Roxy left the darkness of club just as the security team opened the front door. Men slowly trickled in from the line outside the door, some in suits and some in shorts and tacky button-down shirts printed with beer cans and palm trees. Every day at the strip club was apparently like Black Friday at Walmart.
Rafe pushed through the group of businessmen and tourists grabbing lunch and stormed toward Roxy. She’d noticed he looked mad, but that was redundant.
“Did you know?” he demanded through his teeth.
“I said I didn’t know.” In fact, those were her exact words.
Rafe crossed his arms. She would’ve been impressed with the way they bulged, but he was being a jerk. “I know that’s what you told them. I’m asking for the truth.”
Her gut clenched from the words he just sucker-punched her with. She wouldn’t like him lying to her, so she wouldn’t lie to him. Not about this. This was huge. This was a man’s life—and her life.
“Despite what everyone thinks of me, I’m not a liar.” She pushed those words out with everything in her. She wouldn’t let him see the pain. Her voice would not crack. She yanked the keys from her pocket and controlled the urge to throw them in his still angry face. She was the one who should be mad. She didn’t know why any of this was happening around her. To her.
“See you around, Amato.” Not. She would have to do a better job of avoiding Rafe and his properties. She’d managed to not see him for years. How hard could it be? Especially now that she knew they all thought she was lying. Not they, him. The tears bit at her eyes. She didn’t know if they were upset tears or angry tears. Right now, she was just acknowledging angry—so she’d go with that.
She speed-walked away from him. Well, she might have been running. If her tears actually made an appearance, she refused to show him. He didn’t deserve to see her cry. She made it all the way into the garage before he caught up with her.
“Hold on, Horne.”
She pretended to not hear him. Had she done that from the beginning, she wouldn’t be fighting the lump in her throat. She opened the driver side door and it thumped against something hard.
Rafe grunted.
Roxy bit back a laugh because if she let anything out, even a laugh, she’d probably break down into tears. She stopped herself from patting the door in appreciation. Karma. Before she could slide inside the car, a hand wrapped around her fingers.
“Roxanna.” The way he said her name liquefied her insides. His voice was soft. Kind. It melted the restraint that kept her emotions from spilling over the edge.
“What?” She kept her head down, praying that the keys in her hand would somehow make her invisible. Her eyes burned. No crying. There’s no crying in investigation.
“Look at me.” His thumb caressed her hand. “Please, Roxanna.”
Fine. She lifted her eyes to his. There was more than remorse in the crinkles in the corner. There was concern in the scrunch of his eyebrows and the frown on his lips.
“I’m sorry. I should have known you wouldn’t lie to me.” His other hand swept across her cheek. His fingers were rough, but his touch was soft. It was the perfect combination.
Her eyes couldn’t leave his—even if she tried. And she wasn’t trying. “I’m not lying.”
“I know.” His hand cupped her cheek. “But they think you are.”
She didn’t care about them. She cared what he thought. She wanted Rafe to understand. Admitting that out loud was scarier than her impending date at the precinct.
“Are you okay, Roxy?” MacAuley’s deep voice broke through all the words she refused to say to Rafe.
She bobbed her head up and down, breaking contact with the warmth of Rafe’s hand on her face. “I’m fine.”
“Geary can be a little abrupt.” MacAuley’s hands were in his pockets. He seemed upset, but she couldn’t tell if it was because of what his partner had done or if it was something else.
“Abrupt?” Roxy snapped. Was that what they’re calling it these days? “I was thinking he was another word starting with an A.”
MacAuley grinned, but it was forced. Not that all-powerful smile from lunch. “Geary can be an asshole, too. He’s just trying to figure out what happened.”
“So am I,” she pointed out.
“I know how much you thought you had riding on this, but it’s your freedom now. Let us handle this.” MacAuley sighed. “I promise I’ll find out who killed Dunne.”
“Okay.” She crossed the fingers on the hand not in Rafe’s possession. It wasn’t lying if your fingers were crossed—playground rules.
MacAuley didn’t look like he really believed her. Whatever. As long as he went away, it didn’t matter what he believed right now. “Are you bringing her to the precinct?” he asked Rafe.
