file cabinets,” she continued as if she hadn’t heard him. “The missing film or at least some evidence of its veracity might be in those files.”
“Or it might not be. Either way, you’re not breaking and entering to look for it.”
“I won’t have to. I have keys to Lee’s house and the code for his alarm system. We cango through the front door or sneak in the back if we can find a way for one of us to scale a high privacy fence.”
“Did you even hear what I said about this situation being too dangerous?”
“I heard you. Here’s my deal. Either you go with me or I go alone, take a peek at his files and see if I can figure out for myself if the guy is the monster you portray him as. Are you in or out?”
“You do believe in cutting to the chase.”
“It’s a gift.”
The waitress returned with their food before he could argue the point. But somehow he knew that further verbal confrontation would be useless. Nicole was apparently not only gorgeous but also spunky as hell.
She’d called his bluff. No way would he let her go snooping in Lee Barnaby’s house alone, not when he was the onewho’d dragged her into his war.
Chapter Eight
“That’s Lee’s house just ahead.” Nicole pointed to the two-story white Colonial with the dark green shutters.
“Impressive bachelor pad.” Remy slowed the truck. “No cars in the driveway.”
“Which means the cleaning woman has come and gone,” Nicole said. “It should be clear sailing for a few hours.”
“Unless Lee decides to return home for some reason inthe middle of the afternoon,” Remy countered.
“Are you always such a pessimist?”
“In my line of work we call it survival. And it’s not like the police chief punches a clock.”
Nonetheless, Remy continued to the corner, turned left and then turned again onto a street one block west of Lee’s house, just as she’d suggested on the drive over. He pulled to the curb and parked beneatha canopy of branches heralding spring with their burst of new leaves.
Nicole shifted and opened the door of the truck, stepping carefully to avoid tripping on the gnarled roots that crawled away in every direction from a huge tree trunk. A squirrel scurried out of her way before racing up the ragged trunk. Birds sang from perches far above her. The sky was cloudless.
Her nerves werethe only hint that she was on shaky ground and she was determined not to let Remy see her uneasiness. Two days ago she would have never considered breaking into anyone’s house, much less one owned by the chief of police. Her life had been as predictable as the ending of last year’s reruns. It had been ordinary, safe—and boring.
Enter Remy Comeaux and suddenly she was not only flirting with him but danger, as well. She wondered what Deanie would think if she could see her now. Most likely she’d be cheering her on. But she couldn’t tell even Deanie about this.
If all went as planned, no one would ever know she was involved in any of this. That was Remy’s stipulation to the deal.
Nicole led the way to the corner entry to the hiking trail that ran behind Lee’s house. Minuteslater, the second floor and the privacy fence that surrounded his backyard and pool came into view. The fence looked to be an insurmountable obstacle to her. Thankfully, there was always the front-door option.
“Still think you can scale that?”
He looked up, eyeing the overhanging branches. “Sure. I scampered up trees like that down in the bayou half my life.”
She wrapped her armsaround her chest. “You’ll have quite a drop on the other side.”
“Not too bad.” He pointed to the branches that hung over the fence. “I can drop to a lower branch once I’m on the chief’s turf.”
“Just don’t expect me to follow. You’ll have to retrieve the gate key and come back for me.”
“Don’t tell me you’re afraid of heights.”
“Not as long as I have both feet on terra firma.”
His teasing smile faded from his face.
“Or it might not be. Either way, you’re not breaking and entering to look for it.”
“I won’t have to. I have keys to Lee’s house and the code for his alarm system. We cango through the front door or sneak in the back if we can find a way for one of us to scale a high privacy fence.”
“Did you even hear what I said about this situation being too dangerous?”
“I heard you. Here’s my deal. Either you go with me or I go alone, take a peek at his files and see if I can figure out for myself if the guy is the monster you portray him as. Are you in or out?”
“You do believe in cutting to the chase.”
“It’s a gift.”
The waitress returned with their food before he could argue the point. But somehow he knew that further verbal confrontation would be useless. Nicole was apparently not only gorgeous but also spunky as hell.
She’d called his bluff. No way would he let her go snooping in Lee Barnaby’s house alone, not when he was the onewho’d dragged her into his war.
Chapter Eight
“That’s Lee’s house just ahead.” Nicole pointed to the two-story white Colonial with the dark green shutters.
“Impressive bachelor pad.” Remy slowed the truck. “No cars in the driveway.”
“Which means the cleaning woman has come and gone,” Nicole said. “It should be clear sailing for a few hours.”
“Unless Lee decides to return home for some reason inthe middle of the afternoon,” Remy countered.
“Are you always such a pessimist?”
“In my line of work we call it survival. And it’s not like the police chief punches a clock.”
Nonetheless, Remy continued to the corner, turned left and then turned again onto a street one block west of Lee’s house, just as she’d suggested on the drive over. He pulled to the curb and parked beneatha canopy of branches heralding spring with their burst of new leaves.
Nicole shifted and opened the door of the truck, stepping carefully to avoid tripping on the gnarled roots that crawled away in every direction from a huge tree trunk. A squirrel scurried out of her way before racing up the ragged trunk. Birds sang from perches far above her. The sky was cloudless.
Her nerves werethe only hint that she was on shaky ground and she was determined not to let Remy see her uneasiness. Two days ago she would have never considered breaking into anyone’s house, much less one owned by the chief of police. Her life had been as predictable as the ending of last year’s reruns. It had been ordinary, safe—and boring.
Enter Remy Comeaux and suddenly she was not only flirting with him but danger, as well. She wondered what Deanie would think if she could see her now. Most likely she’d be cheering her on. But she couldn’t tell even Deanie about this.
If all went as planned, no one would ever know she was involved in any of this. That was Remy’s stipulation to the deal.
Nicole led the way to the corner entry to the hiking trail that ran behind Lee’s house. Minuteslater, the second floor and the privacy fence that surrounded his backyard and pool came into view. The fence looked to be an insurmountable obstacle to her. Thankfully, there was always the front-door option.
“Still think you can scale that?”
He looked up, eyeing the overhanging branches. “Sure. I scampered up trees like that down in the bayou half my life.”
She wrapped her armsaround her chest. “You’ll have quite a drop on the other side.”
“Not too bad.” He pointed to the branches that hung over the fence. “I can drop to a lower branch once I’m on the chief’s turf.”
“Just don’t expect me to follow. You’ll have to retrieve the gate key and come back for me.”
“Don’t tell me you’re afraid of heights.”
“Not as long as I have both feet on terra firma.”
His teasing smile faded from his face.
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