Roped In (Armed & Dangerous, #2)(33)

Hadley gasped. “Oh my God, I know a Dane. He works at the coffee shop I go to every morning. He’s always so nice. Every day, he’d have my order ready when I walked in. Do you think that’s him?”

“Yes, he works at the coffee shop off of fourth street. I’m sorry, Hadley. Sometimes you can never tell with people,” Robert added. “And judging by the surveillance tapes, he fits the build and description. I don’t know what he was doing at your house, but I’d have to say, it probably wasn’t the first time he’d been there.”

“Do you have any leads on where he went?” I asked.

“Yeah, his roommate said he was going to New York. We have people searching for him now. Don’t worry, we’re on his ass. He’ll be found soon.”

“Thanks, Robert,” Hadley replied. “What happens when you get him? Do I go home?”

“Hell no,” I cut in. “You’re not going anywhere, until I look at the case. Trust me, the wrong people have been accused before.”

“Which is why I’ll send you the files,” Robert offered. “I haven’t forgotten the day you were arrested for attempted murder. I knew someone had to f*ck up big time to bring you in.”

Hadley gasped, but I shook my head. It was a long story. “Call me when you find him.”

“Will do.”

I hung up and blew out a sigh. “Go ahead. I know you want to.”

She opened her mouth to speak, but then closed it. “Have to say, it was a shock to hear you were arrested. But for murder?”

“Attempted murder. And believe me, it pissed me off when they brought me in. I was accused of shooting someone because the evidence had been planted in the trunk of my car. It’s a good thing I had video surveillance around my house.”

Her eyes went wide. “Wow, that’s crazy. Who did it?”

That was the worst part. “Someone I used to work with. He deceived us all. Ever since then, I’ve learned to be very careful on who I trust. You need to be the same way as well.”

“Does that mean I can trust you?” she asked.

As much as I wanted to say yes, I couldn’t. “That’s a decision you have to make for yourself.”





Hadley

A waiting game; that’s all it was. It’d been two weeks since they’d identified the owner of the lighter, yet they hadn’t found him. He was supposedly near New York, which was good because that meant he was nowhere near me.

Now that Dane was the prime suspect and the police knew who they were looking for, Felicity wanted me back home. However, I wasn’t ready to go back, not until they found him. Besides, Blake had been making sure to keep me busy . . .

“Your riding has gotten better,” he noted. We were nearing the barn from an afternoon spent on horseback. Snowflake was almost ready to be given back to her owners, which made Blake sad. He tried not to show it but I knew he’d grown attached to her, and her to him.

Smiling, I scratched behind Nightshade’s ear. “I’ve had a good teacher. I feel more comfortable than before. Maybe it’s this big guy here who makes it fun.” Nightshade snorted and I laughed. For the past two weeks, Blake had been showing me the proper way to ride. I didn’t realize how fun it actually was.

“What do you want to do tonight?” he asked, sliding out of his saddle.

I climbed off of Nightshade and walked him into the barn. Before I could answer, a car came down the driveway. I pointed to the cloud of dirt. “Expecting someone?” When I got a good look at the vehicle, I burst out laughing. “Oh my God, I know what’s coming.”

Blake focused on the large truck and groaned. “Fuck, I was hoping they’d get lost in the mail.”

Rubbing my hands together, I raced toward the driveway and he reluctantly followed. “I know what we’re doing tonight,” I announced excitedly.

When the driver got out, he waved at Blake. His nametag said he was Grady. “How’s the horse training going, son?”

Blake waved back. “Pretty good. It’s hard to let ‘em go once you’ve got ‘em all nice and trained in.”

“I hear ya, I hear ya. Say, got a large package for you today.” He slipped into the back of the truck and brought out a large, rectangular box. I slapped a hand over my mouth to keep from laughing.

“How big are those f*cking things?” Blake growled in my ear.

I snickered. “I just hope you can walk in them.”

“Here you go,” Grady said, passing the box to him.

Plastering on a fake smile, Blake nodded at him and then grimaced at me. “One hour downtown, that’s it.” He tried to walk past me, but I stepped in his way.

“That’s not our deal. But if you want to cut it down, you have to do something else in return.”

“What?” He sighed in defeat.

He wasn’t about to get away with just an hour of wearing those boots. Not after he’d made my life hell. “You have to go into one of the bars and dance to a song, that’s it.”

“By myself?”

I nodded. “Yep. I want to see if you know how to have some fun.”

His lips tilted up in a smirk. “I think you know the answer to that. You’ve been with me for a month now.”