Harlequin Love Inspired Suspense March 2021--Box Set 2 of 2 by Dana Mentink (novels to improve english txt) 📗

was moving unhurriedly, carrying no packages or a camera, just a pack big enough for her cell phone and keys.

“Good evening,” he said.

She jumped. “Oh, hi. I didn’t see you there.”

“Sorry I startled you.”

“What are you doing sitting all alone?”

He kept his tone neutral. “I like to be sure all the guests are safely returned for the night.”

Her eyes gleamed the same dark color as her braid. “That’s pretty good service. From what I heard, you had to take a hiatus from your hotel duties.”

“I’m back now.”

Her sharp gaze roamed his face. “The gossip is they had to free you on a technicality, something about mishandled evidence.”

He tensed at her boldness. “I didn’t kill her.”

She flashed a Mona Lisa smile. “Does anyone in this Podunk town believe that?”

He swallowed a flash of anger. “The people that matter believe it. What are you doing here right now? Late to be out, isn’t it?”

“Not that it’s any of your business, but my night photography plans weren’t successful, so I drove around for a while.” She lifted a shoulder. “I’m getting some tea before I head to bed.”

He wasn’t in the mood for coy, not with Laney and the baby in danger. “Why are you here at this hotel? Now? No family, no interest in the park, and you seem to know all about what happened to Pauline.”

Her hand went to her hip. “Everyone in town knows what happened, and my reasons for coming to Furnace Falls are my business. Do you always interrogate your guests like this?”

“When my wife gets a rock thrown at her head.”

Rita’s expression was inscrutable. She showed neither surprise nor guilt. Had she known? Had she been a part of it? “When did that happen?”

He ignored the question. “Are you working for Kenny Sanderson?” he blurted. Bull in a china shop in more ways than one.

Her eyes narrowed. “Who’s that?”

There was the smallest something in her voice that didn’t ring true. “Pauline Sanderson’s brother, but you’re so well-informed you know that already, don’t you?”

“I may have heard the name.” She flipped back her braid. “But I don’t work for him. I don’t work for anyone in this town. I’m my own boss.”

“And what exactly is your line of work?”

She laughed. “I don’t have to stand here and get the third degree, especially on my vacation. Good night, Mr. Duke.” She strolled to the door, fingering the keys to her room. He wished they’d had enough money to change to the more secure card entry.

After a pause, she looked over her shoulder at him. “For what it’s worth, I do believe you’re innocent of Pauline’s death. So maybe you should treat me better. Seems like you could use an ally around here.”

He twitched. Her tone was sly and calculating. Was she toying with him? Did she have information about what had really happened to Pauline? He got to his feet, wanted to press harder, to force her to come clean, but all he could do was watch her go. Why did she believe him innocent? Because she knew the guilty party?

His blood chilled. Or maybe she was the guilty party?

* * *

Exhausted as Laney was, she tossed and turned, twisting the sheets and earning a bleary blink from Admiral, who was curled next to her on the bed. Snatches of nightmares disturbed her mind when she did manage to doze off. Finally, well before sunrise, she heard the sound of hooves striking hard-packed earth. Throwing on clothes, she left Admiral snoring and stepped outside into the blessedly cool air.

Levi Duke, a leaner, ginger-haired version of his cousin Beckett, was on foot guiding two horses across the property. He ducked his head shyly when he saw her, probably hoping she had not noticed him. He still limped a little, a leftover from an accident a few months before. He was fortunate to have survived. While he’d recovered from his injuries, he’d taken over as manager of the stables on the adjoining land and was on the cusp of buying the stables outright with a friend of his. He appreciated being able to cut across the hotel property. Theirs was a mutually beneficial arrangement, as many of the hotel guests enjoyed riding adventures in and around Death Valley during their stay.

Lately, Levi had taken to riding a few of the more difficult horses at night to train them. Besides, she thought, in the wee hours he didn’t need to stop and talk to anyone. He was becoming solitary as an oyster, as Aunt Kitty would say.

Clearly, he’d meant to pass on by in his taciturn way, but she called out to him quietly, so as not to startle the horses or awaken the precious few guests on the property. “Good morning, Levi.”

He stopped and thumbed his cowboy hat back on his head. “Can’t sleep?”

“No. I have a terrible craving for lemonade. I could drink a gallon of it right this second.”

He quirked a grin that pulled at the healing scar curving from the corner of his upper lip. “That’s better than your other craving for peanut butter and olives. I’ll stable these horses and fetch you a glass.”

“No need. Just walk me to the kitchen, okay?” She felt silly asking, but Beckett would read her the riot act if she took chances of any kind. Thinking of that rock sailing so near her temple made her shiver. If she wasn’t pregnant she might have ignored his advice out of stiff-backed pride, but there was another life to consider now besides her own. It wouldn’t hurt to exercise some extra caution for a while.

Levi didn’t seem to find her request for an escort unusual, which told her Beckett had filled him in already about his concerns.

He led the horses by their reins with one hand and offered his elbow to her. She took it gratefully, since the path was a bit uneven and the sun had not yet risen to illuminate the dips. Siblings Levi, Austin and Willow were a tight-knit clan,