Page 17 of Ice Cold Liar (Ice Breaker Cold Case #14)

Chapter Nine

He parked the car. Turned his head to look at the passenger. Naomi’s eyes were closed. Her lips slightly parted. Still no good color in her cheeks. Still looking far, far too fragile for his piece of mind.

She was just…not what he’d thought.

She didn’t seem cold-blooded. Calculating.

She was vulnerable. But strong. So very strong. With her past. With her present.

And with every moment that he spent with her… I don’t feel hate for Naomi.

Maybe he should stop lying to himself about that shit. Because he did not hate Naomi. Far from it. He killed the engine. Unhooked his seatbelt and exited the vehicle. He strode to her side, opened her door, and then unhooked Naomi’s seatbelt. She barely stirred.

His hand lifted and softly touched her cheek. “Naomi?”

Her breath rustled from between her lush lips. Her eyes remained closed.

No sense waking her up. She’d basically gotten zero sleep the night before. Neither of them had gotten much sleep. Eb wanted to crash, but he needed to make sure she was secure first. And there were other plans that he needed to put in place.

Carefully, slowly, he lifted her from the car and held her in his arms. He used his hip to shut the door and then carried her toward the guesthouse.

He didn’t like the guesthouse. They would not be staying in it after today. Other arrangements would be made. Changes had to occur.

Her safety would come first for him.

They’d almost reached the entrance to the guesthouse when she gave a quick gasp. He felt the sudden alertness in her body even before her eyes flew open.

“Easy,” he soothed. “You’re safe. I’ve got you.” And, with a bit of skill and dexterity, he managed to unlock the door and keep carrying her. Good thing he’d swiped the keys to the guesthouse before racing after the ambulance.

“Why…why do you carry me so much?”

He crossed the threshold. Shut the door. “Do I carry you a lot?”

“Yes.” A whisper. She curled one arm around his neck. “You can put me down.”

“Sure.” But he didn’t. He carried her to the small bedroom. Spared a glance for the bed. “You never slept in this bed with Hudson.”

“No.” Sleepy.

“Good.” He put her on the bed. Pulled off her shoes and socks and tossed them away. Even tucked her under the covers. His hands lingered for a moment on her. “Go to sleep, Naomi. We’ll talk more after you’ve rested.” Time to back away. Only his hands kept right on lingering.

“I don’t…like that you saw me that way.” A quiet admission.

He sat on the edge of the bed. Still not leaving. Still not backing away like he should. “What way?”

She swallowed. “Helpless.”

His hand rose to brush back a lock of her dark hair.

Then, of course, his fingers decided to linger once more.

This time, against the silk of her cheek.

“If you can’t be helpless in front of a friend, who can you be helpless in front of?

” A mocking question to try and lighten the sudden tension in the room.

“You’re not my friend.”

“No? Then what am I?”

“I’m scared that you might be my enemy. It’s terrible to be helpless in front of an enemy.”

He leaned toward her. “I’m not your enemy.”

“You’re Hudson’s friend. His partner.”

She needed to understand this. “I’m not your enemy.”

Her gaze searched his. Dark shadows lined her eyes. Still no good color in her cheeks. Even her lips looked too pale. Plump, gorgeous, but pale. “If you’re not my enemy, what are you?”

“How about I be your friend?”

“I don’t have a lot of those. People in town…the few friends I’d made, they turned on me.” Quiet. Tired. “People don’t like to be friends with murderers.”

“But you’re not a murderer.” Wasn’t that what she kept telling him?

A soft exhale. “I need to sleep. You need to sleep.”

“Yes.” He went right on lingering. Lingering might be his new favorite hobby. “I’m going to watch over you.”

A little furrow appeared between her brows. “Does that mean you’re going to watch me sleep? Because that’s creepy.”

His mouth curled. “I don’t want to be creepy.”

“Then no watching me sleep.” Again, that deep gaze of hers searched his. “You feel sorry for me.” A negative shake of her head against the pillow. “Don’t. I was helpless in that moment, but I’m not weak. I won’t ever be weak.”

