AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“When you kissed me?” Tears were quickly starting to burn the backs of her eyes.
“Yes.”
“Is that why you kissed me?” She asked, lifting her chin in defiance.
Caden remained perfectly still and silent. He didn’t move or flinch. The guys all came in to get food and must have sensed the tension in the small space, because they quickly piled some meatloaf and sides onto their plates and scurried out, leaving Hallie and Caden alone again.
Food was the last thing on Hallie’s mind. Caden hadn’t taken any either. After everyone left the office, he said, “I need you to look at the photos and tell me who that man is with you. Please. Help me get to the bottom of this and if you don’t want me in your life after that, I’ll leave you alone.”
“Where were they?” She asked, trying to keep her tone even and hide the lump forming in the back of her throat. “The agents who took these photos. Where were they tonight? Why didn’t they stop whoever did this? Why didn’t they do their job and protect me?”
“They were on a dinner break. If they’d been here, they would’ve stepped in,” Caden said. “Now please, time really is of the essence here. Who is the man with you in those photos?”
Hallie nibbled on her bottom lip, trying not to think of the kiss they’d shared at Luke and Orly’s party. She’d thought of almost nothing else since it happened, and Caden had just all but confirmed that it had been a lie. Had everything between them been one big lie?
She could cry about that later.
Right now, her store was in disarray and whoever had done it, couldn’t get away with it. She looked down at the pictures. In one of them, she was sitting in a coffee shop. In another one, she was walking down the street, holding a coffee. In the last one she was at a restaurant, eating orange chicken. The same man was in all three of them.
“Finn Riley,” she said.
Caden nodded. “We know that from facial recognition. I need to know who he is to you.”
“My ex. He showed up at my place the day after I ran out on you. He came by unannounced and asked if we could talk. I didn’t really want to, but I needed the distraction, so I agreed.”
“Distraction? From what?”
Did he have to ask? “You,” she said, punitively. “Anyway, I met him at Grounded, then we went to a Chinese place we used to go to before we broke up.”
“Any idea what he was after? Is he looking to get back together with you?” Caden’s question wasn’t unprofessional, but it still felt like he was fishing.
“Maybe,” she said, wanting to hurt him as much as he’d hurt her. It worked a little too well when he winced and his gaze dropped to his hands. “He also wanted to get on my dad’s good side,” she added.
Caden looked back up at her. “Why?”
Hallie rolled her eyes. “My dad is the VP of an international electronics company. Finn wanted to apply for their director of marketing position. He was qualified for it, but my dad told him he wouldn’t work with someone who’d hurt his daughter. So, he had to find a way to show my dad that we were on good terms. And it worked. I don’t really care though. If you’re thinking Finn did this, you’re wrong. It’s not his style. He’s more of a zinger kind of guy.”
“What’s a zinger kind of guy?” Caden asked.
“You know, one-liners that are meant to zing you. He was always telling me that I looked bad if I wore a certain style of clothing, or ugly if I had my hair up the wrong way. He hated that I wasn’t a morning person, and there was other stuff. So, he’d say things, little one-liners to make me feel bad about myself. Zingers.” Hallie explained.
“Asshole,” Caden said.
Hallie smirked. That was something they could agree on. She handed the photos back to Caden.
“Have you seen him since?” He asked, taking the photos from her.
“No.”
Has he messaged you?”
“Yes, briefly.”
“I’ll need a copy of those messages from your phone.”
“Of course,” Hallie said. A thick silence settled between them and she stood, needing to get out of that small space. Being so close to Caden, her mind and her heart were waging a war she wasn’t sure either could win. “I should go out there and help clean up.”
Caden put a hand on her shoulder and she acutely felt the soft pressure and warmth of his palm and fingers through her shirt. “No, you’re good. I’ll be right outside if you need anything. And Hallie…”
