Paradise Disguised(27)

"Where are you going?" Anna asked, following him and Mitchell to his truck.

"I'm going to finish this. Tell Sheriff Haney to call me on my cell phone. Tell him I know who's behind this."

"Dylan," Anna yelled. "Be careful. The Willis house burning down was  because of me. I don't think this person particularly cares who gets  hurt. But I think they're determined to hurt someone. I don't want it to  be you.

Dylan kissed her hard, and Anna watched as they drove away, her heart in  her throat. She made the call to Sheriff Haney, but she hung up when  she saw his cruiser already pulling up to the crime scene and went to  tell him the news.





Chapter Fifteen





Dylan followed his gut and sped through the old streets of Paradise,  looking for the tiny house he'd only seen once before. He passed Mel's  house on the right and Mitchell's a block further on the left, but still  didn't recognize the one he was looking for.

"Come on, which one is it?" he asked, searching for any familiar signs.

"Look," Mitchell said and pointed to a house at the end of the block.  The porch light came on, and someone was standing at the front door  hurriedly locking up.

Dylan skidded to a stop in front of Janet's house, startling her into  dropping her keys. She was dressed and ready to go out, and you never  would have guessed by looking at her that she'd just blown up a hundred  thousand dollar car.                       
       
           



       

"Hey, what are you guys doing here?" she asked, playing it cool and  walking over to her car. "You've just caught me on my way out, so I  won't be able to chat for long."

"I think you might just have to make the time," Dylan said.

Mitchell walked up to stand on the driver's side, blocking any escape she might have had.

"So tell me why you did it," Dylan said. "Anna's never done anything to  hurt you, so why would you try to kill her?" He watched her eyes dilate  quickly, and then she gained her composure, blanking her face of any  expression.

"I don't know what you're talking about. Obviously you two have lost  your minds. What, did Anna turn down your proposal and now you think I  had something to do with it?"

"No, actually she didn't say no. She said yes. In fact, we made a public announcement. It was a shame you had to miss it."

"That's all very exciting, but what does this have to do with me?"

"You know, it's funny. After Anna told me she'd been run off the road, I  tried to think of everyone possible that had a black car, and no one  came to mind. Except the time you had to drive your mother's car to work  when your's was in the shop. I wonder if we could match the skid marks  at Paradise Crossing to that car."

He saw Janet's eyes widen in fear. "And then I began to go back and  think of everything that had happened. The morning the Willis's house  burned down, you were the only one that knew where I was going. Mitchell  wasn't in the office yet, and you told me you'd give him the message.  And then the notes, Janet. How very unoriginal. I can't believe you  thought a note would keep Anna away from me."

"Of course I didn't think they would keep her away from you, but I  needed to scare her enough that she'd question whether or not you were  worth it."

"Why? You could have killed her. And I have to say, my first reaction  after that car exploded was to do my own brand of murder. Consider  yourself lucky."

"I never would have killed her. I knew exactly what I was doing. I was  just going to scare her away from you. As to why …  I've worked for you  for four years, ever since you opened the office here, and yet you've  never paid me the attention I deserved. I would have done anything for  you, Anything!" she screamed.

"I never worried because I knew that you'd use your whores for pleasure,  but you never attached yourself to any of them. You always came back to  me. Until Anna. It was an insult to parade that dowdy, boring slut in  front of me after everything I've done for you."

"Janet, I thought you were my friend."

"Just what every woman wants to hear, Dylan. The just friends speech."

"We could have been, Janet." Dylan paused when Sheriff Haney pulled up  behind his truck and hopped out quickly. "But needless to say, I think  I'm going to have to fire you. I love Anna, and her safety means  everything to me. I'm sorry that I didn't know how you felt. But I can't  change my feelings."

"Miss Porter," Sheriff Haney said. "Does this belong to you?" He held up  a woven silver bracelet linked together with small diamonds. A bracelet  that Dylan and Mitchell had seen on her wrist countless times.

Janet kept her mouth shut and continued staring holes into Dylan's chest.

"You know, the car explosion had the same MO as the fire at the Willis  place. A match and a gas soaked rag that led to the fuel tank. I'm sure  it wouldn't be any trouble at all to tie the two crimes together."

Janet turned her gaze to the sheriff, eyes hate filled and hard as granite.

"I believe you're going to have to come with me, Miss Porter." Sheriff  Haney cuffed her wrists behind her back and led her to his cruiser. She  never made a sound, but her stony silence spoke volumes.

"Life is always interesting in Paradise," Mitchell said, slapping Dylan  on the back. "I can honestly say I've never been bored since moving  here. Speaking of that, I believe you have a new fiancée who's waiting  anxiously for you."

"No, I've been waiting for her my whole life. I just didn't know it."





Epilogue





"Cut that out woman. Just once I'd like to make it to a nice soft bed before you start ravishing me."

"Excuse me," Anna said. "I believe it was you who picked the grass and  the airplane and the wall and the creek behind the house and the. . ."

Dylan put his hand over her mouth and tried to look stern. "We haven't  been married more than twenty-four hours and already you're back  talking. You know you're supposed to be a submissive, obedient servant. I  distinctly remember hearing that part in our vows."                       
       
           



       

"I must have been sleeping through that part," Anna said with a cheeky grin.

Dylan smacked her on the bottom and turned to look at the place they  would be spending the next couple of days holed up in before they left  for their honeymoon in Hawaii. Anna's house was finished and it was  spectacular. It already felt like more of a home than his ever had.  Probably because Anna was there to share it with him.

"Are you sure you don't mind living here?" Anna asked. "I hate for you to put your house on the market if you don't want to."

"Anna, that house was just a place to live. It didn't mean anything to  me. This house was the start of our whole relationship. I never want to  live anywhere else."

They looked at the beautiful cottage surrounded by trees and a creek, a  water wheel attached to the side of the house made it seem as if it came  out of a fairytale. Its size was deceptive, for inside they had all the  room they'd ever need, including the houseful of children they'd  already started on.

He hoped the town wouldn't talk for too long about Anna giving birth  only seven months after their wedding night, but he couldn't have been  more excited to start their family.

Dylan swooped Anna up in his arms, the feel of her snug against him  sending jolts through his body. He never tired of the feeling. "You  know, the bed is an awfully long way from here, and I hear it's not good  for expectant mothers to be on their feet for long periods of time."

"Well it just so happens I prepared for your lust crazed ideas," Anna said, nodding her head in the direction of the trees.

Dylan burst into laughter as he saw the sleeping bag nestled in a pile  of leaves under a big oak tree. "That's more like it. I'd hate to waste  any valuable time by walking all the way to the bedroom."

"You know I love you, Anna," he said, laying her gently on the ground.

"Show me," she said, opening her arms to welcome the delicious weight of his body against hers.

And he did.





Here's an excerpt of DANE, Book 1 in the MacKenzie Brothers Quartet by Liliana Hart.



Available Now!





Chapter One





There were those who said Dane MacKenzie would never amount to anything.  That he'd spend his life drifting aimlessly from one thing to the next,  never to settle down or take on an ounce of responsibility. There were  even some who said he'd end up behind prison bars or six feet under  ground. He'd been closer to both than he cared to admit.

Dane had the body of a brawler and ready fists, but there were some  folks-usually women-who claimed the smile that graced his sensuous lips  when those fists connected with another man's flesh was enough to make  any woman want to take a walk on the dark side. Though he wasn't as bad  as he used to be, his reputation remained the same.