Page 90 of Hide From Me

“Sure. Why not? They’re really good at keeping secrets.”

He seemed to mull that over.

“Alright. Well, that’s it. I’ll get all the photos sent over,” I said.

Now I needed to go deal with the car-stealing asshole downstairs, except as I turned, Eric grabbed my arm. It wasn’t to hurt me, but it did get my attention. Oh, he’d been talking.

“Sorry, what were you saying?”

He was normally a pretty hard person to read. He had cop face pretty well figured out. But at this moment, I swear he actually had emotions.

“I don’t like this,” I said and pointed my finger at his face and did a little circle.

“What? You suddenly don’t like how I look?” he asked.

Oh. Right. I could see how he came to that conclusion.

“Yeah. No. The emotions. You normally have a poker face that I’m pretty sure even a profiler couldn’t figure out.”

He at least let go of my arm.

“Right. Just. What’s going on with you?” he asked.

That was unexpected.

“And this is why I like talking to the dead. No questions,” I said.

I walked towards my equipment bag and began packing up. He followed.

“Oh, lucky me. You’re stalking me now? That position’s already been filled. I’m good.”

I ran hot or cold and had no idea how to be in some kind of bullcrap state of balance. I’d never show people the real me, anyone except Cas. What did that make him in all of this? Even now, Eric would only get the me I thought he needed to see. The one that was clear he needed to walk away.

“Eric, I realize we’ve worked on a lot of cases at the same time, but that doesn’t mean you know me.”

His cop face cracked a bit as he watched me.

“You’re out partying. You aren’t answering texts. You come in looking like, well. I don’t even know.”

I had missed some texts when Cas had my phone, and I was realizing I should probably look at them.

“I’m sorry that I suddenly have a life outside of work. Boring little Rylee actually enjoying life.”

I didn’t actually mean to be all spicy, I just didn’t really like anyone’s judgment.

“Look, I’m sorry. I promise I won’t ignore any more texts. I lost my phone, but I have it now. But, if I’m all done, I need to go. See you for the next dead body?”

I moved the jacket as I put everything back in my bag. I only looked up when I saw Eric’s shoes stop next to me.

“You okay? I promise all the photos will be uploaded quickly. I think it’s obvious what happened. He was killed, point blank,” I said without looking up.

The memories of how it had happened didn’t stir anger or fear. My stupid and slightly disturbing body was all about what happened. I was pretty sure that Cas had been behind so many deaths in my life and maybe the idea of the control he had pissed me off, but the idea that someone wanted to kill for me? Well, I was swallowing down a moan.

“Whose jacket is that?”

Oh right, cop guy.

“What? It’s no one important. Just thought I’d be cold.”

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