"What in the hell is going on?" I yelled at Broadrick and peeked out from my crouched position by the condo's door.

Broadrick ran over, his thick military boots trudging against the tile, and held his hand out for me. "They're testing the smoke alarms."

"Well, they work," I hollered right as the beeping came to an abrupt stop, leaving me screaming at the poor man. "Sorry."

He ran his hands through his dark hair and gave me a slight smile. "Larken isn't here yet, but the guys doing the inspection started in the bedrooms. It shouldn't take too long." A series of loud beeps cut off his last words.

"We're definitely protected from fires," I said when they stopped again.

Broadrick wrapped his arm around my shoulders, and we walked into the main living area. "Isn't this place great?"

"Yeah, I love the water view." Out the large windows leading from our patio space, the bright blue ocean spanned thousands of miles. Here, in this space, it was just us and the sea. Outside the doors, the world was a mess, but together we had serenity.

He placed a sweet, simple kiss on my forehead. "I've been thinking about us living here and making a life. Imagining what that looks like. We have so much space and potential here. Maybe NB will end up with a brother or sister."

I crinkled my nose and ran my fingers over the top of the white sofa. "You want another dog?" NB was a lot of work ,and now that we'd moved, we had to find someone new to groom him. Plus, all the morning walks. Afternoon walks. Plus, the evening walks.

Broadrick chuckled. "No, I meant more like a human one."

"Oh." Everything in my body froze, including my heart. Kids were even more work than an extra dog.

He squeezed my shoulder, noticing the freak-out. "Don't worry. We have time and lots to do before anything like that happens."

"Like a wedding." And somehow, we ended back on the topic of us getting married. Many of our conversations lately seemed to flow in that direction, yet it's not like Broadrick had presented me with a ring or anything. "Just so you know, when that should happen... I'm ready."

"We could have the wedding in Pelican Bay," he said without pulling out a ring and putting it on my finger. A smoke alarm started with a steady trill of beeps in the far bedroom. It set off a slight pinching headache.

"Or not." Water rippled far out into the waves, but I didn't see a tail belonging to any water animal. "I'd rather not. We could just go somewhere else and invite your parents."

I still wasn't over my mother and everything that had happened. Eventually, I'd get there, but I wasn't there, yet. When we ended up married, I'd rather it just be the two of us.

The smoke alarm shut off mid-beep. "Hmm, no thanks. Let's just elope, or hell, we can do it right out there on the beach."

"Sounds good," I agreed and held my hand out to shake his. There had to be someone on the island to marry us.

He wrapped his thick fingers over mine, and we made it official. My chest still felt tight, but in a good way. I stared into Broadrick's eyes for another second before turning around in his arms to see the living room. This was our life now. We'd live here in a few days, and I was ready to embrace it. Him and me. I'd run headfirst into the future and hold on for dear life if needed, but we'd make it out on the other side.

The condo's door opened and Larken walked in wearing a light pink pantsuit that made her look delicate but fierce at the same time. Her small smile combined with the color gave off demure vibes, but her straight posture and the curve of her neck said, "Not too close or I'll make you cry with words alone."

"Hello, I'm so sorry I'm late. I had a meeting with an attorney." She sat a light brown leather bag on the counter in the kitchen and walked toward us.

My insides tightened. No longer because of the marriage talk, but what had to come next. The confrontation.

"How far along in the inspection are they?" she asked as a shower turned on in the hallway bathroom. "About that far, I see."

Broadrick laughed, but I worried my bottom lip. Why did she have an appointment with a lawyer? Did she want to seek advice before I put her behind bars for murder?

"I haven't seen the guy doing the inspection since they started, but they said no more than an hour. Two tops. They've been pretty busy in the back."

Larken nodded. She wasn't acting like a woman about to go to jail for murder, but she might have been a talented actress. That also explained her shock when she found the body.

"The association requires owners keep the condos and overall buildings fairly up to date, so I wouldn't expect anything too bad for your report. They'll probably have it back to you in a few days, and then we can continue getting a lease signed. I'm hopeful you'll be able to move in by the weekend at the latest. Then just another two weeks or so before the official closing. Depending on when financing comes back."

She babbled on about financing documents and title companies, but my mind wandered to her hands. Stabbing someone with a knitting needle didn't leave defensive wounds like when a hand slipped over a knife, so I didn't expect any bandages. Still, I frowned when a closer inspection found her nails in perfect shape. The bright pink polish didn't match her outfit exactly but played into the theme. She was too put together for a woman who might have killed someone a little over a week ago.

"Why were you meeting with a lawyer?" I asked when they hit a break in their conversation.

Larken's neck turned a light shade of red, and she turned her head away from me.

Broadrick bumped me with his elbow. "Can this should wait until after we've signed a lease, Von?"

"No," I said with a full shake of my head. "I don't think it can."

He groaned, and Larken looked at us with questions in her eyes but not on her lips. She fidgeted with the hem of her jacket and fixed a button that wasn't out of place. "I had a few pieces of important paperwork to sign. You know how legal paperwork is."

"Not really, no." I stepped toward her, but Broadrick grabbed on to my elbow and stopped me. "Are you into crafts?"

"Umm..." She took too long with her answer, returning to the top button on her suit jacket and spinning it in a circle with two fingers. She had guilt written all over her. I pulled out my cell phone to record the confession when it happened. "I barely have time between showing houses and all the other business parts of real estate. You're lucky this place came furnished. I still haven't had time to buy furniture for my apartment."

Well, I guess that explained her lack of furniture. Or did it? It might have been a carefully constructed excuse to make me look the other way about her crimes.

"We are lucky. Aren't we? To be here right now." I crossed my arms over my chest, taking a step away from Broadrick.

He edged closer, reducing the distance I'd created. "Vonnie."

"Is everything okay?" Larken asked. She kept flashing her gaze from Broadrick, then to me and back again.

I narrowed my eyes and waited until she gave me her attention to answer. "No."

Larken's eyes flashed wide, and her eyebrows rose. A vein in her forehead popped out. Guilty as sin. "Is it the condo? You're not getting nervous about it. Are you? A home is an enormous investment, but the island has maintained its property value over the decades."

"The condo is fine," Broadrick said, trying to step in front of me. "We're ready to sign quickly."

I worked my way around him. "We're worried about buying a place from a killer."

Larken startled and took three steps back. Did she plan to make a run for it? "What? Who?"

"You." I pointed at her, and she raised her hands to her chest. "Everyone on the island agrees that you and Melissa hated one another."

"Yes, competition doesn't always make people friends, but I'd never hurt her," she started, but I wasn't ready yet. Her hand clutched her neck.

"The two of you had a fierce competition for the most sales on the island. You're the one who found her body that day, and you bought hundreds of dollars of knitting supplies from the craft store on the island."

"That doesn't mean I killed Melissa," Larken said, her voice growing high-pitched.