“We need to talk, Cujo.”
With a brief nod, he headed back to the office.Cujo waited until they were both inside, then closed the door.
She sat on the sofa and Cujo joined her.The silence was excruciating, but Drea couldn’t decide how to start.The words she’d planned no longer made sense.
“How are you?”she asked again.
“I’m exhausted if you really want to know.After the police came, and in consultation with her doctors, we decided to tell Mom what was going on.”
Drea warmed a little that he referred to Evelyn with her familial title.
“How did she take it?”She took his hand in both of hers but he made no attempt to link their fingers like he usually did.
Cujo let out a deep sigh.“Badly.She’s desperate to remember but can’t.”
“I’m sorry, Cujo.About your mom, and for calling Don.”
“I’m still pissed, but I’ll get over it, Drea.It was my call to make, but it turned out Don was a good guy.He’d already been in touch with the cops and spent another hour talking to them, and then took care of Mom’s medical bills.”
Drea’s chest loosened.His words the previous evening about Don perhaps being the perpetrator had haunted her during her few hours of restless sleep.
“What is it your mom does?”
“She is an undercover investigative reporter, but she wasn’t meant to be in Miami.In fact, Don thought she was in Atlanta.He’s trying to figure out what happened.”
His fingers finally linked with hers, reminding her she had other things to tell him.
Drea pondered her next sentence carefully.“I also did something a bit crazy last night, and I know you aren’t going to like it.”
“How crazy?”His brows furrowed.
“Well, Trip Henderson was at the hotel last night.”
“The CEO of Cleffan?Are you okay?He didn’t hurt you, did he?”
Drea shook her head, biting down on the side of her lip.“No, I’m fine.”She touched his arm reassuringly.“I visited his room.”
“You did what?”Cujo’s voice was louder than normal.He gripped her elbow.“Why in the hell would you do that?”
Drea wriggled free.“Calm down.I’m fine.It was really stupid.But you and I had just fought.And I really wanted to help your mom.I thought it might be our only chance.… I didn’t find anything.”
“What if he’d found you in there?I never want to have to visit you in hospital.”
“He didn’t find me.I hid in a closet,” she fired back without thinking.Coño.When was she going to learn to keep her big mouth closed?
“He was in the room while you were there?”Cujo was shouting now.
“No, I went in after he left, but he came back because someone spilled something on his clothes.I hid in a closet while he grabbed a new shirt.He didn’t see me.”
“Drea.It’s fucking breaking and entering.”
“No it’s not.I had a key.I took him two bottles of water.That’s all anybody will know.”
“Didn’t it occur to you the security cameras will show you going in?Then him going in and coming out?Then you leaving?”
She’d thought about the cameras when she first entered the room, but hadn’t thought about the implications of Henderson’s return.But what were the chances that would happen?
Shit.
