tried to think. “Again, you do the best you can. You reason things out. We’re attracted to each other and right now that attraction’s been heightened by the adrenaline spike we encountered back there. But we’re working together, and you don’t respect what I do, so reason tells us that you should follow your instinct not to kiss me.”
“And you always do the reasonable thing?”
She smirked. “Oh, come on. After the way I dared you to kiss me the other day, you’re actually going to ask me that question?”
“Dare me to kiss you again,” he whispered, his gaze flickering to her lips.
And God, how she wanted to. The words were on the tip of her tongue, but she ruthlessly held them back.
She shook her head. “I can’t. It—it wouldn’t be professional.”
For a minute, he looked at her as if he wasn’t convinced. As if he was going to pull her into his arms and kiss her and maybe even do more. Instead, he took a breath, turned away and quietly pulled back onto the road.
They were silent for several minutes, each unwilling to risk breaking the tension between them lest it unleash a tidal wave of emotions and desire.
“I called a friend of mine in Charleston,” she finally said.
He glanced at her.
“Molly’s husband is a cop. He—he did some checking around, and he says Beth’s father is still there. A neighbor of his said she’d seen him just last night.”
He grunted. Then said, “I know. I put out feelers about him and was told the same thing. I also got a call earlier. While you were talking to Anne. There weren’t any fingerprints on the letter but yours. But Davenport could have hired someone to deliver the letter and that person could have worn gloves while doing so. Or he could have flown to California and back in one day. It doesn’t sound like my source or your friend’s husband saw him for themselves. I’ll call the local P.D. and have a patrol car stop by and try to contact him directly. I’ll also double-check travel records when we get back to the office.”
“That seems like a lot of effort. I know how busy you are. How short-staffed. That isn’t necessary.”
He turned a dark expression on her. “Yes. It is.”
As they got closer to SIG headquarters, he asked, “You want to come in or—”
“No, I think I’ll just head back home.”
“Where’s your car?”
“Down a couple of blocks in a public parking lot.”
It didn’t take long for them to reach Nina’s old clunker. He turned the ignition of his own vehicle off but didn’t remove the key.
“Thank you. I’ll see you tomorrow? Same time?”
He nodded.
She shoved the passenger-side door open and walked to her car. Behind her, she heard him call, “I’ll follow you home.”
She stopped and shook her head, turning around to face him. “That’s not—”
“Necessary. I know. But I’ll do it anyway.”
Remembering the scare she and Anne had caused him, she shrugged. “Suit yourself,” she muttered.
But when she tried to start her car, the engine wouldn’t turn over. Groaning, she rested her forehead against the steering wheel for a second before she sensed him standing next to her door.
“Want me to jump you?” he asked.
Her head snapped up. He was smiling again. Showcasing that fabulous sense of humor of his despite the tense circumstances they’d just experienced. His smile loosened the tight muscles that had clenched inside her stomach ever since the confrontation with Anne Stanley.
“Sounds wonderful,” she said.
He grinned full-out now, making him look years younger. Then his gaze flickered to the backseat of her car and he stiffened. “Shit.”
With a frown, she began to turn, but he reached out and stayed her. “Don’t look.”
She kept her gaze straight ahead even as she asked, “But why?”
He yanked open the back door and leaned into the car. “Someone left something for you.”
“What?”
He hesitated.
She whirled around in her seat to look, but Simon’s large shoulders blocked her view.
“What is it, Simon?” she demanded.
“A dead cat.”
“What?” she gasped out. “What does it look like?”
Had Six crawled into her car and died of heat exposure? She’d never forgive herself if she had.
“Nina, I’m sorry. This cat looks exactly like yours. Down to its sixth toe. It’s your cat.”
“Oh, God,” she moaned. “I don’t remember leaving the windows open. I don’t know how she could have gotten in here.”
“She didn’t climb into the car on her own,” Simon ground out. He turned and faced her, and for the first time she could see