Page 41 of Hart of Darkness
“Can’t say I have.” Hunt’s baritone voice pulled me back to the scorching night.
I shook my head once. “I haven’t either.” I couldn’t answer truthfully without knowing if I would get Maggie into trouble.
The detectives glanced at one another as though they were speaking telepathically.
“Mmm,” Hughes all but grunted. “We’re canvasing the area since her body was found a mile from here.”
My blood drained to my feet.Did the men who held her captive follow her and Maggie here last night?
Motherfucker.
Maggie could be in danger. The shelter could be too, and that alone caused me to squeeze the hell out of my keys.
Hunt nudged me. “What’s wrong?” The man was a savant in reading people. I was sure the two detectives were as well, especially with the way Ted was giving the stink eye, as if to sayyeah, I know you’re lying.
My phone buzzed again.
This time I plucked it out of my pocket, not even looking to see who was calling. “Yeah.” I said the word hard and abrupt, likethis better be good.
“I’ve been trying to call you.” Maggie’s sultry voice calmed me for a second.
I covered the phone. “I have to take this.” I walked down the street a ways, not bothering to wait for any acknowledgements from the detectives. If they wanted to haul me down to the station, then they were going to have to fight me.
When I was out of earshot, I said, “Ted is standing in my driveway at the shelter.”
“That was why I was calling.” Maggie’s voice hitched. “The girl they found is Nadine. They found her not far from the shelter. Did you tell him that Nadine had been there?”
“No. Did you?”
“I haven’t been able to. When I called him, the line went to voice mail.”
“If they got to Nadine a mile from here, then you were followed last night. Ted needs to know.”
“Let me tell him,” Maggie said. “Besides, if you change your answer now, he’ll just barrel into the shelter and start asking questions to your guests. They don’t need that.”
It touched me that she had Debbie and Angel’s best interests at heart. “Fair enough. Oh, and Maggie, promise me you’ll watch your back.”
“Are you worried about me?” Her voice was sweet and silky, and the softness was sending a jolt of energy directly south.
I was worried about her. I was also a little concerned about a pimp or a gang that might be into sex trafficking knowing that I owned a shelter. Sure, they could find prostitutes and homeless women on the streets for their business, but the shelter might be an easy target to woo my guests or to kidnap them, especially if Nadine told her pimp where she’d been last night.
“Are we on to head to the Crow later?” she asked.
“Meet me at my house in two hours. I’ll text you the address.”
“Dillon,” Hunt called.
“Got to run.” I ended the call before I spilled my guts and said something I might regret, like I was developing feelings for her. The lust for her was messing with my head. That much, I was certain of. Or maybe I was falling for her.
I rolled back my shoulders and returned to the group.
A radio from the car crackled. Rick dipped his head inside.
Ted regarded me with cold, dark eyes. “You look nothing like your brother, Denim.”
I did a double take. “You know my brother?”
“I arrested him,” Ted said, as though he were proud of that day.
