Mine to Crave (Mine #4)(39)

“Drake…”

“When I stabbed Anna Jean that time, I didn’t miss her heart.”

Jasmine’s body swayed a bit.

“I killed her, and I didn’t hesitate.”

She blinked away the moisture that wanted to fill her eyes.

He turned away from her, giving her the broad expanse of his back. “Still think I’m some kind of hero? Because I’m betting heroes don’t go around killing women like that. Heroes don’t do half the shit I’ve done.”

In that instant, she could only stare speechlessly at him. Jasmine just didn’t know what to say. Because he was right. Heroes wouldn’t do half the shit he’d done.

“That’s what I thought,” Drake murmured.

A loud peal of—a doorbell?—reached her ears and Jasmine jumped at the sound. Drake just slowly sauntered off the balcony as he headed back inside. He walked toward the apartment’s front door. Jasmine ran to keep up with him, hurrying through his quarters.

The pealing cry was soon followed by a fierce pounding on the door. Drake glanced through the peephole at the entrance, then swung the door open.

Swung it open…

As if he didn’t have a care in the world.

As if he hadn’t just confessed the darkest secret of his past to her.

Maybe that’s not his darkest secret. Maybe there are more secrets.

Jasmine wasn’t sure she could handle more right then.

“Janet,” Drake said softly to the woman in the well-cut suit who stood there, wringing her hands and looking terrified, “why are there cops behind you?”

Jasmine backed up a step.

“Because a body was found on your property this morning,” another woman said as she pushed into the suite. A woman with light blonde hair and a cold, gray gaze. “I’m Detective Nancy Taggert, and I’ve got a few questions for you, Mr. Archer.”

Not so much as a ripple of surprise crossed his face as he looked from Nancy Taggert to the two uniformed officers who still shadowed the woman he’d called Janet.

“A body?” Drake repeated. “At my home?”

Jasmine was pretty sure her blood had turned to ice.

“Um…yes.” Detective Taggert was watching him like a hawk. “Seems a bounty hunter named Wayne Hardin was shot on your property. A neighbor called to report hearing shots fired, and then we found Hardin spread-eagle on your walk.”

No, no.

“Were you acquainted with Mr. Hardin?”

“Our paths may have crossed.” Wow. Talk about having no emotion in his voice.

“It appeared as if Mr. Hardin had been the victim of a recent…physical altercation. His nose was broken. Bruising clear on his face, and well, I can’t help but notice…you’ve got some bruising, too.”

This couldn’t be happening.

“That bruising is right along your knuckles,” the detective murmured. “As if…as if you’d recently given someone a beating.”

“I box,” Drake said flatly. “Sometimes I go bare-knuckled. So, yeah, I bruise, and I don’t even notice it.”

This wasn’t going to end well, and Jasmine couldn’t let Drake be pulled into Hardin’s murder investigation. “Drake didn’t shoot Hardin.” Jasmine stopped backing away and forced herself to approach the cops. There was no way she was going to let him get railroaded for this.

“It’s all right, Jasmine,” Drake said, and there was a bite in his words.

“No, it isn’t.” Did he think she was just going to stand there and let him get interrogated? Or worse—hauled away to jail?

Detective Taggert’s gray gaze focused on Jasmine. “And you are…?”

“I’m the woman that Hardin was after. It’s me that you should be questioning, not Drake.”

“Jasmine.” Drake’s voice was downright lethal then.

“He didn’t have anything to do with Hardin’s death. Drake was with me all night long. I swear that he was.”

Taggert’s eyes were cold and flat. “Why was Hardin after you?”

“I…”

Drake stepped in front of her. “Don’t say another word.”

Detective Taggert marched to Jasmine’s side. “You just confessed to having a bounty hunter on your trail. That’s making me think you might be a wanted fugitive, ma’am.”

“I’m not. Not wanted at all.” She glanced at the detective. “But I’m afraid I can’t tell you more here.”

Taggert’s face hardened. “I think we need to take a little trip down to the station.”

“Probably,” Jasmine agreed. “We do, but Drake doesn’t. He wasn’t involved at all in what happened.”

There was enough fire in Drake’s eyes to singe Jasmine.

“I think we should all go downtown,” Taggert said.

“No.” Drake caught Jasmine’s wrist and pulled her away from the detective. “You want us downtown, you get an arrest warrant. But that won’t be happening and we both know it.” He flashed the cop the tiger’s grin that always made Jasmine feel nervous. “So you need to leave now, and any further communication can be conducted through my attorney.”