“You must be exhausted.” She pointed the remote at the TV screen where she’d paused her movie. “I guess I’ll stay here and try to unwind a little.”
“I’ll toss one of my pillows onto your bed.” He lifted his hand and disappeared into the hallway.
April let out a long breath she hadn’t even realized she’d been holding. Being in the same room as Clay hadn’t been as easy as she’d expected—even after coming clean about Jimmy.
Could she really call Jimmy tomorrow and act normal? Act as if she didn’t know he was a drug-dealing scumbag who wanted to marry her to get to her father?
She restarted the movie and adjusted a throw pillow behind her neck. Sure she could. She’d been lying to Clay Archer for years.
Chapter Five
Clay woke with a start, his heart thrumming in his chest. April. She’d come back into his life, dragging her drama along with her.
He threw back the covers, fully awake, and planted his bare feet on the cool tile floor. His clock radio sounded the alarm with the news at six and he reached over and smacked it off.
He crept from his room and grabbed the doorjamb when he saw the door to the spare room ajar. The hinges creaked as he pushed it open.
Clay’s jaw tightened as he scanned the neatly made-up bed. At least she hadn’t left a mess when she sneaked out of here.
Grabbing the back of his neck, he dug his fingers into his knotted muscles. He’d told her what to do to alleviate Jimmy’s suspicions. It was up to her to follow through.
He padded on bare feet into the darkened living room and flicked on the light in the kitchen. As he measured ground coffee in the filter, a soft moan floated on the air and he dropped the filter on the counter.
He charged into the living room, his fists clenched at his sides. A lump on the couch elongated, and a swath of blond hair rippled over the edge of the cushion.
He crept closer and peered down at April’s face, smooth in sleep except for a tiny crease between her eyebrows. She never could sleep soundly. What sinister dreams clouded her mind, creating that little line?
Her lips parted and she emitted a sigh that stirred the strands of shiny hair crisscrossing her cheek.
His fingers twitched to smooth the hair away from her face, but he didn’t want to disturb her sleep. God knows, she needed it. What had possessed her to marry a man she hardly knew? Stability? He could’ve offered her that and more. Protection for Adam? That he’d never offer.
He turned away from her, cleaned up the coffee mess in the kitchen, set up another cup to brew and retreated to his bedroom. For those few minutes, he’d almost come to terms with having April out of his life again.
He took a quick shower and dressed in his uniform. Maybe they’d find out the identity of the dead drug mule today. If she had fingerprints on file somewhere, they’d ID her soon enough. It would take longer to match the DNA from the head to the body, but how many bodies without heads could there be in one day?
He pulled on his boots and returned to the kitchen where his coffee awaited him, the smell of the rich brew giving him a jolt. As he screwed on the lid to his commuter mug, April coughed from the other room.
She called out, “Are you still here?”
“Sorry if I woke you up.” He’d had just the lights beneath the counters on, and he turned on the overhead lights. “Do you want some coffee? I have just a single-brew machine, but I can put some on for you now.”
She sat up and yawned. “I think I’ll have more of your mother’s tea, if that’s okay. I know your mom would probably mind, but she’s not here.”
“Did you sleep okay? Why didn’t you use the bedroom? You don’t even have a blanket or pillow out here.”
She shrugged the afghan from her shoulders. “I found this on the chair. I fell asleep in front of the TV and just got too comfortable to move.”
“I’ve spent a few nights on that couch in front of the TV myself.” He put down his coffee mug and grabbed a tea bag from the shelf. “I’ll leave the tea for you here, and you’re welcome to cook breakfast before you head out to Meg’s.”
“Maybe I’ll drive up to Tucson today and get some clothes...and that phone.” She tousled her hair. “I suppose I have to make that call to Jimmy.”
“I think that’s your safest bet right now. How are your acting skills?”
She jerked up her head. “Pretty darned good.”
“Then you shouldn’t have any trouble convincing Jimmy you made a mistake, you’re sorry, it’s you not him. Blah, blah. You’ve done it before.”
Clay snapped his mouth shut and sealed his lips. Reminding April what she’d done was not going to persuade her to open up to him and tell him the real reason why she left. He needed to give it a rest.
He buckled his equipment belt around his waist and holstered his gun. Grabbing his hat, he turned at the door. “When you get that phone, give me a call. I left my number on a sticky note that I slapped on a cabinet door.”
He paused on the threshold. “Don’t hang around here too long, April. There are some bad characters who know where I live. I’ll have the Paradiso PD cruise by here a few times in the next hour.”
“You just creeped me out.” She pushed up from the couch. “I can shower at Meg’s and get breakfast there, too.”
“Do you want me to wait until you’re ready to go?” He glanced at the phone clutched in his hand. “I’m not going to be late, and I’m leaving early to pick up Denali.”
“Is he okay?”
“He’s fine.” He tapped his cheekbone. “Just a minor eye
