Then, waited some more.
Finally, she turned to face me on the couch. “ICE suspended me because of the murder investigation.”
Unfiltered rage flooded my veins. Those motherfuckers. How could they?
“You didn’t do it!” I yelled as I stood up.
Celia leveled me with an expression that said she wasn’t all that thrilled with my Rage Monster response. “Sit down and take a breath.”
My eyes narrowed, but I did as she asked. “Okay, so you’re suspended. For how long?”
She sighed. “I’m not suspended -per se- I’m on an extended vacation. My boss told me to figure out who killed my ex-husband, so my name is clear. I came to ask Luke for help.”
I gripped the back of my neck. “Luke’s taking paternity leave. He left me in charge.”
Her eyes fell to her lap. “Right. Right. I forgot that.”
I reached out to grab her hand. It was so delicate and small in my big mitt. “But, I can help you. We can find out who did this together.”
She looked at our hands, then pulled away. “I can’t ask you to do that.”
“You’re not asking,” I grabbed her hand back. “I’m offering. You need help. I want to help you.”
She turned those big brown eyes on me. That look pierced my heart. I wasn’t good enough for her. And given time, I was pretty sure she would reject me again. But I also couldn’t let her twist in the wind for a murder she didn’t commit.
“Okay,” she breathed out and gave me a little smile that twisted up my insides. “Where do we start?”
“We start at the beginning,” I dragged her off the couch with me.
Celia placed her hand on my chest. Fire welled up from my toes to my head. I could barely refrain from throwing her down on the couch and ravishing her. What the hell has gotten into me?
“Before we start anywhere,” Celia glared at me. “We need to talk to Luke.”
Shit. I was afraid she’d say that.
I gritted my teeth. “Sure. I was hoping to get my face punched today.”
Celia winked at me and sashayed out of my office. She was going to be the death of me.
