When Molly blasted into the bail-bond office, she didn’t even let Ashton say a word before shoving open the inner door and striding right inside Barney’s private office.
“Where’s my check?”
He only looked startled for a fraction of a second before plastering on his usual smarmy smile and gesturing to the chair in front of his desk. “Molly Pax. What a pleasure. Have a seat. I can’t wait to hear more about your adventures. How exciting that must’ve been! And who would’ve thought that one of the detectives on your mother’s case would be on the wrong side of the law?”
“Nope.” She crossed her arms over her chest. She disliked Barney on a good day, and she’d been up for half the night before, thanks to the wannabe burglars. She was in no mood to play. “We don’t need to chat. All I need is my check and confirmation that you’re not going back on your word. I emailed you our bill early this morning.”
“Well, fine. If you’re going to be unsociable…” He hunted and pecked at his computer keyboard as Molly restrained the urge to tap her foot impatiently. “Despite your lack of manners, I’ll admit that I was impressed you managed to bring in Sonny. I could use someone of your talents working for me full-time.”
“No.”
“You might want to consider—”
“No.” When he opened his mouth to argue further, she waved her hand sharply, not even caring anymore that it was her mom’s mannerism. “You blackmailed me into this, and Sonny almost killed me and the people I love. You’re going to print that check, hand it to me, and give me your word that you won’t make any other attempt to move up Mom’s court date.”
He eyed her, and she stared right back. Enough was enough. She wasn’t about to let Barney bully her into becoming his lackey. She remembered Norah’s pale face as she stood wrapped in explosives, and it steeled her resolve. Barney must’ve seen her determination, because he dropped his gaze to the computer screen and clicked the mouse button.
The whir of the printer kicking on sent a wave of triumph and relief crashing over Molly, but she tried very hard to keep her emotions from showing. She waited in silence as he signed the check and slowly, very slowly, extended it toward her. After snatching it from his grip, she quickly glanced down, confirming that he had actually made it out for the full thirty percent plus their expenses.
“Now your word that you won’t try to move up Mom’s court date.”
“I’d never—”
“Your word, Barney.” It wasn’t worth much, but at least it was some kind of promise.
“Fine. I give you my word that I won’t try to move Jane’s court date.” He said the words easily—too easily—and she didn’t trust the smug way he leaned back in his chair. She knew it was all she was going to get from him, though, and she was ready to get out of this grubby office and away from its slimy inhabitant.
“I’ll hold you to it.” With a short nod, she turned and strode away, ignoring Barney’s attempts to get her to stay. She strode to the main door and threw it open, stepping out into the fall sunlight just to slam head-on into a broad chest that smelled wonderful.
John caught her, not releasing her even after she’d regained her balance. Although she tried to scowl, her ability to frown seemed to be on the fritz whenever she was around him. “You did that on purpose,” she scolded him. “What are you doing here?”
“I wanted to reenact our last encounter outside Barney’s office,” he said with absolutely no shame as he tucked her hand into the crook of his arm and headed across the parking lot. “Which answers both questions. Oh, and your Sergeant Blake called. She couldn’t get hold of you, but she wanted to let you know they found your car.”
“They did?” Molly’s voice rose to an excited high note, making him wince even as he laughed.
“They did. Want a ride to the station?”
“Yes! Please.” She couldn’t contain her excitement and gave a little hop that made John laugh again and hug her against his side.
“You’re so cute, Pax.”
She pretended to frown at him. “You meant stunningly gorgeous.”
“Of course I did.”
“I got Barney to promise we’d have the month to find Mom. Oh, and I also got our check.” She held it up for his inspection. By the way his eyebrows flew up, he hadn’t expected Barney to pay the full amount, either.
“Ours?”
“Well, duh.” She carefully tucked the check into one of her pockets and zipped it securely closed before climbing into the passenger side of his car. She sent a quick text to Cara, letting her know that she didn’t need a ride home, and waited until John had gotten in before adding, “We’re partners.”
“So I got my way. We’re working together.” He sounded way too smug for her to let that pass.
“I still say this will end in bloodshed and tragedy.”
“Probably.”
“Although I’m shocked by how much less you annoy me when you’re supplying me with regular orgasms.”
That made him choke before he roared with laughter. “Same,” he said once he was able to speak again.
Glancing over at that adorable dimple, she gave in to the urge to poke it with her fingertip. Gently grabbing her hand, he kissed it before returning it to her lap. She studied him as he drove, looking wildly happy, which, in turn, made her just as happy.
“I really do love you a ridiculous amount,” she said as they turned into the police station lot. She was shocked by how quickly the drive had gone. Apparently, staring at John Carmondy with googly eyes really killed some time.
His look was both hungry and incredibly tender. “I’ve loved you since I first saw you chasing that woman through the mall.”
“Doreen the scam artist? She was a really fast runner. If Charlie hadn’t cut her off at the south exit, she would’ve gotten away that day.” Molly frowned at him as he parked. “That was weeks before we met.”
“Yeah, but I saw you tearing through the food court, looking all determined and hot, and that was it. I was yours.”
“You couldn’t have loved me.” Even though she denied it, she adored the idea. “You didn’t know me then.”
“Didn’t matter. I loved you from that second, and I know you now.” He opened the door and got out, and she hurried to do the same, needing to hear the rest of what he was about to say. He waited until they were climbing the steps to the entrance to speak again. “The more I get to know you, the more I love you.”
Lieutenant Botha stepped outside, so Molly couldn’t hurl herself into John’s arms like she wanted. She had to limit herself to merely squeezing his arm for a moment before releasing him and smiling at the cop.
“Hi, Lieutenant. I heard my car was found.”
“It was.” A strange expression flickered across Botha’s normally stoic face, and Molly felt a twitch of nerves.
