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The last thing he wanted right now was another confrontation with Avery. But if the man was still hellbent on blaming Blake’s shooting on Hallie, Caden was definitely going to have some words with the guy, even if Avery was his immediate supervisor.
Five minutes later, Caden walked into Avery’s office, head held high, shoulders back, like he had everything under control. “You wanted to see me, Sir?”
Avery looked up from his computer screen. “You fucked up, Dobbs.” Avery’s eyes went back to his screen after he had all but scalded Caden with his words.
Caden remained standing, despite the empty chair in front of Avery’s desk. “Excuse me?” He tried to hold back the grit from his tone, but he was ready to bet his career on the fact that he hadn’t fucked up anything.
Avery printed something out and handed it to him without a word. Caden reviewed the document with the details regarding the arrest of George Buckwald, Blake’s shooter. “The arrest was perfect. There were no technicalities. I made sure of it. He’s lying,” Caden said, staring at the printout.
Avery shrugged. “He has proof. His lawyer plans to bring it in front of a judge by the end of day tomorrow. Still think Hallie Owens is innocent?”
Caden clenched his jaw. As if this wasn’t bad enough, the jerk had to throw Hallie in his face? What the hell did she have to do with this anyway? Nowhere on the report did Buckwald even mention Hallie. “Yes,” Caden answered.
Avery shook his head. “I’m going to have her brought in. I want to question her myself.”
“Sir, I don’t believe she had anything to do with Blake’s shooting. Focusing on her is a waste of our time and resources. We should be buckling down on Buckwald and making sure this technicality bullshit doesn’t affect our case against him. He’s the one who pulled the trigger. He’s the one who put a bullet in Blake, not Hallie.”
Avery nodded as if he was agreeing, but Caden should’ve known better. He’d gone to bat for her, and immediately knew he’d gone too far. “Are you fucking her?” Avery asked. Not a man to mince words, or play office politics, Avery was unapologetic when it came to getting things done.
But Avery’s question rocked Caden to his core, and if the man wasn’t his boss, he would’ve decked him in the mouth. “No. Not that it’s any of your business. Sir,” Caden spat out.
Avery sighed. “Then I’ll let you do the honors.” He handed Caden a search warrant. “And take a few agents with you. I want the computer she used to send that tip. Maybe we’ll find whatever she’s hiding on that thing.” And with that, Avery stood from his overindulgent chair and walked out of his office. “Let me know when she’s here.” He called out over his shoulder.
Caden grimaced. This was not how he wanted to see Hallie again. She’d just started to open up to him. They had spent an hour drinking coffee and talking about their lives. He’d made her laugh several times. She’d listened to his sad life story about his brother. She hadn’t run even after finding out he was an FBI Agent.
He sighed. She would now, after he dragged her in for more questioning. Caden had never given much thought as to what a suspect might feel or say, only that he hoped whatever did come out of their mouth would be the truth and get him that much closer to solving a case.
It was different with Hallie. He could be demoted or lose his job if he refused a direct order, but more than that, Avery would just get someone else to do it. Caden hadn’t forgotten the fear in Hallie’s expression when those two other agents had gone to her shop, and the last thing he wanted was to put her through something like that again.
Never before had he not wanted to bring in a person of interest. This was usually Caden’s favorite part. It gave him the chance to analyze their behavior the entire way back to the bureau. With his minor in psychology, Caden often knew just how guilty someone was, before he ever got them into an interrogation room, and his intuition was usually spot on.
It was how he was so sure that Hallie was innocent of any wrongdoing, unless his attraction to her was clouding his judgment. That was another reason he hadn’t fought Avery harder. Hallie Owens could be guilty. She could be playing him. It sickened Caden to even think like that, but in his line of work there was no room for error.
Caden took a deep breath. He had a job to do, and Hallie would have to...endure. He wanted to tell her to call a lawyer, but that wasn’t his place. She would have to come to that conclusion on her own.
He drove in complete silence to The Mystic Cow. No radio on or podcast talking his ear off as usual. It was still early in the afternoon. By all accounts she shouldn’t be expecting him yet. Would she be surprised to see him so soon? Would she be happy to see him? Would she get nervous all over again?
The knots forming in Caden’s stomach made him think this was all wrong, but twenty minutes later, he parked directly in front of her shop, hating what he was about to do. He got out of his vehicle and motioned for the two agents in the vehicle that pulled up behind him to wait. He had the search warrant with him, but he didn’t want to overwhelm her with force unless absolutely necessary, and seeing multiple agents coming at her again would likely only make her clam up even more.
He started for the robin’s egg blue door of The Mystic Cow and stood there for a moment, steeling himself for what he was about to do. His weapon was holstered, but within easy reach, and he had his handcuffs. If she fought him or tried to run, he’d have no choice but to cuff her. Bile rose from his gut and he swallowed hard as he reached for the door handle. This was it.
The little bell that hung from the top of the door jingled as he opened it and stepped inside. Right away, he spotted Hallie sitting behind the register, her nose in a book. She looked content and enthralled with whatever she was reading. It was on the tip of his tongue to ask her what book it was and if she thought he’d like it. He wanted to get lost in her shop amidst all the eclectic things. Stand there for a while trying to decide what photo album to get while chatting with her. Get her to open up to him even more. But now wasn’t the time for any of that.
With a quick glance around, Caden assured himself the store was empty of customers. The last thing he wanted was for someone to be there or walk in on him telling her that he wasn’t there for a social visit. He shut the door behind him, turning the little locking mechanism on the bottom handle to lock it.
Hallie still hadn’t looked up. She’d likely only had a few customers trickle in throughout the day and was allowing them to browse on their own until they asked for her assistance. The register was all the way at the back of the store, and while he was sure Hallie would see him if she looked up, she still hadn’t. It amused Caden even more that she was so trusting, and so lost in her book.
He came up to the register and stood there, taking in the softness of her expression and the way her hair fell on either side of her face like a silk curtain. When she still hadn’t looked up, he cleared his throat. She looked up, and as soon as their eyes met, she gifted him with another one of her smiles. Suddenly, Caden wasn’t sure he could go through with this. She was going to be the end of him.
“Hi,” she said, setting the book aside.
He was tongue tied for a moment, just taking in the way her smile reached all the way to her eyes, making them glisten like emeralds in the glow of the afternoon sun. “Hey,” he finally said.
“It’s been so slow today.” Her cheeks took on a pink hue and it was the sweetest thing. “What time is it?”
“Just after three.” He answered.
Hallie cocked her head. “You got off work early?”
