Page 165 of Snowbound Threat

Shawn doesn’t respond.

“Is that why you agreed to take your own risks and help Ms. Wallace here discover the truth?” His gaze shifts to me now, so sharp that I would love to sink back into my chair. “Or is it perhaps something more? She is a beautiful woman.”

The accusation is there, and it makes me angry enough that I shove my own fear aside. In the face of monsters, the worst thing you can do is come off as prey. So, although my nerves are at an all-time high, I slip my own mask on. The same one I wear in the courtroom. “He wants the truth. Just like I do.”

“Out of the goodness of his heart? How pure,” Lucian sneers. “As for your question, Detective, Paul called me two days before he died and told me that he was being pressured for information.”

“About?”

“Me,” he replies with a grin and holds up both hands. “Apparently, someone was trying to use him to blackmail me.”

A chill runs up my spine. “Who?”

“He didn’t say. But he was on his way here to give me the name when the plane went down.”

“Who was using him?” I ask.

Shawn remains silent at my side, but I can feel that he’s gone rigid.

“Tryingto use him,” Lucian corrects. “As I’m sure you can attest to, Paul was quite loyal. He knew that I would find out if he’d crossed me and wanted to make sure I knew that he was refusing.”

Loyal enough to lie to me.I shove the betrayal down because it has no place in this moment. Not yet.

“We have reason to believe he made an extra stop before coming here since his plane was full of fuel when he was found.”

Surprise flickers across Lucian’s face so quickly I nearly miss it. “I don’t know anything about that,” he replies. “But I can tell you that I did not see him the day he died.”

“Did you have him killed?” I ask him, point blank.

Lucian leans forward. “Ms. Wallace, if I’d had Paul killed, you wouldn’t be sitting here across from me, and his daughter wouldn’t be working on my grounds.”

“You know who she is?”

“Of course I do. I’ve known since I hired her. She was young when she’d visit with him, but I’m no fool. Why do you think she has the job she does? I hardly hire many twenty-two-year-olds into positions that should be held by people with more experience.”

And then I see it—the faintest of humanity in the expression of this evil man. He liked Paul. Does that say more about him, or what Paul did for him?

“How loyal of you,” Shawn retorts.

“I saw her anger when she showed up to interview. I knew she was looking for answers, and truthfully, I thought she’d have found them by now. Either way, had I wanted Paul dead, you and his daughter would be lying in graves right beside him.”

Ice floods my veins.

“And what a waste that would have been,” he replies as he looks me up and down like a hungry animal.

Beside me, Shawn stiffens. “Watch your gaze,” he snarls. “She’s not on the menu.”

Lucian’s grin widens once more at the rise he gets from Shawn. “As I said, she’s a beautiful woman.” He leans back in his chair. “No, I did not have your husband killed. Paul was one of the few honorable men I could trust. He was helping me with something.”

“With what?” I demand.

“Something that is above your pay grade,” he replies.

Frustration ebbs away at my fear. “Do you know who did?”

“No,” he replies, then leans in. “And if I did, they’d already be dead. What Icantell you is that you need to be careful. What you’re stepping into is a lot bigger than you could possibly imagine.”

“How do you know that if you don’t know who killed Paul Jameson?” Shawn questions.