Page 44 of Diamonds & Deception

Owen had a solid alibi. He was with his father at his restaurant in the Seaport District and didn’t leave until after one in the morning. Carly’s body was found a little after midnight.

“Have you interrogated Drake Reynolds, the owner of Four Aces?”

“He’s been extremely cooperative, giving us footage of your sister right up until she clocked out at midnight.”

“There aren’t city cameras that can trace her footsteps?”

“We tracked her walking away from the building alone. There’s no video footage of her calling anyone or of anyone approaching her. I’m sorry, Miss Winters. I wish I had more for you. Unfortunately, close to fifty-eight percent of homicides go unsolved. Chances are it was a random mugging gone bad. I’m truly sorry, Miss Winters.”

A random mugger wouldn’t leave her purse behind. Yeah, they took her wallet, which was found a block away from her body, but her purse was worth more than a grand. Randy gave it to her when she graduated from Wentworth College. Two weeks later, she was killed.

I hung up even more disappointed and confused than I was this morning. What if the detective is right? What if her murder was completely random and the killer is never caught? I’m wasting my time here in Boston and with Drake.

Even if his hands are clean, nothing more can come of our relationship. We live five hours apart, and it’s already difficult for Drake to make time for me in his busy schedule.

Lenora will be back in two days. In the meantime, I have to figure out how to avoid Drake while continuing my investigation.

***

“YOU’VE BEEN HOLDINGout on us,” Nolan accuses as he makes a grand entrance into my office. Ryder and Trey are already here, two donuts deep.

We’re having a pre-meeting before we meet with all the managers in an hour.

“Is it the new side piece?” Ryder asks, just to be a dick.

I can’t blame them for nagging me about her. I’ve been keeping my love life private so I can bask in it without getting razzed by the guys, but my strategy is probably going to backfire on me.

I hated leaving Nora this morning, especially after last night. Hell, the woman never ceases to surprise me. Knowing she was wearing that little vibrator yesterday while I finished my call turned me rock hard the second she stepped into my office.

I wanted to drape her over my desk and bury myself so deep in her she could feel my dick pierce her lungs. And I also wanted to be a gentleman, show her how much I’m falling for her, that I want something more out of our relationship than just sex.

But I definitely want the sex. Lots of it, and Nora has been more than ready to meet and surpass every hope, dream, and desire I have for a woman.

“Aw, shit. Look at him. Doc’s blushing.” Ryder wipes powdered sugar off his face with a napkin and tosses it at me. “Finally getting your dick wet, huh?”

I scowl at him. It’s one thing to talk shit about a casual hookup. Nora is anything but.

“That’s cute.” Trey snorts. “You pissed him off.”

“She’s got nice legs.” Nolan snags a donut from the box. “Pretty decent rack from what I could see as well.”

“What the fuck?” I bolt to my feet and my chair crashes behind me.

Nolan laughs and takes a bite of the Boston cream. He licks his fingers and says, “Went up to the penthouse to talk to you pre-meeting and busted in on your nearly naked bedmate. She was poking around your desk.”

“My desk?” I told her to make herself at home. I don’t know what she’d find interesting there.

“Lenora’s got nice legs.”

“Lenora?” Trey asks. “I thought her name was Nora.”

“What the hell, man? You met Drake’s woman and didn’t tell us?”

“I’m not a girl who thrives on gossip like you two dipshits.”

“This is why Trey is my favorite.” I right my chair and take a seat, still glaring at Nolan, who only smiles wider.

“What is it you needed to talk to me about?” I ask him, hoping to sway the conversation away from my love life. I don’t mind telling the guys, but it’s more fun keeping them in the dark.

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