If I Didn't Know Better (The Callaways #9)(83)

"No one on the team knew anything," Barton replied.

"But you had a buyer. We could find him or her," Mia put in. "Did someone in town help you—maybe Christina Wykoff?"

"Don't know who you're talking about," Barton said. "And good luck with trying to find my buyer. All you have is a stolen painting that you found in your aunt's house. You try to take me down, you and your aunt are going down with me. I don't think you want that."

"Well, you're not taking the painting," Mia said. "We're giving it back to its rightful owner."

"She's right," Jeremy said, standing between Barton and the painting.

"Fine. Whatever," Barton said. "I'm taking the job with Kinsey Security next week anyway. I'll have plenty of cash."

Jeremy did not want to let Barton walk out of the house and get away without being punished for what he'd done, but seeing the plea in Mia's eyes, he knew that he was going to do exactly that, because a stolen painting wasn't worth putting Mia and her aunt under a microscope.

"Good-bye, Jeremy. I don't expect we'll see each other again." Barton gave him a sad and mocking salute and then walked out the door.

"I can't believe I let him go," Jeremy muttered, as Mia handed him a towel.

"You're bleeding. I should take you to Urgent Care."

"I'm fine."

"What about your shoulder?"

"It hurts, but I'll survive." He paused. "I'm sorry, Mia."

"What are you apologizing for, Jeremy? You saved the painting. You saved my aunt's name from being dragged through the mud, and you saved me."

"Barton should pay."

"He will pay, Jeremy. Like I said, losing your respect is going to hurt him for a long time."

"I doubt that."

"I don't. He cares about you. You're a brother to him. I'm sure he never thought you'd find out. If we hadn't had that fight at the restaurant, we probably wouldn't have caught him in the act. He'd have taken the painting, and we would have never known it was him."

"I shouldn't have let you come into the house alone."

"You had no idea Barton was here."

"No, but I let my anger lead to a bad decision. I defended Kent to you, and while I was right about him, I was wrong about my other best friend. If you'd accused Barton, I wouldn't have believed that, either. I thought I knew Barton as well as I knew myself."

She gave him a soft, forgiving smile. "It's difficult to believe the worst about people we love. I didn't want to believe my aunt was a thief. We were both fighting to protect the people we care about."

"Well, she wasn't a thief. And neither was Kent. We were both right about those two." He paused. "I know you want this to go away, but the FBI may want to investigate the theft more than you do, Mia."

"If we return the painting, that might be the end of it. It's really hard to prove theft in cases like this, not just because we don't have proof that Barton took the painting from the palace, but also because the people in Bahrain probably stole it from someone else. No one is going to talk."

"You're probably right," he said. "So, what now?"

"Are you sure you don't want to see a doctor?"

He shook his head. "No. I'm okay. That might not be the case if you hadn't turned the water on us."

"I couldn't let you kill each other. I used to turn the hose on my brothers when they got out of control; I thought it might work."

"It did. Nice move. Although, I think I told you to run."

"I couldn't leave you on your own."

"You could have gone outside and called the police."

"If it had been someone besides Barton, I would have done that. But I just knew in my heart that Barton didn't want to hurt you or me." She paused. "I was shocked when you came through the door. I wasn't sure when I'd see you again after the way our dinner ended."

"I knew I'd made a mistake. Instead of getting angry, I should have offered to help you get to the truth. I should have trusted you not to do anything to anyone without proof. You wouldn't have hurt Kent unless you knew for sure he was guilty. I was coming over here to tell you that. When I saw the back door open, and I heard a man's voice, I was stunned. I couldn't believe Barton was in your house. I want to believe he wouldn't have hurt you, but I wasn't sure at that point. The man I knew seemed like a stranger."

"Thanks for the apology and for believing in me, because I wouldn't have hurt Kent. I might have asked uncomfortable questions, because sometimes my mouth gets ahead of my brain, but I just wanted to get to the truth. And it's my turn to apologize, too. I also know that you wouldn't have hurt my aunt's reputation unless you had irrefutable proof." She paused. "Now I'm going to get you some ice for your face."

"Wait," he said, grabbing her arm. "I need something else."

"What?"

"You." He drew her to him and pressed his mouth against her lips in a tender, poignant, loving kiss that put everything right with his world. "So we're good?" he asked her.

She nodded. "Really good. At least until the end of summer."