“Well, I was pretty proud of that one. Thank you, ladies,” Brady said from out of nowhere.
I jolted in surprise and banged my knee on the underside of the table, cursing.
How could someone so damn tall sneak up on people?
“Are you coming over to get Mac’s alibi, Brady?” Kayla teased, winking my way.
I scowled.
“Couldn’t hurt,” he replied with a grin.
“She was with me,” both Larry and Bonnie said at the same time.
Brady’s blue eyes sparkled as he looked between all of us. I was two seconds away from dropping my head in my hands.
“We were together,” Bonnie hurried to add.
“The three of us,” Larry confirmed.
It was then that Danny returned to the table and sat down on the other side of my sister. Without missing a beat, he said, “No, you weren’t. We were at my parents’ house last night.”
Bonnie’s cheeks flushed pink at being called out, but Brady didn’t seem upset. He was still watching me calmly.
“Is that right?” he said, shifting to put his hand in the pocket of his vest. “So where were you last night, Mac Mac?”
“Busy,” I replied evenly. Truthfully, I’d been bored at home, obsessing over his dumb ass. But no one needed to know that.
Our gazes held, and I could see that he was entertained.
“Didn’t you have that date last night?” Larry called, breaking our weird staring contest.
All that easy amusement vanished. Brady’s mouth tightened, and he glanced away.
I shot Larry a what-the-hell-are-you-doing look, but her bug-eyed response gave off “I’m helping!” vibes.
Sighing, I turned back to Brady. “I was at home last night, if you must know. Alone. So I don’t have an alibi. Add that to your investigation.”
“I wasn’t—” he started, but Larry cut in, “Y’all should have a stakeout. Maybe the perp will come back and try again since their attempt was thwarted.”
The perp?I mouthed. “Are you serious right now?”
“That’s a good idea,” Kayla agreed.
“And if Mac helps, it would prove once and for all that she didn’t have anything to do with it,” Bonnie stated determinedly.
“Y’all,” I tried.
“That’s not a bad plan,” Brady said, nodding. “What do you say, Mac Attack? You up for a stakeout?”
My laughter was a touch unhinged. “No way. I do not need to play cops and robbers to prove my innocence. Come on, you guys. This is ridiculous. Of course I didn’t have anything to do with this.” I felt like I was the only sane person at this table—in this whole damn town.
“Well, you didn’t have an alibi, sweetie,” my sister said apologetically, rubbing a supportive hand on my back.
“And who knows?” Larry said enthusiastically. “Maybe y’all will catch the culprit.”
I blinked several times, so baffled by this turn of events.
“How about this?” Brady said genially. “If my team wins trivia tonight, you’ll do the stakeout. And if y’all take home first place, then I won’t bother you about it again.”
