Page 27 of Ice Cold Liar (Ice Breaker Cold Case #14)

Madeline stared back at him. Not confirming.

Not denying. Just as the silence stretched a bit too long, she finally said, “I think we’ve shared enough in this police station, don’t you?

Let’s head to a different location.” A quiet clearing of her throat.

“Memphis was made to see the error of his profile regarding Hudson. Memphis is not, after all, a professional when it comes to creating profiles on killers.” A wave of her hand toward the one-way mirror.

“Memphis actually had told his story to Detective Anderson. A very inconvenient tale. I closed down that line of investigation because there are some things that my bosses at the CIA refuse to be allowed public.”

Damn. Hudson had definitely killed some of those women, but it seemed that he’d done it under orders from the CIA?

“Don’t look so judgmental, Eb,” she chided. “You’ve had similar orders. You know evil comes in all shapes and sizes.”

His back teeth ground together. The people he’d taken out had been the worst of the worst—and they’d all been moments away from destroying innocent lives. Sick, sadistic torturers who?—

Naomi called Hudson sadistic. Twisted.

And now she probably thinks I’m exactly like him.

“If it’s any consolation to you, Hudson didn’t kill the girl from his teenage years.

Memphis was wrong about that situation. Hudson loved Mary and mourned her for years.

” Madeline’s tone was brisk. “The real killer from that time period was eliminated ages ago. By Hudson. Now, as I said, it’s time to leave this station.

Any other reveals will have to wait. Or rather, just not happen at all.

Naomi, frankly, you don’t have clearance for more.

And, Eb, seeing as how you just reminded me moments ago that you no longer work for me…

well, you don’t have clearance, either. It’s the end of the road for you both.

As far as CIA intel is concerned, that is. ”

He didn’t need clearance. He had shady-ass friends like Hunter and Declan who would help him retrieve the information he needed.

“The CIA will be heading up the investigation into Ivan’s murder,” Madeline announced. “The locals will understand that we are in charge.”

“Uh, yeah, the CIA has no law enforcement function,” he reminded her because this was absolute bullshit, and he wasn’t some deluded local cop to fall into line just because some government official intimidated him. “Our job is to focus on intelligence gathering.”

“Right.” She winked at him.

“We only do domestic intel collection on a limited basis.” An extremely limited basis.

“Our primary work is international.” That was why he’d bounced from country to country and why his ability to pick up new languages had been so important to the CIA.

“You don’t have the power to take over this case.

Even Detective Anderson will realize that. ”

“Ivan Sokolov was an international criminal. Wanted in four countries. He had valuable intel to offer to us, particularly regarding organized crime, arms deals, narcotics, and even terrorism. I can assure you, his murder—correction, his assassination—falls within our jurisdiction. A call to the governor of Louisiana will make sure that he has my back on this.”

Yeah, Eb was sure the governor would back her up. The CIA always got backing.

“If you should change your mind and want your old job back, then perhaps I will be able to share additional intel with you, but until then…” A shrug of her delicate shoulders.

“How about you stay away from baseball bats—sorry, softball bats? And you be very, very careful with the company you keep.” Her gaze darted to Naomi.

Lingered. “Because some people can just be absolutely killer.”

There wasn’t a crowd waiting outside. The soon-to-be-setting sun was bright. Blaring. And when Naomi left the police station, she wasn’t immediately greeted by shouting reporters.

So Ivan’s murder—and her link to him—hadn’t been shared by the cops yet. Or by Eb’s CIA buddies. Great to know.

She marched toward the sidewalk with Henry close to her side.

Eb wrapped his hand around her shoulder. “My car is this way.”

“Fantastic. Go jump into it. I’ll message a driver and find my own way home.” Or she could find her own hotel. No, scratch that—she didn’t have enough money for a good hotel room. Let’s circle back to the safe house idea… If Eb would cough up the address for the place, she’d get there on her own.

His hold tightened on her. “I’m not letting you go.”

“You don’t have me.” Anger broke free, for just a moment, as she whirled toward him.

Back in that interrogation room, as she’d listened to Madeline spill details that had made her very bones seem to shatter, Naomi had been shell-shocked.

She’d gone dead silent at times, something not like her at all.

But it’s not every single day that you learn your husband was a killer for the CIA.

And your new lover? He just happens to kill for them, too.

