She smiled, but it was her fake smile, the one she used on people who annoyed her but she had to put up with. It didn’t reach her eyes.

“You, too, Special Agent Kincaid. Apparently you’ve already met my fiancé, Wolf Meyer.”

Wolf’s lips curled up in a smirk. “He’s had the pleasure. Though neither of you seemed interested in giving me your names.” Laura’s manners seemed to take over. “This is Special Agent Rafael Kincaid and Special Agent Cameron Briggs. I worked with them when I was in the FBI. We worked a couple of very important cases together. I take it that’s why you’re here.” Cam felt a foot nudge against his. It was a long-used cue for the bad cop to come out. In this case, the bad cop was the honest one.

Damn, he’d missed working with Rafe. “I’m not an agent anymore.” Laura’s eyes flared, and her mouth opened slightly.

“You’re sure dressed like one, buddy,” Wolf said. There was no mistaking the mocking tone of his voice.

Laura didn’t seem amused. She shifted slightly, as though uncomfortable. She didn’t look like a woman who was used to the man beside her. Rafe was right. Something was wrong. Though he knew it made him a bastard, a fierce joy lit in Cam’s belly. If something was wrong between Laura and her fiancé, then there was still a chance.

“What do you mean you aren’t with the Bureau anymore?”

“I left. I resigned about a year after you disappeared. I had a job to do, and I couldn’t do it at the Bureau.” Rafe settled back in his chair. “We decided that one of us should look for you full-time. Cam became a private investigator, and I stayed on at the FBI to watch the case.”

“You’ve been looking for me?”

A small, older lady walked up, a pleated white apron wrapped around her slender form. “Hello, welcome to the Tea Room. Can I get you anything?”

Cam softened. The older woman reminded him of his mom. She looked a little tired, but there was a smile on her face anyway. He hated tea, but he couldn’t refuse her. “I’ll take whatever she’s having.”

“And I would love a cup of chai if you have it,” Rafe added.

Laura introduced them, her southern manners taking over. The woman in the apron was named Teeny Green. Cam shook her hand and assured her he was pleased to meet her.

“Anything for you, Wolf?” Teeny asked.

“I’m fine. Laura and I were just discussing our wedding plans.” Wolf’s hand went to the back of Laura’s neck, sliding over it as though he enjoyed the intimate touch.

Teeny stopped and stared for a moment. She looked from Wolf to Cam and Rafe. Her eyes narrowed. “Did you boys know Laura from her days in the FBI?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Rafe said. “We knew her very well.”

“Oh, that’s interesting. Well, we’re so happy to have her in Bliss,” Teeny said. “And we’re thrilled to have so many weddings this year.”

“Well, we were thinking of eloping,” Laura said, fidgeting.

“No, no, dear,” Teeny replied. “I think it should be huge. We’ll have to look over flowers and get those ordered.”

“Absolutely,” Wolf said. “Nothing but the best for my bride.

We’re going to fill the church with flowers. And we’ll want to release doves at the end of the ceremony, won’t we? To symbolize our love.” And he was an idiot. Who released doves? Birds crapped everywhere. It didn’t seem like a smart thing to unleash on a wedding party. If Cam was marrying Laura, he would do just what she’d suggested. He would take her to Vegas, sign whatever papers he had to, and then get to the good part. He and Rafe would keep her in bed for days.

It was getting easier and easier to think that way. She was theirs.

Not just his. Laura belonged to them.

Teeny reached around and pulled two white T-shirts off a rack.

“And Laura, you need to get those boys out of the suits. Mel is going to freak when he sees them, and the Doc will have to tranq him again.

They can have these. Why the mayor thought it was a good idea to let Zane head the Rehab Bliss committee, I have no idea. I knew that boy was up to something when he volunteered to do it. Now I have a hundred T-shirts. What am I going to do with them?” Teeny held out the shirt.

The Trading Post

We make murder clean up easy


Cam couldn’t help but laugh.

“You should see the shirts he made for Stella’s,” Laura murmured. “I’ll make sure they’re properly dressed before Mel sees them. And if you wouldn’t mind letting Holly and Nell know I’m down here with my fiancé?”

“I intend to tell everyone, dear,” Teeny said as she walked away.

“So why did you come all the way out here?” Laura asked, her voice crisp and tight. She seemed to be done with small talk.

Time for the bad cop again. “De Sade is back.” There was no way to soften it, and he wouldn’t try. Rafe’s approach worked on witnesses, but Laura was tough. She wouldn’t want to be handled with kid gloves. She was smart and capable, and Cam wouldn’t treat her any other way.

Her face lost every ounce of color, and it was all Cam could do not to take her in his arms. She might be capable, but that didn’t mean he didn’t want to shelter her, or at least let her know she wasn’t in this alone. Fiancé or no fiancé, he wouldn’t walk away from her. Not until the Marquis de Sade was dead or behind bars.

“We found a body just last week in the warehouse district of DC.

Same MO. The victim was a prostitute,” Rafe explained in a calm, matter-of-fact manner.

Now Wolf was sitting up, his shoulders set in something other than decadent playfulness. “Who are we talking about? Does this have to do with a case Laura worked when she was in the FBI?” Rafe turned, his brows up slightly. It was his what-the-fuck look.

Cam was sure the same expression was on his face. Laura hadn’t told her fiancé about the biggest case of her career? She hadn’t told the man she loved about the case that had almost gotten her killed?

“Have you heard of the Marquis de Sade?” Wolf snorted. “Well, if you knew who my brother was, you would know the answer to that. Sometimes I think my brother works for the bastard.”

“Not the French aristocrat.”

