“I was going to ask you out to dinner, but you are probably exhausted,” he said.
“To be honest, I am.”
“Will you let me bring you coffee and sandwiches during the market tomorrow?”
“I’d love that,” she said.
The main exit hall was crowded so Liam led her through a side door, through an empty hall to get to the lot where the vendors parked. As they were walking down the deserted hall, Layla noticed several drops of red liquid on the linoleum floor.
“What's that,” she asked, pointing at the drops.
Liam sniffed the air. “It's blood.” The drops led to a door. “This is a broom closet,” Liam said, gripping the handle.
It was locked. He pulled out his keys and found the right one, shoving it into the lock and turning the knob. He opened the door. A body tumbled from the closet and fell on the floor at Layla’s feet. She shrieked and hopped back. It was Martin Green, the water filter salesman. He had a bullet wound right between his eyes.
Chapter 5
“Don't look,” he said, shielding Layla from the sight. “Let's get you away from here.” Liam escorted her into an office where she could rest, away from the sight of the dead body. Of all the horrible things that could happen on the day he met his mate, murder was the absolute last thing he would ever expect.
He pulled his cellphone out of his pocket and quickly called the police. “There's been a murder at the event center.”
“We’ll have someone there immediately.”
He hung up the phone and turned to Layla taking her in his arms. A few moments later, he heard the police arrive. He left Layla in the office with a cup of coffee and walked back out into the hall.
“I opened the closet and the body fell on the ground,” he told the officer.
“Did you see anyone suspicious during the market?” the officer asked.
“There were hundreds of people here.”
“And you said you were with a woman when you found the body?”
“Yes, my mate, Layla Watson.”
He escorted the police man into the office where Layla sat, drinking her coffee with a worried look on her face.
“The officer wants to ask you a few questions, Layla,” he said, patting her back.
He asked Layla the same questions he'd asked Liam, and she answered in the same way.
“That's all I need from you now, ma'am. You're free to go.”
“I'll take you home. Layla,” Liam said.
“That's okay. I don't need you fussing over me.”
“Nonsense. You've had a shock.
“What about my car?”
“I can come pick you up in the morning if you’d like.”
“Would you?”
“Absolutely,” Liam said.
They went outside and climbed into his BMW, and she gave him directions to her home. They pulled up to a little ranch style house, tucked under a grove of maple trees with a barn in the back.
“This is a nice place,” he said.
“I like it,” she said. “The beautiful scenery and environment is the reason I moved to Fate Valley.”
“I'm awfully glad you did,” he said, walking her to her door.
They stood on the porch, looking into each other's eyes. He had to stifle the intense desire to pick her up, carry her inside, and throw her on the bed. He’d told himself he’d take things slow, but that was the last thing he wanted to do.
“Well,” she said. “I'll see you tomorrow.”
“I'll be here at 7 a.m.,” he said as she opened the door.
“7 a.m.,” she said with a smile, disappearing inside.
Liam turned away with a sigh on his lips and a song in his heart. He’d found his fated mate. Unfortunately, it was also on the very same day that he had found a dead body at his beloved Holiday Market. So many people disliked Martin Green. There was no telling who had killed him.
He drove back to the event center where the investigation was truly underway. The police had removed the body and were dusting for fingerprints. He watched from afar as they did their work. A woman burst through the back door, her eyes streaked with tears, her hair a mess.
“Martin?” she said frantically.
“We're going to have to ask you to stay back, ma'am,” the officer said.
She was shuffled away to the perimeter with the other onlookers and stood beside Liam. The woman was shaking like a leaf, and he could sense her anxiety and anger rolling off her in waves.
“How did you know Martin Green?” he asked.
“I was his wife.”
“I'm sorry for your loss, ma'am,” he said. “You must be devastated.”
“I am. I just learned he canceled his life insurance policy for me and our daughter.”
Liam was taken aback by that remark and confusion rose in his chest.
“Why would he cancel his life insurance when he had a wife and daughter?”
“Oh, Martin wasn’t my husband. He was my ex-husband. He won't be paying me child support or alimony now either.”
Liam looked at the woman cross-eyed, trying to understand how someone could be so cold when their ex-spouse was murdered only a few hours ago.
“That must be hard for you,” he said, gulping.
“It is hard for me. I just bought a boat. How am I supposed to pay for it now?”
“That's a good question,” he asked, inching away from the woman.
There were several other people standing around, and he could hear their whispered conversations. He recognized them as vendors from the Holiday Market.
“It serves him right,” one of them said, “It's about time someone did it.”
“If whoever murdered him hadn't done it, I might have,” the other one said.
They both started to chuckle evilly. Liam was beginning to feel as if he was in a room full of murderers. He understood that nobody liked Martin Green, but they were talking about him like he was the devil himself. Nobody deserved that, not even someone who sold overpriced, faulty water filtration systems.
“You're Margie Smith, aren't you?” Liam asked one of the women. “You make those gift baskets.”
“Why yes, Liam Nash, how good to see you,” Margie said, turning saccharine sweet at the sight of him.
