To Bedevil A Beauty (Southern Sanctuary - Book 5) (11 page)

“You
really think it was me they were aiming for?”  Disbelief edged her
voice. 

Berry
wondered if she should mention Robert, her ex-husband.  No, the man was
incarcerated.
 
They hadn’t spoken for
over two years.  Plus there was no way Robert could blame her for his
troubles.
 
He was the one who’d cheated,
lied and stolen.  Still, she should probably mention him, opening her
mouth before abruptly closing it again.  Telling Ramsey Hughes about
Robert, it would mean plumbing new depths of humiliation and embarrassment.
Though on the positive side, there was no better way to drive a man away than
admit to having a scum bag felonious ex-husband.  So she should definitely
tell Ramsey, he was a man of the law, he’d run for the hills.  Which is
exactly what she wanted, right?  So, why wasn’t she opening her mouth and
spilling out all the details of her hideous life?

Ramsey
held his breath at Berry’s continued silence.  She wasn’t going to tell
him about her ex-husband?  The one major criminal element that stood out
like a sore thumb in her past?  Did she still have feelings for the
man?  “What about your ex?”  Ramsey forced the words out through
gritted teeth.

Berry
wanted to groan, he knew?  “Robert?”  She shook her head. 
“We’re divorced and he’s in jail.”

“He
was in jail.  He broke out nine days ago.”

Berry
froze for a moment, staring at Ramsey. She could tell by the deadly serious
look on his face that he wasn’t joking.  Robert had broken out of
jail?  Robert Granger?  The man who called the auto club to change a
tire?  Who believed dry-cleaning was a right, not a privilege?  The
man who had a panic attack when he found a small harmless daddy-long legs
spider in the shower? 

“If
you think Robert Granger tried to shoot me, then you are seriously delusional.”

Ramsey’s
grey eyes turned dark and flat, the last rays of the sun making it seem as if
fire burned in their depths.  “You can’t keep protecting him Berry. 
I understand you still love him but you need to face reality here.  He’s
not the man you think he is.”

He
expected tears. An angry tirade. For her to storm out.  What he wasn’t
expecting was for her to start laughing so hard she fell off the couch.

Chapter
Nine

Of
course following the laughter, came the tears. Not of hysteria because of
Robert, but from Berry having jarred her arm so badly when she hit the carpet.
Ouch.

“Sorry.” 
She apologised to Ramsey for the tenth time, sure the colour in her cheeks had
gone fire-engine red with embarrassment, absently rubbing her eyes with the
tissues he’d fetched for her.  “You just took me by surprise, that’s all.”

Ramsey
was seated on the edge of his armchair, eyeing her warily.  Trying to
understand her reaction and gauge what she might do next.

“Really,
I am sorry.  It’s just, first you tell me Robert broke out of prison…
we’re talking a man who had to be anesthetized to have a splinter
removed.  But the idea of me still loving him?”  Berry chuffed an
incredulous laugh and rolled her eyes.  “Even so…”  She blew out a
breath.  “As much as I dislike the man I cannot believe for one moment he
would track through a forest and be capable of trying to kill me using a
gun.  I mean, I literally don’t think he would be capable.  Robert
abhors dirt and nature and Gideon told me about finding the camping
ground.  Robert does not do the outdoors, or guns for that matter. And
there’s absolutely no reason for him to come after me.”

“There
were two people at the campsite.  Robert’s not here alone.  Maybe he
told his buddy to off you.  A man in prison has a lot of time to think, to
dwell.  Maybe he snapped and his buddy is doing his bidding.  A man
will track down his ex-wife for a myriad of reasons, love, revenge, jealousy…
money.”

“Oh
Goddess.”  Berry rolled her eyes.  “You read some ridiculous report
didn’t you?  You think I was in on Robert’s scheme to steal from his clients
and helped stash the proceeds away in some overseas account.  Please, part
of Robert’s ill-gotten gains belong to his mother, and some of it belongs to
me!  If anything, I should be the one gunning for Robert.  Not the
other way round.”

Ramsey
got to his feet to pull the curtains, hitting a switch to fill the room with
soft light before heading in to the kitchen.  “You want anything to
drink?”

“Coffee
would be great.”

“Okay,
let’s rule out money for the moment.  What about love or revenge?”

Berry
shook her head, fighting hard the urge not to issue a snort of derision, grown
up remember.  “The only things Robert loved were money, gambling and
keeping secrets.  I was just one more possession for him to trot out at
parties and social gatherings.”

“Revenge
then.”

“Revenge
against what?  Because I divorced him?  Cut him out of my life? 
Stole his mother?”

“You
stole his mother?”  Ramsey rounded the kitchen counter, carrying two mugs.

