Guarded (10 page)

“Sure.”

Silence he could do. Very well. So he’d wait until she was in control of her emotions again. He focused on driving the four blocks to Shelley’s building. The tires spun and dipped along the cobblestone street, but the Lexus absorbed the shock.

He was tempted to just drive past her apartment and take her straight to Tidewater. Perhaps delaying the trip wasn’t the best idea.

As if she could read his mind, she said, “It’s a good thing we’re headed home now. I need to feed Lucy.”

Her ferret. Right.

Pulling into the parking lot behind her building, Dev struggled to find something to say. Cutting the engine, he racked his brain. He’d always been much better at listening than talking. “Shelley, it’s going to be okay.”

And yes, ladies and gentleman, that is perhaps the stupidest statement of all time
.

She’d just been fired, she was conflicted about seeing her sister again, and she was worried sick about two missing tiger cubs.

She snorted, not quite smiling but definitely not doing the catatonic stare anymore. “Thanks, Dev.”

She shoved open the passenger door and hurried across the gravelly lot for the building’s front door. She barely paused long enough for him to catch up before she took the steps, two at a time, to her second-floor apartment. She didn’t bother to close the door after unlocking it but left it open for Dev.

He entered, locked the door behind him, and waited for her to return from her bedroom.

Shelley left the bedroom door propped open when she came out less than a minute later. The ferret appeared to be sleeping in her cage, but the gate was ajar.

“Is that a good idea?” Dev gestured to the unlatched kennel.

Shelley shrugged. “Lucy’s fine. She tends to wander around the apartment when I’m home. I lock her up at night for safekeeping or when I’m not here.” She sank down on the couch beside Dev only to jump up again when her cell rang. She searched for it.

Dev spied it on the coffee table and handed it to her.

Frowning, she listened to the caller who apparently didn’t wait for a salutation. Whatever was being said, Shelley’s mood brightened then dimmed before she frowned. Within thirty seconds, she was shaking her head. “Oh, that’s not necessary.” Pause. “I’m not really comfortable—” Pause again. “Really, I’d rather talk to him myself. Please don’t do anything to confuse him more.” This time the pause went on longer and her frown faded. Her head bobbed twice and she smiled. “The clinic guests would be fine. Now
that
I can get onboard with. Thanks.” She paused to listen again. “Oh, and Jacob, thank you.”

She chuckled at whatever Jacob said, then clicked off.

“Give me a second.” Shelley dashed off to the bedroom, shutting the door behind her.

Dev wanted to ask about the conversation, but given Shelley’s state, he didn’t want to push. She’d tell him when she was ready. He hoped. If not, he might not want to push, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t. He was a cop, after all.

“Sorry about that. I needed to change into more comfortable clothes. I feel better now,” she said, a few minutes later when she returned. In a blue cashmere top and jeans, she sat down on the other end of the couch from him and grinned. With her hair down and her blue eyes sparkling with life again, she looked good enough to taste. And taste. And taste.

Stop it. You’re supposed to be helping her.

Dev clasped his hands together in his lap to resist the temptation to touch her. When she was sad, it was okay to hold her. He did it to comfort her. Sure, he did. Like he didn’t have to resist the temptation to kiss her tears away.

But she was back to her usual joyous self. Going after Cam’s ex was just wrong. Or maybe not. Cam had clearly lied to her about Dev’s fictitious girlfriend at some point. And the rule about not dating a pal’s ex surely had an expiration date when said former pal was a douche. At least, that’s what his cousin Ryan always said.

Dev’s phone beeped again, signaling another text. He tugged the phone from his pocket and checked it. The one he’d received earlier had been from Seth. So was this one.

It read,
File sent to your email. Call me. Need you back here ASAP.

Crap, if Seth was pushing for Dev to work on the case, it had to be important. Until this morning, Seth’s primary reason for contacting Dev off the clock had been to ask about finding Shelley.

“Shells, I know I told you I could stay in town for a few days, but something’s come up at work. How about we alter our plans a bit?”

Her smile dimmed. “Oh. Okay.”

“Great. How much time do you need to pack?”

Shelley raised her brows in obvious confusion. “What?”

