Page 26 of Obsession

“I said, ‘thank God,’” she says loudly. “Not sure what you’d do to them in your present state of mind.”

“You work for me now. That means accepting anything and everything that working with me entails. Under any and all circumstances. Understood?”

She nods. “Yes, of course. Why do you think they would hit us?”

“Isn’t it obvious?”

“It is, but I want your take. No stone unturned and all that.”

“They hit us because they have something to hide. They don’t want us on this case. It was a stupid, pussy threat.”

I hate that someone basically assaulted us and got away with it.

I call Joe. “Run this plate.” I repeat the plate number Violet gives me.

We’re going to get answers, and we’re going to get them now.

CHAPTER SIX

Violet

Something’sdefinitely not right here, I know it in my gut. My mind wanders to the flowers squished against my breast, the phone and cats left unattended in Skylar’s room, and the little car that just tried to run us off the road.

“Please tell me the truth,” I say to Cain. “Is it more likely that someone has a beef with Skylar or withyou?”

He clenches his jaw. “Me.”

“Thought so. And do you think there’s a chance they’d come after her to get back at you?”

He curses again. “Yeah.”

I pull up my phone to Google some facts when I remember something. “It’s a full moon tonight.”

“And?”

I remember Skylar’s fascination with moons. I take her phone and type infull moon.Nothing.

“Can you name the phases of the moon?”

He gives me a quizzical look, but nods. “Full moon. Waxing crescent. Waning crescent. Waning gibbous… waxing gibbous…” He strokes his chin, a surprisingly masculine move that makes me look away because he’s my boss—correction, no he is not, we work professionally with each other—and I will not look at how sexy those fingers are rasping against the stubble on his jawgoddammit.

I typewaxing crescent.Nothing. With a sigh, convinced this isn’t going to work, I type inwaning crescent.

Her phone unlocks. I pump the air.

“Got into her phone.”

The streets are quiet, the oppressive heat and humidity of late August making the air around us shimmer with haze. Cain guns the engine, as if reminding the universe that he’s coming for his sister. “Good work.”

I suspect it isn’t often that he commends someone who works for him, and his praise sends a warm flicker of pleasure through me. I ignore it. I don’t like that I want his praise.

I focus on scrolling through her phone for some clues. I’m violating her privacy, I know I am, but we have to find something that can help us. If we let the police department take their time, it could be too late. I feel sick.

“So, your sister only has like twenty contacts.”

“And?”

“Well, it’s pretty unusual. The average person has… I don’t know, I’d guess hundreds. Huh.” I shrug. “That’ll make it easier to go through.”

---