The Captain I Married by Chance novel Chapter 478

"Of course," Nathan said smoothly.

"You just have to learn how to divert your attention. For example—"

Nora looked at him, giving him her full, undivided attention.

Nathan leaned across the small diner table, closing the distance between them.

Their breaths practically mingled. Nora felt the sudden proximity was a little too intimate for a public diner.

She reached up and pressed a hand flat against his chest to keep him at bay.

"Just use your words."

Seeing her on high alert, Nathan let out a sudden bark of laughter.

"Alright."

"I'll say it."

"I'm listening," Nora nodded encouragingly.

Seeing her looking so intensely earnest, Nathan dragged out his words, a wicked glint in his eye. "For example... you could just look at me more."

Nora was stunned.

What?

She stared at him in utter disbelief.

"Excuse me?"

She had assumed he would actually offer a profound psychological coping mechanism. Instead, he looked immensely proud of himself as he confidently lowered the bar even further. "I said, you should just look at me more."

"I'm tall, incredibly handsome—shouldn't I be enough to capture all your attention?"

Nora fell silent.

Was it too late to call off the wedding?

This man was nothing like the stoic, serious detective she thought she was marrying!

Watching Nora suffer a total existential crisis, Nathan threw his head back and laughed.

"Nora, do you have any idea how much you look like a startled cat right now?"

Nora rolled her eyes.

He had just rapidly devolving from a brooding, intense fiancé into a walking compilation of cheesy pickup lines. How was she supposed to react?

As much as she wanted to let him sweat it out, her morbid curiosity always won.

She let him off the hook.

Returning the favor, Nathan reached out and gently took her hand, his expression softening into something far more tender. "The man who sold the Costello Ranch to Mr. Costello has vanished without a trace."

"Not just him. His entire family hasn't been seen by anyone in weeks."

Nora's brow furrowed.

Her mind instantly flashed to the headless skeletons laid out on the metal tables.

"Even though the skulls were missing, the skeletal analysis was clear. Two men, two women. One older couple around fifty, and two younger victims. A male in his early twenties, and a female around fifteen or sixteen."

Nathan's eyes darkened, the easygoing demeanor completely gone. "It's a perfect match."

"The previous ranch owner was Frank Farrell. Both he and his wife, Cheryl Carter, were fifty-two. They had a son in college and a daughter in high school."

The blood drained from Nora's face.

If the DNA results confirmed the identities, they were looking at a complete family annihilation.

Not only had the killer slaughtered an entire family of four, but they had also meticulously dismembered them and funneled their remains into a local buffet. What kind of deep-seated, horrific vendetta would drive someone to do something so monstrous?