Page 59 of Fatal Deception

No.

Would she have excused her?

Audra didn’tlovethe fact she would have. She would have done anything to protect Rosalie from mistakes born of her own grief. Which told Audra everything she needed to know about Karly and this visit.

She turned to face Copeland, met his gaze with her certainty.

“She came all the way here, this place she doesn’t want to exist, not for me. Not evenaboutme. She came because she thoughtyou’dbe a lead to him since you’d tried to investigate him.”

Copeland’s response was measured. “Maybe.”

“But I don’t think she’s worried about his safety, or the fact he’s missing,” Audra continued. “She’s worried about what he’s going todo.”

“Or what he’s already done,” Copeland said darkly. His expression was as hard as his words and Audra hugged herself against all thecoldshe felt.

“Why… It still doesn’t make any sense. I reached out. I tried to… I would have invited them in. I would have…shared just about anything.” Emotion hitched in her chest, but she’d be damned if she was going to cry again. “And why is mymotherinvolved, however unwittingly?”

He reached out again, pulled her into him. He was always doing that. Offering a hand, a squeeze, a hug. She had never considered herself a particularly physical person—it wasn’t how she or Rosalie were raised, and while they might hug on occasion, while they wereeasytogether, it wasn’t like this.

Because you never let yourself lean, Audra.

And she knew she shouldn’t. There was a deep-seated knowledge this was wrong, but there was something new undermining it. She hadn’t meant to let him in, hadn’t meant to trust him, fall for him. She knew it was a bad,badidea, but she couldn’t seem to help it.

Because he held her close, smoothed a hand down her spine. And she knew she was safe here, even if she tried to convince herself she couldn’t lean on anyone outside her tiny little circle.

“We’re going to get to the bottom of it,” he said firmly. He pulled her back, but only enough so he could look into her eyes. “Whether she’s covering for him or something else, she made a tactical error. She came here. She gave us something to go on. And we’re going to go on it.”

He was so certain. So determined to press that certainty upon her. So good at being there, no matter how she tried to convince him he didn’t need to be.

She knew she shouldn’t. She knew she would regret this. Leaning. Trusting.

Loving.

But it was already there. So she moved forward, onto her toes, pressed her mouth gently to his. “Thanks,” she murmured, against his mouth.

He held her close, kissed her again before tucking her head under his chin. “Anytime.”

THEY WENT INand ate dinner. Copeland sent an email to Laurel, updating her on everything and requesting more background information on Karly Young.

It felt clear Austin was the threat, but there was something about the woman and her visit here that just didn’t settle right. He needed to know about her, just as much as he needed to track down Austin Young.

It was a gut feeling, and Copeland always trusted his gut. Occasionally, it led him astray, but no investigation was so straightforward a detective didn’t take some wrong turns along the way. It wasn’t about doing everythingright. It was about knowing how to recalibrate if you went a little wrong.

After dinner, Copeland decided Audra needed a little bit of a breather fromeverything. Maybe it was a selfish decision, but he’d never claimed to be anything else.

He talked her into the shower, together, and loved that he was able to make her laugh—and tremble—as the specter of everything haunting them was pushed away for a little while. They curled into her lumpy bed together—she really needed to take better care of herself—and slept.

Copeland woke with a start to the sound of someone in the house. In less than a second, he had his gun in his hand and wasout of the bed. Audra had barely stirred when someone shouted from out in the hallway.

“Audra!” It was Rosalie’s voice, immediately followed by the bedroom door slamming open. Copeland breathed through the moment of panic and the thought that if Rosalie hadn’tyelledbefore she’d opened the door, he might have shot her.

Rosalie made a distressed sort of noise, threw her hand over her eyes. “Oh myGod. Gross.”

Fighting his own embarrassment, the mix of relief and terror coursing through him at being awakened so suddenly, Copeland surreptitiously slid the gun back onto the nightstand shelf, where Rosalie wouldn’t be able to see it and worry even more.

Maybe Audrahadrubbed off on him.

He picked up his pants and pulled them up. Audra was scurrying out of bed now while he collected his shirt and pulled it on.