Page 52 of Innocent Intent

“Kind of hard to do. Did you miss the part where I said he’s no longer alive?” Cassidy muttered angrily.

She walked away, pushed through the glass door, and stormed back to the car. She leaned against the sedan, dropping her head back between her shoulder blades, inhaling deeply before she closed her eyes and repeated the process a few more times.

Not long after, Davis walked out of the shop and chirped the key fob to unlock the vehicle. Cassidy landed hard in the passenger seat while he filled the space behind the steering wheel.

“Not great with following orders, are you?” His narrowed stare landed on Cassidy, who didn’t meet his eyes and instead, chose to stare out the passenger window.

“You’ll have to excuse me for reacting poorly to a woman who willingly participated in conning me because her rent was due.”

Davis groaned as he started the car. “I never said I didn’t understand why you neglected to follow my orders. Only noting that you didn’t.”

Cassidy’s eyes shot across the car, and his were waiting. “So, now what?”

“Now, we go back to the hotel and eat something. Maybe even get a few drinks in you. After another dead end, I figured you deserve to unwind a little.”

“Right, because that was utterly pointless. And we’re still no closer to knowing who my husband was or who killed him. Doesn’t that bother you?”

“Yeah, it does, but seeing your reaction in there also further confirmed something for me.”

“Which is?”

“She’s the actor; you are not.”

Her brows pinched more. “Was I supposed to be?”

“No, and I was hoping you weren’t. Your reaction there was genuine and not that of a woman who has been plotting to kill her husband. More of a woman who was devastated to get confirmation that he had been conning her from the very beginning. If you had killed him, the anger would no longer be there. I believe that had you already played judge and jury and satisfied your need for retribution, your reaction there would have been a little less explosive.”

Cassidy smiled softly. “Explosive, huh?”

“Pretty much, but again, justified.”

“Good to know.”

“Now, what about dinner and those drinks?”

She shrugged. “Not like I have anything else to occupy my time now.”

“Looks like it’s a date then.” Davis winked at Cassidy, and she had to fight hard not to allow that one simple gesture make her to travel down a very dangerous road . . . one that led to Davis being her distraction and escape instead of those drinks he offered.

“Does your boss know that I’m here?”

Davis smiled behind a glass as he leaned back in his chair. “Would it matter?”

“Not really. Just curious to know how much of a rebel you truly are.”

Davis had presented the idea of traveling to New York. He told Cassidy that calling and trying to get the information they sought would be more difficult. Zoey would be less likely to cooperate via phone communication. Not that she had been willing in person. Cassidy insisted on going, and when Davis gave in, she covered her own expenses. The two had remained on the phone coordinating flights and hotel reservations. Although they sat side by side on the plane, their overnight stay would be in separate rooms.

“No.”

“Why didn’t you tell him I was accompanying you?”

“Wasn’t his business.”

She smiled widely. “Clearly, it is. I can’t imagine he’d be happy about you flying me out of state to help investigate a lead for a case where I’m a suspect.”

Davis smiled, and Cassidy both loved and disliked how disarming his smile had become to her senses. “Then problem solved. I didn’t fly you here, and you didn’t help me investigate anything. Quite the opposite, actually, seeing as how I had to do more damage control than investigating.”

She was midswallow of a hefty gulp of wine and sputtered a laugh that left her dangerously close to spraying their table with the expensive Merlot. “Don’t hold back now, Detective.”

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