a college girl, and I wore black almost every day. So, of course, I owned a hoodie in that color. I considered it a wardrobe staple.
I waited for him to ask to see it, but he moved on. “Do you have any idea who might have tampered with Mr. Jacobs’s vehicle?”
“Why would I? I’ve never even met the guy.”
“How is it that you haven’t met him? Considering you’re obviously...close with Tristin and Leo, who have known grudges against Mr. Jacobs.”
I didn’t miss the way he stumbled over his statement. He either changed his word choice at the last second or couldn’t think of an appropriate adjective to begin with.
Was this a preview of what I was in for if I started dating Leo? People judging me for being “close” to more than one of the Sharpe brothers? Not that it would be a problem if Hayle kept avoiding me and Tristin continued to pretend like I didn’t exist.
“I witnessed Bodie harass Tristin on two separate occasions. That’s the extent of my personal knowledge of him.”
Detective Dyck flipped back a few pages to check his notes. “You’re referring to the fight outside this house on the twenty-third of August and the confrontation at the football game on the thirtieth of August?”
“Yes.”
“Okay.” He placed his pen on the table and looked directly at me. “If there’s anything else you’d like to add, now would be the time.”
“I thought the security system records cleared Leo and Hayle.” Vincent had turned them over the day after the accident, since they proved that the brothers were home at the time in question. “Couldn’t they do the same for me?”
“I don’t believe I ever said you were a suspect.”
I shrugged. “Maybe not, but you’re here.”
“The records are helpful for providing an alibi, but they aren’t solid proof, since there may be a way to circumvent the system. That being said, you’re not an official suspect. I’m just doing my job and following up with every lead.”
“Okay.”
“Okay.” He nodded but didn’t get up to leave. “I can only imagine the kind of hold the Sharpes have on you. But you seem like a smart girl, and I’d hate to see you wrapped up in something that’s not in your best interests.”
I clenched my teeth and stared back at him. Up until this point, I got it. Since the surveillance video ensured that Tristin, Leo, and Hayle were in the clear, he was looking at the only female in their direct orbit. And I happened to be that female.
But he had zero evidence that I was behind Bodie’s accident, and we both knew it. I’d answered his questions, and his insinuation was pissing me off.
“You’re right—I am smart. Smart enough not to go on some kind of idiotic mission of vengeance when at least half of the people in this town know about the bad blood between the Jacobses and the Sharpes.” I stood and pushed my chair back into the table. “Now, unless you have other questions for me, I have homework to do.”
The detective gathered his things and gave me a curt nod. “Thank you for your time. I’ll see myself out.”
I stayed in place until I heard the front door shut with more force than necessary. Leo’s doing, no doubt.
By the time I made it to the living room, he was already sitting on the couch, and he captured me around the waist, pulling me into his lap. “Mission of vengeance? Really?”
“Guess I don’t need to ask if you were eavesdropping.”
“Yeah, well, that’s what Detective Dick gets for interviewing you in the dining room.” He shifted my body, so that I was sprawled over him and our faces were mere inches apart. “No more cops. I promise.”
“I don’t think that’s something you can promise.”
Leo bowed his head and nuzzled my neck. “I can try.”
My breath hitched as his warm breath grazed my skin. “What happened to taking this slow?”
He kissed the spot where my neck met my shoulder, and I shivered. “Slow, not glacial.”
I wrapped my arms loosely around his neck and waited for him to lift his head. Once his aquamarine eyes met mine, I asked, “So, what does Leo Sharpe consider slow?”
“What we’re doing right now, for one.”
“I’m in your lap, and your lips were on my skin only moments ago.”
His mouth twisted in devilish amusement. “I’m not in the middle of banging you against a wall, so this counts as slow.”
I let out a bark of laughter. That response was so Leo.