My feet clattered up the few steps to my door, and I threw it open with a flourish.

"Broadrick!" I yelled as I walked inside and then came to a quick stop. "What..."

The man of my dreams, my SEAL himself, sat on my couch and in his lap he had...

Mr. Jasper.

Eating a carrot.

The brown bunny's nose twitched on hyper speed as he gnawed on the carrot in Broadrick's hand. Both of them stared at me by the front door, but the bunny never quit chewing.

"What's up, babe?" he asked, giving Mr. Jasper a long pet over his ears. Why did he look so hot doing that?

In my confusion, I totally forgot why I'd barged into the home in the first place. "What if the bunny poops on the couch?"

Broadrick shrugged one shoulder and continued to feed Mr. Jasper. "I figured we'd cross that bridge when we came to it."

I didn't want to wait until poop was falling between the cracks in the bridge steps. If up to me we'd be nowhere near that bridge, let alone crossing it.

"What is so urgent that I had to stay here until you returned?" he asked.

"Oh, yeah." The coke in my pocket jumped to the forefront of my mind again, and my eyes widened. I pulled the bag from my pocket. "I bought a bag of coke at the park this afternoon and now I don't know what to do with it."

"What the hell?" He tensed, the jerky movement pulling the carrot from Mr. Jasper's mouth. The bunny just followed it until he reached it again.

I held the baggie up in front of me and walked toward the couch for better viewing. I was a helpful girlfriend like that.

"Tell me that's not real," Broadrick said as he watched the bag sway back and forth in my hand. I tossed it at him. It landed on the couch in front of Mr. Jasper, and Broadrick hurried to scoop it up. "Not in front of the rabbit."

"What do I do with it?"

Broadrick stared at the baggie with an open mouth. "Why did you bring it home with you?"

"I don't know," I said and threw my hands up. "What else was I supposed to do with it?"

"Leave it at the park?" He picked up Mr. Jasper and put him in his cage with the left-over carrot.

"I couldn't leave it there," I said, picking up the baggie from the couch. "I paid a hundred dollars for this bag."

Broadrick yanked it from my hands. "You paid a hundred dollars for coke? Why?"

"Yeah. For a case." I shrugged. "Don't worry. It's a write-off."

"A what?" He held the baggie between us and stared at me. It looked like his eyes were close to popping out of their sockets. His chest moved up and down quickly. He might actually be upset.

"It's a tax write-off." Maybe he didn't get any of those as a government employee, but PIs were self-employed. We had to maximize our tax deductions.

Broadrick held the bag in front of him as he walked toward the back of the house. "Vonnie, you can't write off coke on your taxes."

"It's a business expense." I didn't see the big deal. It's not like the government wanted me to write down each expense. Although, it's not like Emma gave me a receipt. Hmm. I'd have to ask my tax guy how that worked.

Broadrick opened the bathroom door. "It's illegal to purchase coke in Maine."

"It's an operating expense."

"Holy shit." He used the toe of his boot to prop open the toilet lid and then opened the baggie over the bowl, letting the expensive white powder float into the waiting water. "I'm in love with a madwoman."

"You're just now figuring this out?" I chuckled. "Although I love you too, babe."

He was so sweet sometimes.

I left Broadrick alone to contaminate our water supply. The toilet flushed as I made it to the living room to find Mr. Jasper finishing his carrot.

"How did your meeting with Dalton go?" I asked when he came out of the bathroom without the plastic bag. Did he flush that, too?

Broadrick had one hand on his forehead, rubbing in small circles as he opened the fridge door with me a few steps behind him. "Canceled. Thankfully, so I could be here to keep you out of prison again."

"I made it home fine." If I were going to be thrown in prison, it would have happened while driving. Not in my home. "Why did he cancel?"

Broadrick closed the fridge, having grabbed nothing. "He got called out of town on a project for Ridge."

"Oh, really," I said, now deep in thought as I leaned against the kitchen counter.

Interesting.

"We're rescheduling for later in the week." He opened the cupboard by the sink where I hid the Oreos. I didn't worry. If he wouldn't eat flavored bacon on a cruise, he wasn't stealing one of my Oreos.

