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The detective took another sip from his glass. It looked like he rolled the Scotch around on his tongue before he swallowed. “Starts off like oranges,” he said. “Then turns to vanilla and toffee. Midway it goes woody. Finishes like silk. You should try it slowly. Here.” He held out his glass.
Sunny took it and sipped.
Callahan’s eyes didn’t leave her mouth. “Where do you taste it?”
“Starts in the middle of my tongue. Then changes to the edges.” Sunny sucked in her bottom lip. “Then it sort of fizzes out, filling my mouth and warming my throat.”
The detective took the glass back, without breaking their shared gaze. He drank, then nodded his agreement. “Mouth. Then throat.” He put the glass to her lips and tilted it until she got another sip. “That’s the way it should be.”
The heat from the liquid spread from Sunny’s throat, down across her chest. A couple of drops missed her lips entirely and trickled to her chin.
Callahan reached out and swiped the drops with his thumb. “Four grand a bottle,” he said, sticking his thumb in his mouth. “You shouldn’t waste any.”
“Four grand?” Sunny said, even though she’d researched the gift and knew exactly what it cost. “That’s insane.”
“Like I said. The guy who gave you this likes you a lot.”
“I never said it was a guy.”
Callahan finished the Scotch and slid the glass to the oak counter. “I’d bet my salary.”
Sunny tilted her head to the side and smiled. She had Detective Callahan right where she wanted him. Thing was, he probably knew that, which made it difficult to know how far she could push it. Then again, the beagle was still stuck at the Matteri mill, and Sunny was still in danger of being arrested. Her mission was singular and unavoidable. “You want something, don’t you? There’s some other reason you came out here.”
The detective smiled and leaned in close. “I’m just here to enforce the law.” His breath came warm against her cheek, smelling of oranges, chocolate, Scotch.
“Then the person you should really spring a surprise visit on is Janice Matteri. Not me.” Sunny felt like she was swimming inside that expensive bottle of amber liquid. Dizzy. Warm. Sparkling. Desired.
“Maybe I’ll do that.” Callahan pulled back suddenly, and buttoned up his collar. “Maybe I’ll forget about what happened tonight, too. With you and your bolt cutters, over on your neighbor’s property. Which, by the way, are a lot harder to use than you think. You’ll need really strong hands to get the job done. But once you do get the job done, it’s officially breaking and entering. Savvy?”
Sunny swallowed hard. “Savvy.”
“Good.” He rubbed the back of his neck.
“You should have someone check that out,” Sunny spoke carefully. It looked like he was going to leave, and she wasn’t sure if that was good or bad. “My sister’s got great hands.”
“Tell me about it.” Callahan collected his jacket and drew it on. “Your sister spent a total of two minutes, tops, working on my neck the other day. And even though it still bugs me a little, it feels better than it has in months.”
Sunny licked the remainder of the Scotch from her lips. “She could help you as much as you need. I’d make sure of it.” Constance’s voice ran through Sunny’s head:Do you ever think before you leap? No, you don’t. And then when you land in crap, you’re always surprised you got dirty.
Callahan’s movement’s slowed. He got a glint in his eye. “How would your sister feel, about you offering her up like that?”
Sunny shrugged. “She’s used to it.”
Callahan’s glint deepened. Just like the way he’d spotted Sunny’s car in the woods, he saw things most people didn’t. He was on to her. Sunny was certain he was going to leave, when he stopped, turned back and leaned against the bar. “I have a friend.” He lowered his voice. “A really good friend. The kind you have for life. A brother. You know?”
“Of course I know.”
Callahan appeared to consider her words, puckering his lips, then nodding. “My friend could use a pair of hands like that. He’s struggling, even though he doesn’t know how bad he’s struggling.”
Sunny shrugged. “Sure. I’ll get you Cici’s business card. Have him call and—”
Callahan was already shaking his head. “That won’t work. I can’t just hand him a card and tell him to call. He’d never do it. This would have to be done with...finesse.”
Sunny bit down on her lip, which still tasted of chocolate and oranges. “I see. So what you’re saying is, if I scratch your back—or your friend’s back, more specifically—then you’ll scratch mine. You’ll look the other way on tonight, and I’ll help you with your friend. Something like that?”
“Yeah.” Callahan nodded, eyeing her up and down. “Something like that.”
