The Naughty List Bundle with The Night Before Christmas & Yule Be Mine. Fern Michaels
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you fight with anyone recently?” Larry’s partner asked. He was a young guy with blond hair and ruddy cheeks.
Christie’s gaze darted to Jonas. “There was an…incident the other night. Right after the office Christmas party.”
Daniel pushed closer. “What kind of incident?”
Her hand rose and caught the edge of her Christmas tree necklace. She pulled on the bottom of the tree, stretching the thin gold chain. Her gaze went back to Larry. “A situation with my ex became a bit heated.”
“What?” Daniel demanded. “Was Charles causing trouble? I knew I should have fired—”
“Does this Charles have a last name?” Larry interrupted.
“Charles Crenshaw.” She dropped the necklace. It fell back into the lush cradle of her breasts. “But he wouldn’t do this. He’s an accountant, for goodness sake. He wouldn’t—”
“Take a swing at a cop because he was jealous that you were with another man?” Jonas offered quietly. “I think you’re underestimating the accountant.”
Her lips thinned.
“I think so, too,” Larry murmured. “And I think we’re gonna be wanting to have a talk with Mr. Crenshaw.” He glanced at Daniel. “Is there any way he could have gained access to this building without being on the security camera downstairs?”
Before Christie had arrived, Larry had gone with Jonas to view those tapes. And they hadn’t seen anyone. Only Jamie, the security guard. No one else had entered the building or left. Not until Daniel came by a little after seven.
Daniel frowned. “The cameras rotate. I guess…if you knew the timing, you might be able to avoid ’em, but there’s still Jamie.”
“Who didn’t see anyone.” Larry shut his notebook.
“Maybe we’re looking at the time all wrong on this,” Jonas said quietly. They’d only gone back over the day’s footage. “Maybe the attack didn’t happen today. Maybe it happened after the party.”
When everyone was leaving. Too much activity. Too many people.
Sure, the computer would have made noise when it was smashed, but he’d seen for himself just how deserted this area of the building had been that night. All of the action had been in the common areas. No one would’ve even heard the crash.
And there’d only been a few people left hanging around after Santa had finished all his deliveries.
He slanted a hard glance at Daniel. “Why’d you come to her office?”
“I wanted a printout on the projected development of Rover.”
Right. Rover the Robot.
“I thought I’d show the info to Dad tonight. Figured he’d get a kick out of it. He loves Christie’s designs.”
Jonas nodded. “So if you hadn’t come by, no one would have even noticed the destruction until after Christmas.” What a hell of a present for Christie to return to. Maybe that was what the asshole wanted.
“I’ll be needing Mr. Crenshaw’s address,” Larry said quietly.
“And I’ll be coming with you to talk with the jerk.” Jonas shook his head. “I knew I should have let that dumbass spend a night in jail.”
Christie shook her head. “Look, Charles might have been angry, but he wouldn’t do this. He backed off, remember? He knows things are over between us. Hell, he’s already seeing someone else. Vicki Jasper. They’ll probably get married one day and have little accounting babies.” She sucked in a deep breath. “He’s not the kind of guy who would destroy my office.”
“Then who would?” Jonas asked, stepping close, catching her scent and wanting to touch her so badly that he ached. “Who else would do this? Who else would want to hurt you?”
If she’d give him a name, he’d get busy tearing the bastard apart.
Her gaze held his. “No one. I can’t think…no one.”
But someone was out there. Someone who had a grudge against her. Someone who was going to pay.
And Charles Crenshaw was at the top of his list.
Jonas didn’t go back to her parents’ house with her. Her parents saved dinner for her and Daniel, had kept their guests waiting so they could all eat together.
Her father was furious about her office, and he kept tossing out threats left and right. Her mother seemed worried, her voice quiet and concerned as she asked questions.
And Daniel—well, he still seemed pissed.
There was an extra seat at the table. An obviously empty seat. She’d asked her mother to make room for Jonas, and Clara had. Room that wasn’t needed.
“Christie, dear, what happened to your friend?” her mom finally asked in her soft, southern drawl, just as they were beginning the second course. Maybe her mom was trying to take the focus off the vandalism. Maybe she was simply curious. Clara was known for her curiosity—ahem, nosiness—as much as for the slew of beauty pageant wins she’d racked up as a younger woman.
Christie’s hold on her knife tightened. “Jonas is working on the investigation about the incident tonight.” Incident sounded nice and vague. She really didn’t want her aunts, uncles, and assorted cousins knowing that her office had been trashed, quite possibly by an ex-lover.
“Jonas?” Her mother repeated and a smile stretched her lips. “Oh, well, he’ll get to the bottom of this and—”
“No, mom.” A long sigh came from Daniel. “What Christie means is that Jonas can’t be here because he’s working the case.”
“Such a shame,” her mother said, still obviously missing the point. “I invite him every year and he never—”
“Jonas was my date,” Christie interrupted, figuring it would be best to just break in with the news.
“Your date?” her mother repeated. Then her smile widened and her blue eyes gleamed. “Oh, finally, you’re picking an interesting man!”
Yes, she was. Her gaze shifted to her father. She knew he’d heard everything.
He stared back at her. “You know what you’re doing?”
She nodded.
He picked up his fork. “I always rather liked Jonas.”
What?
Her father aimed his fork at Daniel. “You like him, too, so don’t be glaring at me, boy.”
“He’s dating Christie.”
Her father glanced her way once more. “Then that makes him one lucky man.”
Christie swallowed. “Thanks, Dad.”
“I learned my lesson with you years ago, sweetheart.” A grin edged his mouth. “You weren’t ever really interested in that Benjamin, were you?”
She shook her head.
“Sometimes love can make a man do crazy things.” He dove into his plate, came back up, and said, “But my girl is damn smart, and if she’s chosen to be with Jonas, then that’s fine by me.”
Daniel hung his head. “He is a lucky bastard.”
She thought about Jonas’s past. No, he wasn’t lucky. She was the one who’d had all the luck.
Daniel happened to look at her then. His eyes narrowed on her face. “Christie?”
People talked around them. Her mother turned away, chatting with a cousin. Daniel scooted toward her. “You…know, don’t you?” he asked.
She still hadn’t managed to