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s…” When the lieutenant’s voice trailed off, Molly really started to worry. “I’ll show you. It’s in the garage.”
Shooting John an anxious glance, Molly followed Botha along the outside of the building to an overhead door. The lieutenant hesitated for just a moment before using her key card to open the door. As it slowly rolled up, Molly’s imagination flashed through all sorts of horrible possibilities. What had happened to her beloved Prius? It had to be bad to fluster the otherwise unflusterable Lieutenant Botha. Had it been trashed? Smashed? Stripped?
Molly couldn’t take it anymore. As soon as the door was high enough, she ducked underneath and looked frantically around, scanning the rows of squad vehicles for her car. When her gaze landed on it, her heart sank down to her toes. She vaguely heard John trying to muffle his laughter.
“Oh…no.”
* * *
“Keep your eyes closed.”
Molly snorted as she stumbled over the bottom of the doorframe. “Why does it even matter when your ham of a hand is covering my entire face?”
“I have to keep my hand over your eyes because I know you’ll try to peek.” Before she could respond to that, he continued, “Ready?”
“As I’ll ever be.” Despite her dry tone, she was actually excited about John’s surprise.
He dropped his hand to reveal a gorgeous porch swing.
“Whoa, you made this?” She ran her hand over the back before plopping down on the cushioned seat. “It’s amazing. I’m so impressed.”
He grinned his sweet, happy grin, the one she’d been seeing more and more of since they’d brought in Sonny, and plopped down next to her. The bench vibrated but took his weight without complaint. “I am impressive.”
“You are. Thank you for this.” She glanced over at the far side of the porch swing to see Warrant settling happily on a dog bed she didn’t recognize. “And for Warrant’s, too.”
John’s smile turned a little sheepish. “I couldn’t leave him without a place to sit.”
Molly kissed him on the cheek in a spot that wasn’t swollen or mottled with bruises and cuddled in closer as he wrapped his arm around her, careful with her still-sore arm. In all the time she’d known him, she wasn’t sure how she’d missed what an absolute sweetheart this man was. As they gently swung, they watched as Mr. P next door glared at them suspiciously through the window before snapping down the blinds.
“Not only is this the perfect spot to enjoy a sunny fall day,” she said, leaning her head back so she could see John’s face, “but we also get to annoy the neighbors. It’s a win-win.”
His loud laugh triggered her own. They were still smiling as they watched a car pull up to the curb in front of the house. Felicity and Charlie climbed out, looking a bit bedraggled. Tail wagging, Warrant jogged down the steps to greet them.
“Welcome home!” Molly called as her sisters scratched Warrant’s upturned belly.
They trudged through the yard and up the porch steps. Warrant followed and resettled on his new bed. “Thanks. What the heck is sitting in our driveway?” Charlie asked, plopping down next to Molly, who gave her a sitting half hug in greeting. “Did you start a new family business?”
Felicity dropped down onto her sisters’ laps, turned sideways so she could eye the way Molly was tucked against John. “Finally. Took you long enough, Moo.”
“Yeah, it did.” He held up a fist for Felicity to bump, and Molly elbowed him—although not too hard, since he had just made her this very nice porch swing.
Molly ignored them and answered Charlie instead. “That’s my car. It was not returned in the condition in which it was taken.” After the initial shock, however, it was kind of growing on Molly. The neighbors were universally horrified by it, so that was a plus. “Apparently, Mom’s friend sold it to someone who has a marijuana delivery business, and they had it custom painted. Just wait until you smell the interior. I’m worried I’ll get a contact high just driving to the grocery store.” She glanced at her beloved Prius and winced, just a little. A jungle of pot leaves stood out against a bright-blue background, with Weed on Wheels printed in huge hot-pink bubble letters on both sides.
“I think it’s kind of pretty,” Norah said as she came outside, letting the screen door swing shut behind her. “Very green and nature-y. Hey, Fifi, Charlie.” She started to perch on the arm of the swing, but Felicity pulled her into her lap, making Charlie and Molly groan from the added weight.
“Let’s not break the swing on the first day,” Molly protested, but John just waved a hand, dismissing her concern.
“I made it strong enough to hold the whole family.”
That made her heart squeeze with affection, and she smiled up at him. He grinned back, adoration clear in his expression as he hugged her closer.
“Speaking of family,” Felicity said, “where’s Cara?”
“The library. She said she had to work on a group class project.” Molly tried to keep the doubt out of her voice. Cara had been gone a lot over the past few days, using the “group project” excuse every time someone asked where she’d been. The problem was that Cara was a terrible liar. Molly made a mental note to talk to her sister and make sure that everything was okay. This shady behavior wasn’t like her.
“Heads up,” Charlie said quietly, drawing everyone’s attention to the unmarked sedan rolling slowly down their street. They all fell silent as they watched it. As it crept past their house, Molly saw the bitter face of the driver.
“Detective Mill,” John said, a hard note underlying his tone. “Looks like he’s going to be a problem.”
“Yep.” Molly felt her stomach twist with renewed worry as the sedan followed the turnaround at the end of the street and sped away. Between detectives with grudges and a still-missing mom and unscrupulous treasure hunters and possible lurkers in the forest and a bail bondsman holding the title to their house in his money-grubbing fingers, they were still in a boatload of trouble. John squeezed her shoulders, and some of her tension slipped away. By bringing in Sonny, they’d gotten some breathing room and had at least a month to find their mom. They had time to save their house. She’d worry about it later. Right now, she just wanted to enjoy being with her family on their new porch swing.
“So what’d we miss while we were gone?” Charlie asked.
Molly and John looked at each other. She smiled, loving that they could communicate without saying a word, just like they were an old married couple. She settled in more comfortably against him. Telling the whole tale was going to take a while.