Page 79 of Ultimate Justice

So much for my buffer.

His friends were matchmaking, giving him and Marlie some alone-time without Noah around. This was dangerous. Very dangerous, and just when he’d made the decision to keep his libido-fueled hands off Marlie. Fool that he was, his heart felt like it was about to jump right out of his chest with joy.

“Did you hear my glissandos?” Noah said as he joined them at the door.

“I did,” Marlie said. “You’re a natural.”

It was impossible not to see the boy glowing beneath her praise.

“Evan taught me how. I still need to practice more.” Blue howled. “Blue needs singing lessons ’cuz he’s really off key.”

They all laughed, which made Blue howl louder.

“You up for miniature golf and pizza?” Brett asked.

“Yes! Can I?”

Marlie’s gaze slammed into Evan’s. They both knew what was at stake. First and foremost, Noah’s safety. Second, what could happen once they were alone.

“Pleeze?” Noah looked from her to Evan. “I never played miniature golf before.”

Blue looked up at him, a questioning look on his furry face.

“C’mon, Evan.” Gemma bobbed her eyebrows. “Whatdya say?”

What he should say was no. He fully trusted Brett’s ability to watch over Noah, but he needed the kid here as a coitus interruptus buffer. The excitement on the kid’s face did him in. At least, that’s what he kept telling himself.

He prayed he wasn’t making a mistake as he lost himself in Marlie’s blue eyes. “He’ll be safe with them.” But would her heart be safe with him when they were alone? Hell, would his be safe?

Looking slightly uncertain, Marlie nodded. “Okay, you can go.”

“Thanks!”

Less than five minutes later, Evan watched Brett’s pickup disappear around the bend in the road. Like him, Blue stared after them into the cul-de-sac. Evan had thought his heart had been banging wildly before. Now his pulse raced faster than a freight train.

Marlie had gone back to flipping through the photo album. The best thing he could do was maintain distance. He’d planned on grabbing a shower, but when he went back to the piano to flip down the lid, he sat on the bench and began playing Metallica’s “Nothing Else Matters.” Ironic, given that Noah had wanted to learn how to play a Metallica song. This was one of his favorites, a dark, soul-searing ballad written by a heavy metal rock band.

As he played, the lyrics materialized in his mind, and he started humming, recalling lead singer and guitarist James Hetfield’s meanings behind the words.

Hetfield said it was a song he wrote when he was sad about being away from home and missing someone. Evan was always away from home, chasing one investigation or another, and it had never bothered him before. It was always the righteous path and always with the dim possibility of finding his sister. For the first time, he thought about what it would be like leaving Marlie while he pursued one case after another, and his heart felt tight, grim. It was a lonely life he led.

The song was also about opening up to someone and trusting them. God knew he’d never confided in anyone the way he’d done with Marlie. In her, he’d found something missing in his life—a sense of belonging and trust.

The ballad was never intended to be recorded for the world to hear. Hetfield worried about putting himself out there and taking a risk. On that, Evan agreed. Life was one big gamble, and you never knew how it would turn out unless you tried.

Try what? Forgetting about Gracie, or finally accepting he wasn’t to blame for her disappearance? He honestly didn’t know.

“That was beautiful.” Marlie slipped onto the bench next to him. “You should play more often.”

“I don’t have the time.” Warmth from her body suffused him with a sense of peace he didn’t want to let slip away. “I don’t know why I ever bought the piano in the first place. It was stupid.” A way of remembering his sister, of keeping her in his life the way his parents did by celebrating her birthday every year. “I’m thinking of donating it to the Foundation, maybe start a music program there.” If he ever stopped traipsing around the country.

“I think that’s a lovely idea.” She entwined her fingers with his. Hers were petite, smooth, and delicate, while his were long and calloused.

With his other hand, he stroked her cheek, all the while knowing it was an inevitable mistake. Her skin was soft, like velvet and satin rolled into one. A few strands of blond hair had escaped her fancy hairdo, and he couldn’t help rubbing the silky strands between his fingers. The transformation from the shadow of the woman he’d first met to the blooming, beautiful person sitting beside him now was nothing short of amazing.

Her scent surrounded him like a blanket of flowers. Eyes the color of the sea glimmered with the promise of absolute bliss he should grab onto and never let go. For the first time in his life, he was standing on a dark cliff overlooking the brightness of a life he could have, one filled with beauty and love. And Marlie.

If he had it in him to love anyone, it would be her. Maybe he already did, but it didn’t matter. Nothing else matters. He had to see this case through before anything else in his life could take priority. She might not be there when he returned, but for the few hours his friends had gifted him with… Selfishly, he lowered his head and stepped off that cliff.