Page 366 of Cold Case, Warm Hearts

“You just don’t like murder?” She shrugged one shoulder. “Cause not many cops do.” Or this was more personal.

Maybe he needed to feel as normal as she did. Knowing what they went through and the fact he’d lost the person he’d been closest to back then. Now another woman was dead, possibly held for a few days first.

It didn’t serve to draw those lines of distinction and separate them from everyone who hadn’t had their innocence stolen like that.

They were like patient zero of a disease—the three of them—and the infection spread from there. Or the point of impact of a gunshot. The effect rippled out as the energy dissipated.

Sometimes Addie didn’t want to feel different. She wanted to feel like she was the same as everyone else.

Not that she ever had been. After all, most people’s parents stuck around and cared for them. They didn’t drop their child with a relative and take off to live the high life with nothing to chain them down. Then when they came home, they threw their drama around and caused havoc.

Probably it was just her.

“I’m fine.” Hank lifted both hands then dropped them to his sides. “And I don’t need a buddy. Not when you’re going to go back to your cushy federal life as soon as possible.”

“Mmm. I do like my cushy life.” She folded her arms.

“Fine, I know nothing about you.” He lifted a brow. “Whose fault is that?”

“You haven’t changed, have you?” She shook her head.

Hank took a step closer to her.

Addie resisted the urge to retreat. “You switch moods the way most people change their mind about what food they’re in the mood for.” She kept her arms tight across her chest. “Always have. Though you seem to have it buttoned up for the most part. So what do you do when it gets too much?”

“You don’t want to know.”

“Okay. Fair enough.” Addie studied him. “What got to you?”

“Looking to build a profile on me?”

“Yes, clearly I think you had something to do with this. Or I can’t be ‘friends’ with anyone. I have to see them as a project. So since you’re right, and we don’t know each other all that well, here’s a pro tip, Hank. I’m on your side.”

“Yeah? What if my side and Jake’s side are opposite?”

Addie frowned. “Explain.”

He wouldn’t have said it if there wasn’t something to it. Whatever had gotten in his head, he was ramping up to spin out. The fallout wasn’t going to be pretty. She’d seen Hank ona rampage, like after his dog died. He’d punched out two of the defensive line at practice, yelled at the coach, and thrown his helmet so hard it cracked.

“I was at Jake’s when the call came in.”

Addie nearly asked where Jake lived, but what business was it of hers? He’d said he would find her. Make a reservation and let her know. He hadn’t done it yet. Maybe because he’d changed his mind, she was trying not to care.

“He asked me to tell him when we found out the time of death.” Hank ran a hand down his face. “So he can figure out his alibi.”

Addie frowned. “He wants inside information from the police to eliminate himself as a suspect?”

Hank lifted his hands and exhaled a long breath that expanded his chest. His build made him formidable. He was bigger than he’d been in high school. The guy could pack a punch if he wanted to. Jake, on the other hand, was leaner and fast. She tried to believe that neither of them would hurt her. They should have solidarity after what they’d been through together. But she was only certain that Jake would never have hurt her.

Despite what he’d said and the fact he’d torn out her heart at the worst possible moment.

“Jake probably thinks everyone has him on their suspect list for everything. Maybe he’s paranoid, living in that huge apartment all by himself.” He shrugged. “Who knows? I mean, we all have a dark side. Right? You of all people know we all hide the truth behind a façade.”

She shook her head, unsure what that meant.

“Because you get into people’s heads.”

“You think I want to get in yours?”

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