Page 46 of Kiss of Deceit

“Want to tell me why you let him touch you like that?”

I whirled around in time to watch him close the door. “Excuse me?”

He stalked toward me, and I backed up, my heartrate accelerating when I hit the wall near the stairs.

“The night we met, and I thought someone had broken into my house, you held your own against me.” He pressed his hand on the wall next to my head as he leaned closer. “You can fight. When we were outside of the factory, you expertly threw a knife at me. So please tell me why you let that asshole get his hand around your throat?”

His gaze was locked on mine as he waited for my answer. I swallowed thickly, realizing I’d exposed too much of myself to this man. I didn’t need anyone suspicious of me, and while Ididn’t think Kole had connected Lucas’s death to me, I wasn’t taking the chance.

“He caught me by surprise,” I muttered. “I didn’t think he’d try to hurt me.”

“You’re smart, Dani,” he replied in a low voice. “After what happened last night, you need to be careful. Don’t trust anyone in this town until the killer is caught.”

“So I shouldn’t trust you?” I snarked, unable to hold back. “Kinda hard when I live with you.”

A small grin appeared on his lips. “You think I’m guilty of something?”

I paused. “No, I don’t.”

After another couple moments of silence, he pushed off the wall, walking away from me. Staring after him, I wondered what he’d meant when he threatened Tristin. Why was it such a big deal to get fired from his job?

The longer I was in this town, the more questions I had.

CHAPTER TWENTY

dani

“When wasthe last time you saw Jillian?”

My question had Hadley crossing her arms. “That morning. She made breakfast before leaving for work.”

I was back at the police station. Natalie decided she didn’t want to be in the interrogation room, so here I was, with Harry sitting next to me. Hadley had been Jillian’s roommate since we all arrived in Winterlake. While I didn’t believe she had anything to do with Jillian’s death, we had to start somewhere.

Hadley brushed her black hair out of her face, looking exhausted. I doubted she’d gotten any sleep since her roommate was found murdered.

I checked my notes even though I already knew the answer. “She worked at the clinic?”

Hadley nodded. “As a nurse.”

“They usually get out of work by five when they work the day shift. She didn’t come home afterward?”

“I don’t know.” Her cheeks flushed slightly. “I wasn’t home.”

“Where were you?” Harry interjected.

I bit my tongue at his accusatory tone. Hadley was here on her own free will to help us get information. Treating her like a suspect could backfire.

“I was…” She paused. “I was spending the night at a friend’s house. I went right after work, so I’m not sure if Jillian was home that night or not.”

“We need to know who you’re sleeping with,” Harry clipped out. “We’ll have to talk to him.”

“Why?” Hadley asked, panic sliding across her face.

“No one is in trouble,” I said softly. “We just need to try to get the whole story from everyone who knew Jillian.”

“They never met.”

“Name,” Harry demanded, tapping his pen on the table. “We have a list of people we need to talk to today.”