her lover. Or maybe it was really herself that she had to figure out—what she wanted, how deep she was going to get before she couldn’t deny she’d invested too much. What a mess. Every single inch of her life was a jumble right now.
And she had sardines to deal with. Great. Just great.
Gods, this was a new low. But after several days of unanswered phone calls, Luca danced on the razor’s edge of pissed and worried. He’s been reduced to calling her work to make sure she was still alive. As the phone rang in his ear, he sat back in his desk chair and prayed Erin’s cousin didn’t answer. The last thing he needed was to tangle with her wolf family. Hell, he wasn’t even sure Holly knew about the two of them. Probably, but he didn’t want to be the one to clue her in if Erin had left her in the dark. In the name of discretion, Luca hadn’t told anyone at all.
The line clicked as someone picked up. “Emerald Bistro. This is Tina, how can I help you?”
Thanking every single one of the gods it was someone he didn’t know, he sighed. “Hi, is Erin Bates there?”
“She’s in the kitchen right now going about nine hundred miles per hour, but I can take a message and leave it on her desk.” The woman’s husky voice went muffled on the last few words. “Okay, I have a pen and paper. Who should I tell her called?”
He debated disconnecting then and there, but after all the hang up calls Erin had received lately, he thought better of it. “Luca Cavalli. Just ask her to call me back. She has my number.”
There was a pause. “Cavalli, got it. Okay, I’ll give her the message.”
“Thanks.” He hung up, feeling foolish for his concern about her welfare. Of course she was fine. Why wouldn’t she be? The first day, he’d assured himself that she might not have gotten around to replacing her cell phone yet. The second and third days, he’d vacillated between anger and worry.
Now the worry he’d felt had turned from concern over her safety to concern over their relationship. Such as it was. Perhaps she was seeing someone else and this was her way of letting him know she wouldn’t be as available as she used to be. They didn’t have an exclusive arrangement, so it was entirely possible. It surprised him how much he hated the idea. Since when was he possessive of Erin? But there was no doubt that was what he felt. It was as if he’d downed a whole pot of bad coffee and the liquid was burning like acid through his stomach.
Well, to hell with wondering. He’d stop by her apartment to find out exactly what was going on. Even if she didn’t want to continue their affair, he damn well deserved at least a phone call.
A brief knock sounded on his door, then Merek stuck his head in. “Cavalli, your suspect just blew his top in the interrogation room.”
“Shit.” That had taken less time than he’d expected. Luca was on his feet and out the door in under a second. “What about the wife?”
“Delta’s still working on her.”
“Good.” Doubtful Hammond would leave without her, so that gave Luca a few minutes to have a little chat and maybe push a few more buttons.
The Hammonds’ team of lawyers had made excuses for several days about why the grieving couple couldn’t show up for questioning. Finally, Luca had delicately suggested that a perp-walk in handcuffs with the press watching might be in order, and they suddenly had some free time to come in. Funny how motivating that could be. The Hammonds had their hands in human politics too, which meant the news crews would have a field day with Robert and Cecily. Thus far, the family had managed to keep Dillon’s death out of the papers, but that would last about as long as a vampire at noon in the Sahara if someone got a picture of Robert in cuffs and started asking questions.
“Oh, don’t worry,” Merek said quietly. “He’s not interested in leaving—he wants to chat with you. His lawyer is gonna love this.”
“Most
And she had sardines to deal with. Great. Just great.
Gods, this was a new low. But after several days of unanswered phone calls, Luca danced on the razor’s edge of pissed and worried. He’s been reduced to calling her work to make sure she was still alive. As the phone rang in his ear, he sat back in his desk chair and prayed Erin’s cousin didn’t answer. The last thing he needed was to tangle with her wolf family. Hell, he wasn’t even sure Holly knew about the two of them. Probably, but he didn’t want to be the one to clue her in if Erin had left her in the dark. In the name of discretion, Luca hadn’t told anyone at all.
The line clicked as someone picked up. “Emerald Bistro. This is Tina, how can I help you?”
Thanking every single one of the gods it was someone he didn’t know, he sighed. “Hi, is Erin Bates there?”
“She’s in the kitchen right now going about nine hundred miles per hour, but I can take a message and leave it on her desk.” The woman’s husky voice went muffled on the last few words. “Okay, I have a pen and paper. Who should I tell her called?”
He debated disconnecting then and there, but after all the hang up calls Erin had received lately, he thought better of it. “Luca Cavalli. Just ask her to call me back. She has my number.”
There was a pause. “Cavalli, got it. Okay, I’ll give her the message.”
“Thanks.” He hung up, feeling foolish for his concern about her welfare. Of course she was fine. Why wouldn’t she be? The first day, he’d assured himself that she might not have gotten around to replacing her cell phone yet. The second and third days, he’d vacillated between anger and worry.
Now the worry he’d felt had turned from concern over her safety to concern over their relationship. Such as it was. Perhaps she was seeing someone else and this was her way of letting him know she wouldn’t be as available as she used to be. They didn’t have an exclusive arrangement, so it was entirely possible. It surprised him how much he hated the idea. Since when was he possessive of Erin? But there was no doubt that was what he felt. It was as if he’d downed a whole pot of bad coffee and the liquid was burning like acid through his stomach.
Well, to hell with wondering. He’d stop by her apartment to find out exactly what was going on. Even if she didn’t want to continue their affair, he damn well deserved at least a phone call.
A brief knock sounded on his door, then Merek stuck his head in. “Cavalli, your suspect just blew his top in the interrogation room.”
“Shit.” That had taken less time than he’d expected. Luca was on his feet and out the door in under a second. “What about the wife?”
“Delta’s still working on her.”
“Good.” Doubtful Hammond would leave without her, so that gave Luca a few minutes to have a little chat and maybe push a few more buttons.
The Hammonds’ team of lawyers had made excuses for several days about why the grieving couple couldn’t show up for questioning. Finally, Luca had delicately suggested that a perp-walk in handcuffs with the press watching might be in order, and they suddenly had some free time to come in. Funny how motivating that could be. The Hammonds had their hands in human politics too, which meant the news crews would have a field day with Robert and Cecily. Thus far, the family had managed to keep Dillon’s death out of the papers, but that would last about as long as a vampire at noon in the Sahara if someone got a picture of Robert in cuffs and started asking questions.
“Oh, don’t worry,” Merek said quietly. “He’s not interested in leaving—he wants to chat with you. His lawyer is gonna love this.”
“Most
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