A Secret Message (Lavender Cove #1)

Ten

IT WAS ALREADY LATE in the afternoon when Vixen made it back to the cafe from the police station, and although having to recount what happened was slightly harrowing, she was starting to feel more like herself again.

The police had only needed an hour to make Claire's Uncle Jorge crack under pressure and begin talking.

Jorge Cumerford had been drowning in gambling debts for years, and with loan sharks breathing down his neck, the older man had chosen to do the unthinkable: he had used his knowledge as a dentist to poison his mother and induce a heart attack, and the coroner had subsequently ruled her death as one of natural causes.

Great-Aunt Joy's death had allowed her son to sell off her home and receive money from the insurance company. But when Jorge had seen the secret message in his mother's letter, guilt and paranoia had him automatically assuming that the older woman was tattling from the grave.

Not wanting to pay for his crime, Jorge had resolved to commit another murder, and he might even have gotten away with it...if not for him.

As soon as the police had his signed confession, Vixen and all the others who were interviewed were allowed to leave. Juno, being the resilient teenager she was, considered the whole thing as a badge of honor. Claire, on the other hand, had been heartbroken, and it had taken both Vixen and Scott to convince her to stop blaming herself for what happened.

Only one loose end remained, and said loose end had just texted her a message.

I don't think you should be alone right now.

She didn't even think twice about what to answer him.

I do still owe you coffee.

His reply to this had her eyes widening.

On my way.

Vixen couldn't remember feeling this nervous about meeting another person, and her heart was beating madly against her chest as soon as she caught sight of his tall, lean figure heading up the brick pathway.

She opened the doors, and his steps slowed to a stop.

He was even more handsome than she remembered. Taller. And now that he was this close, she was able to appreciate the silvery shade of his eyes.

Who is this man supposed to be, God?

Vixen remembered how shock had rendered her barely able to think when the police had first arrived, and she had heard them ask him for his name.

Rule.

He had said something else, but she had no longer heard it, and even though she now knew the truth, it was still something she had a hard time wrapping her head around.

How was it possible that this man was also Rule? As in Gabriel's friend Rule? As in...the man she had been texting for over a week?

Vixen didn't believe in coincidences, but she was also afraid of leaping to the wrong conclusions.

This man had a role to play in her life, but what?

Rule knew he should stop staring at her, but doing so was next to impossible. She was even more beautiful up close, and his only regret was how present circumstances gave her no reason to smile.

He could still remember the taste of fear in his mouth when he realized she was in danger, and he had known at that moment that she had already gotten under his skin without her even trying.

He remembered how he had asked her to call 911 as soon as he had tackled Cumerford to the floor. Remembered how the truth had hit him like a bolt of lightning when he heard her say her name.

Vixen. Vixen Madrigal.

He still had a hard time believing it even now, but this time...

This time, he was done fighting against what his heart wanted.

But just as Rule was about to speak, his phone started vibrating in his pocket again—-

No.

No more.

It was time to move on from the past. It was time to focus on the present, and right now, his present was looking incredibly lovely...because she was smiling.

At him.

"Don't be mad, alright? But when Gabriel asked me to text you, I kinda assumed you were this kind, old gentleman?"

"Only if you also promise not to be mad...if I tell you that I assumed you were some high school boy Gabriel was mentoring."

A soft laugh spilled past her lips, and the sound was as winsome as her smile. "We should make a pact."

Rule raised a brow. "For what?"

"Not to make any assumptions about each other...since we both suck at it."

Her unexpected candidness won a chuckle out of him. "Deal."

"And now that we've gotten that out of the way...there's only one thing left to do."

Rule tried to keep his surprise from showing. Was she...hitting on him?

Vixen went around the counter and showed him her laptop. "My assistant and I may have solved the mystery surrounding Pedro Martinez's disappearance..."

Rule struggled to concentrate as she explained to him how she and Juno had solved the clues Martinez had provided to his whereabouts. All his mind cared about, however, was something else entirely.

She was not hitting on him.

She might not even be attracted to him.

And that was not a good thing...since Rule had just realized how much he wanted her to be a part of his life.

"Rule?"

Vixen was looking at him expectantly.

"Are you ready?"

He nodded despite not being sure what he was supposed to be ready for.

"Here we go..."

Vixen hit the right arrow key just once, and a message balloon immediately popped up.

Congratulations. You found me. What can I do for you?

THE END