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His jawline twitched and his eyes glimmered with amusement as his mouth curved into a lazy grin. “Hi there. I thought you might like a ride back to your store.”
Chapter 2
“What were you thinking, letting her go?” It was the next day and Special Agent Sean Avery stood in the doorway of Caden Dobbs’ office. His righteous indignation grated on Caden now more than ever, since he hadn’t even finished his first cup of coffee yet. But the man was his superior so he’d learned to deal with him over the years.
“We don’t have anything on her,” Caden answered calmly. “Did you watch the interview? She sent the tip from her work computer. Doesn’t exactly scream killer.”
“Or maybe she’s just not that bright. Besides, she could be the reason Blake O’Connell is in the hospital,” Avery said.
Caden shook his head. “Blake is in the hospital because of Blake. He was warned to stay back. Ms. Owens’ tip had no bearing on his safety. In fact, if he had heeded her warning, he wouldn’t even be in the hospital right now.” It bugged Caden that Hallie claimed to be psychic. He suspected she would’ve said anything to get out of that room after sitting in there for hours, but Caden didn’t like how the feeling of her using that word nagged at him, even now. It hit too close to home with how Orly and Luke met.
Unless Hallie was…no. He stopped that line of thinking for the umpteenth time in the last twelve hours, before his imagination got the best of him. Whatever Hallie’s involvement was with Blake getting shot, it had nothing to do with her being any kind of psychic. “I’m gonna pay Blake a visit later today.” He’d wanted to stop at the hospital this morning on his way into work, but he’d had a lot of work to catch up on, and he was still downright pissed at his friend for being so hot headed and not following orders. The man could’ve been killed, and Caden had already lost too much to go through that kind of pain again. “I’ll have the latest report on the case over to you before I leave.”
That seemed to placate Avery, at least for now. He nodded and walked away, leaving Caden to stew in his thoughts about the conversation he’d been avoiding with Blake, and the gorgeous brunette he hadn’t been able to get off his mind.
Caden had seen his fair share of criminals. He was familiar with all their little tricks to try to get out of trouble. So after watching Hallie Owens in that room for over an hour, he was one hundred percent sure of two things. One, she was no criminal. And two, he liked her, and her eclectic shop that he’d visited last week.
Of course, he couldn’t let on to either of those things while they were in the interrogation room. It was his job to make people as nervous as possible in there, and hopefully get them to say something incriminating. She hadn’t though. In fact, aside from her little quip about being psychic, he had no reason to believe she was anything but innocent as she’d told the first agent who’d interviewed her.
Only someone with something to hide would go out of their way to ensure their message wasn't easily traced back to them. Even if she had thought it was anonymous, a real criminal wouldn’t have risked it. They wouldn’t have even sent it to begin with.
She’d exposed herself by sending that tip from her shop’s computer, and Caden didn’t know many people with that kind of selflessness outside of his close circle of friends, and one of them had just married his best friend. The only thing that puzzled Caden was how she knew. If she wasn’t guilty and she wasn’t psychic - he sighed with indecision just as he’d done every time it came up over the last few days, and turned his attention back to his computer.
Later that afternoon, Caden went over to the hospital. Blake was sound asleep, while his mom and youngest sister, Emily, hovered at his bedside. Caden visited with them for a few minutes and then let them have their privacy. He would come back in a few days when Blake was stronger. Besides, what he had to tell Blake, could definitely wait.
Feeling unsettled, Caden stopped by the cemetery on his way back to the office. He parked his vehicle on the side of the narrow two-lane road and walked across the lawn, passing rows of graves until he came to the one he could find with his eyes closed. His breath hitched like it always did every time he looked down at the headstone and read the name etched into the marble. Ethan Dobbs.
Caden swallowed hard, and stood there with his hands in his pockets, his eyes glossy and heart heavy. It didn’t matter that it had been fourteen years almost to the day. It didn’t matter that Ethan’s last act on Earth was killing another human being. At the end of the day, this was his brother, and Caden loved him. Still loved him so damn much. Caden never knew what to say to the gray marble stone, but whenever life threw him a curveball, he always found himself coming back here, seeking out his older brother. He would be thirty-three now, and Caden often wondered who he’d be if he hadn’t gotten mixed up with the wrong crowd. If he hadn’t gone out that night and pulled a gun on that liquor store owner.
