Page 6 of Deceit & Desire

“The Carters started stirring up shit the second they heard your dad is sick. The sheriff is up for re-election and he needs a reason for his constituents to vote for him. He’s re-opened the investigation into Missy’s death.”

I leaned over and opened the glove box, pulling out a small black velvet ring box and opened it, showing her the white gold and emerald engagement ring nestled inside it.

Zoe frowned at me, her forehead bunching with confusion. “I… what? I don’t understand. What’s that for?”

“We’re fighting a war on multiple fronts, and the best chance we have of coming out on top is if we present a united front, against David Michaelson, and against the sheriff’s department.”

“What the hell are you talking about? You and I both know Missy hanged herself?—”

I shook my head and sighed, hoping Zoe could see just how grim our situation really was by the look in my eyes. “We’re the top two suspects on the sheriff’s list in his investigation of Missy’s death. He says there are too many things from the old reports and evidence that don’t quite add up, and he doesn’t believe she took her own life. The sheriff is investigating her death as a possible murder now, and he’s going to try to pin it on one or the other of us, maybe both. Let’s just call this ring my insurance policy.”

Zoe blanched ghost white, trembling as she stared across the cab of the truck at me. “Insurance policy? For what?”

“Everyone in town, including your father, knows that I was planning to propose to you when you came home. This is my way of making sure you don’t run out and leave me to take the blame for Missy’s death, you see?”

“No.” Zoe stared at the ring, shaking her head, her eyes blazing with defiance.

“That’s where you’re wrong, baby. You’re going to wear this ring and you’re going to play along?—”

“I’ll be damned if that’s so,” Zoe hissed, lunging for the door handle.

I reached out and gripped her arm, tugging her back until she whirled to glare at me.

“Oh, but it is, and I’ll tell you why.” I leaned over, so we were almost nose-to-nose, and stared her right in the eye so she could see just how deadly serious I was. “I know about the second fight you and Missy had that day, the one you thought nobody else witnessed. But I was there, and I heard every single word of what you said to Missy the last time either of us saw her alive.”

Chapter3

A Thinly Veiled Threat

PLAYLIST: ”FORTUNATE SON” BY CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL

ZOE

My heart stuttered,and my chest squeezed so tight I couldn’t breathe. “You can’t honestly believe I killed her, Roman. I know I was horrible—I said terrible things to both of you that day—but surely you don’t think I’m the kind of girl who would kill her best friend?”

“No, baby. I don’t believe you killed Missy, but the sheriff’s department does, and that’s what matters.” Roman pulled the engagement ring out of its little velvet box and held it out to me. “Now, do you want me to tell the sheriff about that second fight with Missy, or do you want me to keep my mouth shut while we find a way to prove we didn’t kill her? The choice is yours.”

Hot tears stung my eyes, but I blinked them back as I stared at the engagement ring. “That ring is nothing more than a thinly veiled threat, and you expect me to wear it willingly?”

Roman shook his head, his hazel eyes darkening to almost black. “That’s where you’re wrong, sweetheart. This ring isn’t just a threat, it’s also a promise.”

My mouth went sandpaper dry. “Oh yeah? What’s the promise, Roman?”

Roman swallowed hard and squared his shoulders, like a fighter about to face off with an opponent in the ring, but when he spoke, his voice was impossibly soft and husky. “If you choose to wear my ring, I promise to keep that second fight with Missy as our little secret and never tell another soul. I promise to do everything in my power to protect Twisted Creek Ranch, and I promise to keep you safe, no matter what.”

I can’t believe this is real life. What is he even saying right now?

Sucking down a steadying breath, I speared Roman with a skeptical glare. “And what happens if we can’t prove that we didn’t kill Missy? What then?”

Roman reached out with his free hand and cupped my cheek, stroking his thumb over my cheekbone with breathtaking gentleness, though his eyes remained dark and steely. “If it comes to that, then I’ll take the fall to keep you out of prison, but the only way I’m doing that is with my ring on your finger.”

In that moment, I could have sworn I felt the earth wobble on its axis, as if it, too, was affected by the gravitational pull I’d always felt between us.

“One last question before I give you my answer.” I bit my lip and let my eyes fall closed, afraid of what I might see in Roman’s gaze if I kept my eyes open.

“What made you choose an emerald for the stone, rather than something else?”

Roman leaned closer, his body heat enveloping me as his lips brushed the shell of my ear. “You’ve always hated diamonds, baby. Did you think I’d forget? They’re colorless and boring and basic. You’re none of those things. Besides… the emerald matches your eyes. I thought it’d be fitting.”

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