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  Cy dropped his cell on the counter. “My father’s dead.”

  My thoughts swirled. Dennis Seaborn was dead.

  “How… what… how?” I asked, sounding like an idiot.

  “That was a lawyer in town.” Cy ran a hand over his beard, shaking his head. “I’m next of kin. Hell, I’m the only kin he had.”

  “How?” Lucas asked.

  “He had pancreatic cancer.”

  “Holy shit.” Lucas let out a harsh breath. “I only saw him from the truck when we went to his house, but he didn’t look sick, only… old.”

  Cy nodded in agreement. I’d only seen a picture on the news and it had been a mug shot. He’d looked like a weathered, unhappy, late-fifties version of Cy.

  “He had scheduled a Whipple procedure. I have no idea what that is, but some kind of surgery. He didn’t make it off the table.”

  “Did he tell you he was sick?” Lucas asked.

  “Not a word.”

  I went over to him, wrapped my arms around him, hugged him close. He might be big and brawny, but I’d learned he was vulnerable, too.

  His hand settled on my head, stroked down my braid. “That’s not all.”

  I pulled back, looked up at him.

  “He left me three million dollars.”

  I stepped back, stared. I glanced at Lucas, who looked as stunned as me. As Cy.

  “What the fuck?” Lucas whispered.

  “That was my first thought,” Cy said. “The lawyer said he’d come into some money recently. He’d set it all aside for me. The instructions were clear.”

  Lucas paced the kitchen, then slapped his hand on the counter. “You don’t think—”

  “He manned up,” Cy said.

  “I don’t understand,” I murmured, watching both of them carefully. While they looked confused, they seemed to know things I didn’t.

  “That’s what he said to me when I asked why he’d admitted to killing Erin.”

  “He manned up,” I repeated.

  Cy nodded, running a hand over the back of his neck, then his beard.

  “He knew he was dying and did it for you.”

  “What? Confessed to something he didn’t do? But why?” I asked.

  “Because someone wanted him to take the fall,” Lucas added.

  I still didn’t get it.

  Lucas stared at Cy, who nodded.

  “The money was wired into a special account from Mills Land Trust the day he walked into the station and admitted to the crime.”

  I held up my hand, stared at Lucas. “That’s your family’s company.”

  “Yeah,” he replied, slowly shaking his head. “Who didn’t hate your guts after what your father did?”

  I thought of when we’d gone to Lucas’ sister’s house to help move. Mr. and Mrs. Mills should have hated Cy for his father’s actions, for falsely admitting to killing their daughter, but they hadn’t. Why?

  “Holy shit. They paid Cy’s dad to do it. They knew he was dying. But why?” I asked.

  Lucas looked to me. His jaw was clenched, his hands in fists at his sides. His usually calm pale eyes were a stormy sea. “The only reason that makes sense is that they fucking think I did it.”

  * * *

  ***

  * * *

  Read the next book in the series!

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  When Dr. Samantha Smyth confuses the town's sexy mechanic for a patient, she gets a lesson she'll never forget...

  Being a child genius might have made Sam a doctor by twenty-two, but she's learned nothing about men. Her world is scalpels and scrubs, not silk and seduction. Sam is used to receiving attention for her brain, not her body, but when Mac and Hardin find out she needs tutoring between the sheets, they volunteer for the job. They're diligent in their task, ensuring she's an expert in pleasure... with them. Only them.

  * * *

  Mac knows he is nothing the beautiful doctor deserves. He works with his hands. He's rough around the edges, tattooed and older, but he wants her anyway. He and his best friend, Hardin, have spent years searching for a woman they can claim together. Hardin likes the quiet life and spends more time with horses than humans, which suits him just fine. But one taste of Sam and it's not just passion they feel for their woman. It's protectiveness. Possession.

  * * *

  When they discover Sam might be targeted by a murderer on the loose, they won't let anything take her away. And their protective instinct reaches a new level when Hardin discovers he might just be related to the killer.

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  Note From Vanessa

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  About Vanessa Vale

  Vanessa Vale is the USA Today bestselling author of sexy romance novels, including her popular Bridgewater historical series and hot contemporary romances. With over one million books sold, Vanessa writes about unapologetic bad boys who don't just fall in love, they fall hard. Her books are available worldwide in multiple languages in e-book, print, audio and even as an online game. When she's not writing, Vanessa savors the insanity of raising two boys and figuring out how many meals she can make with a pressure cooker. While she's not as skilled at social media as her kids, she loves to interact with readers.