Read Online We'll Never Tell (Secrets of Ravenswood) by Jannine Gallant - Free Book Online

Sam.” His arm
tightened a fraction around her waist. “Here’s the scenario I came up with. You
and your friends keep quiet and stay away from the sheriff’s office. Hell, take
out an ad in the newspaper— We’ll never tell.”
    She choked and sputtered
on a laugh. “Seriously?”
    “The ad may be a little
over the top, but I’m tempted.”
    “I like it so far. My
sense of self-preservation definitely approves, but I have a feeling you aren’t
finished.”
    “Not quite. You lay low
and lull this hot headed maniac into a false sense of security. Meanwhile, I
keep my ears open and pump Ken for information. I swear the man knows
everything that happens in Ravenswood before anyone else. Once I have the
victim’s name—”
    “Wait just a minute.” She
jerked forward, turned, and stared at him, brows knit. “I’m supposed to sit at
home like some wimpy heroine in a B rated slasher movie while you play
detective?”
    He grinned, amused by
the outrage in her voice. Sam was a lot of things—strong, independent,
determined—definitely not wimpy. “That about sums it up.”
    “I don’t think so.”
    “Doing nothing may go
against the grain, but think about it. Based on the speed of this guy’s
response after we discovered the body, he must have a contact in town. He’ll
know if you’re making inquiries.”
    “I can be subtle.”
    He ran a finger down the
soft skin of her cheek. “Believe it or not, Sam, you stand out in a crowd.”
    She snorted. “Don’t try
to sweet talk me.”
    “It’s the truth.”
    She sighed. “I’m not an
idiot. I won’t do anything to put myself or my friends in harm’s way, and that
includes going to the authorities. Telling the sheriff seemed like the only
option, but—”
    “I agree. Your safety is
what matters most, so we’ll wait to go the official route.”
    “Patience has never been
one of my stronger virtues, but…” She raised her voice when he opened his mouth
to argue. “…I’ll work on it.”
    Standing, he pulled her
up beside him and touched her full bottom lip with a single finger. Her breath
whispered across the tip. “Work hard. The thought of someone hurting you…” He
bent and kissed her, his lips lingering. Reluctantly he pulled away. “Damn, I
wish I didn’t have a full schedule today.”
    She raised a brow. “Dogs
can’t wait?”
    “Not when they’re spoken
for and the buyer expects a certain level of training.”
    “Ah.”
    He touched a strand of
hair stuck to her jaw. “I don’t want to leave you here alone. Come with me.”
    “Can’t. I want to make
sure Juliette’s okay with our plan. I also have to call Darby.” She lowered her
gaze. “I may stop by the firehouse and say hello to Ken afterward.”
    “Sam—”
    She held both palms out
to stop his protest. “Ken and I are close. He’ll wonder what’s wrong if I avoid
him.”
    He pushed a hand through
his hair and stared at her. “We’ve no idea who’s involved in this.”
    Her back stiffened. “Not
Ken.”
    “No, but what if he
mentions your curiosity about the body we found to the wrong person?” He
squeezed her shoulders and felt a tiny tremor run through her.
    “I won’t give him any
reason to say a word. Promise.”
    Ethan dropped one last
kiss on her lips and walked through the door before he could change his mind
and stay.
    ****
    “Haven’t seen you since
the body turned up.” Ken leaned back in his creaky, leather desk chair and
twined his fingers behind his head. “Where’ve you been keeping yourself?”
    Sam propped herself
against the doorframe into his office and crossed her arms over her chest.
“Juliette and I took a quick trip to San Francisco to see Darby.”
    “Girls’ weekend?”
    “Something like that.”
    His lips curved beneath
his moustache, and his brown eyes sparkled with humor. “Rumor has it, you’re
dating Ethan Thorne.”
    Sam rolled her eyes.
“We’ve been out once, had a couple of conversations.”
    He sat forward