrified and terrified. “Oh, honey.”

Behind her was Dante.

And then Cooper. “What's going on?” he asked, locking gazes with Breanne.

“Hi,” Stacy said uneasily, shifting from foot to foot, swiping her hand across her mouth. “Hi.”

Shelly rushed past Breanne to pull her sister in for a hug.

“I was quiet, like you said,” Stacy told her, gripping Shelly tight. “I was.”

“It's okay.” Shelly looked tortured as she rocked her sister. “It's going to be okay.”

Lariana crowded in, took a look. “What now—” When she saw Stacy out in the open, she sighed. “
Dios mio
.”

“I was telling on myself,” Stacy told her.

“Oh, sweetie.” Lariana pressed close and wrapped an arm around both Shelly and Stacy.

“Am I in trouble?” Stacy asked.

Shelly just hugged her tighter and closed her eyes, resting her cheek on Stacy's head. “You didn't do anything wrong.” Still holding her sister, she looked into Breanne's eyes, silently begging her to believe it. “You didn't.”

Cooper moved to Breanne's side. “You okay?” he murmured.

“Yeah, this is Stacy. Shelly's twin. She—”

“—Didn't do anything,” Dante said, moving to join the fray, putting a hand on each twin, making a united front as he turned to face Cooper and Breanne. “I know what you're thinking, but it's not true.”

“I'm not thinking anything,” Cooper said.

“Like hell. You're a cop. Your mind is always spinning. But you're wrong.”

“My mind might always be spinning but that doesn't make me a coldhearted bastard,” Cooper said calmly. “And I'd have figured you knew that by now.”

Lariana was stroking Stacy's hair, Shelly was still holding onto her, and Dante was guarding over the whole pack of them like the alpha wolf. The thought of them clinging to each other like a tight little unit, so brave and uncertain, broke Breanne's heart. “We're going to get out of here,” she said. “And the proper authorities will—”

“Bullshit.” Dante looked at Shelly, who was openly crying. Then he looked at Cooper. “
I
did it.” He cleared his voice and said it louder. “I killed Edward.”

Shelly gasped. “No.
Dante
—”

“Well, fuck me,” Patrick said, joining the group. “First we play the nobody did it game, and now you're taking credit for the deed? Christ Jesus, why, when we all know it was me who done the bastard in?”

Lariana spun around and leveled furious eyes at him. “You'll not be taking the blame for this one.”

“Oh, yes, I will.”

“No.” Lariana whirled back to Cooper. “
I
did it.”

“Darling—”

“Don't
darling
me, you skinny Scottish ass!” she snapped at Patrick. “I killed Edward with my bare hands and I can prove it.”

“Stop,” Shelly whispered.

But Patrick looked ready to explode. “Don't do this,” he said to Lariana. “Don't even think it.”

Dante stepped forward. “Both of you shut up. I already said I killed him—”

“Stop,” Shelly said again, louder now, but Patrick and Dante were toe-to-toe, looking ready to battle.

“Bugger off,” Patrick told Dante.

“
STOP!
” Shelly yelled before Dante could respond. She was still wrapped around Stacy, who was staring at everyone, wide-eyed. She seemed confused at Shelly's tears, but solemnly lifted a finger and stroked one off her sister's cheek. “I love you, sissy.”

“Oh, Stacy, honey, I love you, too. Remember that, okay? Promise me you'll remember that if I have to go away.”

Dante whipped around and looked at Cooper with impotent rage and emotion shimmering brilliantly in his dark, dark eyes. “You want to prove yourself to us, cop? Fix this.”

Cooper shoved a hand through his hair, leaving it standing straight up. “First up, everyone to the great room.” He put a hand on Stacy, who was shivering. “By the fire. It's colder today than it's been—”

“That's because it's clear outside,” Stacy said, and smiled.

When no one smiled back, hers faltered. “It gets colder when there's no clouds to keep the warm air low.” She looked at everyone's face. “It does.”

“Yes.” Dante ruffled her hair. “You're right.”

Her smile wobbled. “Am I in trouble?”

“No,” Dante said, looking at Cooper. “You're not in trouble.”

“Goody.” She danced down the hallway. “I can go anywhere now, right? No more hiding?”

“Right,” Patrick said. “You go on, we'll be right there.”

“Don't stoke the fire by yourself,” Shelly called. “Remember what happened last time.”

“Yeah.” Stacy bit her lip. “But the fire trucks came really fast.”

Shelly let out a half-hysterical laugh, then covered her mouth, her eyes shiny. “Yes. They came fast.”

“You go with her,” Lariana said to Shelly. “Go ahead.”

“You go, too,” Patrick insisted, pushing Lariana after Shelly.

Lariana dug in her heels. “Look, you tall, skinny beanpole, I don't need anyone watching out after me.”

“Sure, you don't. But maybe I be liking to watch after you.”

Lariana opened her mouth, but he set a finger to her lips. “I love you, you bossy, infuriating, huffy woman. I love you, and I plan on loving you for the rest of me life, which will not be spent watching you waste away in a jail cell. Now, for once in your life, listen to me. Go.
Please
.”

For a moment Lariana just stared at him, her eyes brilliant with emotion. Then she slipped an arm around Shelly and led her after Stacy. Halfway down the hall, she paused and looked back at Patrick.
I love you, too
, she mouthed, and left.

Dante and Patrick stood united, facing Cooper, Patrick's eyes suspiciously bright.

“Does either of you want to tell me what the hell is going on?” Cooper asked.

Dante's expression went cool and distant.

Patrick's matched.

“Fuck.” Cooper shoved his fingers into his hair. “Fine. It's obvious anyway.”

“If it's obvious, then you don't be needing us to say it,” Patrick said.

Cooper looked at Breanne in disbelief.

Breanne's heart went out to all of them, to the staff trying to protect the sweet, naive Stacy, and to the beautiful, tortured, sexy cop she'd begun to fall for. “I think Cooper means it's obvious you're covering for
someone
,” she told them. “And for whom.”

“Shelly didn't do anything,” Dante said. “And when the police get here, she'll be gone. She was never here. She can't have been here.”

“Dante, Christ.” Cooper stalked the small hallway and whirled back. “Her prints are everywhere. The evidence can't lie. The truth has to come out.”

“You have the truth.”

“What I have,” Cooper said unhappily, “is four worthless admissions of a murder and not a single truth.” He stared at the two men, neither of whom backed down. Swearing again, he reached for Breanne's hand. “Okay, your choice. Don't let me help you.” He looked at Breanne. “The snowmobiles are out and running. There's still no cell reception. Our goal is to at least get to a place where we can call out for help. If not, we go all the way into town.”

Dante looked at his watch and raised a brow. “You plan on doing that before dark, you'd better get moving. And don't get lost.”

Breanne gulped.

“Patrick is riding on one,” Cooper told Breanne. “We're on the other. We'll be fine.”

Dante lifted a shoulder as if to say
hope so
.

Cooper began to pull Breanne out of the hallway, then turned back to Dante. “Don't do anything stupid while we're gone. At least, nothing more stupid than admitting to a murder you didn't commit.”

Dante's face was granite.

“I mean it,” Cooper said. “No one goes into the cellar.
No one
. Got it?”

“I think I know the definition of
stupid
.”

“Make sure that you do.”