“Well
he didn’t want her anymore obviously.  And I didn’t exactly steal… thanks,”
she took a mug from him.  “I just sort of co-opted her.  Neither of
us had any place to live after the police came and arrested Robert and
confiscated anything that had his name on it… and typical Robert, he’d put his
name on everything.”

“Oh.” 
Ramsey had never thought about what would happen to Robert Granger’s wife and
mother after the raid.  It wasn’t his job to think about the aftermath,
the families or their lives. It was his job to get enough evidence on the bad
guys to put them away, pure and simple.  Noble sure, but he’d never let
himself think about the long ranging consequences of his actions, the wives and
kids caught up in the mess.  “Look, about Robert. There’s something you
need to know…”

“No.” 
Berry shook her head again.  “Whoever is out there, whoever did this, it’s
not Robert.  He’s a runner, not a fighter… trust me, I have first-hand
experience of his weasel ways.  He’s a world class pouter, with the
ability to send a nun spiralling into a guilt trip with one glance from hurt-filled
big blue eyes, but at heart the man is a coward.”

“Yeah,
but I…”

“No,
new topic.” Berry took a sip of her coffee, her first taste of caffeine since
her accident, ah bliss.  And she was not going to let Ramsey Hughes ruin
the experience by harping on about Robert when it was all too obvious to her,
that her ex-husband could not possibly be involved in her shooting.  It
just wasn’t in his nature.

Ramsey
bit back an annoyed sigh.
 
Bloody hell,
he was sure Robert Granger was somehow behind the shooting.  Him and at
least one of his prison escapee cohorts.
 
They’d somehow made it over the border into Queensland and were after
Berry Malone for some as yet unknown reason.  It was frustrating that she
couldn’t see that or let him confess his personal history with Granger …
damn. 

Fine,
Berry would be able to deny the truth only for so long.  Mac McKenzie had
tracked down the store a few towns down the coast where the tent and sleeping
bag had been stolen from, and was following up with them trying to get a copy of
the store’s security tapes. 

Cam
McKenzie was putting together dossiers on the other three escapees still at
large; maybe if they could discover who Granger had partnered up with, they
could work out his motives for turning up here.  Which might then help
them determine why two trails led away from the camping site, one towards
Reverie Valley, the other towards Hidden Cove.

“Okay,
if you don’t want to talk about your ex-husband, then what do you want to talk
about?”  He inhaled half his coffee, suddenly weary to the bone, this was
the first time he’d sat and relaxed in two days.

“How
about this apartment of yours. It’s nice but a little sterile, don’t you
think?”

Ramsey
eyed the room.
 
The lights worked and the
furniture was comfortable, more than a lot of dives he’d been forced to live in
undercover had been able to boast.  “It came furnished, part of the
employment package.”  Okay yes, the walls were a little bare.
 
He frowned, thinking about Berry’s place. 
“If you want, I could send Maureen by your place to get a few of those mask
things and some knick-knacks?”

Berry
shuddered.  “Goddess, no thanks.  You do know I’m house sitting that
place for my… relatives, don’t you?  Those death masks on the walls gave
me nightmares for the first few weeks I was living there.”

Ramsey
smiled.  “You too?  I thought it was just me, the way they seemed to
be laughing at me.”

“Mocking
death.”  Berry nodded, scrunching up her nose.  “Hideous things. But
you should check out the galleries in Reverie Valley or the Saturday market,
you might find something suitable there that will help brighten up this place.”

“Quite
frankly, as long as the bed is soft and there’s a working toilet, my needs are
more than met.”

“Men.” 
Berry rolled her eyes, clutching her tummy as her stomach gurgled rather
loudly.

“You
hungry?  Let me see what’s in the fridge.”  Ramsey rose to his feet,
unfolding with animal grace.

“I
guess I must be.
 
Anything but soup, I am
so sick of soup.”  Berry got to her feet slowly, her head didn’t spin and
her legs weren’t trembling, maybe she could do this.  Walking over to the
wide kitchen bench that separated the kitchen from the living room she planted
her rear on a cushy barstool, glad she’d made the effort as from her new
position she had a first class seat to witness Ramsey bent over, rummaging in
his fridge.  Goddess, the man had a nice butt, firm and compact. 
“Problem?”  He seemed to be taking an inordinate amount of time.

“Not
really, it’s just I seem to have a lot of mystery dishes in here.”  He
straightened up, holding a white dish in one hand and a ruby red one in the
other.

“Looks
like the relatives have descended.  You definitely don’t want to chance
the red one.”

Ramsey
frowned down.  “Why, it looks good?”

“I’ve
warned you about taking food from Aunt Margot haven’t I?  You really need
to trust me on this one.”  Heaven knows what spell Margot had added to her
ravioli.  All three Great-Great-Aunts were clearly plotting something,
perhaps payback for their speeding fines. Whatever it was, it couldn’t be good. 

