“Sure. Tyler’s been nothing but polite. And I’ve seen enough true crime shows to know that circumstantial evidence doesn’t mean anything. Besides,” Becky lowered her voice, “Boverman has a thing for you. Have you noticed the way he looks at you? Intense.”
Brooke wanted to argue, to defend Adam as just doing his job, but she couldn’t. Because Becky was right. Adam’s attention had shifted from professional concern to something more personal.
Truth was, a few weeks ago, she may have welcomed his attention. He was easy to look at and pleasant enough. He was the type of guy she might have liked to get to know better.
Now, though, she hated how he was about Tyler, how he was so convinced Tyler was guilty. And she didn’t welcome Adam’s attention because she couldn’t think of him in that way, couldn’t think of a fling with the deputy when Tyler was the man she wanted to spend time with.
The bell over the door chimed, and Brooke looked up to see the man himself walking in.
“Speak of the devil,” Becky muttered, then plastered on a customer service smile. “Morning, Deputy. Want a cup of coffee?”
“Please.” Adam’s attention was already on Brooke. “Got a minute?”
Not really,Brooke wanted to say. But small-town politeness won out. “Sure.”
He nodded toward a table. “Look good?”
Brooke nodded. “I’ll grab you a cup of coffee and be right there.”
He reached for his wallet.
“It’s on me.” She smiled. Even though she truly wasn’t interested in Adam, buying him a cup of coffee and hearing him out was the right thing to do. Plus, maybe he’d let something slip about the investigation that could help her figure out who really killed Sheila, because she knew it wasn’t Tyler.
Mug in hand, she joined him at the table, acutely aware of Becky watching from behind the counter and several other customers trying not to obviously eavesdrop.
“Here you go.” She set his mug in front of him.
“Nothing for you?”
“I’m running on too much caffeine as it is. Hazard of the job.”
“I bet.” He gave her a smile. “I wanted to check on you and make sure you’re okay after everything.”
“Sure, everything’s great.”
“Is it?” He leaned forward, his voice dropping. “Because I heard Tyler Gillis was here last night. After closing.”
There it was. The real reason for this visit. She leaned back in her chair. “And?”
“And I’m worried about you, Brooke. This man is dangerous. He’s already cost two women their lives—”
“Allegedly,” Brooke interrupted. “The fire was an accident, and he was released because of a lack of evidence concerning Sheila, right?”
Adam’s expression shifted, surprise flickering across his features. “You’re defending him now?”
“I’m saying innocent until proven guilty. That’s how the system works. I’m sure you know that.” She forced herself to drop her shoulders and smile. “Right, Deputy?”
“The system isn’t perfect. Sometimes dangerous people slip through because we can’t prove what we know in our gut.” He reached across the table, his hand covering hers before she could pull back. “I’m trying to protect you.”
“I’m fine. I don’t need protection from Tyler.” She tried to keep her voice light.
“Yes, you do.” Adam’s voice had gone harder. “I’d like to get to know you better, Brooke. I think you know that, right? And part of caring about someone is keeping them safe, even when they don’t know they need it.”
Brooke carefully extracted her hand. “I’d better get back to work. The lunch crowd will be here soon.”
“Just promise me you’ll be careful. That you won’t see him alone again.”
The request sounded reasonable on the surface. But something about it—the way he was looking at her and the proprietary tone his voice took on once again—made her uncomfortable.
