Page 36 of Dark Memories
Kali sat up straighter. “I told you, I’m not a baby.”
“Oops. Forgot.” He winked, making her giggle. Zach met Harry’s gaze over his daughter’s head and grinned.
Be still, my heart.She was in so much trouble where this man was concerned. She glanced away and caught the curiosity in her boss’s eyes. Damn. Eve was sharp and didn’t miss much, and now they’d just clued her in to the fact that there was something between them. Double damn.
“Kali, this is a recorder.” Eve pushed the machine to the middle of the table. “Do you know what that is?”
“Yes, Daddy talks to one sometimes. It copies your words.”
“That’s right.” She pushed the button. “The green light means it’s on. Okay, let’s get started. What I’d like you to do is tell me what happened from the time you were on your way to school.”
Kali chewed on her lip, then let out a long breath. “I was telling Larson I hoped I got to see a sloth.” She glanced at her father. “I didn’t get to see the animals.”
“We’ll go to the zoo and see them, okay?”
“When?”
“Soon. But right now you have to tell Miss Eve what happened.”
“Okay. We were talking about the animals, then we crashed into a van.” She lifted her gaze to her father. “Don’t be mad at Larson. I don’t think it was his fault.”
“I know it wasn’t, sweetheart, and I’m not mad. What happened after that?”
“Larson told me to get on the floor, so I did. Then a scary man came to the window and… and he-he shot Larson’s leg.”
“Can we have a minute?” Zach said, pulling his crying daughter to his side.
Eve turned off the recorder. “Of course. Harry and I will take a little walk.”
And here comes the interrogation. Harry followed her boss out. Could she get away with denying there was anything between her and Zach? That was a bad idea, though. Secrets had a way of getting out.
“What’s the story with Zach Jamison?” Eve said, leaning up against the wall. “You’re not falling for him again, are you? Because that would be a bad idea. Men like him—the money, his looks, the whole package—don’t fall for women like us. You’ll only get hurt.”
“Women like us?” Harry bristled. Zach wasn’t like that.
“You know what I mean.” She waved a hand between them. “Our jobs are our life, being a cop is in our blood. You might be an interesting diversion, but in the end he’ll go for the socialites dripping in diamonds, the kind of woman who understands his world.”
Was that true? When they’d been together, neither one of them had extra money. Zach invested most of his profits back into his business. Dates were pizza and beer, sometimes a movie.
She could care less about diamonds, and especially didn’t want to be dripping in them. She still lived that life, but he’d moved on, into that world Eve spoke of that she’d never understand. Chitchatting with the rich and probably sometimes famous people he associated with, attending black-tie events, learning how to fake laugh… The thought of any of that gave her hives. She glanced down at her blunt-tipped, unmanicured fingernails. Even her stubby, unpainted nails didn’t fit into his world.
“No, I’m not falling for him again.” Not a lie because she already had.
“Good, but you should have told me the two of you had dated when I first assigned you to the case.”
“I know, but as soon as you said Zach Jamison had specifically asked for me, I was too surprised to think clearly. And honestly, our history has no bearing on my doing my job.”
“Which is why I’m not pulling you off the case. For now, anyway.”
“Understand, and I promise I won’t let you down.”
“Okay then. Let’s get this finished so this little girl can go home.”
When they walked back in, Kali was on the phone, laughing. Harry glanced at Zach.Larson, he mouthed. Ah, that was smart of him to let her call her bodyguard.
“That’s silly, Larson. Sloths don’t talk,” she said, giggling. “Okay. I will.” She listened some more, then said, “Delaney—she’s my new special friend—she said I was brave, too.”
At Kali’s use of the wordspecial, and remembering Zach’s comment, Harry felt her cheeks heat. The damn man chuckled, knowing full well where her mind had gone. She dropped her gaze to the table, refusing to look at him, which probably amused him all the more.
