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“Owens. If we find out anything about his murder, we’ll send it your way. If you find anything out about the rest of his dealings, you send it ours.”
It wasn’t a fair deal, but she didn’t have a leg to stand on, so she agreed. “Do you think he was killed because of the drugs or because of the weapons?” she asked.
“At this point, I think he could’ve been killed because he was a colossal asshole.”
She smiled, which then grew into a chuckle that became a belly laugh. She gasped for breath. “Sorry, it wasn’t that funny but it’s so damn true. I’m just tired, I guess.”
Dane grinned at her. “Don’t worry, I get it. Take the laughs when you can. Working with people you don’t trust is the worst thing. It disrupts your entire life.”
She’d forgotten how well he would understand what she was going through. “It’s a lot more stressful than I realized. And to see Casper on the video was just over the top, you know?”
“I do.”
“Yeah, I guess you do.”
They pulled into her apartment complex. It was a low-slung condo community. Three floors of condos with stairs in between each building. She lived halfway down on the second floor. She directed him to park in her spot and got out. To her surprise, he got out as well. “What are you doing?”
“Walking you to the door.”
She arched an eyebrow at him. “It’s not like we were on a date or anything.”
A sexy smile curved his lips upward. “Oh, I don’t know. I had more action tonight than I’ve had in a while.”
Heat raced up her cheeks, and then she chuckled. “I guess that’s fair.” She turned and started across the parking lot. The lot was lit by a few streetlights and the old-fashioned lanterns along the building. Willing the flames out of her cheeks, she kept her head down until they were at the stairs.
“Sorry about that, by the way,” Dane said as she put her foot on the first riser.
She shrugged. “It was a…weird situation. No need to apologize.” She’d enjoyed it far more than she was willing to admit. As a matter of fact, she was quite sure she’d be having some hot and heavy fantasies tonight starring Dane Landry based on that closet experience.
She cleared her throat. “Well good— Shit.”
Dane frowned. “What?”
“Sorry. Mrs. Mahelona’s cat, Popoki. He must have escaped again.” She pointed at the tabby cat in the bushes next to the stairs. Then she stepped down from the stair and crouched down. “Hey, handsome. Come see me.” The cat came right over, and she scooped him up. She stood again and made her way up the stairs to the second floor. She knocked on Mrs. Mahelona’s door.
“It’s just after two. Are you sure it’s okay?” Dane asked.
“Yeah. Trust me. She’ll be awake all night, waiting for him to come home.” She was about to knock again, starting to doubt what she’d just said to Dane when Mrs. Mahelona opened her door.
“Oh, thank goodness. Popoki, you’ve come home. You bad cat.” She reached out and took him from Mac. “Thank you so much, dear. You know I’d be up all night worried about this little stinker.”
“No problem.”
Mrs. Mahelona glanced at Dane. “Is this your date? Thank you so much for helping find my cat.”
“My pleasure, ma’am,” he said, the picture of a hero. God, if he was wearing a cowboy hat, he could have tipped it and Mrs. Mahelona would have passed out. As it was, she was staring at him. Not that Mac could blame her. Standing there in all black, he was sexy as hell.
“Have a good rest of your night,” Mac said.
“You too, dear.” She winked at Mac and then dropped her voice. “So much better looking than the one here earlier.”
Mac’s shoulders tightened. “The one that was here earlier?” What was she talking about?
“Yes, I saw him leaving your place. Not as well built. He had strawberry-blond hair and a lot of attitude. This one is much more polite.”
“Right,” Mac grunted out, alarmed about what the woman said. “You have a good night.” Could she be wrong? She was old. Maybe she was misremembering the episode.
Mrs. Mahelona closed her door, and Mac hurried to her apartment across the hallway. After fumbling for a second, she found her keys and pulled them out.
