“It’s kind of like a sample sale. They send the drugs out, get good word going, and then flood the market. Why?”
“The naked guy. He said he’d taken blue pills and Beast.” Adrenaline pumped through my blood. “Where did he get Beast?”
Both men sat back in almost an identical movement. Interesting. “Go find out,” Nick said.
Pierce nodded. “Yeah. If they put him under observation, he’s in the hospital’s psych ward for the three days.”
I sipped my iced tea. “Can I just go talk to him? Without a warrant?”
“Did he ask for a lawyer?” Nick asked.
“No, but he was sent away to the psych ward,” I countered. “An argument can be made that he’s not able to consent.”
Pierce shrugged. “Sure, but we’re not after him. He might just provide a lead, and we’ll worry later how we got there.”
“Maybe you should go,” I said, already sorry I’d opened my mouth.
“No,” Nick returned. “He likes women, and it sounds like he thought you were cute. Use that.”
Okay. I did not like that. At all. But it did make sense. “Fine. Lunch is on one of you.” I pushed away from the table, and every bruise I had ached in protest.
“Anna?” Pierce also stood. “We’re cutting both Melvin and Devlin loose. Just so you know.”
I’d figured. There wasn’t enough to hold either one, and they were more likely to make a mistake outside of custody. “Got it.”
“Watch your back, and I have a cop on you.” Pierce moved around the table and took my arm to head for the door. “I’ll walk you to your car where he’s waiting.”
“Lunch is on me,” Nick said wryly.
“Your expense account is much larger than mine, lawyer,” Pierce returned, grinning and looking younger than usual. As soon as we had moved down the sidewalk a ways, he coughed. “I, ah, wanted to apologize if I said anything that made you uncomfortable in the interview with Devlin.”
Wow. Okay. Pierce apologizing? He was much easier to keep at a distance when he was being a jerk. “I understood the strategy,” I said, stepping over a winding crack in the sidewalk.
“Just be careful.” We made it past my office building to the adjacent parking lot. “Whether it makes sense or not, he has feelings for you, and he obviously doesn’t know what to do with them.”
Aiden wasn’t the only confused one in this situation. I nodded.
We reached my car, which had the top on, and I nodded at Bud, who sat in his patrol car two parking spots away. He nodded back, looking big and beefy even sitting in the car. I wasn’t sure I needed protection, but I had to admit that I liked it. Just in case.
Pierce opened my door for me. “I was thinking.” He angled his head to check out the back seat, probably to make sure it was empty. “I’ve been invited to a barbecue in Silverville tomorrow at Sheriff Franco’s house. Kind of a Monday evening get together, I guess?”
“Yeah?” I looked up at him, surprised again by how bright his eyes really were. Did he need directions or something?
“Want to go with me?” he asked.
My head bobbed. “Are you asking me on a date?” I wasn’t being coy. The words came out fast and curious.
He shifted his weight. “Kind of. You’ll know everyone there, and I don’t. We are working together.”
Man, he really didn’t understand small towns. “It’ll be seen as a date, Pierce. Even if we spend the entire barbecue mingling around and not with each other. My grandmothers will be pulling out their wedding dresses and fighting over whose lace I’m going to wear at our nuptials.” I shouldn’t have taken such glee in watching the color drain from Pierce’s bronze face, but hey. I’m just human.
“Oh.” He glanced at Bud and then back at me. “Well then, let’s make it official. It’s a date.”
“Why?” I asked, suspicious. Did he think this would draw Aiden out or something?
Pierce pinched the bridge of his nose as if a headache was attacking him. “Why are you such a pain?” he muttered. Then he focused on me again. “Because I want to see you outside of work. I’m interested. Why not just go to a simple picnic and find out if we have fun together?”
It probably was as close to an ‘I like you’ as Pierce was able to get. Warmth flushed me. He really was cute and didn’t seem fifteen years older than me. I’d slept with Aiden, but we weren’t dating, so