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“I put it on silent while I was working. Being harassed by the fuzz is bad for business.”
“Especially yours, I’d guess.” Anne walked to the side of the room. She still couldn’t find the stairway after having seen him use it a few days ago. William might have to admit to needing a cleaning lady in here.
“It’s behind the pile of used textbooks,” William offered. “Not that—Right, there.”
Anne made her way up the curving staircase. “Were you a dragon in a past life? Hoarding books and weird trinkets?”
“I don’t hoard them, love. I sell them.”
“How does anyone find anything in here? I don’t remember your penthouse ever being this messy.” Anne stopped a few feet away from him, keeping her professional distance.
“I don’t keep inventory in my home. To what do I owe the pleasure of seeing your face almost continuously, even after proving my innocence?” William watched her emerging from the stairs. She hadn’t changed her clothing since that morning. Truthfully, she looked a mess. This case must be quite hard on her. Still, she was lovely, even in her weariness. He sort of adored how she looked when she’d been up too long and drunk too much coffee. The way her hair was escaping her strict bun made him want to run his fingers through it and let it all loose.
“You have proven it. That’s why it would be such a big deal if you were still being tailed.” Anne paused for a beat. “But you aren’t. We checked with highway patrol and our beat cops, and aside from the tail that the captain put on you, which was reporting in regularly until this morning, no one has been following you. And more importantly? No one called in your license last night. There’s zero record of it.”
“Deny it all you like, detective, but I was pulled over, and there’s someone outside my shop right now,” William argued.
“We believe you, Will. What I’m telling you is that the police are officially not following you.” She leaned over slightly. “But someone is.”
William raised his brows. The names of a dozen names of potential enemies rushed to mind. “That’s good to know. Thank you for that, Anne.”
Her perplexed look was warranted. He rarely called anyone by their name or title unless he was mocking them.
“I mean it. Might come as a surprise to you,” he said sarcastically, “but I rub a lot of people the wrong way. No one’s been gunning for me since I got out, as far as I knew, so this intel is critical for me.”
“This intel means that you’re in danger,” Anne insisted. “I suspect, from both whoever has been tailing you and the unsub that took down Pigg. He was literally twice your size, Will.”
“You’ll find that five rounds will take down the best of us, pet. I can hold my own,” William said more defensively than he’d intended.
Anne rolled her eyes and sighed. “Do you really have time for this masculinity pride parade? Isn’t your life worth more than your ego?”
“Dunno.” William rubbed his index finger over his chin. “My ego’s worth a lot.”
Anne pressed her lips together and stared him down.
“You’re adorable when you do that.” William chuckled. “Don’t worry your pretty little head. I have a few places I can look to find out who’s out to get me. While I’m there, I can see who might be behind your murder. Chances are, you’ll catch the dolt that hired your hit man before you catch the man himself.”
“Where are these places? I’ll go with you.”
“Absolutely not. You walk like a cop. God, love, you smell like a cop right now.”
Anne looked down at herself.
“Coffee and desperation,” he clarified.
“I’ll shower. Don’t be stubborn about this. If you’re really hitting the street to find out information that I’m seventy percent sure that you’ll be sharing with us either voluntarily or with a little pressure and/or flirting, then it makes sense to have a trained officer nearby.”
William turned from her and grabbed his tea, which had gone cold, and took a long sip. “For the life of me, I don’t know what makes you think all of a sudden that I’m this kittenish sop that can’t handle himself. You know who I am, what I’m capable of. Moreover, you know who raised and then trained me.”
“You are always so dramatic! This is a case. My case. I’m the primary here, and I have to make sure that it’s handled properly. So you’re going to bring me along. I’m not sending a civilian in undercover without backup, even if you are the son of a sadistic crime lord as well as the shadiest fucking man in an already shady as fuck city!”
William turned to her with a frown. “This is about your job, then?”
“Mostly, yes.” Anne’s eyes
flitted up, then to the left. It was a classic sign that she wasn’t entirely being truthful about something.
Regardless, William would’ve been more suspicious if she hadn’t been hiding something. What was their relationship if they were completely open with one another?
