The Rogue Reviewer (Primrose, Minnesota Book 3) (15 page)

He raised both eyebrows. “Did he limp out of
the place?”

“He left with a bruised ego.”

Her lips split into a smile and he practiced
great restraint to keep from leaning forward to slide his tongue
between them. Just a taste, a short sweep of his tongue against
hers as his lips closed around her pillowed flesh. He swallowed a
groan. Who was he kidding? No such thing as a
taste
.

“Mace?”

He lifted his gaze from her lips back into
her emerald pools and lost himself all over again, the magnetic
pull between them too forceful to escape.

“Yeah?” His gaze refused to leave hers.

“Do you suppose the lunch is linked to the
flowers?”

Her question snapped him right out of another
lustful appreciation of her mouth and back to the daunting task of
solving a crime.

“Don’t know. Since your tab was paid first,
it’s hard to say if the gesture was directed specifically at you.
For all we know, Neanderthal Guy may have attempted to make amends
with Alex.”

“I’ll ask around about the flowers in the
morning.”

Suddenly he realized just how easily she
distracted him.
Nice, Dara.

“Dara, we’ve had this discussion – several
times now. Leave the interrogation to me.”

“Besides the fact that the gift may have
something to do with the corpse in my living room, I’d really like
to know who sent them.”

“I understand your position, I really do, but
this guy works in the shadows. Poking him won’t make him come out,
it will only piss him off.”

“I don’t want to be a victim, Mace. I want
him to know I’m stronger than he thinks.”

He gave her a two second pause and then
released a one hundred percent truthful statement. “Once I catch
him, I’ll be sure to let him know how close he came to experiencing
the wrath of Dara Hamilton.” Once she got ahold of him, the poor
sap would beg for law enforcement intervention.

“I won’t interfere on one condition.”

“What’s that?”

“You’ll tell me if you find out who sent
them.”

He squeezed her hand and then stood, pulling
her to stand in front of him. “Fair enough.” He moved his hands to
her waist and then pressed her close until her head was tucked
beneath his chin. “Lock your door set the alarm, then try to get
some sleep.”

A whole new warmth coated his body while she
placed several soft kisses to his pectorals. “You’ve given me
reason for some very sweet dreams.”

“No doubt mine will be sweet.”
Downright
pornographic.

He kissed the top of her head before she
eased back and buttoned his shirt to the third button.

“You’re so hard,” she whispered.

His desperate cock twitched and it wasn’t
until he felt her fingertips trace the indention of his abdominal
muscles through his shirt that he realized he misinterpreted her
spoken observation. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
Get a grip, man.

He took her hands and folded them in his,
relishing the soft touch of her skin against his. “You’re not.”

“Remember, you promised you’d let me know
about the flowers.”

Although protocol warranted he remind her he
promised
nothing, he refused to spoil the tender moment
between them, one void of argument. Instead, he lowered his head
and captured her lips with his, taking great car to massage each
one before he ended the contact.

“Sealed with a kiss,” he answered with a
smirk.

She gave him her own grin and then stepped to
the door. “Goodnight, Mace.”

He turned the knob then tapped the panel on
the wall before he exited. “I’ll wait on the porch until it’s
armed.”

Mace rubbed both hands down the sides of his
face as he entered the PPD and headed down the hallway toward the
office he called
home.
Day six of the investigation had his
balls squeezed in a vice and he was frustrated as hell. True to his
word, he contacted Mrs. Bridgewater, only to confirm the HOA hadn’t
sent Dara a housewarming gift. The secretary also confirmed that
she did open Dara’s condo for Owens and that the box was not laying
on the doorstep at that time. That led him to believe the flowers
had been sent either by an adoring fan or a secret admirer – just
as Dara suggested. A low chuckle escaped his throat. As badly as he
hated to admit it, Dara possessed an uncanny knack for
investigating crime.

With heavy footsteps, he stopped in front of
Jackson’s office and braced himself on one hip against the open
door.

Jackson glanced up from his computer. “What
did I miss?”

“My gut is screaming at me.”

“Bummer. Did you have a chili dog from
Louie’s again?”

