“We’ve got to get those first few out of the way,” Reed said as we wrapped his arm around my middle. “But remember, we have lunch reservations at the Pirate House.”
“Oh, right.” I nodded enthusiastically at our fake plans, otherwise known as my get out of this situation free card.
We’d made it almost back to our side of the home before Reed started yelling. Well, whisper yelling so Casey and Selene didn’t hear.
“What were you thinking? You promised to stay inside until I got back. It took me getting out of the shower to realize you weren’t there because I never thought I had to worry about you leaving.”
Oops.
I opened our back door. “I wanted to ask Casey questions, and since he won’t agree to an interview, I had to get creative.”
“How’d you do that?” Reed locked the door behind us and then peeked out the window, as if making sure we weren’t being followed.
“I told him I found the water filter in the dishwasher. He totally believed me.”
Reed closed his eyes, held them that way for a full three seconds, and then slowly opened. Weird. “What if he murdered his mother and decided you were next?”
I shook my head and shrugged. “He didn’t kill his mom.”
Sure, I wasn’t ninety-nine percent certain he hadn’t done it by accident, but I was sure enough to say that in order to win this argument.
“What if Selene killed his mother because they didn’t get along?”
“Selene is definitely not the killer,” I said with puckered lips. The entire idea was just not even plausible.
“Oh really. How are you so sure of that?” Reed asked, stopping halfway through the kitchen.
Wasn’t he paying attention? I thought the government taught SEALs to be super smart. “Because bimbos don’t kill people. Duh.”
“What?” he asked so forcefully that wrinkles creased his forehead.
“It’s a complicated analysis. Just trust me.” I waved my hand between us. “We don’t really have reservations at the Pirate House, do we? Because I could eat. Are you hungry?”
Reed laughed. The move reduced the tension in his face. “We don’t, but I’m sure we can just walk over and get a table. Tonight we have the haunted tour of the bar where they found Lisa’s body. We could do lunch and then catch a nap.”
“I like the sound of a nap.” Although, that brought in mental images of me sleeping next to Reed—which wouldn’t be happening—but for some reason my body still reacted to it. “But first, let’s meet the pirates.”
I really had to get a handle on myself and refocus. A crowded restaurant would help with that.
“Give me just a second to change into a polo,” he said, slipping off his shirt in one smooth movement. His tan, smooth skin glistened in the sun coming in from the windows. I swallowed. Did he oil himself up after his shower? And that question brought on illicit thoughts of him in the shower.
Mother effer.
7
“Okay, I’m glad I have the bodyguard protection on nights like this,” I said as we crossed the road at the corner of Bay Street later that evening.
Savannah might have been warmer than my home in Michigan, but it still got dark early in April. The freshly built condo building to our right blocked off views of the Savannah river, but with the traffic, we wouldn’t have heard the water, anyway. I just pretended we were walking along a beach.
Reed laughed at my comment. “I come in handy on occasion.”
I wasn’t worried about being robbed at gunpoint like the previous journalist, but Reed’s hulkish form gave me extra security from any other bad guys.
“Do you remember the plan?” Reed asked as we neared the bar where we’d have our overnight paranormal investigation. Also known as our chance to poke around the potential crime scene.
I nodded. “Of course… but let’s review it one more time to be sure we’re on the same page.”
“Okay, remember it in bullet points. We get into the investigation as the cute couple we are,” he said, giving me an enormous grin. “One hour into the investigation you’ll fake sick, and I’ll have to accompany you to the bathroom like a good new husband.”
