That grating against her nerves had been a noise that had transformed into absolute quiet once Eve had realized this might be her only chance to play their own hand.
They hadn’t been certain that the flight records of Toby’s private jet had been the reason for Scott pushing for the wedding, for Gary’s murder or for the subsequent attacks.
So Eve had gambled with the piece of potential evidence.
Or, really, she had used it as bait.
Bait that had forced Darius to make his own moves.
He had put her in his office without an explanation of what he was about to do, only that she and Winnie needed to wait.
It felt like waiting outside of the principal’s office in school.
She was definitely going to get a talking-to about her behavior.
Eve pushed herself forward in the roller chair, tucking her legs up against her chest as she did so. Her shoulder hurt a little, but she had more pressing things to worry about.
“I wanted to help us skip to the end of this thing,” she said. “It feels like months since Gary’s body was found. And after last night, I can’t stand waiting for the other shoe to drop on us. I’d rather throw my own shoe first to see what happens.”
“I understand why you did it,” she said. “Last night was terrifying, and I wasn’t even there.”
Winnie’s tone was soft and caring, a far cry from how the young woman had yelled at their attacker at Darius’s house. Theo’s attacker. She had only fully settled down once she was sitting next to Theo after the paramedics had given him the okay.
Though, if Eve were a betting woman she would put money on the fact that Winnie’s cute and gentle appearance could transform into feral at any moment. A kind of feral that would probably put the men around them to shame.
It’s one reason why Eve liked Winnie so much. She felt a kinship there.
She also was starting to be so fond of Winnie for the simple fact that both she and Theo genuinely seemed to care about Darius. Even though both of their parents worked at the department, they had stayed in proximity to their detective. Theo had left them in the office as Darius’s shadow earlier. Eve had no doubt he would return with the ready-to-scold-her detective too.
“Do you think he’ll really be mad at me for showing my hand to Scott and maybe messing up the investigation?” Eve paused midspin to ask. If it had been Theo, he would have probably just nodded. Instead, Winnie was thoughtful with her answer.
“I think he’ll raise his voice and huff at you, but I don’t think he’s mad.” She put the cookie in her hand down and finally closed her laptop. “I think he’s just worried, you know? And not because of the investigation. He cares about you, and you just spit in the face of the monster he’s trying to catch. No matter how good a detective he is, he can’t predict the future. He knows that, which means he knows that he’ll never be able to one-hundred-percent keep you from getting hurt. That plus the fact that both of you have already been shot probably isn’t helping his frustration.”
Eve let her mouth hang open a little. She hadn’t expected an in-depth opinion. One that, after her accidental eavesdropping earlier, made a slow blush slid up to her cheeks.
She tried to play the feeling off.
“You make it sound like I’m more important to him than I am,” Eve said. “I haven’t even seen the man in over twenty years.”
Winnie’s smile was small and warm. Her next question caught Eve off guard.
“Have you had any serious boyfriends in those twentysomething years?”
Eve was further thrown off by how immediate hernowas.
“I mean, there was really no time for it when I was younger,” she tacked on. “I was taking care of my dad, and then I was working to pay off our debt. Then I was trying to find my place in the world, and well, I didn’t have much space to do anything.”
“So you’ve never dated anyone? Ever?”
There was no pressure or harshness in Winnie’s questions. Just a genuine curiosity.
It made Eve pause a little to think about the best way to phrase her answer.
“No, I did date some,” she admitted. “Though, I’m not sure any of it counts. Most were double dates from coworkers where they dragged me along, while others were just casual meetups or as a result of bumping into someone. I tried a dating app once, went to the movies and had a nice meal, but it didn’t work out. None of them ever worked out.”
Winnie’s gaze was expectant.
With a small sigh of defeat, Eve smiled as she continued.
