She took a deep breath, stepping out of his arms. “Wow, you’re a good kisser.”
He smiled.
She shrugged one shoulder. “Well, you are. I have a tendency to speak what’s on my mind. Unfortunately.”
“I like that about you.” He studied her for a moment. She was beautiful, sexy and very tempting. “Why did you need me to pretend to care about you? Men should be falling all over themselves to be your boyfriend.”
She abruptly turned and went to the machine that had played the movie, removing the disk. “Most of the men I’ve dated seem only interested in my money. The ones who haven’t been, well, they didn’t work out.” She put the round disk into the case and snapped it closed. “My parents will be joining me here in one month. I told my mother I had a boyfriend.”
“And this is important to your mother?”
She walked back over to where he stood. He liked the way she walked—smoothly, gracefully.
“Oh, yeah, it’s real important. My mother wants me married. She wants me to be a social butterfly.”
“You don’t want this?”
She shook her head. “I want to get my hands dirty. Do you know what I’m saying?”
He didn’t, but her expression said she hoped he would agree. “Yes,” he lied.
She exhaled a deep breath. “I’ll find out your identity, too. It’ll be the first real job I’ve ever had.” She glanced at her watch. “Ms. Abernathy should have lunch fixed. Let’s eat, then we’ll run down to the sheriff’s office.”
“You enjoy running?”
She smiled. “An expression. I’ll drive us in my car.”
He followed her out of the room. “What is at the sheriff’s office?”
“Jillian’s brother works there. She’s one of the maids. She called her brother and he said we could drop by this afternoon. He’s going to run your prints. If you’re in the system, we’ll know who you are.”
He gripped the railing on the staircase. “I need to keep my identity a secret.”
She glanced over her shoulder. “Don’t worry, Eddie will be discreet.”
His world felt as though it was unraveling around him. He wasn’t sure discreet would matter.
If he was supposed to keep his identity a secret, he was doing a great job. Even he didn’t know who he was. He had a feeling he needed to fill in the blanks as quickly as possible. Maybe Darcy could make it happen.
Darcy glanced at Surlock from the corner of her eye. He was hesitant when he got out of the car. Right now he looked at the sheriff’s building as if he was about to go to jail. She only hoped that she was right, and that Surlock was one of the good guys.
“It’ll be okay,” she told him. “I’ve known Jillian and Eddie a long time. Her brother will be careful when he runs your prints.” Of course, all bets were off if Surlock was wanted by the law. Eddie would have Surlock picked up and behind bars before she had a chance to get him out of the country.
She missed a step and stumbled. Surlock grabbed her elbow to steady her. Crap, would it come to that? Would she end up just as much a criminal?
No, that wouldn’t happen. She refused to even think about it as a possibility.
“It’ll be okay,” she said, more to reassure herself.
He nodded, but he still didn’t look too sure about any of this. Her instincts were usually spot on, which was why she wanted to open her own agency. There was no way Surlock could be the bad guy.
But who was he?
If he was supposed to protect someone, then who? Could he have been trying to do his job and maybe been captured? Robbed of everything he had, including his clothes? Had he somehow escaped? Great, then when he’d stepped out of the woods, she’d whacked him over the head, and added to his problems.
She only hoped the person Surlock was supposed to protect was okay, maybe in hiding. She’d hate to think she’d caused someone to be in more danger, or worse, killed. Ack, she didn’t even want to go there.
They stepped inside the dim interior of the building. It was a typical small-town sheriff’s office. The dispatcher’s cubicle was behind glass panels. There was a short hallway, the doors on both sides closed. On the other side were locked double doors that led to the jail and fingerprinting area.
Darcy knew the doors were locked because she’d been here before. If her mother ever found out, there would be hell to pay. Ohmygosh, her daughter had been near bad guys who were locked away because of the crimes they’d committed.
Usually the only crimes committed around here were minor. This wasn’t the big city. Summerville was only fifty thousand in population. It did have a nice country club and a few really good restaurants. But hardened criminals? Pftt… no.
“It’s like the receptionist at the doctor’s office,” Surlock said as he looked around the department.
“Similar, but with much different jobs.”
The glass window slid open. “I’m here to see Eddie,” she told the dispatcher.
“I’ll buzz him,” she said, then slid the glass closed again.
“What do they do here?” Surlock asked.
“They maintain order. Make sure the town is safe and secure.”
He nodded. “My brother Kristor does that.”
They looked at each other. “You remembered something.” She grinned. “That’s great. If your brother maintains order, then I bet he’s in law enforcement, and I really doubt you’re one of the bad guys.” She noticed he looked relieved by her observation. So was she.
There was a loud click and the heavy double doors opened. Eddie smiled at her. He was a nice-looking man. Tall, with bright orange hair, but the color seemed to suit him.
“Hey, Darcy, I haven’t seen you in a while. How’s it going in the P.I. business?”
She grimaced. “It isn’t.” Just as quickly, she brightened. “Until now. Surlock is my first case. I’m trying to help him find out who he is.”
Eddie nodded. “Oh, this is the guy you walloped.”
She inwardly cringed.
“I scared her,” Surlock spoke up. “She had a reason to knock me out. Next time, I’ll make sure I don’t step out suddenly in front of someone.”
Eddie laughed. “I don’t know, there are a lot of guys around here who wouldn’t mind if Darcy hit them over the head, especially if she nursed them back to health.”
“Are you one of them?” Surlock asked conversationally, but there was a rigid set to his jaw.
And the testosterone flowed. Sheesh.
“Nope, my wife would kill me if I looked twice at another woman. Not that I would. She’s the best thing that ever happened to me.”
Surlock looked at Darcy with a question in his eyes. She realized he didn’t know the term wife. “A wife is like a … a mate. They’re bound together by love.”
Surlock relaxed and they went to the back. The light was dim, and apparently the prisoners had been cleaning because there was a distinct smell of disinfectant in the air.
Eddie stopped at a desk. “I’ve got everything ready. I’ll get the prints, then call you when the results come in. Now, if we were in the city, this wouldn’t take long at all, but our equipment is a little dated. Still, it shouldn’t be more than twenty-four hours.”
Eddie took Surlock’s hand and inked a finger, then pressed it on the paper. When he finished printing all his fingers, he handed Surlock a tissue. “That’s it.” He closed the inkpad and casually asked, “You going to be around for a while?”
“Yes, I have nowhere to go.”
“Good.” His gaze met Surlock’s. For a moment they just stared at each other.
Darcy looked between the two and knew they were taking each other’s measure. Eddie suddenly smiled, relaxing. Apparently, Surlock had passed his test.
“As soon as the results come in, I’ll call Darcy,” Eddie repeated, then walked back to the heavy doors and opened them. “Take care, Darcy. Surlock, it was nice meeting you. We’ll do everything we can to help.”