A good thing for Meghan and the story she was piecing together about Olivia’s life and murder. And the investigation by the Fitzgerald Bay Police Department.
Ryan narrowed his gaze. “What are you after, Miss Henry?”
“The truth. Justice. And I want to make sure Georgina is found safely.”
For a moment he studied her, his gaze bold and assessing. She returned the favor. There was an intrinsic strength in the angles of his face, the slope of his nose, the firmness of his lips. She had the sudden craving to lay her palm against his clean-shaven jaw to see if the skin was really as smooth as it appeared. His features struck a fine balance between rugged and handsome.
A flutter whipped through her and she deliberately squashed the wayward attraction knocking at her consciousness.
He drew in a deep breath and slowly let it out. “Then we want the same things.”
“Okay, good.” At least they were on the same page.
Though she had a feeling this wasn’t going to end well for one of them. She wanted justice for her cousin, safety for Georgina, and her job as a reporter was to expose the truth, regardless that doing so would tarnish the reputation of Aiden Fitzgerald.
A truth Ryan would just as soon suppress. He wanted justice because of his duty to serve and protect, but not at the cost of his family. Too bad.
Deciding it was time to retreat, she turned to storm away, but found her nose buried in a man’s chest. With a squawk she jerked back, bumping against Ryan’s hard chest. With Ryan behind her and his imposing father filling the doorway, she was sandwiched between Fitzgeralds.
Police Chief Aiden Fitzgerald regarded her with the famous Fitzgerald baby blues. Only his eyes didn’t hold the same sort of coldness that his eldest son’s did. Not nearly as tall as his son, he was still very attractive with salt- and-pepper hair that was beginning to recede. “What’s the matter here? I heard raised voices.”
“Miss Henry was just leaving.”
Oh, he’d like it if she meekly scuttled off like some bug he’d rather squish than deal with. Well, he had another thing coming. “As a matter of fact, Chief Fitzgerald, I was hoping to speak to you.”
She ducked around Ryan and retreated back to the belly of his office, forcing both men to follow. Taking advantage of the fact that Ryan was too far away to try his lightning-fast ninja moves on her, she picked up the letter and turned to face the two Fitzgerald men.
A gale force of rage swept across Ryan’s face. She swallowed hard, but refused to be intimidated by his clear displeasure. She addressed the elder Fitzgerald. “This is a letter from my cousin, Olivia.”
She held out the sheet of paper. “You should read this.”
Aiden took the letter. As he silently read the words written by his daughter, Meghan shifted her gaze to Ryan. His expression had turned to stone, his hands clenched at his sides, his back ramrod straight.
He stared out the large window behind his desk, but she doubted he saw the crystal-blue June sky or the quaint New England fishing village named after his family. Even standing completely motionless, vitality radiated off him like some invisible force field that drew her in instead of repelling her.
It didn’t make sense. She shouldn’t find this man attractive. Well, okay, the outward package was appealing; there was no denying that. Tall, broad shouldered, lean and a face that could grace a magazine cover were all well and good in an abstract sort of way.
But she shouldn’t be noticing or caring. The last thing she wanted in her life was an overbearing, control freak. Once in a lifetime was enough, thank you very little.
Though she couldn’t erase the memory of the kind and compassionate way he’d treated her yesterday when they’d been shot at. When she’d been shot. Her shoulder ached something fierce, but the pain medication the doctor gave her kept the throbbing to a dull roar.
Ryan’s gaze slid to meet hers. She’d been staring and he’d caught her. One dark eyebrow rose ever so slightly. A blush worked its way up her neck but she would not look away. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of backing down. Not that she believed Ryan’s ego would be fed by her shrinking like a wilted flower. He wasn’t like her ex- husband who enjoyed seeing her cower.
Aiden cleared his throat; there was a sickly pallor about his complexion. His pensive expression was unexpected. Meghan tensed. Where were the vehement denials she’d anticipated? He sat in Ryan’s chair and held his head in his hands.
“Dad?” Ryan’s voice held a note of uncertainty.
“We need an emergency family meeting at the house. I want everyone there at nine o’clock, tomorrow morning.” Aiden strode to the door, the letter clutched in his hand. He paused and glanced back. “Ryan, bring Miss Henry with you.”
Ryan stared after his father in confusion. Had he lost his mind? Bring Meghan to the house?
Ryan recoiled at the idea. Bringing anyone to the house meant one of two things: significant other or old and trusted friend. Meghan certainly wasn’t either, and Ryan had never brought anyone home.
But the more pressing question was why hadn’t his dad set the record straight and told Meghan the letter was a fake?
The thought streaked through his brain setting him back a step.
No! It couldn’t be true. He refused to believe it. His father wouldn’t have cheated on his mother. Never!
His father had to be calling a family meeting to refute Olivia’s claim and prepare the family for another unsubstantiated scandal.
As if the family hadn’t suffered enough these past six months with all the speculation and conjecture about Charles having murdered Olivia.
Add in his father’s bid for mayor against a judge and a lawyer, both of whom reveled in every bit of dirt they could dig up on the family, and it had been a rough few months. His head pounded. Thinking of all they’d endured exhausted him. Imagining there could be more with this letter…
“Will you pick me up? Or should I meet you there?” Meghan asked, impatience lacing her words.
Drawing himself up, he marshaled his control and strode out of the office. The pesky woman grated across his nerves like an out-of-tune guitar. “You can meet me here at 8:45.”
The next morning Meghan arrived at the police station a few minutes early in a rental car. She didn’t want to give Ryan any excuses for leaving without her-though she could have easily found the Fitzgerald home on her own.
The place was quiet on this early Wednesday morning. She found Ryan in his office, sitting with his back to the door. She knocked. He straightened and slowly turned. He looked tired and haunted. Dark circles ringed his blue eyes.
“I’m ready,” she said as nerves tumbled through her.
He rose, his wide shoulders blocking out part of the sun streaming through the window behind him. With long purposeful strides, he crossed the room and squeezed past her through the door. “Come along, Miss Henry.”
Meghan made a face at Ryan’s retreating back. It was all she could do not to stick her tongue out at him. She wasn’t his lackey. If anything, he was hers. He might have a handsome face and shoulders wide enough to carry his entire family, but she wouldn’t let that affect her. The sooner she established herself as an equal the better.
She hurried outside to catch up to him. An ocean-scented breeze whipped at her loose hair. The briny air reminded her of lazy summer days when she was a kid and her parents would take her to the seaside at Martha’s Vineyard. Those carefree days were long gone.
Pushing back the stray strands with one hand, she gestured to the blue sedan parked in the visitor’s parking lot with her other hand. “I’ll follow you.”
