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“What is it?” Dane demanded.
“What?”
“You’re upset. What did she say?”
Mac looked up at him. “She watches out the keyhole for the cat. You heard her say she saw a guy with strawberry-blond hair leave my place earlier tonight. No one has a key to my place except me, and I don’t know anyone with strawberry-blond hair.”
“Son of a bitch!” Dane swore. “Probert has reddish hair. It’s got to be him.”
Goddamn it.She reached for the lock, but he put his hand on hers.
“Let’s think about this for a minute.”
She shook off his hand. “I don’t want to think about this. I want to go into my apartment and see what that asshole did.”
“I know. I get it, but you’re not going to be able to get anyone over here now to help unless you call in the cavalry, and I’m not sure that’s the best idea. Think about it. You need to tread carefully until we know the scope of your boss’s betrayal or involvement. If you call and he comes over, are you going to trust anything he says or does? Will you trust the rest of the people who come with him?”
Shit. He had a point. Would she trust the techs to process her place? Casper knew them all. Not that she thought all of them were crooked but, she had no idea if any of them were, and it would only take one who wouldn’t process a print or a fiber. One who would miss a bug or a small camera.
She sighed. “I could call the police. They could come to investigate the break-in.”
“Yes, you could. But the moment they ask you what you do, they’re gonna ask if this has anything to do with your job at CGIS. Then they’re going to poke around in things and that might make it more difficult for us. Not to mention who the hell knows if Casper knows any of them. How long has he lived here? There’s no way he doesn’t know some cops on the island.”
She wanted to scream but, goddammit, he was right. “What do you suggest?”
“Let my team process your place in the morning. They’re exhausted now, and they need sleep. Whatever is in there can wait until tomorrow. We’ll come over first thing and check it out.”
She hated the idea. Waiting was awful. She wanted answers now, but he was right. She wouldn’t necessarily trust any answers she got so it was better to wait. As much as she loathed to admit it, she did trust his team. They wouldn’t make a hash of it, and she’d have a better idea of what she was dealing with.
“Fine. Drop me at a hotel.” She turned and started down the stairs.
They climbed into his SUV and then headed out of the parking lot. “You might as well take me back downtown if you don’t mind. I can get a room down there and get my car.”
He cleared his throat and looked out his side window and then back through the windshield. “To be honest, I think it’s probably best if you spend the night at my place.”
Her heartbeat ticked up. Did he sayhis place?
“I don’t trust any of Owens’s team members, and there’s just been a lot of crap today. Plus, my place isn’t far. I have a spare bedroom and…” He paused. “I’ll know you’re safe.”
His place. Alarm bells rang in her head. Shades of what happened in Minneapolis. Or was it? He was definitely an interesting man. Maybe too interesting. She’d thought Karl, her old boss, had been interesting, too. Instead, it turned out he was just an asshole. He’d blamed her for their affair, and she had to leave. It didn’t matter that he was her boss. He’d been there longer, and the other detectives had closed ranks. They’d decided she had been the problem,
Oh, she could have fought it, but what would've been the point? She’d have to work with the people who thought she’d seduced her boss. Set her sights on him to further her career.Just look at her. Who could resist?It was all bullshit, but that was the story he sold, and they’d bought it, hook, line, and sinker.
It wasn’t like he had a wife or even a girlfriend. They had legitimately dated, but once their lieutenant found out about it, her career at the Minneapolis Police Department was over. Lieutenant Linda Holmes decided Mac had to go. Three months later, Holmes and Karl were dating. Wasn’t that something? As her mother had said during a phone call, “Your uncle, of course, told Karl he was being a jerk, but there’s nothing else he could do.”
Mac had said nothing. She’d been hurt that her uncle hadn’t backed her a bit more at the time. He was a detective with enough years in to retire, but he said he wanted to work a few more years so he didn’t want to rock the boat. The lieutenant was his boss, too. Whatever.
In the end, she was happier in Hawai’i.
She chose her next words carefully. “You don’t think I’ll be safe at a hotel?”
He glanced over at her. “I think there is more opportunity for them to get to you at a hotel. I think you’ll be safer with me.”
“I see. What makes you think they haven’t broken into your place?” She stared at him, but he just kept looking at the road ahead.
“Because I have a security system that would’ve alerted me. I have other things in place that I will check when we get there, but I’m pretty confident my place is clear.” He finally glanced at her again. “Look, I just have a bad feeling in my gut about all this, and I don’t want to leave you on your own. I’ll drop you at a hotel if you want, but then I’m just gonna have to take the room next door, and I would rather not do that. I like to sleep in my own bed. Plus, I need to feed my cat.”
She burst out laughing. “Well, by all means, let’s feed your cat. I’ll try not to be insulted by the fact that you think I can’t handle myself. I will chalk it up to us both being tired and you wanting to keep an eye on me because you don’t trust me. Those are reasons I can live with.”
