Page 101 of Nothing to Fear

“I don’t know. I just told him to meet me there.”

“Because…?”

With his whole family watching, she didn’t want to go into minute detail. “There was a thing, we had a thing.”

“What does that mean?”

“Mom,” Ax said and side nodded.

Benedict got it and eased his wife away.

Great, just great, the Breckenridges moved away in a flock. Their intention would be to give them privacy. They wouldn’t suspect her of anything… would they?

“A thing?” the cop prompted.

“Darroch was at my place a couple of nights ago. My ex called and we fell out about it.”

“This ex still a feature?”

“No.”

“He and Darroch know each other?”

“No.”

“Could this ex be pissed you’re with another guy?” Honestly pissed? Like because he still cared about her? No, not Jeremy. She was beginning to wonder if he’d ever cared about her at all. “Is he the jealous type?”

“I don’t know. Maybe. But he wouldn’t do this. He wouldn’t hurt anyone. He knows I’m seeing someone else, he doesn’t know who that someone is. There would be no way for him to know it’s Darroch.”

“A Breckenridge isn’t hard to identify.”

“Yes, but Darroch and I, we’re—” God, it seemed so stupid now. “Our relationship is—”

“Open?”

Was it open? Maybe. No. They had kind of called exclusivity.

“No.”

“It’s strained?”

“No. We were meeting for dinner. I didn’t know where he’d spent his day. I still don’t. No one in my life would know we’re together. I haven’t told my colleagues, my friends.”

“Why not? Because of this ex?”

“No, because I work for Breckenridge.”

And that shame pulled her limbs in tight. Did he have to look so disapproving?

“At BHQ?”

“No. In the intimates department.”

“In the store?” She nodded. “That how you met?”

“No,” she said, cupping her elbows, holding them close. “Do we have to get into all that? I know you want to find whoever’s responsible, but—”

“That’ll happen faster if we have the full picture.”

---