Laura held a hand up. “He’s been overseas for years. He just got out of the Navy. He’s not up on all the latest serial killers.”

“Serial killers? Why are we talking about serial killers?”

Cam looked up as two women entered the small dining area. They wore matching dresses, the same as the one Laura wore. One was a voluptuous redhead with a suspicious grin on her face. The other was a sweet-looking brunette.

“No reason at all, Holly,” Laura said, standing up suddenly.

“These gentlemen are with the FBI, well, Special Agent Kincaid is.

He’s with a unit called the BAU. The Behavioral Analysis Unit.”

“You used to work there,” Holly said.

Cam studied the redhead. She had spoken of Laura’s work with friendly curiosity. There was no horror or fear in the redhead’s words.

Laura hadn’t told Holly what had happened to her, either. Had she told a single soul in this town what she’d been through? Had she held it in all these years?

“Yes, where I used to work. Special Agent Kincaid, Cameron Briggs, and I were friends,” Laura said. “They thought I should know about what’s been going on in the Bureau since I left.” Friends? Friends? Cam had a sudden urge to get up out of the chair, haul her into his arms, and remind her of just how friendly they had been. He could still feel her pussy clench around his cock, and he hadn’t slept with her in five years.

“It’s a bit more than that,” Rafe said.

“This isn’t some reunion, Laura. This is serious.” This wasn’t how he’d expected this to go. Cam didn’t know what he’d expected, but it wasn’t sitting in some tea room meeting all of Laura’s new small-town friends. It sure as fuck hadn’t included meeting her fiancé. Now she was treating them like they’d just breezed into town for a little chat and they would breeze right out. She was going to be terribly disappointed.

“How serious?” Holly asked.

The dark-haired woman next to her was gesturing wildly. Both Holly and Laura watched her.

“No, Nell, a serial killer isn’t coming to Bliss,” Laura said with a long sigh.

Holly shrugged. “Sorry, she’s taken a vow of silence, and I think you know why, future Mrs. Wolf Meyer.”

“You two are totally invited to our wedding,” Wolf offered.

“What’s this about a serial killer coming to town?” Teeny asked as she set down the tea. “Did they hear about the T-shirts? I don’t care how big that Zane Hollister is, if we attract serial killers because of his smart mouth, I can put him over my knee. Has anyone told the sheriff yet?”

“No one needs to tell the sheriff,” Laura said.

Rafe held a hand up. “Actually, we probably do need to liaise with the sheriff. Does anyone know where he is? There’s a sign on the door that claims he’s out fishing.”

The brunette brought her foot down. Despite the elegant dress she wore, there was a pair of hippie-dippy sandals on her feet. She gestured around the room, her arms flying about and a wild look in her eyes.

“Sorry, she wants you to understand that she believes that the Rio Grande is overfished in this part of the world,” Holly explained.

The brunette’s arms went wide.

“In every part of the world,” Holly corrected. She shrugged as though in apology. “Well, every part that the Rio Grande is in. Nell doesn’t appreciate the sheriff’s frequent fishing trips. Even though most of the time he catches and releases.” That didn’t seem to satisfy Nell. She put her forefinger in her mouth like a hook and flapped her body around.

“No, Nell,” Laura said. “I wouldn’t like it either. It would definitely cause some psychological damage. You should talk to Nate about it, when you’re back to talking.”

“Okay,” Cam said, knowing it was a bad idea to ask the question, but he was so damn curious. Everything about this small town was starting to intrigue him. It was nothing like the tiny town he’d been born in. “Why won’t Nell talk? Have we offended her in some way?”

It wouldn’t be the first time Cam had offended someone, though usually the offended party yelled at him rather than refusing to speak.

Nell chose to start dancing.

Laura’s eyes lit up. It was so different from the tight expression that had owned her face since the moment he’d laid eyes on her again.

Laura smiled, a light creasing of her lips that softened her whole face.

Her shoulders relaxed, and she just watched Nell with great affection.

She turned her head slightly as she spoke with a wry tongue. “She’s taken a vow of silence, but she can communicate through interpretive dance.”

“Seriously?” Cam asked.

“Oh, Nell is always serious about interpretive dance,” Holly explained.

“She says she can’t talk in a world filled with lies,” Laura said as Nell twirled around the room. “So many lies when only the truth should be spoken. She says that lies never work and only get people in trouble. She’s very judgmental.”

Nell stopped and stared.

Laura shrugged. “It’s called interpretive dance for a reason. I’m interpreting judgment.”

“She’s got you there, Nell.” Holly nodded along with her friend.

Nell stuck her tongue out, turned, and walked away.

“And that’s my cue to change,” Holly said with a wave.

“I’ll come with you,” Laura said, moving forward.

“Hey, bella, we aren’t done here.” Rafe had his hands on his hips, a sure sign that he didn’t like the way things were going.

“Don’t call me that.” The words came out quickly, and Laura’s mouth closed as if she wished she could call them back. She smoothed the peach-colored dress over her curves. “I need to change.

Then we can all go back to my place where we can discuss this in a private setting. But you two need to put on those T-shirts or a very nice man is going to get tranquilized by the town doctor.”

She turned on her heels, those superhot fuck-me shoes she’d always worn, and left as though her words made a lick of sense.

“So, gentlemen, what should we talk about while we wait for my bride-to-be?” Wolf grinned as he sat back in his chair.

“You better behave,” Teeny said, shaking her head as she walked off.

Cam was left with a T-shirt and a bunch of questions. What was happening with Laura? Why was this town filled with crazy people?

But there was one question that burned through his gut—why wasn’t she wearing an engagement ring?