“No, not that gut.”

“New development?”

“Dara, Marnie and Alex went to lunch and
somebody paid their tab.”

“Who?”

“Don’t know.”

His partner leaned back in his chair and
buckled his hands behind his head. “They’re gorgeous women having
lunch without men. It shouldn’t surprise you that someone paid the
tab.”

“If you paid someone’s bill, wouldn’t you
want them to know? I mean, the whole purpose is to get their
attention, right?”

“Right. I would make sure she knew. But
Dara’s a celebrity of sorts. Maybe he’s shy.”

“You’re assuming the tab was paid by a
male.”

“Aren’t you?”

“Okay, yeah. And when she returned home,
there were flowers on her doorstep.”

“Card?”

“Yes. No name.”

“Again, she’s famous. Don’t things like that
happen to her often?”

“According to her, occasionally.” He gave
Jackson the scoop, including the result of his interview with Mrs.
Bridgewater.

“So, Dara has a secret admirer.”

“Possibly. But the timing sucks, don’t you
think?”

Jackson looked at him while he rubbed his
chin.

‘What?” Mace crossed his arms over his
chest.

“You’re jealous.”

“Come again?”

“You’re jealous. Another man is making a play
for Dara and you’re seeing red.”

“If she hadn’t found a dead body in her
living room recently, I might give you that one.”

“Be careful, Turner. You can’t let your
personal feelings get in the way of this case.”

“You know I won’t let that happen.”

“Do I?” Neither of them so much as blinked
for a good thirty seconds.

Jackson nodded. “Good enough. So now what do
you want to do?”

“Keep a closer eye on her. I think she and
Marnie are up to something and it wouldn’t surprise me if some of
the others may be in on it. I’m gonna need your help. She’s too
smart not to notice my undivided attention.”

“Rawlings put a bug on Bri.”

“I remember.” He smirked. “And so does
Dara.”

“You’re right. It’s gonna be tough, without
her cooperation.”

“Meaning?”

“Get her cooperation.”

“Like that’s gonna happen,” Mace scoffed.

“You could always lock her up.”

“For what?”

“Interfering in an official police
investigation or withholding information.”

“You really want me to do that? You’ll have
to answer to Alex.”

Jackson lowered his arms. “On second thought,
you’re on your own.”

“Thanks for your help,
partner
.” He
pushed himself off the door and gestured with his head at Jackson’s
computer. “Have you found any leads?”

“I’ve run backgrounds on everyone we
interviewed so far, some of them twice just to make sure I didn’t
miss anything. Everyone comes up clean. Ryker and Jake are working
the field again.”

“He’s a slippery sonuvabitch, that’s for
sure.”

“What’s your take on the flowers?”

“I really think they came from him.”

“Have you told her?”

Mace shook his head. “Not yet, but I more or
less promised her I would.”

“More or less?”

“I told her I would tell her what I found
out.”

“Because?”

“Because,” he spat, “she threatened to nose
around herself. At least this way I know the details.”

Jackson snickered. “Don’t blame you one bit.
Women don’t share as easily as they expect us to.”

“No, they don’t.” He ran a hand across the
top of his head and then turned to leave. “I’ll be in my office.
Keep me posted.”

***

“Remind me again, Dara, what is it we’ll find
out here?”

Dara led Marnie up the steep stairway of the
Primrose Daily Chronicle
office building and opened the
door. “Are you nervous?”

“No! I just want to be prepared. You have a
distinct track record of getting us into trouble.”

“I’m hoping to review Evelyn’s reviews over
the last few years. Maybe there’s something we missed. A pattern,
possibly.”

“And this is the only option we have?”

“It’s a start. I’m still trying to come up
with something else.” She approached the receptionist and placed
her ID on the counter.

“Hello – “She squinted to read the young
woman’s name tag. “Samantha. I’m Dara Hamilton. I –”

“Dara Hamilton?” The high pitched squeal that
left the other woman’s mouth tempted her to cover her ears with
both hands. “
THE
Dara Hamilton, Romance Writer? Oh my gawd!
I can’t believe it!” She smiled so big Dara was convinced her face
might crack. “I
LOVE
your books! They are so hot!”

