Caught in the Frame (Ponderosa Pines Cozy Mystery Series Book 3) by ReGina Welling (novel24 .TXT) 📕

collected the bags to take to the cleaners. I’m hoping they found the memory card and put it back in her jacket pocket.”

Chloe’s eyes widened in understanding. “That’s what he was looking for in my room; that’s why he used EV’s key card to break in. He probably lifted it off her. It’s not like EV to lose things.” She muttered a few choice words describing Remy under her breath, and at a nod from Nate, disappeared through the connecting door.

In a few moments, she was back, eyes alight above a fierce grin, holding the SIM card aloft like a trophy. “What are we waiting for? Let’s go see if we have enough to make sure he stays behind bars for the rest of his life.” With a grin, she reached across him to slide the hard-won SIM card into the built-in reader of Javier’s computer, which was still playing security footage.

As her slideshow popped up, Nate let out a low whistle. No wonder Remy had upped the ante and resorted to kidnapping; what scrolled across the screen amounted to several counts of identity theft, and a whole lot more. Baylee had hit pay dirt.

Baylee and Javier weren’t the only ones on the edge of their seats. This meant just as much for them as it did for Ponderosa Pines, and neither was going to let the opportunity to expose Remy Vincent slip by over something as trivial as an abduction. There would be time to process the experience once the job was complete.

* * *

“I’m going in.” Her shoulders squared, EV sailed into the cafe several minutes after Remy had taken a seat. He watched her walk toward him, seeing only what he wanted to see. A fashionably late woman with a gleam in her eye that showed how much she wanted him. A foolish woman that he could have on a whim, and ultimately bend to his will. As usual, his ego cast a veil of fantasy over his judgment.

The skin on EV’s hands crawled when he grasped them and kissed her on the cheek. He’d aimed for her lips but a last-second twist of her head foiled him. She’d play her part, but some things went beyond the pale.

Over Remy’s left shoulder, Dalton tossed her a thumbs up and an air kiss to make her smile. The simple gestures of support lifted some of the tension; she returned them with a wink that Remy assumed was for him.

Since half of her mission was to stall Remy while the search for Baylee continued, she indulged in small talk, lulling him into complacency by allowing him to order for her, and letting him hold her hand across the table. To keep him seeing her initial reaction to his touch, she avoided meeting his intense gaze with her own until her emotions were under control. The ruse worked in her favor, feeding his ego by allowing him to think his touch affected her deeply enough to bring out the blushing schoolgirl inside. The more relaxed he became, the more her senses sharpened.

Nate’s voice whispered through the com, “Javi checked in, they’ve narrowed the search area, heading there now”. It took extra attention not to react to the hope flaring through her.

Remy glanced around the room, “It’s so crowded in here. Why don’t I call the waitress back and have her send the food up to your room where we can be alone.” His voice dropped to a suggestive timbre that had no effect on EV at all.

Too easy. Better make him work for it.

“I’m not sure I’m ready to take it to the next step. There’s Dalton and—”

“Remember how good we were together? You can’t tell me you’ve had anyone else who knows what you like the way I do. I want you, EV, and I think you want me.”

A hollow sentiment coming from lying lips, but no matter, because EV was long past caring. The only thought in her mind now was to play him like a virtuoso.

“I do, but not yet. Chloe and Lila are having final dress fittings. They’ll be done in a little while, and then they have plans for a full spa treatment. We’ll have hours alone once they’re gone. We could get dessert to go.”

Why not? Remy thought, might as well take if it she’s offering, “All I need is you and a bowl of chocolate sauce.”

“Maybe we could give that one a go.” Dalton spoke in her ear.

“Mmmm,” EV’s hum of agreement was meant for Dalton.

“I’m still here,” Nate managed to convey embarrassment and disgust in one short statement.

Okay, you weasel. Let’s see if we can pin down your motive. Is it me?

“Did you hate me so much?” EV assessed his emotions by watching his face closely. “Your folks missed you a great deal.” A tinge or red color stained his neck when his throat tightened and his teeth clenched. She’d hit a nerve there, though he managed to quickly force any signs of it from his features.

Seemingly relaxed again, he said, “I’ve never hated you.” Then he made the most honest statement she’d heard from him since he’d arrived, “Walking away without knowing it was my last chance to say goodbye to my folks is my biggest regret in life. If I’d known how things would turn out, I would have done things differently.”

When she squeezed his hand this time, it was with some small amount of genuine feeling. “Their loss devastated the entire community; I can only imagine how your grandparents must have felt.”

“I doubt that. Losing his son turned my grandfather into someone else.” Face hardened, Remy practically bit off the words. “You have no idea what it did to his mind. It changed him completely.”

Really? I’d have no idea?

EV forced herself not to let go of his hand when all she wanted to do was slap him with it.

“I think I might know a little about how that feels. I miss him every day.”