Her new lover was a killer. And a liar. And he’d hurt her. Made her start to believe in heroes, damn him. “You sonofabitch.” Low. Her whole body quivered. “You fucked me.”

“We fucked each other.” He leaned in close. “And it was the best fucking of my life.” He’d slapped sunglasses on his face, so she couldn’t read the expression in his eyes, but that jaw of his was tightly clenched. “We’re not having this fight right here.”

Uh, seemed to her that they were. Right there. Right then.

“They’re watching us. You really think Madeline’s interrogation ended the moment we walked out of that room? She thinks one of us killed Ivan. Or maybe she thinks we did it together.”

“Because you’re afflicted?” Naomi asked, voice sweet. “You and Hudson are suffering from the same affliction?” How freaking insulting had that been? I am not an affliction. She really, really did not like Madeline. At all.

“She thinks I might have helped you kill Ivan because she believes I’m just as obsessed with you as Hudson ever was. When the truth is that I saw you first and you should have been mine.”

Shock rolled through her. What? “I’m not a thing, Eb. You don’t get to see me and call dibs. So how about this? You stay the hell away from me. Just get away.” She put several important steps between them.

He shook his head. “That’s what she wants.

Basic divide and conquer. The CIA uses that technique all the time with suspects.

It’s why she had you in that observation room so you could hear us talking.

I should have realized what was at play sooner.

” His shoulders squared. “Get in the car with me, and I’ll explain everything, I promise. ”

What was his promise worth? “Better idea,” she tossed out.

“Get in the car by yourself. And drive away. Again, by yourself. I have other plans.” She turned on her heel and began marching forward.

Her phone was in her bag. They’d given her the bag back before she left the station.

It had been taken by the cops and searched but she had it now.

The bag and her phone. She’d use one of the apps on her phone and get a driver to come and pick her up.

She did not need Eb. Or his safe house. The sooner she was away from him, the better.

Then she’d be able to think more clearly.

Maybe breathe without feeling like a weight was on her chest. “I’ll find my own way home. ”

“Don’t go back to the guesthouse.”

“Go screw yourself,” she suggested without looking back.

But the pad of his steps told her that Eb wasn’t taking her helpful advice.

Fumbling, she pulled out her phone and began tapping on the screen.

“Madeline made sure they took your phone so that she could have access to your email and your texts and everything else you have on the device.”

Now she stopped and peered back at him. “The CIA just bugged me?”

“It’s a whole lot more complex than them bugging you. FYI, they did the same thing to my phone.”

“That’s not legal.” Talk about a major invasion.

“Yeah, that’s the CIA. Ivan is apparently a BFD so they will go balls to the walls on this.”

Her eyes narrowed.

“Big Fucking Deal?—”

“I know what a BFD is.”

“Right. He’s a big deal to the CIA. Or else a whole ground crew wouldn’t be in your town right now. They swarmed the bar. Only someone beat them to Ivan. That someone is now going to be hunted by a very elite team.”

“A team you belonged to. Until you…what? Quit? And decided to go all vigilante because you wanted to bring me down?” The anger within her quaked again. She stepped toward him. Dammit, why had she just stepped toward him? “So Ivan’s murder is a BFD, but Hudson’s death wasn’t?”

“Hudson wasn’t tied to organized crime, arms deals, narcotics, terrorism?—”

She held up her hand, stopping him. “I heard the list she gave. You don’t have to go through it again.”

“Ivan had ties that the CIA wanted to use. With his death, they’ll have cases in jeopardy of imploding. They are going to dig and dig to uncover as much as they can on his killer—and to try and salvage cases under investigation.”

Wonderful. So the CIA would be swarming the city. Another problem to wreck her life. And, speaking of a life being wrecked… “Do you always fuck women you believe have committed murder?” She hadn’t meant to say that. Had she? Maybe.

He smiled at her. An angry, tough, and, damn him, sexy smile. The dimple was in full force right before he revealed, “No, you’re special.”

Her mouth dropped open.

“That came out wrong, didn’t it?” He lost his smile and the dimple and raked a hand through his hair.

“How did you want it to come out? Did you want it to seem like you just admitted you think I’m a cold-blooded killer?”

“I wanted you to know that you’re nothing like any woman I’ve met before.”

“Because I’m a cold-blooded killer. Check. Got it.”