He chuckled. “Well, if you do decide to go out to lunch with Mr. Goody-two-shoes, I won’t be going with you. I’m way too far behind on my work. But I don’t want you going alone. Take Hound.”
I watched Hound’s back, silently begging him to react, but he kept typing away without so much as a pause. “Okay. What about Billy the Bastard? Did you find anything on him?”
“Nope. Unless he somehow sneaked over the border, he couldn’t have physically killed Polly or Rishi. Because of his court case, his passport has been flagged, and he’s not legally going anywhere. He could have still paid someone to do the deed, so we’re looking for an unexplainable payment leaving his bank account, but he has a lot of accounts and spends money like it’s going out of style.”
Levi was doing everything possible, but we’d made no ground at all. By the time five p.m. rolled around, I was ready to get the hell out of the office. I don’t know why. It’s not like I had anywhere to go or anything to do. I felt like I just needed a break from my cousin before I strangled him with his own accusations.
After logging off his computer, Hound stopped by Levi’s desk. “Hey boss, you need anything before I head out?”
Levi glanced up from his screen long enough to shake his head. “Nah, brother. Thanks for all your help this week. I’ll see you at church.”
Hound nodded at me. “Night, Mila.”
That was it. No request to hang out, no offer to walk me up to my room, no reminder about dinner, nothing. The asshole was giving me the cold shoulder. As soon as the door closed behind him, I turned on Levi, desperate for answers.
“Does he seem like he’s acting strange to you?”
Not even bothering to look up, Levi asked, “Toby? Meals, we already went over this.”
I let out a frustrated sigh. “No, Hound.”
Levi’s eyebrows rose as he looked from me to the door Hound had just left through. Concern creased his forehead. “Strange how?”
“I don’t know. He usually hangs out and talks or walks me upstairs or something, but tonight it’s like he couldn’t get out of here fast enough. And he’s been avoiding me all week.”
Levi took off his glasses and rubbed his face. “I don’t know. Maybe listening to you accuse an old friend of murder has made him rethink his relationship with you.”
That answer bothered me way more than I cared to admit. “Fair enough.”
“Seriously, though, you and Hound have been hanging out?”
“Yeah.”
Levi scratched his chin. “Hm. I didn’t realize you two had been spending so much time together.”
“He’s a cool guy,” I defended. “Or he was before we ran into Toby. Now, Hound’s just… quiet.”
“He’s always been quiet.”
Sometimes Levi made me want to bash my head against a wall. “Not when he’s with me. We talk a lot.”
Levi gave me an indecipherable look before sliding his glasses back on.
“It’s not like I’m attracted to Hound.” As soon as the denial left my mouth, I knew it was a lie. Hound was a good-looking guy. Okay, good-looking was an inadequate term when it came to him. He had the most amazing eyes, full of pain, life, and the tiniest spark of hope. At the risk of sounding like an imbecile, I could stare into those eyes for days. They were just so captivating. Despite his injury, he was in excellent physical shape. The tight, short-sleeved T-shirts he wore on weekends showcased his muscular biceps and stretched across a chest I’d love to run my tongue across. Sure, I’d fantasized about having his muscular body wrapped around me, but what woman wouldn’t? He was gorgeous.
More than his appearance, his personality attracted me. He actually seemed to care about people. He’d fed me, listened to me, encouraged me, and I’d never heard him say a judgmental word about anyone other than himself. “He’s a nice guy, and in case you haven’t noticed, I don’t exactly have many friends here.”
“Whose fault is that?” Levi asked, rolling his chair back to stand and stretch.
“Nobody’s. It’s a necessary evil. I’m not planning to be here long enough to make friends.”
He paused mid-side bend and stared at me. “You won’t be here long enough to make friends with the girls, but you’re upset about Hound brushing you off?”
Yes.
No.
God, that sounds crazy.
