Page 16 of Pulse

They’d be sorely disappointed if they were looking for a ‘gotcha’ moment. Pulse glanced toward Talia. Gone was the playful grin and wink. She was all business now as she gave him a single nod.

“I was at the clubhouse.”

With a background in law enforcement, he didn’t need an attorney present to tell him what to say or not, but he’d play the game to avoid arousing suspicion.

“Care to elaborate?” McGee asked with a huff of impatience.

“No.” The most straightforward answer was always the best when being interrogated.

Talia shifted beside him, and he swore she pressed her lips together to keep from grinning. “He answered the question, detectives. If you want more, you’ll have to be more specific.”

McGee’s glare would have incinerated Talia on the spot if she’d been anyone else. “What time did you arrive at the clubhouse?” he asked through clenched teeth.

“Four.”

“On the dot?”

“Give or take ten minutes.”

“And you know the exact time because?”

He glanced at Talia, who nodded again. “Because I went there straight from work. Also, I got a text from Brooke as soon as I parked. You can check my phone. She said she saw me pull in and asked if I could grab a case of beer from the back of her SUV on the way in.”

“Convenient,” McGee said, shaking his head.

Asshole.

Pulse opened his mouth, but Talia placed a hand on his forearm. Maybe he needed an attorney to keep him in check, after all.

“Convenient timing, maybe…” she said, “… but that doesn’t make it untrue.”

“Did you leave the clubhouse at all?” Wallace asked.

“No.”

She raised an eyebrow. “And I suppose your club members can vouch for you.”

“Yes.”

“Mm-hmm.”

“There are also multiple photos and videos on more than one phone taken throughout the evening. Feel free to verify,” Talia cut in. “I’m not sure what’s going on here, detectives, but it sounds like much more investigative work needed to be done before an arrest was made. We can wait while you corroborateMr. Child’s story and check the evidence, but I don’t recommend keeping him too long. I don’t take kindly to my clients being falsely arrested.”

He’d have whistled if it wouldn’t worsen the situation. As it was, he couldn’t keep a broad grin from stretching across his face.

The temperature in the room rose as the detectives’ white-hot fury heated the air. Wallace stood stiff and frowning. “We’ll be back after we make some calls.”

“You do that,” Talia called after the retreating detectives.

All Pulse could think was how grateful he was that this firecracker was on his side.

CHAPTER FOUR

THREE HOURS OF sleep wasn’t conducive to a productive and enjoyable day, but the previous night’s events hadn’t given Talia much choice. When the detectives finally verified Pulse’s alibi and released him, she’d only had a handful of hours until the sun rose and not much more until the next workday began.

She’d slathered on more makeup than usual to hide the under-eye circles and trick people into thinking she felt refreshed and ready to tackle the day.

Extra makeup and a vat of coffee, too.

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