Blood and Roses - Sylvia Day Page 0,2

this knowing I could face prosecution along with you. By not turning you in, I could be seen as an accessory after the fact. And if I took the finder’s fee and Frankie’s involvement ever got out, I’d have a hell of a time arguing that I wasn’t a participant in a multi-million dollar fraud against the insurance company.”

“Jake would never let that happen,” Tilly argued.

“He isn’t God, Mom,” Ana muttered, her stomach knotting at the thought of facing her high school sweetheart again. Jake Monroe—a man she’d never gotten over. “I’ll have to talk to him. Maybe Eric’s contacted him. I’d expect it, considering how protective Jake is.”

“Will you be staying in Whisper Creek until this is worked out?”

“I’ll be staying tonight, at least. If Terence survives—God willing—I’ll be heading back to Manhattan to see him. And if I sniff out any leads on who Terence might’ve brought in as the fourth, I’ll take off to pursue those. How’s the Wi-Fi at the house?”

“Still not good. I use the computer here at the shop when I need reliable internet access.”

“Then I’ll stay at Victoria’s Inn.”

Picking up her briefcase, Ana exhaled harshly. “Let me know if you hear anything.”

“Anastasia.” Her mother’s voice stopped her when she reached the door. “You’ll watch out for Frankie, won’t you? He’ll be all right?”

“I’ll do my best, Mom.” But she couldn’t make any promises. She couldn’t even be sure she wouldn’t go down with them.

Reaching for her sunglasses on the top of her head, she stepped outside.

And found a deputy U.S. Marshal waiting next to her car.

Ana’s breath caught and her heartbeat accelerated with a mixture of surprise and guilt.

The deputy was a tall and leanly built man with cool blue eyes and a firm mouth. His chiseled face was impassive and his arms casually crossed. His long legs were braced slightly apart, anchoring him to the asphalt as he assessed her from head to toe from beneath the brim of his hat.

“Deputy,” she greeted him, regaining her composure.

“Anastasia.” His voice was whisky-rough and it spoke her name like a caress. “What brings you back?”

“Pit stop during a work assignment.” She shoved her free hand into her pocket to hide how it trembled. Wondering if he had more news than Tilly did, she asked, “Where’s Eric?”

Jake’s lips pursed. He had a gorgeous mouth. Neither too full or too thin and perfectly sculpted. That mouth knew every inch of her body. She still had dreams about what he could do with it. “He headed down to Florida with your brother.”

She nodded and somehow refrained from shifting on her feet. “I never did like Florida. Too much humidity for me.”

“How long are you gonna be in town?”

“A few days, at most.”

He adjusted his weight, his body moving with sleek fluidity. “So why are we wasting time talking about nothing?”

She stared at him, absorbing everything about the man she’d left behind. He was harder than before. Bigger, too. He’d been twenty-two the last time she saw him. He was fully a man now, his frame filled out. The formidable strength of will he’d exuded as long as she’d known him hadn’t changed. “Are we supposed to be doing something else?”

“Getting to the point would be good. You staying with Tilly?”

“No.”

“You married?”

She shook her head. “You?”

“No. You’ll stay at my place, then.”

Heat shimmered through her, her pulse quickening. She hadn’t expected him to move so fast. If she was honest, she would admit that she’d been afraid he would brush her off, having long gotten over her. Worse, she’d wondered if he had a woman in his life, someone who had a normal family she could be proud of and he could be a part of.

“How’s your internet access?” She was thinking about how much closer she’d be to getting a bead on Eric if she was staying at Jake’s house. She would also be closer to Jake himself, the man she loved so much it was like an aching wound in her chest.

“Sweetheart,” he drawled, his gaze hot. “You really want to start out that way? I was planning on easing you back into it, but if you’re eager to be punished, you just let me know.”

Her body responded to the sensual threat with familiar alacrity. Jake had always been able to make her ready for him with just a look, because she knew exactly where that look would lead—to dark pleasure that took her to her limits. “I have to work, Jake. It was a valid