He tilts his head. “It has its good and bad moments. Not easy being a cop in New York, as you can imagine. Most people hate us…”
“Should’ve been a firefighter,” Naomi jokes. Her face turns red as she thinks about Marcus, the fireman she was hooking up with in LA.
“I know, right,” Leo snorts. “Anyway, I’m hoping I can be one of the good guys. Make a difference, especially in communities like the one I grew up in.”
“Where did you grow up?”
“In the Bronx. My parents moved here from Ecuador, hoping to give me and my brother a better life. So we both try to do our best to make their sacrifice worth it. Make them proud.”
Naomi’s heart sinks at his answer, thinking how she doesn’t have any parents to make proud. Sure, her dad is out there somewhere, but she wouldn’t even recognize him if he was sitting next to her. And her mom is dead. Even though Naomi had a complicated relationship with her mother and resented her for things, she still loves and misses her. Like Faye used to annoyingly say, “Mom’s like a wild horse among wildflowers. She can’t be tamed.” Seeing her through Faye’s perspective helps Naomi remember the good times, though. And she knows her mom would’ve been proud of her, would’ve been asking her for all the updates on the Harlow case, no doubt. But Faye dying would’ve killed her if she hadn’t died first. So it was no use wishing she was still around.
“And how about you, what’s it like being an entertainment reporter?” Leo asks.
Naomi shakes her head before answering. A physical attempt to get rid of the depressing thoughts before refocusing on her date. “It’s good. Sometimes depressing because, well, Hollywood can be pretty fucking toxic. But I’m working on something really interesting at the moment.”
“Oh yeah?”
Naomi clears her throat, trying to ignore the guilt she feels knowing she only agreed to this date to get information from Leo. She’s surprised how much she’s enjoying herself, enjoying his company, but work is work and that’s what she’s ultimately in New York for. So she segues into it.
“I’m actually here to cover the Harlow Hayes case… Amelia told me she thinks the victim is Colton Scott. Can you believe that?”
Leo shifts suspiciously in his seat.
“You know something, don’t you?” Naomi leans forward, eyeing him. “What is it?”
He sighs, narrowing his eyes at her as he finishes chewing a garlic knot the waitress has just set down.
“I’ll tell you on one condition…”
“Name it.”
He leans back and smirks. His amber eyes gazing into hers. “You let me take you out on another date…”
Naomi raises her eyebrows, impressed by his boldness. “We’ve barely been here thirty minutes.” She throws a hand out. “But, fine, it’s a deal… IF your intel is interesting enough,” she smirks, crossing her arms.
A warm excitement courses through her as she holds his gaze, unsure if it’s from the rising sexual tension between them or the imminent prospect of a lead.
Leo holds his hand out across the table, the corners of his lips tugging in a smile. A jolt of electricity runs through Naomi as she shakes his hand. “Deal.”
“So,” he says, leaning forward. “You didn’t hear this from me, okay? But Amelia might be on to something. We responded to a call at Colton’s penthouse last week. I only know because one of the guys said, ‘Mr. America needs the help of the NYPD,’ or some shitty joke like that.”
“So it really is Colton,” Naomi whispers.
He shrugs. “I don’t know for sure. But what I think you’ll find most interesting is the other thing I overheard…”
Naomi cocks her head to the side.
“Well, when I was over at the courthouse on duty earlier, I heard one of the DAs talking to his boss about Harlow’s victims…”
Naomi frowns, looking down at the table and then back up at Leo, blinking as she catches on.
“Wait… did you say ‘victims’?”
Social Media Post
C*Leb News ? @CLebNewsOfficial
RUMORED: Harlow Hayes being investigated for multiple murders, ex Colton Scott possibly among victims. Read more at: clebnews.com/did-harlow-murder-colton