“And you’re, wait, what was your name again? Peggy Hodgkins? You make those tea cozies out of recycled clothes.”
“Yes, I do. And aren't you just the sweetest to remember.”
“How did you know Martin Green?” he asked.
“Everyone knew Martin. He was one of the worst people in the entire market.”
“I would've complained about him years ago, but he bullied my husband one night at Fate Valley Brewing, and he convinced me not to.”
“It was like that for me too,” Margie said. “He did that to pretty much everyone at the market.”
Liam wished someone had told him a long time ago.
“Martin always got the best stalls, and his aggressive sales tactics would clean people out of all of their money,” Margie said.
“I heard that his water filtration system doesn't even work,” Peggy said.
“It's all a big sham.”
The ex-wife turned around, overhearing the conversation and interjected. “I heard he was in tons of debt. I bet that's why he stopped paying his life insurance policy.”
“Debt to who?” Liam asked.
“To his company. Best Water Filtration Systems, it’s a multilevel marketing group. He ordered a bunch of systems and hasn't paid for them yet.”
The three women started talking about what a horrible person Martin was. Their vengeful, hateful words built to a crescendo. Liam couldn't take it anymore, so he backed away and turned to go. Before leaving, he stopped to talk to the security guards who had already been questioned by the police. He then asked the head police investigator if they’d be able to open the market again tomorrow.
The investigator told him it would be okay to open the market as long
as the crime scene was taped off and nobody came into the area. He assured them they would block off the entire area from the general market and not let anyone come through.
Liam went out to his Beemer and drove home. All he wanted was to forget about the horrible things that happened that day. It should have been the best day of his life. He'd met his mate, and she seemed to like him as much as he liked her. Now all this. It was a terrible mark on an otherwise beautiful occasion.
When he arrived at home, he made a cup of cinnamon tea and went out on his patio on the third story of his mansion, overlooking the lake and the sprawling lawns below. It was a beautiful view that he was grateful for every day. He only wished that he had someone to share it with.
As he sipped his tea, he thought of how wonderful it would be to have Layla living here with him. He wondered which room she would use for her work and then considered building her a whole new shop on the property just for that. His heart burst with his fantasies as he imagined their little cubs roaming about the grounds, playing on a play gym that he would build himself. He’d take them for rides on his boat on the lake. It was such a nice fantasy that he lost himself in it for a long time, and almost didn't notice the text message buzz on his phone.
“Thinking about you.” He growled when he saw the message from Layla.
He quickly typed out his own message. “Thinking of you too. Can't wait to see you tomorrow morning.”
“Same here.”
He sat down the phone, not knowing what else to say. If he typed out another message he just knew he would take it too far. He hoped that tomorrow the whole murder business would be solved, they could go back to the festivities, and everyone would have a Merry Christmas.
Liam woke early the next day in anticipation of picking up Layla. He couldn't sleep, so he showered and dressed, and then paced the floor of his bedroom, waiting for the sun to rise. When it was finally time to go get her, he hurried to his car and drove to Fate Valley Café and Bakery for coffee and scones. He had them in his hands when he knocked on Layla’s door. She opened it with a bright smile at seeing him and it brightened even more at the sight of coffee and pastries.
“Why thank you, sir,” she said, taking the coffee in hand.
She took a sip and walked outside, locking her door behind her. They climbed in his car and ate their scones on the way to the market while Christmas music played on the stereo. Liam opened the door for Layla when they arrived. She hopped out, taking his hand with a big smile.
“You're such a gentleman.”
He loved that she thought he was a gentleman. It was the sweetest thing he'd heard in days.
“Can I take you out to dinner tonight?” he asked, hopefully.
“I’d love that.”
They walked inside, having arrived early. Liam quickly checked in with his security and his executive assistant Bethann to make sure that everything had gone smoothly with the police the night before. Layla excused herself and went to her booth to prepare for the day as the other vendors began to arrive. Bethann assured him that everything was fine. But reporters had been around, and the murder had been leaked to the press.
“We don't know what this is going to do for the Holiday Market. It might scare some people away,” Bethann told him.
When they opened the doors, there was a horde of people outside. Liam watched as hundreds of people filed into the market and looked over at Bethann.
“These people can't all be from Fate Valley,” he said.
“I just got word that they’ve come from all over the state,” Bethann said, holding a walkie-talkie. “They're curious about what happened to Martin Green. I guess, people love a gruesome story.”
“Well, if we can fill their hearts with holiday cheer, then it's all okay,” he said.
He spent the rest of the day checking on his vendors, making sure that everyone was happy and content, and that no one was too scared of what had happened to Martin. Some people were a little nervous that one of the vendors had been killed, but most of them seemed assured that nothing like that would happen to them.
Martin’s reputation throughout the market seemed pretty consistent. Most of the people Liam talked to assumed he deserved to be killed. Liam was not an event coordinator, he was a real estate investor. But he had always taken great pride in the market, and couldn't believe that he didn't know this had been going on for so long.