The ‘what ifs’ were enough to choke Caden where he stood. He stayed for a while, then with a slight shake of his head, he put one foot in front of the other until he was back at his vehicle. As he drove out of the cemetery, he tried not to look back, but his gaze always lingered on the rearview mirror, on that spot where he knew Ethan was buried.
Over the next few days, Caden worked on Blake’s case, determined to put it to bed as fast as possible. He focused on making all the necessary arrests, including the asshole who’d fired the bullet hitting his friend’s shoulder.
Caden had mounds of paperwork on his desk and dozens of emails to answer regarding the case, but his mind still kept going back to Hallie. He’d felt a connection to her at her shop the previous week, and then again in the interrogation room. He suspected she’d hesitate to tell him what she knew without consulting a lawyer first, but when he’d asked her a direct question, it went a long way that she’d been straight with him.
Caden was so over people trying to tell him what they thought he wanted to hear. All he wanted was the damn truth. Not sugar coated, not filtered, not anything. Just the truth, and then he’d decide what to do with it. He didn’t often believe people during the interrogation process, but there was something about her that made him believe her. Want to believe her.
By the time he looked up from his computer screen, it was lunchtime. He hadn’t been to the hospital to see Blake since seeing his mom and sister there, mostly because he’d been putting off the inevitable. He also still needed to find a gift for Luke and Orly. They had postponed their party until Blake was out of the hospital, but that only bought him a week at best. Before he’d left her shop, Hallie told him she’d placed an order for more of those unique photo albums for him to choose from. But he doubted she’d want anything to do with him after the other day.
Caden sighed. From what he’d seen so far, Hallie was sweet and honest. That alone made her attractive to him, but she was also beautiful and a successful business woman in the community. He decided to take a longer lunch. He’d visit Blake for a few minutes at the hospital and then go to The Mystic Cow to see Hallie. He had no idea if she’d even give him the time of day, but he’d use the photo albums as an excuse. He sent Avery an email with an update on all his cases and let him know he was going to take a longer lunch break.
Half an hour later, Caden walked into the hospital and took the elevator to the third floor. Blake’s surgery had been successful, but after suffering a minor complication, his doctors were being extra cautious and keeping him a few more days before letting him go home. All in all, he was one lucky bastard as far as Caden was concerned.
When he came to the door of his friend’s hospital room, relief washed over Caden all over again. While Blake hadn’t been able to dodge the bullet, he’d recover and be able to return to full duty in time. That was a big deal, and Caden didn’t take it for granted.
He knocked and pushed the door open. His best friend, Detective Luke Harmon, and their friend, Texas Ranger Garrett Cooper, were standing at the foot of Blake’s bed laughing about something. The room had a window overlooking the parking garage below. On the wall opposite the bed was a small flat screen television mounted over a white board where his nurse’s name and the date were written with a black dry erase marker.
It was surreal, having to come to a place like this to see his friend and colleague, who before being shot, was the most active and fearless person he’d ever known.
Caden swallowed those feelings and put a smile on his face. He didn’t want to damper the lighthearted mood he’d walked in on.
“Hey, the more the merrier. Did you catch the asshole that put a bullet in me?” Blake asked in greeting.
Caden sighed, pleased to see Blake was in good spirits. He was sitting up in a reclined position on the bed. A white sheet and blanket pulled up to his torso. He wore a green hospital gown and had an IV in his left hand. His right shoulder was bandaged and his arm was in a sling. “I did. What’s going on with you? When are they kicking you out of here?”
“Are you kidding?” Luke joked. “He’s practically on vacation. He has all the pretty nurses vying to give him a sponge bath, and he gets a hot meal three times a day.”
Caden hadn’t seen Luke since his wedding day. The man was glowing, both from the tan he’d gotten in the Bahamas and from finally finding the love of his life. Orly was incredible, and not just because she was his best friend’s soul mate. She’d proven herself when she stuck her neck out for him, not once but twice, and probably saved his life in the process. It was something Caden would never forget.
