Page 15 of Lost Cause
He finished searching the perimeter and stopped by Victor’s chair. “Victor? Are you awake, Victor?”
The man didn’t stir. If anything, he snored louder.
Shaking his head, Burke went outside and made his way to Deputy Ewing, who was standing near the doorway. Burke gave a quick rundown of everything they’d found, making sure not to say the word crown.
“I’m heading back to home base,” he said. “You and your partner stay here. Lock down the perimeter—entire property.”
Deputy Ewing raised an eyebrow. “The whole thing?”
“That’s right. We’ll need daylight and additional personnel to process this scene properly. First thing in the morning, I’ll schedule reinforcements to relieve you. Until then, once the perimeter’s secured, plant yourself at the base of the stairs. No one gets through unless you clear it with me personally. Understood?”
“Yes, sir,” Ewing replied.
“That also goes for Abby Day. No one gets in. Including her or anyone on her team. Don’t ask. Don’t second-guess. They’re not authorized. End of story.”
Abby gasped from behind him. He cringed. She’d heard his orders.
After their earlier conflict, he hated to upset her more, but the truth was, he had a job to do, and nothing would pull him from it. Not her, not anyone. Respect for her or not, he would keep moving forward. Still, those warm brown eyes had a way of throwing him off balance, making him want to forget the hard lesson he’d already learned about trusting women.
No. He couldn’t forget their duplicitous behavior. Wouldn’t forget such a thing. Not ever.
Abby couldn’t believe the silent treatment she was getting from Burke. Not a word. Not a single word uttered since they took seats near each other in the boat for their ride back to civilization. Nor did he apologize for so forcefully instructing his deputy to keep her and her team off Victor’s property.
She should just accept the silence, but the only way she wouldn’t stew about it all night was if she hashed it out with him. “After the way you so strongly instructed your deputy to keep us away from the crime scene, I thought it might be a good idea to talk a little more about working together.”
He swiveled his seat to face her. “I didn’t mean anything personal by it.”
“It sure feels like it—you thinking the worst of me all the time and not giving me the benefit of the doubt.”
He didn’t answer for a long moment, but stared over her shoulder. “I’m sorry about that.”
“I appreciate you recognizing it and apologizing, but the big question is, how can we avoid it in the future?”
“You don’t need to do anything.” He leaned forward, his arms on his knees. “Look, the guy you’ve met so far isn’t the man I want to be, and I sure don’twantto act like this. But there’s something about you that gets under my skin. I’m not saying it’s your fault. It’s all on me. I’m still attracted to you, but I don’t have room in my life for such a distraction, and it makes me mad that I can’t get control of it.”
He needed to be in control. No secret to her. She’d seen the same trait in him before, but it was more exaggerated now. He was a man who was assertive about the way he felt and the way he wanted things, and quick to react when it didn’t go his way.
A personality she avoided at all costs. Reminded her too much of her family of pushy defense attorneys—both her parents and three siblings. All who looked down on her for her career choice, never missing a moment to jab her about it. For her own mental health, she’d had to walk away.
The consequences of her decision broke her heart. Unfortunately, her mother died unexpectedly a little over a year ago, and Abby hadn’t had a chance to reconcile with her before then. But Burke appeared to be different from her family. He recognized his behavior, at least when it came to this issue, and seemed to want to change. Big questions were, could he recognize it in other situations and actually change?
Only time would tell, and he wasn’t the only one to blame for their current situation.
“I have a part in this, too,” she admitted, but had no plans to tell him about how he reminded her of her family. “I’m also still attracted to you and finding it hard to ignore. If I’m conveying my interest and making things worse for you, I’m sorry. I have zero time for a relationship. We’re too busy getting our business up and running and barely making ends meet. I need to put all of my attention on this investigation and locate the crown for the generous payment Victor is offering us.”
She expected him to ask how much money Victor was shelling out for their services, but when he didn’t, she continued, “So what say we do our best not to put ourselves in a position where we have to work extra hard on the way we react to each other?”
“Deal.” He held out his hand.
She clasped it, but at the warmth of his touch, she wanted to ignore the pact they’d just made.
So when the boat bumped up against the dock and Burke jumped out to tie it off, she caught up and quickly made her way to the side of the boat.
He held out his hand to help her disembark. Touching him now might undo their whole conversation, so she ignored his hand and climbed onto a bench seat, then onto the slippery dock. She nearly face-planted, but righted herself at the last moment.
Burke was probably laughing under his breath, but she refused to check. She felt like some sulky teenager and couldn’t shake it, no matter how dumb it seemed. The kicker? Acting like this wasn’t her at all. She was usually easy-going and went with the flow. But something about him set her on edge, and she didn’t like who she became around him.
She took a deep breath and let it out, forcing away her irritation and focusing on being more positive.