He tried again. “Pack a bag? We can head back to Tidewater now. If we hurry, we can be at Jules’s place by dinner. I know—”

She was already shaking her head. “I don’t think so.” Shelley ran one hand through her hair, then rubbed her temples. “I can’t leave right now. My job—”

“Which you were just fired from—”

“I know, but I still have responsibilities here,” she continued, narrowing her eyes at him. “The tiger cubs are missing and—”

“The sheriff’s office is investigating it. You can’t really believe you can do more than the sheriff, can you?”

“Well, I can interview witnesses they can’t. Like members of the animal kingdom.”

“Not gonna help, inadmissible evidence. Besides, your monkey didn’t tell you much more than a smoker stole a cub or two. JoJo—”

“BoBo.”

“
BoBo
wasn’t even certain how many had disappeared last night.” He slid closer to her, taking her hands in his. “Shells, you can’t do any more here than in Tidewater. Bring your notes, we’ll go over everything, and you can meet with Jules.”

She withdrew from his touch and moved to sit on the arm of the couch as far from him as possible. Dropping her head in her hands, she muttered, “It’s not that simple.”

“Yes, it is.” He paused at the panic in her eyes. “Shells, I’d planned to be here for a couple of days. Ease you into the idea of seeing Jules again. But the text I just received and the one earlier were from my partner. We have a case that just landed in our laps. I need to be in Tidewater. Someone’s been murdered, and we’ve been specifically requested by the mayor to help.”

“The mayor. Wow, that probably doesn’t happen every day.” She straightened, but the look on her face read defeated, not excited.

“It doesn’t. This is huge, and I’d be crazy to pass it up.” He ground his teeth at the resigned way she nodded.

“I get it, I do. But I have responsibilities here myself. That was Jacob on my cell. He’s got this lame idea to help me get my job back. You saw Dr. Kessler with his notes?” Dev nodded.

“Okay, Dr. Kessler hired me a year ago because he’s going senile. He knows it. On some level he does, anyway. But suffice it to say, he forgets it. A lot. I mean he forgets everything.

“My office is neat, but if you walk into his, there are sticky notes all over his walls and computer. And you saw him. He carries notes and notepads in every pocket. Plus, he keeps a calendar on his computer that’s linked to his phone. It beeps to remind him to do everything, including to take his high blood pressure medication.

“Anyway, Jacob wanted to steal the notes about my being fired and replace them with notes about how much I’m needed.”

Dev started to protest, but Shelley waved away his concern and said, “I think I talked him out of it. But I’m not positive. He said he wanted to do something to help me, so I suggested he keep an eye on the clinic animals for me. When he worried he wouldn’t make the right call for the emergency cases, I offered to be available for consultation. Not that I expect too many emergencies, but you never know. Plus, something in his tone makes me think he might still try to trick Dr. Kessler. So I can’t leave now.”

“What can you do here that you can’t do from Tidewater? Talking to Jacob over the phone is easy to do whether you’re in your apartment or an hour and a half away.”

Shelley drew her legs beneath her crisscross style and folded her arms over her chest but didn’t say anything. Still, multiple emotions flitted across her face. “I don’t know.”

“Are you going to tell Dr. Kessler what Jacob said?” Dev asked, turning his body to face hers.

“It wouldn’t matter. If it’s not written down, he might not remember. Wow, that sounds callous. I didn’t mean it like that. My primary job at the clinic is to keep the office running smoothly. I ensure the pets—guests—are properly vaccinated and groomed, the animals at the zoo receive their checkups, and the accounts and billing are handled in a timely fashion. It’s why I should be here to stop Jacob.”

“So you’re going back to the clinic before Monday against Dr. Kessler’s orders?” When she shook her head, he asked, “Are you going to the zoo?”

“No, but . . . the animals need me.”

“They need you to not get arrested.” Dev leaned toward her. “Staying here won’t stop Jacob, and it won’t keep another animal from going missing. But coming back to Tidewater with me will reunite you with your sister and give me time to go over the files you said you have on your computer.”

“I don’t know, maybe you’re right.” She shook her head. “If I stay here, I’m bound to run into Reyna this weekend. Jacob said she’d already called the clinic asking to speak to Dr. Kessler. And she claims I stir up trouble.”

“What’s with you and Reyna? Seems a little more personal than zoo-management ethics.”