“Yeah.” Rafe squeezed her hand and stepped closer to Roxy. The intention was clear. MacAuley better back off. “Do you need anything else?”
Roxy would be disgusted by all the testosterone flying around, but she wanted MacAuley to back off. He was right. This was not just her job now. This was her freedom. And orange really wasn’t her color.
MacAuley shook his head. Whatever he was seeing, he didn’t like. Well, she didn’t like being called a liar by his partner. “We should be done in fifteen minutes, then we’re heading back to the precinct. I’ll see you both there.” MacAuley headed back inside.
Warm breath tickled along her temple. “I’ll drive.”
Drive. She pulled away from Rafe’s body—which practically required the jaws of life. But there was no way he was dragging her to that interview. “Where?”
“To the precinct.” He moved closer.
“I’m not going there today. Maybe tomorrow.” She tried to angle into the car, but it was impossible with a large male body pasting her legs in place.
“You said you were heading to the precinct.”
“I didn’t say when I was going.”
“I thought you didn’t lie.” The side of his lips quirked up. He was playing with her.
She kind of liked it. “I said I’m not a liar. Everybody lies.”
“Really.” The humor in his eyes was too much. It made her heart melt. Heck, it made her body melt. “How do I know you didn’t lie to me?”
“Because I don’t lie to you.” The words came out before she could think about what that meant. Before she could stop them. Heat pooled in her cheeks.
Rafe’s smile disappeared before his eyes went black. He pulled her into his chest before pressing a kiss to her lips. A soft gentle kiss that made her knees weak. Her head spun. Her heart stopped. Her body was alive with that gentle touch. Then he was gone.
“Let’s keep it that way, Horne.”
What? Keep what? Where? Her lips tingled. Her body jingled.
The confusion must have mingled with the flush on her face, because Rafe smiled. “If you’re not going to the precinct, where are you going?”
Was she going? The fuzz in her brain cleared as she took in the parking lot at the Diamond Club. She’d interviewed the girlfriend, fought with the cops, and kissed Rafe with his soft lips. Well, her brain was caught up. But if she kept thinking about that kiss, there was a chance she’d fall back into the fuzz.
“Where are you going?” He smirked.
“Donnie had an office in Henderson. I thought I’d go take a look.”
“Do you know where in Henderson?”
“I’m not sure. I need to do some research.” Her computer and all her logins were back at the office. She could probably enlist Sarina’s help, but Roxy didn’t want to get her in trouble.
Rafe pulled out his phone and tapped the screen. “He has a building over on Water Street.”
“How do you know that?”
“I’ve been doing my own investigation.”
“Why?”
“You’re not the only one who has something riding on this.”
“Like what?” It wasn’t his livelihood or his freedom. Nope, those were her crosses to bear. Why would he be investigating?
He slid his phone in the front pocket of his BDU’s. He wasn’t going to answer. She knew that even before he said, “How are you going to get in?”
“I got ways.” She had no ways. She was banking on luck.
“I’ll go with you.”
“Why?”
“I, too, have ways. Ways that don’t just include a rabbit’s foot.”
“I don’t even own a rabbit’s foot.” Ha! She’d told him.
“Come on, Horne.” He reached around her and ducked into her car. Before she could ask what he was doing, he walked away with her purse.
“Hey, that’s mine.”
He kept walking like he hadn’t heard her, so Roxy had no choice but to abandon her car and go after him. Lights flashed on a giant black pickup truck, and after tossing her bag into cab, he climbed in the driver’s seat. The window on the passenger side rolled down. “Come on, Horne. We’re burning daylight.”
She sighed. There was no fighting him now. He had her bag as hostage. Maybe this was a good opportunity. He could teach her a few tricks— like how to do a proper B&E. She’d never broken and entered anywhere before. If she was going to make a go of the PI thing, she needed to acquire some new skills.
She climbed into the front set of the truck. A sinful smirk hit Rafe’s lips before he pulled out of the spot. He had the look of a man who was ready to teach her a few skills, and none of those skills included lockpicks.
For a good opportunity, this was such a bad idea.