“I had no idea I was paying for sex. I had no idea what the Collective was.”
Jasper closes his eyes a moment too long.
“And you did?” It comes out a bit accusatory.
He nods. “I knew. But I didn’t think it was important that you knew. Bizzy, this was a classified investigation. An ongoing investigation with another department. It was hush-hush, and I respected that. I had no idea that you would dive in with both feet.”
“Don’t forget my credit card.”
“Don’t worry. In that respect you were lucky. Detective McSweeney isn’t a part of the Collective. He was doing a routine bust. The department can’t seem to penetrate their infrastructure, so we were hoping if we took down a few Janes it would rattle the cage.”
“I’m a Jane? The female equivalent of a John?” I make a face. “Lovely. Is Jane Wilder anyone you’re interested in spending the rest of your life with?”
“Jane Boozy”—his chest thumps as he wraps his arm around me—“I’m up for anything you want to call yourself.”
“That’s awfully benevolent of you.” I give his tie a tug. “Did you happen to pick up dinner?”
“Nope.” His lips twist. “I thought I’d better hurry and get home before you insert yourself in a jewelry heist.”
I give him a long look. “Is this the jewel in question?” I hold up the sparkler on my ring finger and he draws my hand forward to kiss it.
“That’s the only jewel I hope you’re interested in right now.” He pulls me in tight and I can feel his stomach rumbling against me.
“Can I make you dinner?”
His brows furrow. “It’s ten o’clock at night. Aren’t you exhausted?”
“Sleep is overrated. Making my future husband something somewhat palatable is a high priority. Especially since I’m the reason his stomach is growling like a lion on the prowl.”
We head into my place, where Sherlock and Fish bark and meow like mad while trying to attack us from every angle with glee. I feed them first before emptying out the fridge while Jasper leans against the counter, observing me.
“You’re not going to handcuff me, are you?” I smart.
“Only if you try to solicit carnal activity.”
“Sounds like things are about to get freaky. Grilled cheese okay?”
“It’s perfect. And if freaky is where you want to take dessert, I’m okay with that.”
I bite down on my lower lip. “Guess what? Dessert is officially on the menu for you around the clock starting in three weeks.”
A devilish smile flirts on his lips. “I’m counting down the days. Where are we living?”
“You can move here. I’ve got a bigger place, and I’ll even give you the guest closet.”
He chuckles. “It’s nice to know you’re willing to make concessions for me.”
Sherlock and Fish wander in, full-bellied and content from their meals, and curl up in the corner while I whip up a couple of grilled cheese sandwiches.
Jasper takes a bite and moans as the cheese pulls away from the sandwich in smooth, silky strings.
“This is amazing.” He pecks a kiss to my cheek as I snuggle up against him with my own sandwich in hand. “I’m beginning to think that whole I-burn-everything-in-the-kitchen thing is a ruse.”
“There’s a reason you’re the lead detective down at the Seaview Sheriff’s Department.”
“Just the homicide division,” he says, taking another bite, and I lift a brow his way.
“If the homicide detective bites the big one, who gets to investigate it?”
He frowns a moment. “Why do I get the feeling you’re gunning for my job, and you’re willing to take me out of the way in order to do it?”
“Because you know how driven I am?”
Sherlock lets out a sharp bark. Tell him you’re kidding, Bizzy. You are kidding, right?
Fish lets out an equally sharp meow as she swipes in Sherlock’s direction. Bizzy would never try to kill Jasper. That is, unless he was sniffing around at other innkeepers. In that case, I might help her do the deadly deed.
I give a nervous laugh as I translate it quickly to Jasper.
He leans in and lands a kiss right over my lips. “Don’t worry, Fish. I won’t give either of you a reason to bump me off.” He pulls back to get a better look at me. “So did you glean anything from the buzzing minds at the Magic Castle?”
“Nothing. And McSweeney didn’t help.”
“Did McSweeney make a move on you?” He glowers as if that alone were worthy of a homicide.
“He thought I was too nice to be trolling for barflies. He said I was too pretty to be that desperate.”
I’ve already told Jasper over the phone that I heard Bernie mention the Collective last night, and I also told him about what I read on Embry Knight’s social media page, where she told a friend she was headed to the Collective.
“Although I did glean something from Zeke this afternoon,” I say. “When we were talking about Minty’s, he wondered if Michaela was recruiting for the Collective now. He said that was Julian’s game.”
“Why would he wonder that?” His forehead wrinkles a moment. “And where did you find Zeke?”
“When I took some of Emmie’s blondie bars down to the construction site where he was working.”
“Why am I not surprised?” he says, taking another bite out of his sandwich. “Go on.”
“And that’s it. Sounds to me that Zeke knows about the Collective. Julian had something to do with it, according to Zeke, and I could have scored a decent date with McSweeney if he wasn’t looking to trap me for a Class E offense.”
Jasper swallows down the rest of his sandwich as he wraps his arms around me.
“Remind me to have McSweeney demoted first thing in the morning.”
“Hey, I kind of liked him. He reminds me a lot of you,” I tease. “Tall, strong, handsome, and he had the incessant urge to cuff me.”
“Are you hinting that you’re ready for dessert?”
“You’re the one
