Testing The Boss(45)
Turning to face him, Evelyn snapped, “No, I didn’t have a choice! I got one look at him about to hit you and everything went blank. Empty. I had to stop him the easiest way I knew how! And now he’s dead and you’re still in danger for God knows how long. And that’s because I was worried about you.”
“What were you supposed to do?”
“Shoot a warning. Distract him. Get him away from you and hit his firing arm. I’m a good enough aim. I could do it.”
“With another guy in the house? You were surrounded.”
“I’m a worse agent around you,” she said softly. “My feelings and emotions got in the way and they jeopardized this entire operation.”
Sirens sounded in the distance and Evelyn knew the police would be here any minute. Good. Then maybe she wouldn’t have to finish this conversation.
“Does that mean you’re leaving?” asked Luke. His own face was stone cold, and the flashing blue and red lights started to fill the cottage, making his features seem even more harsh.
“Of course not. I started this investigation. I’ll finish it. I just can’t let myself be distracted any more. It’s hurting both of us.” The sound of a car door closing told her that they needed to start recounting their stories to the police. But to pound the point home once more, Evelyn said, “And once this is over, I’m going back to Texas.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Luke eyed Evelyn’s boss. The man looked haggard, which made sense considering he’d left his home at nine p.m. and driven two hours to get to a crime scene.
Hotchins wore jeans and a wrinkled gray button-up. He had light brownish-red hair, and a short beard covered the bottom half of his face. And he seemed just as upset as Evelyn did about the whole thing.
By this point, Luke had gone over the entire thing five times, but he was pretty sure he’d made it clear to the locals that he didn’t want to have to go into the station to answer more questions.
He’d rather just sit and stew in his own anger for a bit longer. If he’d had his way, the son of a bitch would still be alive too. He’d snuck up on Luke. Invaded his home. Threatened Evelyn.
What would’ve happened if Evelyn hadn’t heard the glass break? What if she’d written it off to him being clumsy and continued on with her shower? The other guy would’ve found her naked and alone, and there would’ve been nothing Luke could’ve done to stop it.
His fists were clenched so tightly that his arms shook, and he forced himself to relax them. There were too many people here for him to have a temper tantrum, and there was nothing he could do now. The one man was dead and the other one could be anywhere. There were empty houses all over this time of year, and he could’ve broken into any of them to hide out. And considering the wealthy families who owned the homes in the area, the police weren’t about to start searching random homes in hopes they found the man Evelyn referred to as Beer Belly.
Hotchins approached and Luke took a deep swig of water, wishing it was something else that could distract him from the clusterfuck around him.
“I hope you’re doing okay, Mr. Devereaux,” said Hotchins.
“Honestly, it’s been kind of a shitty night.”
Hotchins nodded in understanding. “I believe it.”
Hotchins didn’t know the half of what was pissing Luke off, but he wasn’t about to enlighten the agent.
“I just got off the phone with your brother and cousin. They’re both fine and haven’t noticed anything out of the ordinary. Mr. Lance said he’d work on getting them protection that they could, um, trust, as soon as possible.”
Which meant he might be trying to send more guys to Luke. And if there were new bodyguards for Luke, that meant Evelyn wouldn’t be anywhere close. He glanced down to see that his hands were curled into fists once more.
No. All he needed was some time. He’d be damned if Evelyn was going to blame what happened on their relationship and he’d be damned if she was going to wallow in guilt over killing some man who wouldn’t have thought twice about doing the same to her.
“How is Evelyn doing?” asked Luke.
Hotchins’s brow furrowed. “Evelyn? She’s a professional. She’s doing fine.”
“She just killed a man,” pointed out Luke.
“And she will process that in her own time. Right now you’re her number one priority. Because of the incident at her apartment, we’re hesitant to get anyone else on your detail, so she’s determined to stay on. I guarantee, you’re safe with her.”
Great. Hotchins thought he was complaining about Evelyn now. “As long as she’s in New York,” muttered Luke.