If You Know Her: A Novel of Romantic Suspense

didn’t want her alone for the next week or so. He’d been being conservative, although he didn’t plan on letting her know that.
    Yeah, as nervous as he was about things, he knew she valued her independence.
    So he’d played hard on the guilt factors and her desire for privacy—he could either spend so much time worrying over her, or he could put a deputy in the house, or she could spend today, at least, at the Inn with Roz, whether she was working or not. Reilly had been the initial suggestion but Law wasn’t answering the phone—Lena had gone with Roz out of default.
    Ezra wasn’t too happy with that suggestion, but the Inn was one big place that was rarely empty, especially in June. So it wasn’t bad middle ground—Lena wasn’t with him, wasn’t with Reilly, but she wasn’t alone, either.
    As she turned to face him, she had a brittle smile on her face. “Are you happy now, Daddy? I’ve got my babysitter lined up.”
    “Yeah, I’m happy.” Then, trying to lighten her mood a little, he reached and slid an arm around her waist. “But if you’re going to call me Daddy, can you put on a short skirt or something?”
    She snorted. “No. Pervert.” But some of the tension seeped out of her. “I hate this, you know.”
    “I know. But it won’t last forever.”
Just until I find a killer … and it may take awhile …
    His gut said otherwise, though. This guy wasn’t going to wait much longer to make a move. Most likely toward Nia. Ezra wasn’t taking chances, not with his wife.
    Turning his head, he pressed his lips to her brow. “Come on. Let’s get you over to the Inn.”
    Focused on Nia, worrying about Nia, Law barely heard it when the phone rang.
    The drink in his hand was sweating and he set it aside, shoved a hand through his hair.
    “What …?”
    “Huh?” He glanced up, saw Roz on the phone. She was frowning, staring off in the distance. She glanced at him and shook her head. Then, abruptly, she left the office. He could hear the sound of her heels clicking down the hardwood floor.
    As the sound grew more and more distant, he stood up and moved to the bathroom door. He almost knocked. Decided not to. He turned the handle, a little surprised when it opened for him.
    Nia stood at the sink, head bent, eyes closed. She shook. From head to toe, she shook.
    “Nia?”
    She slid him a quick look and then, just as quickly, her gaze bounced away. “I …” She stopped, licked her lips. “Where’s Roz?”
    “Slipped out. Somebody called.” He laid a hand on her shoulder. “You okay?”
    She shook her head. “We need to go,” she whispered, her voice thready and weak.
    “Okay. We can talk to her about the cabin later.”
    Nia laughed. The harsh, hysterical sound of it made him hurt—it was like a dagger scraping over the exposed flesh of his heart. He wanted to ask her what was wrong, ask her what had scared her so badly in the past few minutes.
    But now wasn’t the time.
    Here wasn’t the place.
    Stepping aside, he said, “After you.”
    She gave him a wobbly smile, shuffled out past him. Lingering by the desk, she shot it a look. He watched as her gaze fastened on something. But he couldn’t tell what.
    Her shoulders stiffened, her breathing hitched.
    “Nia …”
    She swallowed. “Can you go ask Roz when would be a good time for me to call?” she blurted out.
    He narrowed his eyes.
    The smile on her face took a decided turn for the pathetic and although he knew, he
knew
she was up to something, he nodded. Hell, he couldn’t figure out what she was up to if he didn’t let her do it, right?
    He headed out of the office, keeping his steps light … and his gaze focused on a narrow ornamental mirror that hung over a table just outside Roz’s office. Nia barely waited until he’d turned the corner before she reached out and pocketed something off Roz’s desk.
    If he wasn’t mistaken, it was the silvery bracelet Roz had been fiddling with.
    It was almost two hours later than normal when Ezra got into the office, but he didn’t give a damn. He’d been here until almost midnight last night and he knew he’d be spending far too much time in this place for the foreseeable future, as well.
    So when he caught Ms. Tuttle’s dark look, he scowled at her. “Damn it, don’t lay into me. Did you hear the hell I had to deal with yesterday?”
    To his surprise, she gave him a faint smile. “Actually, I did. And that look wasn’t for you.” She sighed and looked away,