We left the lights and music, and after Marco walked me to my car, I drove him to his Explorer. He followed me to his house. He got out of his car first and took my overnight bag as we walked inside.
I knew he wanted to take me to his room, but he was too worried about what had happened with Emily. So instead, he led me to the sofa and settled in next to me. “Tell me what happened. In detail.”
I told him everything, including Emily warning me not to tell him.
“You told me anyway,” he said carefully.
“Of course I did. I don’t want there to be any secrets between us.” I took a breath. “Since she mentioned Rob and his family, there’s something else I need to tell you. Something I’ve been struggling with.” I drew a shaky breath. “No secrets.”
He grabbed my hand and squeezed.
“I’m worried Hank knows something he isn’t saying about the Crimshaws. Seems like he would have known about Stewart’s drug arrest, plus he didn’t say anything about Ricky and Seth being so close. There’s something he’s not telling me. What if he was involved in something shady?”
He gave me a tight smile. “We already know he was involved in something shady.”
“I mean really shady,” I said, knowing it didn’t make any sense. The fact was I didn’t even know what I was afraid of, only that I sensed something off.
“What’s your line, Carly?” Marco asked. “The line that Hank has to cross for you to turn your back on him?”
I swallowed a lump in my throat. “I don’t know, Marco. I love him. He was there for me when no one else was. He’s like the father I always wanted, and I know he would do anything for me.” He killed a man to protect me back when he barely knew me. He’d offered to help me take on my father. I couldn’t turn my back on him.
“I know, and I’m here to tell you that Hank’s a different man than he was when I was growing up. He was hard back then. Ruthless. His hard edges have softened, but does that change what he did in the past? Does that mean he should be forgiven?”
Tears stung my eyes. “I don’t know.”
He pulled me into a hug. “I don’t pretend to have any answers, and you don’t have to make any decisions tonight…but you may have to decide it soon.”
“I know.”
He released me and leaned back. “So let’s hypothesize why Emily wants you to talk to Bingham about Rob Crimshaw’s father. Or even Rob himself. I suspect the elder Crimshaw was runnin’ drugs for Bingham, but you need to be prepared for the possibility he might have been running for Hank.”
“I know.”
Marco made a face. “I agree that you should talk to Bingham, but don’t get your hopes up too high. If we’re to believe Emily’s insinuation, Bingham has something to help bring down Bart, but he hasn’t used it before because it wasn’t worth his time?” He shook his head. “I struggle to believe that.”
“Yeah, me too.”
“Maybe you shouldn’t chase this lead at all.” When I glanced up at him in surprise, he said, “I meant what I said earlier. Maybe we cut our losses and figure out where you should go.”
“Leave town,” I said dryly.
“Carly, Emily knows your real name.”
“Only my first name.” It was a pipe dream to believe she didn’t know my real identity. Especially after her statement about me being a blonde.
He cocked his head and gave me a look that said he knew I wasn’t that dense. “We both know she found out who you are. And Bart was casually throwing your name around.”
“Emily called me Caroline in front of Max.”
Marco got to his feet, torment on his face. “Shit, Carly. How many people know now? Wyatt. Max. Me. Hank. Bart. Emily. That’s four people too many.”
“I know.”
Agony filled his eyes. “You can’t stay. I’ll figure out a place for you to go.”
He’d said it like that earlier too. He wasn’t talking about going somewhere together. Had Wyatt been right? But Marco couldn’t just run away. He was a sheriff’s deputy, and if he went missing, people would go looking for him. Still, the thought of running again and leaving the people I cared about behind…I wasn’t sure I could do it.
I got to my feet and walked in front of him, stopping his nervous pacing. “I’m not leaving you, Marco, and I’m not leaving Hank. Not like this.”
“What if Bart’s already told your father? What if they have someone watching you? We can’t risk it.”
“We’re so close,” I said, resting my hands on his firm chest. I suddenly itched to remove the cloth covering his muscles. “So freaking close to bringing Bart down. I can’t stop now. I won’t.”
“I’m ninety-nine percent certain Pam didn’t murder a man for Bart. And we both acknowledged Emily might be sendin’ you on a wild goose chase.” He looked tortured. “We’re not close to bringin’ him down at all. If anything, we’ve made him more dangerous.”
“When I met Emily before, she made it apparent that she and her husband aren’t partners. And she said she wants to bring him down. That is progress, Marco.”
“Unless she’s settin’ you up.” His hand swept over my cheek as he searched my face. “I don’t want to lose you.”
If he sent me away, he’d lose me anyway. Run and hide alone or take my chances here and then hopefully move on to deal with my father. If I left, I’d be starting from scratch with little money and no friends.
No. I’d stay and take my chances.
I gave him a soft smile, then moved my hand to the top fastened button of his shirt and worked it free.
“This isn’t settled, Carly.”
I undid a second button, revealing a good portion of his chest. “And it’s not getting settled tonight unless you were planning on packing me a bag and sending me off before sunrise.”
The look in his eyes suggested he’d been considering it.
“No more talk of running tonight,” I said. “I’d rather see you naked.”
“Just see me naked?” he asked with a teasing glint. “Nothing else?”
“The naked part comes first. The rest comes after. Which means you have to get naked to find out what happens next.”
His gaze landed on my collarbone at the edge of my dress. He placed a kiss there as he pushed the top of my sleeve over my shoulder.
I quickly unfastened the rest of his buttons and tugged his shirt free from his jeans.
We didn’t talk after that. He swept me into his room, and we made love with an intensity unmatched by our previous encounters. No man had ever made me feel a tenth of what I experienced with Marco.
Afterward, I lay in his arms, my leg draped over his as his hand trailed up my arm.
“I know you don’t want to talk about this,” he said softly, “but I care about you too much to ignore that you’re in danger.” His hand stilled. “Have you given any thought to where you might go?”
“You mean if I run away?”
He placed a finger under my chin and tilted my face up to look at him. “It might not be all bad. You ended up here…” He grinned. “It’s gotta get better than Drum.”