Page 278 of Duty and Desire

He kissed her, his face whole again. Thank goodness. Then he levered back. “I have to take care of another body.”

She frowned. Shouldn’t she feel something, anything, that Monte was gone? They had been married, although he’d been a jerk the whole time.

She wiped rain off her face. “I’m sorry. I made my own problems, and you cleaned them up. I’ll help you.” How did one get rid of a body? “If he just disappears, I’ll be the prime suspect, you know?”

“Maybe, but without a body, there’s not much of a case. And I have a couple of great lawyers. We’ll get them on the line.” He gently turned her toward his truck. “Go sit inside. You don’t help with bodies. Ever.”

That was a plan she could agree with, but this time was different. She’d caused some of this. “Noah?—”

The slap to her ass propelled her two feet forward. She partially turned, her eyes widening.

He cocked his head. “There’s more where that came from. Just to the ass and to get you to take me seriously. It’s your choice or not.” His grin was pure sin. “Who knows? You might like a good spanking. Current literature shows that some girls do.”

She gasped and then coughed from the rain. And yes, her entire lower body was now on fire for him and anything he wanted to dish out. But she couldn’t just admit that. Good thingthey had several lifetimes to play and have some fun. She gave him a look that hopefully promised retribution. With a huff, a good one, she turned and stomped through the rain to the truck, jumping in and getting his nice leather seat wet.

Her mate, even though she did love him already, could just handle all the dead bodies by himself. So there.

CHAPTER 15

Abby settled into her seat in the nicer upstairs room of the old school and smiled at Mariana. The woman smiled back and lifted her eyebrows at seeing Abby holding Noah’s hand. He felt just right sitting next to her. After he’d gotten rid of Monte’s body, somehow, they’d decided to act normal for the remainder of her probation. But he had a couple of good lawyers ready to go, just in case.

Tabi rushed inside and slipped her sunglasses atop her blonde hair. “Hi.”

Abby smiled. Then she frowned. Now she worked for Tabi, and now she realized that the demoness really did want to rob the bank and get that video. Of course, now Abby understood why. She shook off the unease. She’d deal with bank robbing another day.

Mariana looked up, focused on the doorway behind Abby, and turned a light pink.

Abby partially twisted to see Raine Maxwell loping inside holding a tray of donuts. A bit of powdered sugar remained on his bottom lip. “The gambling guys were kind enough to donate these to us.” He placed the tray on a desk and took his seat over by Tabi.

Noah leaned forward. “What are you doing back here?”

Raine grinned. “I’m a multi-tasker, you know. Your buddy wasn’t my only job in town.”

What in the world did that mean? Since Noah stiffened next to her, Abby paused.

Raine rolled his eyes. “I’m not interested in either one of you. Don’t worry.”

“Me?” Tabi asked.

“Negative,” Raine assured her, kicking back.

Well, that was interesting. Considering Noah had informed her that Raine was mostly a vampire, why would he be in the small town now that Ivar was gone? The vampire looked to his side. “Doc? You gonna have a donut?”

“No.” Mariana looked around the circle, her gaze intelligent. She definitely knew she was missing something, but as a human, there was no way she’d figure it out.

Bootsteps sounded, and the sheriff came into the room followed by Detective O’Connell. “Mrs. Loften? We need to talk to you.”

Abby jerked. “Miss Miller,” she corrected.

The sheriff hitched their way. “You need to come down to the station. Now.”

Noah partially stood. “I have two lawyers staying at the motel at the edge of town. I can have them there before we arrive. How about you just talk to her here?”

“Fine.” The sheriff’s beady eyes narrowed. “Where were you last night at six in the evening?”

Abby swallowed. That was about the exact time Monte had died. “I was?—”

“With me at my new factory,” Tabi said instantly. “Why?”