The more he talked to the vendors, the more he suspected that one of them had done it. But then he remembered Martin's ex-wife and how angry she had been that he hadn't left her his life insurance policy. He just couldn't understand how somebody could be so cold. Maybe she had done it.
These thoughts whirled inside his mind. Martin was a man who owed his company a lot of money. Surely Best Water Filtration Systems wouldn't have tried to kill him. They would have just sued him, the creditors would have come, and he'd have filed bankruptcy. Corporations didn't resort to murder over debts. Not that he knew of anyway. Liam pushed it all out of his mind and tried to concentrate on Layla.
He couldn't wait to take her out for their real first date. He'd made a reservation at Fate Valley Resort for the best table in the house, and every second he had to wait felt like an eternity. Finally, when the Holiday Market closed that night and all the guests and vendors began to leave, he went to meet Layla at her booth.
“I've got to rush home and get out of my vendor clothes and put on something pretty,” she said.
“You already look pretty.”
“I want to wear something sexy on our first date.”
“I can’t wait,” he said grinning.
She giggled. “Pick me up in an hour. I'll be ready.”
Layla walked around the booth, reached up on her tiptoes, and kissed his cheek. She smiled sweetly as she pulled away, and Liam's heart slammed in his chest. He wanted to grab her and kiss her hard on the mouth and never let her go. But he restrained himself and his growling inner grizzly.
“See you in an hour,” he said, watching her curves sway as she walked away.
Chapter 6
Layla had bought a deep red dress to wear on a date to the resort with her ex, but they'd never gotten to go on that date before she’d broken up with him. It had a formfitting bodice with a flared skirt that twirled around her when she turned. She was glad she was getting to wear it tonight with Liam instead. She’d twisted her long braids in a bun at the back of her head and dabbed red lipstick on her full lips.
Layla grabbed her parka and purse just as a knock sounded at the door. She opened it to find Liam dressed in a casual suit with a red and green bowtie and a bouquet of red roses. He handed the roses to her with a sheepish look on his face. She gasped at the sight of them and cradled them in her arms, inhaling the fragrant scent.
“They're beautiful.”
“Almost as beautiful as you,” he said, staring at her in her dress.
“Why thank you, sir,” she said, doing an awkward little curtsy.
She felt like a dork, but she hoped Liam would like her just as she was. Layla put the roses in a vase. When she was done, Liam offered her his elbow. She took it, and they walked out into the dusk, a fresh flurry of snow falling on the ground. He opened the door to his white BMW, and she slid inside.
“I've always wanted to go to dinner at the Fate Valley Resort,” she said as they turned out of her driveway. “I’d hoped to go there in this dress.”
“Why didn't you?” he asked.
“It was supposed to be a date with my boyfriend. But I found out he was cheating on me with multiple girls on the Internet.”
“I should rip his head off,” Liam said flatly.
Layla giggled. “I don't think that will be necessary.”
“I’m sorry. I don't know what came over me. The thought of a man disrespecting you like that just makes me so angry.”
“It's okay, Liam,” she said, touching his arm with her fingertips. “That's all the past now.”
He caressed her finge
rs with his hand as he drove.
“You're right,” he said. “That's the past. You and I are the future.”
She bit her lip and looked out the windshield as the snow flurried around. They drove through town and the stores were all decorated with Christmas lights. The telephone poles and light posts were hung with garlands of lights and decorations for the holiday season. The front lawns of people's homes were full of brightly lit snowmen and nativity scenes. One house had a life-size replica of Santa's sleigh and all his reindeer. Rudolph's nose glowed brightly in the descending darkness.
“Fate Valley really knows how to celebrate Christmas,” she said.
“We sure do,” he said. “Shifters love Christmas. It's the happiest time of year. All the clans gather for the winter season and bring together the warmth of family. I love all the carols and the lights and the presents. There's nothing better than a spicy eggnog on a cold night by a fire with the people you love.”
“I like the way that you think, Liam Nash,” she said.
“Maybe you can knit me one of those fuzzy scarves to wrap around me during the darkest night of the year.”
Layla bit her lip, thinking of something else she'd like to wrap around him during the darkest night of the year. She blushed just thinking of it but didn't say anything.
“I'd love to knit a scarf, just for you. Let's see. What are your colors? I would say red and green for Christmas.”
“That sounds perfect.”
They pulled up in front of the colonial style resort, and he opened the door for her. She was wearing knee-high boots and thick stockings under her dress, to ward off the cold, and her puffy parka that came down to her knees. His hand was warm as he offered it to her, and they walked hand-in-hand through the parking lot to the front of the resort.
Christmas lights twinkled all around the windows and the patio. Golden lights dotted the grounds, spun around the bare limbed and evergreen trees. The whole place was lit up with the Christmas spirit and everything was bright and beautiful. They walked inside, and the smell of nutmeg and pine hit her nose. A Christmas tree rose to the fourteen-foot-high ceiling. It was full of silver and gold ornaments and glowing lights. At the front door of the restaurant, Liam told the hostess his name and the time of the reservation.