“Wouldn’t dream of thinking that you were. Quite the opposite, in fact.” For him, there was nothing sexier than strength. An unbreakable spirit. “I don’t know you well enough. That’s my mistake. I believe in learning from my mistakes. I will discover your secrets, and you’ll discover mine.”

“And we’ll be…friends?”

Not exactly. “Full disclosure, I don’t usually want to fuck my friends.”

Her eyes widened.

“You can’t be surprised. You had to know I want you.

Pretty sure I give the secret away every moment when my gaze locks on you.

Surely you see the hunger in my eyes.” But now wasn’t the time for this big talk.

It also wasn’t the time for fucking. She needed rest and care, and she was going to get both.

“Go to sleep, Naomi. You have nothing to fear while I’m close. ”

“That’s different.”

“What is?”

“Not having to fear when a man is close.” Her lashes flickered. “I wish I’d never married him.”

I wish the same thing.

“More, I wish I’d never met him. Wish I’d met you first.”

I saw you first. I wanted you first.

And, deep inside, didn’t he sometimes worry…

Did he take you away, just because I wanted you?

No, no, impossible but…

Her eyes had begun to close, but suddenly, they opened and zeroed right on him. “Ebenezer is an unusual name.”

“Yes.” He’d thought she was drifting away, and now this question?

“You’re the only Ebenezer that I’ve ever met.”

“I prefer Eb.” His fingers slid down her cheek.

“Sure you do. It’s tougher, stronger. More you.”

He leaned over her. “I was named after a heartless bastard. You know him, most people do. The one and only Ebenezer Scrooge.” His lips crooked up. “You even called me on it before. A Christmas Carol, remember?”

The darkness of her eyes lit up. She smiled. A gorgeous grin that shot straight through him because it was a real smile.

“You aren’t serious,” she said. Then, immediately, “Please be serious. Please really be named after him and don’t let it just be a coincidence.”

“I’m dead serious. My mother loved A Christmas Carol. I’m Ebenezer, my twin brother is Jacob, and my sister is Marley.”

“That’s fantastic.”

“Really? You try being named after the miser who turned away love.”

“But he didn’t.” Her hand lifted. Pressed to his chest. No, pressed right over his heart. “In the end, he found out what mattered.”

“He’d already lost the woman he loved. There was no going back from that.” In the old story, Ebenezer had been more concerned with collecting his money.

And I’ve been focused on vengeance. His whole life, the “eye for an eye” mentality had ruled him.

“You don’t know that he lost her completely. There was still time. He got his Christmas when the book ended. Who knows what happened after that?” Her eyes gleamed at him. “I like your name.”

“You haven’t heard my full name yet.”

“What’s your full name?” Softer. Sleep clearly pulled at her once again.

“My mom wasn’t just a fan of A Christmas Carol. She was a hardcore admirer of the author. So Jake and I were also named after him.” He paused. “He’s Jacob Charles Jones. I’m Ebenezer Dickens Jones.”

If possible, those incredible eyes of hers widened even more. “Stop.”

“It’s true. My brother tells me that I’m a real dick all the time.”

Her laughter rang out. Husky and beautiful. He loved that sound. Drank it up greedily.

But then she stopped. Looked around. The laughter had vanished, and no smile lingered on her lips. “I can’t believe I’m laughing… here. ”

“Want me to get you out of here? We can go to a hotel. Jeffrey has Henry at the fire station. We can get him later and?—”

“Talking to you is kinda taking all my energy. A confession I did not want to make. Like I said, I don’t like being helpless in front of you.” A whispered admission. “I’ll sleep and…then figure things out.”

He’d have her another place ready to go before she woke up. “Close your eyes,” he told her. “You don’t have anything to fear.”

“Sure, I do.” But she closed her eyes.

“You don’t have anything to fear from me. ” And he would protect her from any threat that came her way.

Only once again, she said, “Sure, I do.”

His chest tightened. “Naomi?”

“I think you could break me. Because I think…I think I could fall for you. If I’m not careful.”

She had not just said those words to him.

He didn’t speak. Didn’t leave, either. He stayed until her breathing eased into the rhythm of sleep. Made sure she was comfortable, that she didn’t immediately wake up, scared.