Shelley grimaced. “Yeah, in my defense, I didn’t know she and Payne had been an item before I moved to town.”

“The deputy?”

Shelley nodded. “He asked me out. It was one date to a restaurant outside of town. Honestly, the food was more exciting than the date. He spent the whole time talking about his recent breakup.”

“With Reyna?”

“You guessed it.” Shelley rubbed her right temple as if it pained her. “Anyway, a week later they were back together. And it seems he told her about our dinner. Ever since, she’s been out for blood.”

“All this over a meal?” Dev asked. “Seems a little melodramatic.”

Shelley shrugged. “I’ve never done anything else to her.”

“All right, what does this have to do with Dr. Kessler?”

“Oh, well, since that date, he’s received one complaint after another from Reyna about me. His short-term memory might be shot, but he’s received enough complaints that while he cannot remember the details, he knows there are problems with me. Today, she finally won. I’m fired.” Shelley groaned and dropped her hands to her lap. “What am I going to do? I can’t even afford my rent, let alone my student loans, without that job. Dev, I’m an animal empath. I should be using my gifts to help animals.”

Dev understood her frustration. He knew what it felt like when the thing you wanted most stared you in the face, but you couldn’t touch it.

“Dr. Kessler sounded like he had a line on another job for you already,” Dev said. When she made a noncommittal noise, he said, “I know it sucks right now, but maybe this is for the best. You can go to Tidewater. See your sister. Hang with me for a few days. Maybe even check out the zoo there. They’ve got lions and tigers. This could be your chance to do what you always wanted. Be a big-cat vet.”

She glanced up, her eyes wide with surprise. “Whoa, you remember that? I mentioned that goal five
years
ago.”

“Of course, I do. It’s all you talked about when you started veterinary school. I thought that was why you chose the school you did. Didn’t the vet program offer some special training with big cats?”

The smile she gave him made his heart clang against his rib cage. Damn, she was beautiful.

“You’re right, it did.” She laughed softly. “But it’s a lot harder to start making money right away as a big-cat vet. All the best zoos in the places I wanted to live didn’t need me, because I didn’t have experience. Oh, they offered jobs with the opportunity for growth. I really wanted to take a couple of the offers, but I couldn’t afford to start at the bottom. Even if I had put my student loans on temporary deferral, a year wouldn’t have been long enough to move into a better-paying position.

“See, that’s why I took this job as Dr. Kessler’s associate. He offered me an incredible salary and a chance to work with big cats. We’re talking guaranteed access to the local zoo and great pay. It sounded like a dream come true. Too bad I had no idea what a farce of a zoo that place would be before I accepted the position. You saw it, it’s barely a zoo . . . especially with the number of animals that have gone missing lately.”

“Then it’s settled, we’ll head back to Tidewater tonight.”

“I thought you were checking into a hotel room. Why are you pushing me to leave right away?”

“Well, I figured with you being fired, there’s no reason to wait.”

“Gee, thanks so much for your support.” She sighed and stretched out her legs until her foot brushed his knee. A zing of awareness rocketed up his leg. A moment later, she shifted and tucked her feet beneath her again, a blush on her cheeks.

Did she feel it too?

“Okay, I get it. I do. You need time to get used to the idea of Tidewater. So, how about we go in the morning? Treat it like a vacation. I’ve got this cottage, right on the ocean. It’s beautiful. You’ll have a private room, your own bath, plus, there’s a hot tub with a Jacuzzi on your balcony.” She tilted her head as if considering and Dev pushed on. “You’ll love it. Plan to leave tomorrow and stay for the weekend.”

“But my car is dead.”

“Call the mechanic. I’ll even pay to replace your alternator.” Dev hoped his offer wasn’t too over-the-top, but she needed to agree. And he sure as hell needed to get back home to find out about the murder case.

“Dev, the last time Jules and I saw each other—”

“You were both children.” Dev scooted closer to her on the couch and took her hands in his. “I don’t know everything about what went on with you two, but I remember enough to know the last time you saw her was hard. On both of you. Shells, give her a chance. I’ve gotten to know her. She’s a great person. A lot like you. And I know she misses you.”

“She does?” There was no missing the doubt and confusion in her eyes.