My Deadly Valentine - By Valerie Hansen & Lynette Eason Page 0,2

deputy. “Something else just occurred to me. If that horrible thing wasn’t delivered in the regular way, how did it get into our storeroom?”

“Do you keep the back door locked?”

“We will from now on.”

“How about an alarm system? Do you have one of those?”

“No.” She smiled at Mrs. McCafferty. “And we can’t afford to install one. We’ll be fortunate to keep our doors open if we don’t start to generate more sales. Which reminds me…” She briefly glanced over the officer’s shoulder, then concentrated on him. “More than one of my regular customers has peered in the window since you got here. Would you mind moving that car and shutting off your flashing lights? You’re bad for business.”

“Will you be okay if I leave long enough to do that?”

“Of course. Why wouldn’t we be?”

“Just didn’t want to be accused of dereliction of duty.”

Rachel huffed and peered at his name tag. “Look, Deputy Morgan, I can take care of myself and Eloise just fine. We didn’t need you here in the first place.”

The moment she spoke she was penitent. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to sound so harsh. I know you’re only doing your job.”

“You don’t care much for police officers, do you? May I ask why?”

“Well, not because I’m a crook, if that’s what you’re thinking,” Rachel replied. “Actually, my father is a cop. Or he was, until he retired recently.”

“I take it you and he don’t see eye to eye.” Jace’s brows arched.

She laughed wryly. “That, Deputy, has to be the understatement of the century.”

TWO

Jace wasn’t too concerned about the strange package at the card store. After all, it hadn’t been physically damaging, nor did it show much imagination. Anybody could send dead flowers as a sick joke. Considering the kinds of heinous criminal acts he’d faced in L.A., this one was little more than a nuisance.

His thoughts carried him back to the look on Rachel’s face when she’d read that cryptic note. There had been an unguarded moment of fear before she’d carefully schooled her features to appear less concerned.

What was she hiding? And why? Surely she couldn’t be involved in anything serious. According to Sheriff Allgood, there was little crime in Serenity and what there was, was quickly dealt with. There had only been one murder in the past three years and that crime had been solved, which told Jace that the town was about as peaceful as anyone could hope for.

He shivered. Images of his last gun battle, the one that had changed his life, flashed into his mind. He and his partner, Roy, had been patrolling an alley behind a hotel when Roy had informed him that he was going to marry the woman Jace had courted for nearly a year. Shocked and saddened, Jace had not been at his best when shots had whistled over their heads moments later.

“Duck!” Roy had shouted, grabbing his arm and dragging him behind a trash bin.

Jace crouched instinctively and drew his gun. “Where did that come from?”

“I don’t know. Second story, I think. Keep your head down and cover me. I’ll go around and come in the back.”

Nodding, Jace tightened his grip on his pistol. His head was spinning. All he could think about was Sandra. With Roy. As a couple. And he was left out in the cold.

More shots echoed between the tall buildings. Jace tensed, looking for the source and preparing to return fire. There. Third window from the corner. He raise his arm and aimed.

Just then, another shooter entered the scene. Roy fell. And Jace froze, incredulous, for what seemed like an eternity. It was long enough for him to be wounded, too.

Later, when his shoulder had been bandaged and his partner had regained consciousness in the hospital, with Sandra holding his hand and weeping over him, Roy had assured Jace that there was nothing Jace could have done to prevent their injuries.

Jace hadn’t been sure then and he was no more positive now. Still, the incident had served a purpose. It had demonstrated without a doubt that Sandra loved Roy. And it had given Jace a reason to change jobs, to simplify his life as well as move across the country to escape constant reminders of his lost love.

He paused in the street and glanced back at the card shop. If he were looking for a new relationship, he’d certainly be interested in getting to know Rachel better.

Good thing for him he was cured of any romantic tendencies, he thought cynically as he turned