He didn’t like it when she was scared.

I am so fucked.

When Eb was sure that Naomi was resting deeply, only then did he finally slip from the bed. He padded silently from the room. Went back to the small den-slash-kitchen area. Hauled out his phone. Made a quick call. It rang once. Twice.

“You just can’t quit me, can you?” Hunter grumbled. Sleep roughened his voice. “Look, I am going to do your digging, if you’d give me a bit?—”

“I need help.”

“Yeah, I know. Got the previous phone call. But I don’t work miracles, so I need time?—”

“Hunter,” Eb cut through his grousing. “I need you. I need backup on the ground.”

“ What’s happening?” Instant alertness.

“So many fucking things. But let’s start with this…someone tried to torch Naomi’s house last night. With me and Naomi in it.”

“What?”

“I have to get a secure place to stay with Naomi, stat. Her place has zero security and feels like a death trap.” Probably because it was.

“Can we go back to the torching?”

“I also need to talk with my sister. She’s working with the Ice Breakers.

” Something that had not initially thrilled him, given Marley’s past and the pain she’d endured, but he could sure use her ties to the cold case solvers.

“I’ll have to get my sister to set up a meeting between me and Memphis Camden. ”

“Uh, why do you want to do that?”

“Because I have to find out if my partner—if Hudson was a serial killer or not.”

“Shut the hell up,” Hunter fired back. “Wait, for real? You are actually telling me that the dead guy could have been a serial? How the hell did you get to that suspicion? We talked less than five hours ago! You mentioned none of this to me. None. Zilch about any potential serial connection.”

“It’s been a big night.” He glanced back toward the hallway. The bedroom. “I think I was wrong about Naomi.”

“You think you were wrong? Back up. Is this your mind talking, your heart talking, or your dick talking?”

“Someone is trying to hurt her. That can’t—won’t—happen on my watch.”

“I’m coming down there. Consider me your backup. I’ll be there as soon as I can get that jet wheels up.”

“She needs protection. She needs help.” A low exhale. “She needs me.”

“Wait, wait, wait. Think with your head, man. You were the woman’s executioner.”

He flinched. “No.”

“Bad choice of words, but you were the one who was going to bring her down. Less than twenty-four hours after arriving, you’re shouting her innocence and proclaiming your partner’s guilt?

Dude. Slow down. Don’t get taken in by a beautiful face.

I figured you’d be better than this.” Hunter cursed.

“Yeah, I’ll be borrowing Declan’s private plane.

Definitely. Getting my ass down there ASAP because you clearly need me.

Should I call in your brother, too? Maybe he can talk some sense into you. ”

“Did you miss the house-torching part? Someone is after her.”

“Yeah, you were after her, like, yesterday! She has enemies because people believe she is a killer!”

He had been after her the day before. Had arrived in town with plans to wreck her world.

And now…

Now he wanted to keep her safe. To make her smile again.

Yeah, okay, I am seriously compromised.

No, compromised probably wasn’t the right word.

He finished talking to Hunter. Made more plans. Even hauled out his laptop from the bag he’d snagged with help from his new firefighter buddy, Jeffrey. Then he went back to the little bedroom. Opened the door. He needed to check on Naomi, after all. Make sure she was okay after the seizure.

She slept peacefully. She’d turned on her side. One hand curled under her chin.

He headed for the bed. Not quite a big enough bed for him.

But he still slid onto the mattress. Got right beside her as exhaustion swept through him, too. In order to keep her safe, he had to rest. Not like he could continue running on fumes. And he could have slept on the couch, provided that he didn’t mind his ass half hanging off it.

There was also the option of sleeping on the floor…

“Eb…” Naomi rasped his name. Her hand reached out. Curled around him.

Yeah, his ass was staying right there. In bed. With his target.

She’s not the target.

He kicked off his shoes. Kept on the rest of his clothes. Settled more comfortably against the bed.

She drifted closer.

“It’s okay,” he told her. “You’re safe.”

No, she was not the target, but he might be the one in danger because Eb damn well knew he was becoming obsessed with her.