"I drove by his truck at the bakery when I came into town just now."

Broadrick opened another cabinet with a shrug. "He probably took a company vehicle. Why?"

Damn it. One question too many.

"Just me being nosy. You know how I am with the questions all the time. Questions, questions, questions." I stepped away from the counter and made it to the small dining room table before turning back to him. "Are you good here? I have to run to the bed-and-breakfast."

Broadrick stopped in front of the fridge with his hand on the handle. He narrowed his eyes in my direction, appraising me. "No, you're obviously up to something."

I scoffed. "I have to see Katy for some girl time. You know how she gets."

I didn't know how Katy got, but it sounded like a good reason to give Broadrick. Men were still clueless about females. Right?

He opened the fridge and stuck his head in. "Don't leave town."

What he meant was, "Don't go someplace where his boss couldn't watch my activities on one of his many town cameras."

"Wouldn't dream of it," I said and then booked it toward the front door before he questioned anything else I wanted to do. "See you soon!"

I made it to my car before realizing I hadn't seen NB during that trip. Did the bunny eat him and Broadrick not want to tell me?

Either way, I'd have to deal with it later. I had big plans that I couldn't let Broadrick or NB interrupt.

The bed-and-breakfast was only a few short blocks away, but I drove there anyway in case I needed the car later. If things went as I planned, it would serve as my alibi.

I parked in the lot beside the big blue historic home on Main Street and walked toward the building from the street, hitting multiple cameras. Broadrick had Dalton's name written too many times in his planner for me not to go snooping around. It's what any good girlfriend would do. We had to protect our stuff and Broadrick belonged to me.

I threw open the doors to the bed-and-breakfast, making an entrance and said, "Katy, I need a favor."

The best friend in question turned her attention from the guest she was engaged in conversation with to me. "Give me just a second."

"Braisley," I said, walking up to the person beside Katy. "How's the vacay going?"

Braisley smiled. Her long brown hair was combed pin straight behind her and she had on a pair of jeans and a light thermal shirt. Much better Maine attire. "Good. Katy is giving me the lowdown on the suitable spots to eat."

"How many iced coffees have you had today?" Katy asked me.

I waved my hand in her general direction and ignored her question to ask Braisley a better one. "Want to make a great vacation memory?"

Katy narrowed her eyes, but Braisley's lit up. Score. I knew she was one of us.

"Sure," she said without a second of hesitation.

Basically, we just made a new best friend.

Katy lifted her left eyebrow at me in complete agreement. "What do you need from me?"

"If anyone asks, we've been here the entire time," I said and started toward the back hallway. We'd have to hurry if we wanted to get in and out without someone missing one of us.

Katy shot me a thumbs up. "Got it."

"Why are we going this way?" Braisley asked as I led her down the dark back hallway.

I paused at the exit door. "Fewer cameras."

"There are cameras here?" she asked as we crossed the street and headed toward the Pelican Bay Security building.

I waved my hand around. "Everywhere, but don't worry about those. How is your vacation going?"

With the fresh air in our faces, I walked a steady beat, but Braisley kept up with me. "Good. I've eaten six different flavors of cupcakes."

"Impressive." I stopped us at a crosswalk and waited for a car to drive through. Mrs. Coogs had her dog Brent on her lap, but she waved as she passed. I waved back and forced a smile. At least she hadn't lost him again. I think she managed it by never letting him out of her sight. Although, she was chipper for someone who found a dead body earlier. Maybe she needed to go back on my suspect list.

Braisley's steps slowed. "Where are we going on this power walk?"

"There," I said and pointed at the parking lot beside the bakery. "The big black truck."

Men in this town were obsessed with black trucks or black SUVs. The only thing that set Dalton's truck apart from the rest was the Michigan State University license plate cover on the back end. I had all the guys' trucks memorized. You always needed to know who was who when you saw a truck parked on the street.

"I also applied for a job," Braisley said, and I came to a stop at the entrance to the building's lot. Only three cars were parked in it, so we needed to hurry, but she also needed to expound on that statement.

I turned toward her. "To a job different from the one who forced you to take time off?"