I couldn't believe it. Sidney the dog walker hit on my man? How dare she? Especially after I forgave her for snitching on me over the small credit card snafu.

"How did she hit on you?" I asked Broadrick as I sat back down beside him on the couch.

His eyebrows rose to the middle of his forehead. "As I was handing her the credit card to pay for NB's bath, she grabbed my hand and asked if next time I'd wear my camo because she loves a man in uniform."

My mouth fell open. The hoe. I mean... she had a point. Men in uniform sparked a certain interest, and Broadrick looked fuck hot in camo. But he was my camo-wearing fuck hot sailor.

"The wench." I hit him on the arm with the back of my hand. "What did you say?"

"Well..." He trailed off and stared at me. NB jumped on his lap, and I almost ripped off his cute bandana. "I said thank you."

I hit his arm again. "You thanked her!"

"She said I looked good in uniform."

My eyes widened. "No, she did not. She said men in uniform."

"Right, but I'm a man in uniform." He smirked.

The audacity.

"So is the mailman." I hit him again, higher up this time.

He rubbed the spot. "Why are you hitting me?"

"For looking hot enough to get hit on." He wasn't allowed to leave the house looking sexy ever again.

He chuckled and wrapped his open palm along my jawline, pulling me toward him. He swept his tongue over my lips and kissed me fiercely.

**

Broadrick lowered the coffee cup from his lips as I walked into the kitchen. "Good morning, sunshine."

I scowled at him with narrowed eyes. He was too peppy in the mornings. "Don't let anyone hit on you today."

He raised his right arm and flexed it. "I can't help it if the ladies like the gun show."

"Dude, no." Sadly, my lips formed a smile without my permission. "That's so bad. Never say that again."

Broadrick laughed before taking another sip. NB circled his feet waiting for a treat, which Broadrick promptly tossed to him. It missed the dog's mouth, bounced off the floor, and rolled under the kitchen table. NB took off after it, his little tail wagging double time.

"Where are you off to today?" he asked as I grabbed a crunchy granola bar from the counter.

I unwrapped it. "PI stuff."

"Dangerous PI stuff?" He lowered the coffee mug and stared at me. I swear, the government taught him human lie detector skills or something.

Thankfully, I didn't need to lie about anything regarding my plans for the day. "Nope, just going to the convenience store outside of town to check an alibi."

He raised one brow and tipped his head. "You mean the liquor store?"

I smacked my lips. Liquor store gave a completely different visual than the convenience store when you said it. And yes, the visual attached to the liquor store might be more on par with the actual building's description, but I liked the sound of convenience store better.

"Convenience sounds more refined. This is Maine, not Malibu." I'd never been to Malibu, but I figured they partied a lot there. It got the job done.

Broadrick dumped the last of his coffee in the sink, rinsed the cup, and stuck it in the dishwasher. Better than my technique of leaving it to soak in the sink for a day. "NB and I will tag along."

I finished the granola bar and dumped the wrapper in the trash. "Why? Don't you trust me? I'm not the one out there getting hit on by every woman who sees me."

"Yes, I trust you. We're just bored, and I have something I want to talk about." He kissed my forehead as he walked by. "Let's go. You're burning daylight."

"Okay, dad," I said with an eye roll as I followed him to the living room. "We're taking my car, and I'm driving. No wait. Let's take your truck."

If we drove his vehicle, I wouldn't have to fill up with gas.

He laughed. "Okay, but I'll also put some gas in your car later today."

"Thank you." I grabbed NB's leash off the hook. He heard the metal clink against the wall and darted out of the kitten at a full gallop, sliding on his nails until he collided with Broadrick's legs.

Since it was Broadrick's truck, I let him drive and settled myself into his passenger seat with NB on my lap. He quickly set to licking the window with long sweeps of his tongue.

We were just passing the high school when Broadrick threw the first verbal punch. "I was thinking we could make a trip to Florida and see the new base Ridge is setting up on the island."

My breath caught. We hadn't talked about Florida in days. Why did he have to bring it up now? I grabbed on to the door handle, my knuckles turning white with the force. NB never noticed the disturbance. "Why?"

"To see the setup and how the workers are getting along." He said it with so much nonchalance I almost believed him, but we both knew that wasn't the only reason. He wanted to win me over with sunshine.

"Because you want to see your new office for when you leave your family and work there?" We both knew my version was more on point to the truth.

"Vonnie," he said with a deep sigh. "Florida would be-"

"Hot," I supplied for him. "It's hot."

He parked in front of the convenience store. I placed NB between us and jumped out before he had it in park. "I'll be right back."

Maybe.

All the emotions thinking about Florida started a riot in my gut, and the odds were growing I'd escape out the back door of the shop and keep on walking. Why did it have to be Florida? My aunt and uncle were supposed to move to Florida to start their life in retirement. That wouldn't happen now since I'd put my only uncle in jail. Was I supposed to steal their dream? Did Broadrick plan to have us move into their home, too?

The convenience store door opened with a squeak as I barreled into the space on my mission. I needed a better outlook on life. Happiness. Once I found the evidence to get my uncle out of jail, he and my aunt could resume their Florida plans. Then I'd consider Broadrick's fancy private island.

Step one to his release was finding Emma's killer. Whoever killed her to keep her quiet had to be the real drug lord of Pelican Bay. Also the one who forced my uncle to sell for him.

"Can I help you find something today?" a man's voice called out from behind the front counter as I walked down an aisle toward him with my shoulders set.

I slowed by a display of Crown Royal, but they didn't have the good season flavors, so I passed it by. "Is the manager on duty?"

"I'm the manager," he said as I stopped at the front register. His hair hit him on his shoulders, only partially covering a neck tattoo. Something with a feather, but I couldn't make out the bird species from my angle.

"Does Faith Martin work here?" I leaned up on the counter with my elbows, trying my best to get into his space even though a good two feet still separated us. He double blinked as I stared at him like Broadrick did to me. I didn't know how to be a human lie detector, but maybe if I pretended to be a government ops agent, he'd fall for it and give me something useable.

"Yes." He squinted at me as if my intense gaze didn't bother him. "Is this about Emma Richards' death?"

"Yes." No point in lying. Everyone in town wanted to know about the case. I pointed my gaze more, really giving him a deep stare. "I'd like to see her previous work schedules, if possible."

His hair brushed against his shoulders as he shook his head at me. "Are you okay? Do you need an ambulance? What's going on with your eyes?"

I jerked back, doing my best to widen my eyes but not too much without giving up the gaze. He clearly didn't know about interrogation tactics. "Nothing. Just answer the question."

"You asked more than one question. Do the cops even know when she was killed? I once read a study about how they caught deer eating the remains of humans. We know less about the world than we think." He swooshed his hand in the air like he'd just finished an important lecture.

Also, deer eating humans? Eww.

"They retrieved Emma's body from the ocean. No deer in sight." To my left, they had a row of various lotto tickets for sale. I eyed them until reaching the ten-dollar cards. Who had that much cash for a scratch-off?

He shrugged. "Think about the sharks."