“Hate to break it to you, but the podunk doctor lives in a nice part of town and owns a flash European car. Have you seen the state of your place?”

Nikau shrugged. “If Miriama just wanted money, she’d have hooked up with one of the rich tourists who pass through here.”

Will couldn’t argue with that. Even in just three months, he’d seen more than one out--of--towner take a single look at Miriama and fall at her feet. Not all were young backpackers, either; Golden Cove also got the rich travelers who came for the pottery or to stay in the refurbished B&B, which had recently earned a place in a -high--end travel guide as a “hidden gem.”

“I hear she’s leaving.” That was the thing with this -town—-the way the gossip flowed, you’d think you knew everything. But there were secrets here, a thick tide of lava beneath the surface. Will felt them, and once, when he’d been a detective who dug and dug and dug, he’d have begun to poke around. But if he’d still been that man, he wouldn’t be here, so the point was moot.

“Six weeks to go.” Nikau took a sip of his beer. “Plenty of time.”

Snorting, Will returned his gaze to the bottles behind the bar. There was no fancy lighting here, no glass shelves. It was dark wood and solid, the bottles lined up neat as soldiers. “She’ll burn you up.” Will was grateful he’d never felt a tug toward Miriama; she was too young, too shiny, too innocent.

Will had lost his innocence so long ago that he barely remembered the taste of it.

“Man likes being burned now and then.” Nikau turned his attention back to the bar. “What about you? How long you gonna turn down the invitations coming your way?”

“Let’s say I’m not in the mood.” He wasn’t in the mood for much, not even living.

“You still got a dick?”

“Last time I looked.”

“Then you’re in the mood. Go grab Miss Tierney of the big blue eyes and the big tits and heat up the sheets. She’s been shooting you ‘come to me, cowboy’ looks since we sat down.”

Will had nothing against the schoolteacher who worked in the next town over, but he had no desire to screw her, much less date her. It was like that part of him had switched off thirteen months ago. Will wasn’t even sure he wanted it to switch back on.

Deciding to change the focus of the conversation, he said, “You ever going to tell me what you’re doing in Golden Cove?” Will had run a background check on the other man the day after he took up the position of local -cop—-Nikau had looked like trouble and Will had wanted to know how bad it was.

What he’d discovered hadn’t been anything like what he’d expected.

“Field research,” was the mocking answer. “Talking of which”—-he swung off the bar -stool—-“your dick might have taken a vacation, but mine hasn’t.” A slap of Will’s shoulder. “Christine Tierney -off--limits?”

“Only if she says so. I’ve got nothing to do with it.” He raised his bottle. “Good luck.” Throwing back the last of his beer, he put the bottle down on the stained and scarred wood of the bar and got up. “I’m going home.”

Shaking his head at that, Nikau prowled off toward the group of women that held Christine Tierney. Despite the other man’s question about Christine, Will wasn’t sure who it was that Nikau had in his -sights—-and he wasn’t sure Nik cared.

Having already confirmed that Nikau was planning to walk home, he said -good--bye to a few others, then headed out. The night wind was cold, bracing, the salt water heavy in the air tonight. He strode toward the street that would lead him to the far eastern end of town.

He’d lived in the B&B for the first month, until he got sick of the landlord knowing his every move. So he’d rented a house that belonged to a couple who’d left Golden Cove but hadn’t been able to find a buyer for their property. Not many people wanted to move to such a remote area on a permanent basis.

Spotting a group of teenagers loitering in front of the closed tourism center, he crossed the empty road to them. They immediately straightened. He caught the fading hint of tobacco smoke, decided to let it go. It was the harder stuff that was a real -problem—-and there was plenty of that floating around in town.

“I think it’s time you went home,” he said quietly. “I heard you guys have an exam tomorrow.” The teenagers caught the bus to a high school an hour away, but that didn’t mean the town didn’t know the details of their studies.

The kids scuffed their shoes. “It’s gonna be stupid basic,” one of them muttered, but when Will met his eyes, the boy dropped his head.

“I’ll walk you home,” Will said, even though two of them lived out of his way.

The teens weren’t exactly thrilled at the escort, but they were young enough not to give him lip. He knew Golden Cove wasn’t a big city, that it was unlikely they’d get in trouble the way a city kid -might—-but then again, the most evil monsters often wore a familiar face. Could be he was walking them home to danger, but he knew the parents of all these kids: a couple were apathetic, uncaring of where their kids wandered, but the rest did their best on meager budgets.

Only once they’d all walked through their front doors did he continue on his way, his gaze drawn toward the trees that hid the ocean. He’d heard through the grapevine that the new face in town, Anahera -Spencer--Ashby, formerly Anahera Rawiri, had moved into a clifftop cabin that had once belonged to her mother.