Wise Moves by Mary Burton

interviews.”
    Dane grinned as he tucked the card in his pocket. “Consider it done.”
    Simone said her goodbyes and walked down the steps to her red Mini. She got in the car, shoved the gear into first and drove off, grinding gears as she shifted to second.
    Kristen felt relieved to see her go. The woman was too smart and too persistent. Dangerous.
    Taking in a deep breath she turned her mind to the next problem at hand. Crystal. She wanted to run off looking for the girl but that would raise questions with Dane and the last thing she needed was more questions.
    “You look like hell,” Dane said.
    Startled, she glanced up at him. “What? No, I’m fine.”
    “Your skin is as white as a ghost.”
    “I didn’t sleep well,” she lied.
    “Have you eaten breakfast yet?”
    “I’m not hungry.” In truth her stomach was a mass of knots.
    He jerked his thumb toward the truck. “I brought bagels and coffee.”
    His thoughtfulness touched her. “You didn’t have to do that.”
    He waved off her concern as he headed to the truck to retrieve his goods. “I hate to eat alone. You’re doing me a favor.”
    Kristen shook her head. She folded her arms over her chest. She’d eat simply because she didn’t want to draw any more attention to herself. She needed time to think. To plan her next move.
     

    Kristen was rattled, Dane observed. Her lips had flattened into a grim line and her attention was distracted. It wasn’t just the fact that Simone had wanted to take her picture. That certainly would have been enough to shake her up. But it was more.
    He’d seen her tear out early this morning to the youth shelter. What had happened?
    He hadn’t seen any sign of Benito’s men and immediately suspected Crystal, whom he’d had Lucian investigate. The kid had lived at the shelter for several months, but she was smart, made straight A’s in spite of a lousy home life.
    If he had to bet he’d say Kristen had trusted the kid. It didn’t take a psychic to see that Crystal had ripped her off.
    “Do you like plain, potato or cinnamon-raisin?” he said, smiling.
    She stepped aside so that he could move into the studio. “Any is fine.”
    “The coffee is Columbian. The strongest they have. I needed a jolt of the java today.” Keeping his tone light didn’t come naturally to him, but he’d stand on his head and sing Dixie if it meant keeping her close.
    “Sounds good.”
    He moved into the soon-to-be tearoom. To his surprise the place was swept clean, pristine almost. “I told you not to worry with the broom. We’re only going to mess it up today.”
    She closed the front door and entered the tearoom. “I couldn’t sleep.”
    If she was broke, she was vulnerable. No cash. No quick ability to get out of town. “You look as nervous as a cat.”
    She managed a smile. “I’m not.”
    “Something happen last night?”
    “No.”
    “Has Crystal been by again?”
    Surprise darkened her eyes. “What makes you say that?”
    “The kid ran to the studio the last time she was in trouble.”
    “No, she didn’t come by.”
    Kristen was a bad liar. So it was Crystal.
    She nodded to the floor. “We can sit picnic-style on the floor.”
    “Sure.” Kristen always changed the subject when she was nervous. He decided he’d make things easy for her today. It was the least he could do.
    She sat down on the floor in a cross-legged position. She moved with the grace and ease of a dancer.
    Wincing, he lowered himself to the floor. His right hip ached and he didn’t have the flexibility to cross his legs as she had. He settled for sitting with his back straight and leaning against a wall.
    He handed her a cup of coffee. “You make that look so easy.”
    “Sitting?”
    “Yeah.” He shifted his weight off his left hip. Most days it didn’t bother him, but too much time in the van had left him hurting.
    She sipped her coffee. “Did you injure your hip?”
    “A couple of years back.”
    “What happened?”
    He could tell