"No? Why not?" I asked as I sped on the back roads into Pelican Bay.

The one time I really needed a favor from Anderson, and of course he'd be a jerk about it. What did I expect?

Anderson made another weird noise in the back of his throat. "Because I already know he didn't kill Emma. He's been in lock-up since March."

Damn it.

There went one of my favorite suspects.

"You're sure?" I asked.

Anderson sighed. "Yes, Vonnie, I'm sure. It's not like we're in the habit of losing prisoners."

I thumbed the steering wheel in thought. "Work release."

"No. He didn't murder Emma."

My blinker ticked unusually loudly as I waited to turn. "Fine. Talk to you later."

Anderson mumbled something, but I hung up before I translated it from angry man to English.

Since Emma's boyfriend wasn't my killer, I needed to follow up with one of my paying cases. The cheating fiancé.

My only paying case at the moment.

I hated cheaters, yet they kept me in business. The world is a strange place.

Men, in general, confused me. Especially the one I called my boyfriend. Things were a little tense between Broadrick and me. Half the time I couldn't imagine life without him, and the other times I wanted to push him off a boat in the ocean. Of course, he was a SEAL, so he probably knew how to swim. Pity. We had this entire Florida thing hanging over our heads, and I didn't like it.

Until we worked out our future, our present remained rocky.

The best solution was to face the problem head on, so I called him to see if he wanted to come on my upcoming stakeout. Once I had him in the car, unable to leave, we'd have to work out our differences. It was the perfect solution.

"What's up, babe?" Broadrick said when he answered. My heart melted a little. Okay, so I wouldn't push him off the boat.

For now.

I picked up speed on my way into town. "Do you want to go on a stakeout with me? It's going to be super fun."

We both knew I lied about the fun part.

He hesitated for a full second, which is actually really long when it's a boyfriend's hesitation. "Is this stakeout for someone dangerous?"

I scoffed. "No. A cheater McCheatson."

"Good. I can't right now. I'm dropping NB off for his bath and doggie playdate, and Ridge has me working on something."

"You didn't tell me."

NB barked at the back of the phone call. "You know I can't tell you what Ridge is working on."

I rolled my eyes, even though he couldn't see. "I meant on NB. You can't just take my dog to the groomer without consulting his mother."

"He's our dog," he said immediately. "And the appointment card is on the fridge."

"Oh." Who puts important reminders on the fridge? I only opened it to retrieve leftovers.

"We're here," he said, and NB barked again. He seemed excited about the playdate. "Stay safe."

We hung up, and I slowed as I passed the pelican into town. Who did you call when your favorite SEAL can't help?

The bounty hunter.

Duh.

He answered on the third ring, and I smiled as I said, "Hey, Tony Baloney."

"Don't start that shit again, princess."

For some reason, Antonio Franco did not appreciate my nickname. I had no idea why, since it was one of my best. "Remember all the cases I've helped you with?"

"Umm, I feel like I've gone to more funerals for you than I have for my own dead friends and family. So not really."

"We're at least even." I slowed more as I entered the city limits and passed the school. Thankfully, my mark had a room at the bed-and-breakfast, which put him under the purview of my spy. It helped to know some of his whereabouts in advance.

"Sure, but actually I need help from you, too."

I sat up straighter. "Ohhh, what kind?"

"The woman kind," Tony groaned.

I chuckled. Thinking about the tall, tattoo-covered man with his short haircut and proclivity for army green military vests having girl problems was just too much. How the mighty fall when women are involved. "It's not as exciting as the kind that requires bullets, but I will put my infinite wisdom of the female mind to your service if you help me."

Tony made another groaning sound. But I was the only woman he had at his disposal, so we both knew he'd show up. "Give me the details."

**

"Aren't you hot in that?" I asked Tony thirty minutes later as he dropped into the passenger seat of my car wearing a black fleece North Face jacket.

He glanced at me weirdly. "It's like barely seventy-five degrees outside. That's practically freezing."

I turned down the dial on the air conditioning as he checked out his side window and the bed-and-breakfast beside us. I parked in front of the two-story historical home to get a better view of the front door and parking lot. If Carl walked outside, we'd see it. Katy was also going to text me if she saw him make an escape, so I had my bases covered.

"Keep a steady eye out the window for a dude who loves pastel polos and looks like he's headed for a boat dedication ceremony or the golf course."

Tony took his gaze completely off the window to look at me and raised his right eyebrow. "How do you know he's going somewhere today?"

"Yesterday, Katy said he was on the phone in the lobby and said, 'I'm excited to see you tomorrow afternoon.'"

"So?" he asked, moving his head back and forth.

I sipped on the iced coffee Anessa delivered right before Tony got in my car. The icy cool brew went straight into my veins. "So, he's obviously here to meet a woman he met online."

Tony groaned, deep and long this time. What was with the men lately? "I'm surrounded by crazy women."

"It's probably a you problem." I mean, the odds weren't in his favor if he thought all of us were crazy.

He shook his head and put his gaze back out the window, scanning the area for my mark. "I don't know, princess. You might be right. I'm starting to feel like I'm the crazy one."

"Okay, tell me your girl problems so I can wow you with my advice," I said and took another sip. The condensation slid off the plastic cup and splattered on my jeans.

"Earlier this week, Rebecca wanted to see that new movie with the dude from the comic book movies. Brian Bosley. You know the guy. Right?"

I nodded, letting my mind wander to his most recent role as America's heartthrob. He always played the hero who swooped in to save the day. Normally shirtless. I watched his movies because I liked his methods... and the shirtless parts. "Yeah, Katy and I want to see that soon."

"I took her, and we had a great time. But afterward she wanted to dissect the movie and Brian's internal motivations. Then she got mad when I said he didn't have any. But Vonnie he didn't. He blew shit up and saved the day. End of story."

"Did he have his shirt on?" I asked, setting the iced coffee back in my cupholder after leaving a trail of condensation on my middle console.

He narrowed his eyes at me. "I don't know."

"You don't know if he had a shirt on?"

"He blew shit up. How are you missing the important parts?"

It seemed like he was missing the important parts, but I let him continue.

"She told me I didn't enjoy the movie if I didn't see that Brian's character was riddled with guilt at losing his wife ten years earlier."

"Hmm, well, it's not cool for her to downplay the explosions." He could be emotional but also blow things up, too.

"Then last night I found her going through my phone."

My eyes widened. "No. Tell me you're not stupid enough not to lock your phone."

"What? That's what you're upset about?" Tony's eyes narrowed into slits. "She told me I passed, but if I ever cheated on her that she'd kill the woman."

I jerked back. "Okay, yeah, that's crazy."