“Do you honestly believe I’d poison your drink? Do you think I’d resort to something so beneath me?” When I didn’t say anything, he exchanged glasses, taking a gulp of the one I’d had in my hand. “I assure you if I wanted you dead, I wouldn’t use poison. Are you ready to answer some questions?”
His voice was too deep, too commanding, and a beat developed between my legs.
I nervously brought the glass to my lips, taking a sip. The burn was exactly what I needed. “What do you want to know?”
“When were you assigned to the case?” When I didn’t say anything, the flare of his nostrils indicated he was losing patience with me.
“This morning.”
He cocked his head. “This morning. Really?”
A laugh bubbled to the surface. “Do you honestly think I would have been so abhorrently unprepared had I been given the proper time to prepare?”
“You weren’t trying the case, Catherine.”
“Maybe not, but I’m a professional and I do not like anything to be tossed in my lap at the last minute.”
The way he was eying me carefully was a clear indication he didn’t believe me. Well, touché since I didn’t believe him when he’d said he was innocent.
“A consummate professional.”
Exasperated, I almost tossed the liquid into his face but knew doing so would only force his hand. “Why are you goading me? Why? Why am I here? Is it because you’ve already crossed the line by taking me against my will? Or are you afraid that I’m going to tell the authorities you pistol whipped a man and killed another right before my eyes? I assure you that’s the last thing on my mind, Alexander. I have a life to return to that I usually enjoy, friends I plan on spending time with. I don’t need your brand of crazy hanging around my neck. So don’t worry. I don’t intend on saying anything that could further put you into harm’s way.”
“Except you’ve already threatened me with arrest for saving your life.”
Goddamn, the man was insufferable.
“Fine. I take back what I said. From what I can tell, you have enough to deal with.”
“Like you trying to put me in prison for a very long time.”
“If found guilty, which I very much believe you’ll be. You’re a bad man, Mr. Prince. You’ve done some terrible things.”
“You know this because of the time you’ve spent on my case or have you been following my social media pages? Either way, I’m flattered.”
Jesus. I hated the man. He took arrogance to an entirely different level. “I assure you that you’re not that interesting.”
The same look of amusement I’d seen before irked me to the point of doing something crazy.
Every time he crowded my space, I had two desires. One to shove him off and the other to drag him even closer. The dichotomywas confusing the hell out of me. From his scent to his broad shoulders and long legs, being this close to him broadcast the desire that I shouldn’t feel.
Certainly not for him.
“Then I guess we’ll need to change that.” He acted as if he was going to touch my face but curled his fingers at the last moment.
“You won’t change my mind. Now, if I’ve answered all your questions, I’d appreciate it if you’d return my phone.”
“As I told you before, Catherine, I was protecting you. Whoever those men were who came into the building likely killed everyone who got in their way. I assure you the fact you’re an officer of the law wouldn’t have stopped them from putting a bullet in that lovely brain of yours. As far as the man I killed,” he was now so close that I was swaying back and forth, “he had the barrel of his gun pointed in your direction, not mine. So as you might imagine, I have several questions that need answers far beyond your circumvention of my bail hearing.”
What?
What was he trying to tell me? That I was the intended victim? I recoiled, every inch of my body tingling. That wasn’t possible. I had no enemies that I knew of. “You’re lying. He wasn’t trying to kill me.”
“I assure you that I’m not in the habit of lying. I can also tell you with certainty that I know what it looks like to be staring down the barrel of a weapon. I wasn’t.”
He was too close, his scent too strong. I couldn’t breathe let alone think around him. As soon as I backed away, he took a step closer as if playing a game of cat and mouse.
“I didn’t circumvent anything.” God, the man was a pig.
