"Never seduced by the bright lights of the big city?"
He shook his head."Maybe flirted with the idea a bit but never a seduction."Heath glanced up from his plate and met my gaze."What about you?"
My face warmed and my mouth went a tiny bit dry.I grabbed my tea for a soothing sip before I answered."Well, I think we all know I was well and truly seduced at a young age.Sparse as my IMDB page is, you can still see I succumbed to the allure of Tinseltown."
"You don't have to beon, Damien," he said gently."I like you already.I don't need the act."
Startled, my face heating so fast I felt dizzy, I muttered, “Thank you,”
We both ate in quiet for a few minutes after that, until Heath's work cell rang shrilly."Damn it," he sighed."Pardon me for a moment?"
I nodded and started clearing our empty plates as he stepped into the living room to take the call.I couldn't hear much, just a word here and there, but after are few minutes he sounded closer, sharper."Are you sure?Okay.No, I'm with him right now.Yeah...I know.Okay.We'll be there in twenty."
"Be where in twenty?"I demanded, turning from the dishwasher with raised brows."My only plans for the rest of the night are reading and sleeping."And snooping.Can't forget the snooping.
Heath drained the last of his tea and shot me a curious, maybe sympathetic look."Plans have changed.Can you meet me at the station in about half an hour?”
"Wait,what?I need to call Ben so he can get Matty down here.I'm not going to the station with you!"I pressed back against the counter as if that could stop Heath from manhandling me into cuffs—well, a cuff—if he really wanted to.
Disappointment flickered in his expression before he shook his head, sighing."You're not under arrest.Did you think..."
I didn't answer, just edged past him to grab my phone."I'm not dumb.If I'm being accused of something—"
"For god's sake, you're not!"He threw up his hands."You know what, just meet me there, alright?Thirty minutes!
Guilt and uncertainty tugged hard at my chest, the look on Heath's face fanning the flames.I'd figure out if I needed to apologize to him later, but I couldn't help but think I just made him feel the same way Max made me feel earlier.
Chapter 15
Anmorata Blue had returned.
She’d returned, and apparently I hadn’t been as subtle asking around about her as I’d thought.Someone—my money was on Belinda or Clarence—had blabbed the second they saw her back in town.
“Um, so the thing is,” she muttered, shifting in the uncomfortable metal chair that graced the only interview room at the station, “I didn’t know how bad it’d look, okay?And I didn’t know anyone,” she shot me a glare, “would be looking for me.The old guy screwed me over and I was pissed off.Nathan was cool, though, and said he’d help me out.”She shrugged, picking at the peeling edge of the laminate tabletop.“He’s kind of a dick, too.He ditched me in freakin’ Jersey City.Jersey City!Not even New York!”
“At least it wasn’t Red Hook,” I murmured, earning a snort from Cherry and an even sharper glare from Anmorata.