“Okay,
the mystery white one it is.”  Ramsey read the accompanying instructions
before placing it in the oven.  “Twenty minutes.  In the
meantime…”  He produced a small bowl of olives, “… munch on these. 
I’m just going to change out of my uniform.”

She
watched him disappear, enjoying the view of him walking away far too
much.  For a woman who had sworn off men she was sure doing a lot of
window shopping this evening.  Seriously, what was up with her
libido?  She couldn’t remember her hormones reacting like this since…
well, ever.  Just because Ramsey Hughes was ruggedly gorgeous and muscular
with a sly sense of humour, a devastating sexy grin and a tight ass, did not
mean she had to fall at his feet, like no doubt countless of police groupies
had done in the past.  She was an intelligent, independent woman who did
not need or want a man in her life.  I am woman, hear me roar.

Of
course, that was the moment Ramsey chose to reappear. He’d obviously taken a
few minutes to grab a quick shower before changing in to jeans and a white
t-shirt.  His damp hair was slicked back from his face and there were wet
spots on his t-shirt, causing the fabric to cling to his skin.  Damn and
double damn the man.  So much for I am woman, hear me roar.
 
More like I am gobsmacked, watch me
drool. 

She
bit her lip to keep from whimpering, his feet were bare… why did she suddenly
find that so Goddess darn sexy?  And was that a tattoo?  She could
just see the edge of it below the sleeve of his t-shirt, if only he would take
it off, she could get a better look.  Whoa, what the hell was she
thinking?  Down that pathway lay madness and messy, messy entanglements
with the male of the species.

“I
need a drink.”  She announced, trying not to wince at the breathiness of
her tone.

“Should
you?  You’re still on pain pills aren’t you.”

“Nell
prescribed me some new ones this morning when she came by to give me the sling,
very mild, very natural.”

“Okay.” 
Ramsey found glasses and a bottle of red, holding it up for her approval.

Berry
nodded, honestly she couldn’t care less about the label.  Though even with
her first sip she knew the vintage was good and worth savouring rather than
gulping, damn, she forced herself to behave like a normal rational human being
and take a second small sip.

“I
met a cousin of yours last night.”  Ramsey commented as he searched the
cupboards for plates, cutlery and napkins in readiness for their meal.

Oh,
sweet Lady thank you, a change of topic.  “That doesn’t exactly narrow the
field for me there, Hotshot.”

“Sorry,
I keep forgetting how everyone in this town is weirdly related.”  Ramsey
straightened to lean back against the sink, cradling his glass of wine in his
hand. Logistically he figured this was the furthest spot he could possibly be
in the kitchen from Berry, of the - oh so - kissable lips and flashing
eyes.  He both hated and loved her sling, as it shielded her upper body
where the top of her low pyjama top buttoned, but without it, he would have
been even more distracted.  “I was talking about Charisse… and her husband
Nate was there as well.”

“Husband? 
You’re sure?”

“Definitely,
there was a lot of talk about the diamond ring Charisse was wearing.”

“Really?” 
Berry was pleased for her cousin but still a little dubious.

“Plus
the band-aides, they seemed important for some reason as well.”

“Oh,
well it must be true then.”

“You
want to explain that comment?”  Ramsey enquired.

“What?”

“I
tell you your cousin is wearing a diamond ring and you blow off the
possibility, but as soon as I mention band-aides, suddenly it means that my
information is faultless.”

“Don’t
be silly, it just took me a moment to process the news that’s all.  They
haven’t known each other all that long and Charisse always swore she’d never
get married.”

“Nate
must have changed her mind, they make a nice couple… a little kooky, but
nice.  They said to mention there will be a party… eventually.”

Berry
still felt a little dazed by the news, Charisse married?  Melded? 
Goddess, what was going on at the Sanctuary?
 
First Gaia, then Hadleigh, Nell and Locke.  It was like an epidemic
had hit… yeah, plague Great-Aunt Alma, match making scourge.  Damn that
woman and her interfering ways.  Why was her Aunt so all fired up about
permanence?  With linking two people together for eternity?  
Merciful Lady, what if she and Robert had been melded, not just married? 
The horror.
 

Funny
how she’d never even considered taking that next step, of telling Robert about
the Sanctuary, sharing blood and making their bond unbreakable.  Urgh, it
was enough to give her nightmares.  A pox on being melded, it might be
fine for other people but it was not on the cards for her.
 
She’d tried been married and obviously it
wasn’t for her.
 
She hoped Alma realised
that fact.
 
If her Aunt even thought
about trying to set her up with someone she swore there would be consequences.
Biblical… incarcerate her Aunt for life, consequences.