The Perfect Liar (Last Stand #5)(44)
Author: Brenda Novak

Apparently, she was as much of a fool as her mother, her father’s other wives and the mil ions of women who’d ever let a handsome man convince them to forgo their better judgment.

Good thing Luke wasn’t attracted to her. If her feelings weren’t reciprocated, she didn’t have to worry about the situation getting too far out of control, did she?

Ava climbed out of Luke’s car almost before he could bring it to a complete stop. "Thanks for dinner," she said. "I’l be in touch on Monday. I can’t stand your attorney, so you’l have to–"

"Whoa!" he interrupted. "What don’t you like about McCreedy?"

"I came up against him on a Murder One case a year ago and he tried everything in the book to get his guy off. When that didn’t fly, he convinced his scumbag defendant to cop a plea, which got them a very favorable deal. So basically, because of McCreedy, a cold-blooded kil er wil soon be out on the streets, where he’l probably hurt other innocent people, like my client, who now has to live in fear."

"I can see where the two of you could be at odds," he conceded.

"I’m not used to working for the defense. So you’l need to be the go-between. I don’t want anything to do with McCreedy or his investigators.

Make sure he understands that he’s not to contact me."

"Okay." Luke gazed at the large, mountainous shape at the end of a rickety pier. Ava’s houseboat looked old, but it was hard to tell much about it beyond that. There wasn’t a single light on. They’d gone to dinner before dark, and she hadn’t planned to stay out so late.

"We’l start by trying to document the self-abuse Kalyna’s mother told me about," she said. "If we can prove she injured herself in the past, it’l take away the whole timing issue. We won’t need to look for someone who could’ve come in after you left. A half hour is long enough for her to give herself a few bumps and bruises."

He had trouble imagining Kalyna beating herself up, but Ava had assured him there were plenty of documented cases of people engaging in such behavior. And when he thought about it, he realized it wasn’t so different from cutting, which had become a problem among teens in recent years. "Good idea."

"Are you sure you can find your way out of here?" she asked.

"I think so."

"Drive safely."

She shut the door and began to walk away, but he lowered the window. "You really won’t let me walk you to the door?"

"There’s no need," she called over her shoulder.

"You’re all alone in the middle of nowhere." He was pointing out the obvious, of course, but at this time of night he was reluctant to leave a woman in such a remote location, especially without seeing that she got in safely. Maybe it was because he functioned, for the most part, in a protected environment, but this seemed…risky. Anyone could break into her boat, go aboard and rob her, rape her, kil her, and there wouldn’t be a soul to come to her aid. Even the bait-and-tackle guy was away.

"This is my home. I’l be fine," she said with a laugh.

"Where do the scientists live?"

"A mile from the bait shop, on the other side."

He saw no buildings and no lights, just the glow of a half-moon grinning eerily overhead. "I don’t have to go inside. I can take a peek through the door."

She pointed in the direction from which they’d come. "The highway’s that way."

Damn, she was stubborn. Ava Bixby believed she could cope with anything.

Luke thought she should know better. Considering her job, she must have heard some real horror stories. He could understand why she might refuse to live behind barricades and locks, but this was right out in the open. Sure, it wasn’t easy to find, and there weren’t many other people around–none at the moment, as far as he could tell. But if the wrong man stumbled across her when her friends were gone…

He didn’t leave. He sat with his engine idling so she’d at least have the benefit of his headlights.

Her footsteps echoed on the wooden planks of the wharf, fading as she moved away from him. Then she stepped onto the boat and was lost in the murky shadows.

The cicadas seemed to grow quiet as the wind picked up. Luke could almost hear the water lapping against her boat. It was a perfect night, and there’d probably be a glorious sunrise. You should see the sun come up through my bedroom window, she’d said. Somehow, that sounded more appealing than he would’ve expected. Maybe Ava wasn’t beautiful in the classic sense, but she had…something. Exactly what that quality was he couldn’t say because she was about the prickliest woman he’d ever met.

A light went on. She was in. Putting the transmission in Reverse, he wheeled around and headed home. But he’d barely reached Highway 12 when his phone rang. He thought maybe Ava was calling him with some detail she’d forgotten to mention, but when he checked caller ID, he knew it wasn’t her.

Ava rested her head against the inside of the door. Dinner was over; Luke was gone. Thank goodness. Now she could put him out of her mind and get on with her regular life, at least until Monday when she’d have to delve into his case again. Then he’d be front and center for a while. But she’d make quick work of it. Prove Kalyna’s injuries were self-inflicted and use that to convince the prosecutor to drop the case. Easy. She’d be a hero. Luke would have his life back. And McCreedy would lose out on a lucrative fee. Then she wouldn’t have to face any more of Luke’s devastating smiles. And maybe after a few months she’d forget him altogether.

Suddenly she realized that in her haste to get out of the car, she’d walked away wearing his sweatshirt. He hadn’t said anything, hadn’t even tried to get it back, which was nice of him. But she didn’t particularly want to think of him as "nice." Hard enough to battle "drop-dead gorgeous" and

"sexy as hell."

Turning toward the mirror in her entryway, she gazed at herself. AIR

FORCE was emblazoned across her chest in big block letters. She was infatuated with a rock-hard military guy. Who would’ve guessed?

She told herself to take off the sweatshirt and put it somewhere safe so she could return it to him. But as she pulled it off, she couldn’t help pausing for a few seconds to breathe in the masculine scent that lingered.

At least now she knew she was normal. At least she hadn’t grown old before her time as she’d feared. She had the same sexual appetites and desires as other women her age. It was worth meeting Luke just for that, wasn’t it?

Or maybe not. Was it better not to crave–or to crave and not be satisfied?

"Luke?"

The sound of Kalyna’s voice came through his Bluetooth and put Luke’s teeth on edge. He’d never hated anyone in his life, but he was pretty sure he hated her.