Page 59 of The Dark Obsession

Of course, I’ve heard a thousand times that the police are doing what they can. Patience isn’t a strong quality of mine. I clench my fist until my nails bite into my skin, forcing any feelings back. I can feel them later, when I’m alone. My stomach growls, rudely interrupting my train of thought. “Yeah. How long does questioning usually take?”

Even from this angle, Rafael looks delightful, his handsome jawline enhanced from down here.

“It can take hours, depending on what he has to say, if anything,” Adriel answers me.

Rafael smiles apologetically at me. “Hungry?” He heads towards the kitchen.

Where his hands were on my neck burns against the sudden cold. I stare at the door, desperate to follow. I catch Adriel watching from the corner of my eye and grin at him. “So, what’s up with Rafael and his aversion to emotions?”

Adriel smiles back encouragingly. “He’s just playing hard to get. Though, he’s not as shy this morning.”

I nod knowingly. “I noticed that too.”

“Mhmm.” Adriel sits opposite me. His eyes probe my own, as if he wants to coax a confession from me. He looks me up and down once. “You were with Dale, then Dale gets rough, and you run to my open-armed brother. I mean, I can see Raf’s concerns about just letting you in.”

I shift awkwardly and redden. “That’s not exactly how it happened. Plus, I was never really with Dale. We just saw each other a few times.”

Adriel leans a bit closer, as if to not let Rafael hear. “So, maybe he doesn’t want to be just another fling.”

I raise an eyebrow at him. He’s right. Of course, Rafael won’t want to be with me, his partner at work. Someone who’s problems are never-ending. Rafael will end up with a woman who’s as smart and as great as he is. I shy away at my idiocy to ever think I can match up to him.

Adriel’s phone vibrates on the table.

I startle at the sudden buzz.

Rafael is outside seconds later.

“Hi. Yeah …” Adriel paces the patio again. “Okay, so they allowed him to leave?”

“Brother …?” Rafael says through gritted teeth.

Adriel holds up his hand to silence Rafael and walks away.

A couple minutes pass, and Rafael stands silently behind me, I can hear his slow and deep breaths.

I can’t stop my leg from bouncing with unease. I stand and face Rafael, his eyes narrowing as he watches his brother’s facial reactions from a distance. “Raf.”

“Yeah.”

“Adriel’s taking a while.”

“Well, it means there’s news.”

Adriel approaches us, his face shows no clues. “Dale admits to meeting her at a bar, and they went to her house and slept together. That happened about two to three weeks before her disappearance. He couldn’t be sure, because, and quote, ‘I slept with several women in that space of time. I don’t take notes.’” Adriel’s voice trails off, and he looks at me sympathetically.

I nod, hoping he understands he can carry on. I just can’t talk yet.

Rafael places a hand on my shoulder and pulls me closer to him. His arms cross over my chest.

“He was happy to cooperate, agreed to stay in town, and that if they have any more questions, to just give him a call.” Adriel sighs. “So, they’ve let him go. The officer said he seemed pleasant and genuinely shocked to hear a woman he slept with was murdered.”

Rafael’s hands ball into tense fists. “He’ll be investigated further though?”

Adriel sits. “Yes, he is on a person-of-interest list. The police seem to think he’s innocent. They’re checking his alibi now.”

“So, it sounds like she was just another one of his one-night stands,” I mutter disgustedly.

A ringing comes from Rafael’s pocket. He releases me to walk away, just out of earshot of Adriel and me. He stands very still whilst on the phone, careful to keep his back to us.

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