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Owen took another step closer, the creases in his forehead deepening as he squinted at me.
The hair on the back of my neck stood on end, and I became hyper aware that we were the only two people outside.
A thought pulled at the back of my brain.
“Do I know you?” Owen muttered, almost to himself.
I shook my head. “No.” I wanted to keep his mind off placing who I was. “But I know you.”
He plucked the cigarette from his lips, ashing it onto the ground in a quick, smooth motion before replacing it. “You do, huh?”
My head bobbed in a nod. “You were the last one to see Lily Baker alive.”
I wanted to make it clear that I knew who he was, and that I was on my guard.
Owen paled as his eyes widened. “What the hell?” he hissed. “You a cop or something? I had nothing to do with what happened to Lily.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “I don’t know that for sure.”
His face quickly morphed from shock to anger, his cheeks reddening. He stepped even closer; the smoke from his cigarette burned my nose. “You ain’t got nothing,” he growled. “If they had any evidence, they would’ve arrested me by now.” He yanked his hands from his pockets, fisting them at his sides.
I stepped back from him, the back of my legs butting up against a massive pickup truck parked in the first row of parking spaces. I suddenly felt very trapped.
What the hell was I thinking?
My heart galloped as I frantically thought of a way out of this situation. Owen was shaking with rage the longer he stared me down. Every warning bell went off inside my mind.
I somehow needed to get around him so that I could dart back inside to the safety of the bar.
Owen bared his teeth in a snarl, taking one more step toward me. I opened my mouth to scream—
“Leave her the hell alone, Davis,” a familiar voice barked.
Owen jerked around, and relief made my knees weak as Xander Cohen met my gaze.
“She’s the one harassing me!” Owen spat, but his anger started to wane as he backed away.
“Right,” Xander said doubtfully. He stepped closer to me, wedging himself between Owen and me. “She weighs like ninety pounds, dude. There’s no reason you should be threatened by her.”
Owen scoffed. “Forget this,” he muttered, taking the last drag of his cigarette and flicking it at Xander’s feet. Those dark eyes slid back to me. “Lily was a nice girl. She was my friend. I wouldn’t have done anything to hurt her.”
The sudden shift in his tone jarred me. He sounded…sad.
Xander crushed the butt under his boot. “Get out of here, Davis.”
Owen’s eyes narrowed. “This is a free country. If Callie ain’t kickin’ me out, I’m staying.” And with that, he rounded on his heel and marched back into the bar.
When he was gone, Xander turned to me. “You okay?” he asked.
I nodded. “Thank you,” I said, trying to regain control of my frantically beating heart.
“That guy’s nothing but trouble,” Xander grumbled.
I couldn’t disagree, but something in the look on his face as he said those last words to me struck a chord. He had honestly seemed upset about Lily. “Is he still a suspect in Lily’s case?” I asked out of curiosity. Xander had looked into Owen as a suspect for a while, according to Reid.
A muscle fluttered in Xander’s cheek. He glanced around the parking lot, then he leaned in closer. “I haven’t gotten any more information about Lily’s case, but I have some news about Thea’s necklace.”
“What is it?” A shock of adrenaline surged through my system, making me dizzy. So much was happening so fast, it was hard to get a grip on myself.
