Page 158 of Noel Secrets

He shook his head. “There’s still work to be done to make the case.”

She walked to him and placed her hands on his shoulders, her fingers digging in to massage his muscles, eliciting a moan of both pain and pleasure.

“Is he guilty?”

Dean nodded. “Absolutely. The feds have proof that he hired multiple people to try to kill Darby in order to get money she inherited.”

“How much money are we talking about?”

“Over $500,000.”

Her hands stopped for a moment then got back to work. “She inherited that much money, and she’s still worried about her precious cleaning business?”

“I’ve seen people do worse for much less money.” He stopped her hand by covering it with his. “Suzy, I want this feud between you and Darby to end. It doesn’t matter anymore. Promise me. It’s over.”

“It should be over. With that kind of money, she shouldn’t have to continue working.”

“Whatever she does, it doesn’t matter to us.” He turned to look at her, pressing her for an answer. “Promise me.”

She frowned but then nodded and planted a kiss on his forehead before making a gesture over her heart. “Cross my heart. All I care about now is building my own business and taking care of my man.”

She kissed him, lingering on his lips the way he liked, before pulling away and reaching for her purse. “Call me when you’re done. I’ll come over to your place later.”

He watched her go but his irritation wasn’t satisfied. She’d given that promise too easily to mean it.

He rubbed a weary hand over his face. What was she up to now?

Darby spent the day mostly alone except for Hercules, anxiously waiting to hear from Clay. He’d sent her a text, letting her know they’d arrested Rushton and had him in custody. She had plenty to do—call both her homeowner’s and auto insurers to file claims, make certain her employees’ paychecks were processed, and figure out what the future held for her business.

Whatever she did, her thoughts were never far from the future and what the end of this nightmare meant for her. Clay would be leaving once this case was wrapped up and she was no longer in danger. Back to his life … away from her.

She recalled the feelings he’d professed to her and hoped he meant it. She surely meant it when she’d told him once this was over, they could figure out if there was something between them.

She didn’t have to think on it for long. There was.

Clay had become her rock during the past days, when everything in her life had been falling apart. She would have never made it through without him.

It was growing dark outside when the knock came at the door. She opened it to Clay. Her immediate urge was to throw her arms around him, but she hesitated, waiting for confirmation that it was really over.

He assured her it was. “Once Cooper got ahold of your uncle’s laptop, he had more than enough evidence to prove Rushton responsible for the threats against you. He gave up everyone. He’s going to prison. He can’t pay anyone else to hurt you. Cooper is running down all the other leads to make sure there are no further threats against you but, yeah, it’s over. You’re safe now.”

She blinked back tears of relief then threw her arms around his neck and pressed her lips against his. She’d meant it to be a quick thank-you kiss, but it quickly turned into much more as he leaned in to her and his arms tightened around her. She too fell into the kiss, his lips demanding and strong…just like her protector.

The kiss ended and he cupped her face, his eyes probing and full of desire. “Darby, I’m sorry it took so long.”

“I’m still alive,” she reminded him. “That’s only because of you. I owe you, Clay. David and I both owe you our lives.”

“When do you pick him up?”

“Two days. He’s going to be so disappointed about the house, but I’m going to try to make sure he has a good Christmas.” She glanced around the room. “Maybe we can get a Christmas tree and lights in here.”

His face lit up at her suggestion. “That’s a great idea. There’s a Christmas tree lot down the street.” He hesitated obviously remembering their previous conversation. “Oh wait, you both have allergies. That’s okay. We’ll find a home improvement store and get an artificial one.”

She kissed him again for the suggestion then grabbed her coat and followed him outside to his truck. She’d had a full tree at the house, but they found a small one that wouldn’t overwhelm the hotel room. Then they grabbed lights and ornaments. It wasn’t the same as the tree she’d had at home, butit would be good to have something for David when he returned. Having him back would be the best present.

Then, after Christmas was over, they could make plans for their future.

She didn’t know what would happen to her. She hadn’t checked her messages, but imagined she had a ton of voicemails waiting for her. The dogs were back with their owners, and her business had been irreparably damaged.