"You're still in trouble," Broadrick said the next morning as I crawled over the edge of the bed to flap back his section of sheets.

For a man who spent years in the military, he never took the time to make his side of the bed in the morning. That might have been the only life lesson my mother successfully passed on to me.

I tossed over the corner of the comforter. "I know, but B, he's got a hostage."

"You can't be sure, and you didn't know that before going," he said and stood up after finishing tying his boot, which immediately messed up my covers.

With a huff, I tossed them back into the right place. "I know now."

And I had no idea what to do about it.

I dropped to the bed to rest after all the energy spent making it and let my head lie on the pillow for just a few seconds. "We have to do something about it."

"We absolutely do not," Broadrick said, putting way too much emphasis on "we."

He grabbed a box from the stack of them in front of the closet, popped open the top, and then dumped the box in the closet without even looking at what he was dumping on my floor.

"Broadrick!" I jumped up from the bed and ran at him. "What are you doing?"

He turned toward me, his back blocking the destruction he'd just caused. "It's just shoes."

"Shoes!" Those were the most important. Oh, holy hell, my Coach tennis shoes were in there.

"Von, you need to unpack at some point," he said, reaching for another box.

I stepped in front of him and hip checked him out of my way to protect the goods. "Not like that. These are my beauties."

Broadrick looked over my shoulder at his mess. "They're shoes."

"Important shoes!" I pushed him away and then pulled out the pair of white shoes with the big gold C design stitched into them. Katy and I bought those shoes on a New York trip with Pierce. They were so expensive and beautiful I hadn't even worn them yet. And now he'd pummeled them. I hugged the shoes to my chest.

He stared at me with a slight headshake. "I never realized you had a shoe problem."

I clutched the shoes harder. He didn't understand. "You're annoying me."

The shoes went on the top rack in the closet, where they were safe from his mishandling, and I grabbed Broadrick's black leather jacket from a hanger.

"That's my job," Broadrick said, not making any mention of how I'd taken over his coat.

I nodded. "And you're so good at it."

Broadrick laughed and tried to close the closet door to hide the evidence of his massacre.

"Wait." I reached into the pile and pulled out a pair of black muck boots. "I actually need these. Thanks."

April was rainy in Pelican Bay, and from the clouds visible outside my bedroom window, today planned to follow the pattern.

"What's the plan for the day?" Broadrick asked, closing the door once I had my arm free.

"I'm going to take a stroll through the woods." If I said it normally, hopefully he wouldn't ask me any annoying follow-up questions.

He nodded once. "Okay."

I nodded back and almost left it alone. Seriously, I tried.

"Really? No arguments? Follow-up questions?"

Broadrick shrugged. "How much trouble can you get into on a hike?"

I laughed... but just once, so I didn't sound suspicious. "Exactly."

Obviously, he'd forgotten about the time I went chasing a dog through the woods and walked in on him unloading a truckload of stolen military weapons and then promptly got myself kidnapped. But sure, the woods and I had no problems.

That definitely wouldn't happen today.

Most likely.

"Can I drop you off? I need the car, and it looks like rain," he said, pulling back the window curtain.

Broadrick had ridden into town on a super sleek black motorcycle but never stopped to consider it wasn't a brilliant choice for the East Coast winter and spring climate. It meant he stole my black Camero most days.

"You really need to get a car." Even if the bike made him super-hot, eventually sharing a car would turn into a problem. We weren't to that point in our relationship yet, and last time he ate three pieces of the gum he left in my car. At that rate, we were going to run out soon, and then who would buy more?

Fifteen minutes later, Broadrick stopped the car at the end of Main Street toward a little-known entrance into the town's woods. If I had him drop me off close to the current crime scene, he'd get suspicious.

"Be safe," he said as I got out of the car. "Call me if there's trouble."

I saluted him as I shut the door and watched while he drove off. Once Broadrick turned the corner and zoomed away, I trudged into the woods.

The baseball fields were only a few blocks away, and I made my way that direction without a trail, tripping on every stick within five miles. My boots stuck in the mud, and I pulled them out with a concerning squishing noise.

Thank goodness I had the muck boots and not the Coach shoes. Rain dribbled from the branches above my head, and I glared up at it. It rained harder in response.

"Wonderful."

I turned, taking the long way around a large pine tree to head back to town and get a lift home before the rain really started. Mid turn, my boot caught on something hidden in the leaves and I stumbled forward.

That felt harder than a stick or even a root. "What the hell?"

I kicked at it again.

A logish thing rolled out from under the brush as if someone had placed it there on purpose. I toed the ground to clear the area. A smooth wooden bat with a bright red logo on the end trundled out and hit the trunk of the pine tree.

Score.

I lowered to my haunches to look at my newly gained evidence without disturbing it. There wasn't any red on the bat besides the logo with a big A surrounded by a circle at the end, but that didn't mean it wasn't the murder weapon. Why else would a bat just be hanging out in the woods?

A huge rain drop hit me in the middle of my forehead and then another one hit the bat. If it rained much harder, it might disturb any DNA evidence. I had to protect the scene.

I slipped out of Broadrick's black leather jacket and held it over the bat as wide as possible to create a barrier. Shit. With my hands keeping the jacket wide open, I didn't have an extra one to use my phone and call Anderson.

The rain picked up, turning into a full drizzle. I had to do something. If I waited till it quit raining, I might be here until June.

I dropped one side of the coat, pulled my phone from my pocket, and selected Anderson from my contacts. He'd be the most useful person in this situation.

"I have a gift for you," I said when he answered.

Anderson paused before answering, "I don't want it."

"Oh, trust me, you want this one. It's going to be a home run."

He sighed. "Shit."

Look at that. Anderson caught on fast.

The rain splattered on the leaves above me, cutting in on my time. "Better hurry. I'm in the woods outside the baseball field, but it's raining and I'm calling Ridge."

If I didn't call him again, he'd have a real shit fit about it. I couldn't risk upsetting a man who might put me in jail or was my boyfriend's boss. The men in this town were needy.

I hung up with Anderson and clicked the red app button on my phone before tucking it away and reclaiming the coat. The drizzle turned into a full-fledged sprinkle, and I widened my stance to get the bat better coverage.

My butt vibrated with a call. "Really? Now?" Ugh. I tucked my head under the coat, used one arm to stretch it out over the length of the bat, pitting most of my body as coverage, and answered. If anyone glanced this way, they'd think I'd invented Woodland Twister.

"I'm kind of busy right now, Mom. I'm expecting visitors any minute." Ridge answered the red button calls quickly. Especially when they came from me.

"Vonnie, this is important," my mother said with a raised voice. "I've got an urgent case for you."