An hour later, they were both done taking separate showers—more’s the pity. Roxy wore the same clothes from the day before. It was like a walk of shame, but lasted all day long.
Not that she was complaining. The night she spent with Rafe was totally worth it.
She slid into the passenger seat of his pickup. “We should talk to Donnie’s wife. She had the most information on Presley. Maybe she knows more than she thinks.”
“It’s a place to start.” He turned onto Las Vegas Boulevard. Something was still off. He was distracted, and not in the good want-to-rip-your-clothes-off kind of way.
“Is everything okay?” That MacAuley conversation still ran through her mind. Rafe had been quiet since he showed up.
“Fine.” Rafe followed the traffic down the boulevard, avoiding the rush of people crossing the street. The good news was they all looked like they’d Vegased a little too hard last night. Which meant her walk of shame clothes looked classy.
He went a mile or so and pulled off the highway.
She looked around. “Why are we leaving the highway?”
The Southern Highlands, where Donnie’s wife was probably rolling around the house with the trainer, was west.
Rafe idled on the shoulder. His fingers tapped at his phone. “I have an errand to run first. It shouldn’t take long.”
An errand? That was only slightly cryptic. What kind of errand took precedence over clearing her name? Before she could answer that question, Rafe hung a left at a light and drove a few blocks to a large tan building. Her stomach dropped into a flat cartoon pancake—without the cartoon hilarity.
She knew this building. It was a building she’d seen one too many times. But even if she didn’t know the building, the sign would give it away. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
“Why are we here?” Disappointment balled in her throat and poked at her sinuses.
Rafe didn’t say anything as they drove across the parking lot. Roxy grabbed for the handle on the door. She’d never thought about jumping from a moving car before. It was a new feeling.
Her hand itched as he stopped behind a row of cars, waiting for the one at the front to park in an open spot. She was now in a non-moving car. Getting out would no longer be jumping.
“You look guilty. You need to go in and talk to them.” Rafe’s voice was barely above a whisper.
“To people who want to lock me up.” Roxy’s hand was no longer considering opening the door. She wanted to karate chop the man who’d abducted her.
“They won’t lock you up.”
“How do you know?”
“MacAuley said they just need to talk.”
At least he looked torn, uncomfortable. She’d like to kick him someplace sensitive and see how much more uncomfortable she could make him. Just the thought kept the betrayal tears at bay. The rolling of her eyes helped. “Cops are known for telling the truth. They wouldn’t lie to get a murderer off the streets.” And the blatant sarcasm didn’t hurt either.
Rafe shook his head. “You’re not a murderer.”
“You and I know that, but they don’t. MacAuley and his partner practically had an MMA match in the middle of a random office building because they don’t agree.” Staring down Geary and his distrustful glare wasn’t how she thought today would go. But that wasn’t even the worst of it. Having Rafe stab her in the back and hand over to the cops wasn’t on her list of things to do today either.
“MacAuley knows you didn’t do it,” Rafe said.
They were getting closer to the building, and who was standing in front? Rafe’s ex/new BFF. MacAuley. Roxy almost punched Rafe in the arm. “You texted him.”
Rafe sighed as he pulled up to the curb. “He’s right. You need to talk to them.”
“You sold me out.” And lied. And abducted her. And hurt her. And… there were so many ands.
“It’s not that dramatic. They just want to talk. MacAuley said he’ll be there the whole time.”
Not that dramatic? He slept with her and then took her to the police station against her will. That was pretty darn dramatic in her book. It was crappy. Who would do that?
Oh yeah. Rafe.
“I trusted you.” She tried to hide the crack in her voice, but the reality of the situation jabbed in her throat. Her eyes burned with all the emotions she shouldn’t be having. It was one night. One night didn’t make trust. Why’d she thought it had?
“You can trust me.” Rafe stopped the car in front of the building as MacAuley headed for the door.
Trust him? No. She couldn’t even trust herself. She’d made a huge mistake letting him in. Not that she would have this conversation here and now. Not with MacAuley getting closer.
She didn’t even know what to say. Where to start. So she didn’t bother. She whipped open the door and slid out of the truck, making sure she didn’t forget anything.
She’d already given up enough—her pride, her body, her trust. She didn’t want to lose anything else. There was no way she would reach out to him for something she might forget. Or reach out for a ride. Or anything ever again.
“Roxanna. I can pick you up when you’re done—”
He probably kept talking after she shut the door. She didn’t know. Or care. He’d lied to her. Did what he wanted without consulting her. They were done.
“Roxanna Horne.” MacAuley kept his hands in his pocket as he approached her.
“Detective.” She didn’t stop. She focused on the front doors of the precinct. She was pretty upset with him too.
“Hey, Roxy.” MacAuley grabbed her arm. “What’s the matter?”
She glared at his hand until it was removed from her body. If only she could shoot lasers from her eyes, then his hand would not only be removed from her arm, it would be removed from the planet. “What did you say to him?”
“What?”
She saw Rafe’s truck out of the corner of her eye as it pulled away. Good riddance. “What did you tell him to bring me here?”
“The truth.” MacAuley invaded her personal space and not in a good way. It was an angry, pointy way. “They were close to issuing a warrant out for your arrest. You looked guilty.”
“I’m not guilty.”
“Then tell us what happened.” He walked the few feet to the front door and held it open.
“Let’s get this over with.” She followed because she didn’t think she could outrun MacAuley or the rest of Las Vegas’ finest. Not because she thought the two men in her life were right.
Because they weren’t.