Page 139 of Kiss of Deceit
She was probably too tired to make a scene.
Because she sure as hell didn’t stay in my bed last night.
“I’m going to miss you.” Hallie rounded the counter, pulling Dani into a tight hug. “Will you tell Miles goodbye for me? He’s leaving today too, and I can’t leave the café.”
“Of course,” Dani replied with a small smile. “I know you two have gotten closer in the last couple of weeks. He’s going to miss you too.”
I gritted my teeth, the foreign emotion of jealousy swallowing me whole. I fucking hated that Miles was leaving with Dani. He had feelings for her, and while I was positive Dani didn’t feelthe same toward him, I didn’t like it. The moment these killers were caught, I was leaving Winterlake. I’d already emailed Sean, letting him know my decision. He wasn’t happy since I was their inside voice of this town. But I did my time. My record was wiped clean, and I would be able to start fresh once I left.
Dani checked her watch. “We need to go. The helicopter is scheduled to leave in a half hour.”
Her sudden eagerness to be on time surprised me. From how much she’d been fighting Susan this week, I thought she’d do everything she could to stay longer. I grabbed the handle of her suitcase, noticing how light it was. She’d barely brought anything to Winterlake. Where was she going once she left? Did she have a house to go back to? A job? Any time I tried to ask her, she’d redirect the conversation.
“I can take it,” she told me as we exited the café, eyeing her suitcase.
“I got it,” I said gruffly. “Drink your coffee.”
Adella followed us, and it was the only reason I wasn’t questioning Dani about her whereabouts last night. When she’d slipped in the back door at three in the morning, I’d been getting ready to go searching for her. Her story about stalking around, searching for the killers didn’t ring true. Yet, I didn’t fight her on it. I’d learned long ago she would never divulge her truths unless she wanted. Asking or demanding anything from her would never end well.
“Well, I’m going to miss you,” Adella piped up, linking her arm with Dani’s free one. “Promise you’ll stay in touch?”
Dani smiled. “Of course. You already gave me your email.”
“Good,” she stated, shooting me a taunting grin. “I’m sure you’ll be emailing her every day, won’t you?”
Before I could answer, Miles’ voice rang through the wind. I glanced over my shoulder to see him lugging his suitcase through the snow until he heaved it on the shoveled sidewalk.The small smile he gave Dani didn’t reach his eyes as he got closer.
“What the hell happened to your face?” I asked, eyeing the yellowing bruise on his cheek.
Adella shook her head. “He already filed a complaint with Harry. Though I doubt it’ll go anywhere.”
“Complaint?” Dani questioned, concern in her voice. “Who did that to you?”
“I got jumped by a few locals last week,” Miles muttered with a scowl. “They’re blaming the murders on the interns. I’m sure they’re happy we’re leaving.”
Dani frowned. “Why didn’t you tell me? I could have helped.”
“You were dealing with your own stuff,” he answered. “You were attacked. I didn’t want to bother you.”
“He’s fine,” I said, attempting to keep the annoyance out of my voice. He already had a hard-on for Dani. If he realized she worried about him, it would only get worse.
“I can’t believe they’re making us leave,” Miles grumbled, lowering his voice before speaking the next words. “What if the killers leave too? They’re obsessed with you, Dani?—”
“No one except the interns are leaving,” I cut him off sharply.
Miles scowled at me, his eyes darkening. “How do we know an intern isn’t the killer?”
Adella pursed her lips, unease flitting through her gaze. We had the answer, but interns had no idea. Before anyone came to this town, they were thoroughly examined in every part of their life. All the interns had extensive background checks, even if they didn’t know about it. They could not have any connection to the inmates who were in this town. Any criminal activity—even in adolescence—would exclude them from the program. There was a slim chance the killers were interns.
“We’ll be fine,” Dani assured him gently. “Susan promised to keep me updated on the case.”
We reached the end of the road, and I picked up Dani’s suitcase when the snow got deep. Adella cursed under her breath, stepping in my tracks to avoid getting fresh snow on her shoes.
“Harry could have let us borrow his truck,” Miles muttered. “I never knew this helicopter pad existed until interns started getting sent away.”
“Because it’s near the factory,” Dani spoke up. “No one ever comes out this way.”
I glanced at her, and as if knowing I was looking, she tipped her head the other way. Annoyance strummed through me as I narrowed my eyes. She’d been avoiding me ever since she came home this morning. She’d locked herself into her room to pack, refusing to answer my questions. Her excuse about wanting to be alone because it was too hard to leave me was something I wished I could believe.