Dara gave her a genuine smile. “Thank you,
it’s wonderful to hear you enjoy them.”

“What can I do for you, Ms. Hamilton?”

“I’m doing some research and I really need to
use one of your computers to look in the archives.”

“Certainly! Follow me. We have a private
office you can use. The computer has access to whatever you
need.”

“Show off,” Marnie mumbled under her
breath.

Dara just giggled as they headed down a
narrow hallway and turned a corner, almost running into a gentlemen
she recognized as Tom Swanson.

“Hey, Dara! Nice to see you!” He placed a
hand on her shoulder and then turned to Samantha. “I’ll take it
from here, Sam, thank you.”

“Hello, Tom, this is my friend, Marnie
Carpenter.”

Tom extended a hand. “Nice to meet you.”

“You too.”

“I heard about your predicament, Dara. How
are you?”

“As well as can be expected, I suppose.
Thanks for asking.”

“Are you here to research?”

“Actually, yes. I’m interested in browsing
the archived book reviews.”

Tom’s eyes darkened and suddenly it seemed to
Dara he couldn’t get away fast enough.

“Right through this door.” He opened a door
opposite of where they stood and waved them inside. “Logins and
passwords are typed on the list on the wall next to the computer.
You’ll have to excuse me, I’ve got a newspaper to circulate.”

“Thank –”

The slamming door rattled several nearby
filing cabinets.

“You,” she finished.

“Um, Dara?” Marnie frowned. “Is it just me or
did the temperature in this room just drop about ten degrees?”

“I felt it too. Obviously he doesn’t want to
talk about book reviews.”

“Strange that he didn’t even mention Elvira,
huh?”

“Incredibly. Especially since they were uh,
close.”

“Maybe we should ask what he knows before we
leave.”

Dara shook her head. “The less obvious we
are, the better. Besides, for all we know his name may be on Mace’s
suspect list.”

“We’re not here to research archived reviews,
are we?”

“Yes, but that’s not all.”

“Oh Dara,” Marnie groaned, “What have you
gotten me into now?”

“I’m going to hack Evelyn’s email.”

“That’s a federal offense!”

“Only if I get caught.” She sat at the
computer and clicked keys. “By the way, Alex would be proud that
you’ve learned to speak her lingo.”

“And here we are.” Dara stopped typing when
several reviews appeared on the screen. “Hateful, as expected.”

“Wow,” Marnie mumbled, “she was downright
mean.”

“Definitely. See?” She moved the ball on the
mouse to scroll down the page. “Not a single one of them is
positive.” She began to type again.

“Now what are you doing?”

“Hacking.”

“Well hurry up!” Marnie spat. “Just in case
Mr. I-had-an-affair-with-a-dead-woman decides to check on us.”

She typed several more lines then pressed the
enter
key. The next screen that appeared captured her
undivided attention.

“I’m in,” she told Marnie as she read. “And
I’m not surprised at all. Her inbox is packed full of hate mail.”
She clicked on several messages and opened them in separate
windows.

“These messages are ugly, Dara,” her best
friend said from behind her. “This woman was one hated
individual.”

“Apparently so.”

“But look how many people criticized her
review of your book. I love your fans!”

“Me too. I’m going to print some of
these.”

“Why? That’s evidence against us!”

“Marnie, if you insist on panicking, I just
may have to replace you as my sidekick.” She giggled. “Don’t worry,
these are just for my own research.”

“Don’t get too cocky. There’s no one crazy
enough to take my place.”

“Interesting.” Her fingers paused on the
keys. “Very interesting.”

“What?”

“Not one of these messages is signed by
Romantically Devoted.”

“That
is
strange. As much as he writes
to you, I expected him to defend you.”

“Let’s look at something else.” Her fingers
flew over the keys once again. Soon a different screen appeared.
“Write this down,” she told Marnie.

Her friend leaned over her and tore off the
blank part of the passwords page. “I need a pen.”

She reached into her purse and handed the
writing instrument to Marnie. “Ready?”

Her friend nodded.