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Moments later, she reached for the flowers, lifted the first arrangement, and hurled it into the grave. It crashed against the casket while she turned and lifted another. One by one, she unloaded the arrangements onto the casket, her body trembling with rage, chest heaving. Once she dragged the easel and shoved it behind the rest, she yelled one last time.
“I trusted you!”
Cassidy collapsed to her knees, sobbing uncontrollably. The anger shifted back into sadness and heartache yet again. She never considered herself weak or emotional. She had always been the type of woman who schooled her emotions—kept them locked away because others couldn’t be trusted with handling them. She trusted Niles, and he’d betrayed her. The thought caused Cassidy to sob harder. The emotions she’d been holding back since his murder finally reached the surface. She was so lost in the moment that she hadn’t realized she was no longer alone until an arm circled her waist, and she was being lifted from the ground and dragged into a solid, warm frame.
Her body stilled, tensed with unease, until she looked up and found concerned brown eyes staring down at her. Detective Davis. His face was void of emotion, but his eyes gave her comfort, so when he cuffed the back of her head and tucked her face into his chest, she allowed him to. She needed something—someone—at the moment, and he was there. She allowed herself to be vulnerable. As time passed, so did the moment, and she eventually managed to pull away.
“What are you doing here?”
“We need to talk.”
Cassidy scowled at Davis, who seemed composed and detached. His eyes no longer seemed caring but more accusatory.
“How did you know I was here?”
He smiled arrogantly, and Cassidy hated how handsome the man was while doing so. Davis was undeniably easy on the eyes, but none of that mattered, considering he thought she was a murderer.
“I’m a detective, Ms. Evans. It’s my job to know things.”
“It’s also rude to disrupt my personal and very private moment.”
Something flashed behind his eyes for a second before they seemed to soften. “You’re right. Are you okay?”
Cassidy’s gaze lowered briefly to the casket. “Clearly, no, but I’m sure your job isn’t to be concerned with my personal feelings, Detective. What is it you want to discuss?”
Davis nodded stiffly, and Cassidy hated how his eyes locked on hers, fully taking her in. She also loathed that he’d been there to witness her unraveling and had also been a source of comfort. The man who was trying to convict her of a crime she didn’t commit shouldn’t have been a shoulder to lean on.
“Might be best if we take this somewhere else.”
“Such as?”
“Precinct, if that’s okay with you. Considering . . .” His eyes lowered to the grave. “We can do this another time if you’d prefer.”
“No better time than the present, right? The sooner you ask me whatever you have on your mind, the sooner you can find out who put him there.” Cassidy’s hand motioned to the grave, but Davis kept his eyes on her. The two maintained a visual standoff before he nodded, conceding first.
“If you’re sure you’re up to it.”
“I’m fine, Detective. Not that you’d care. I have my car. I’ll meet you there.”
She turned to walk off, but he called after her. “Cassidy, I care. This situation can’t be easy to deal with, and you’re allowed to feel however you need to feel to make sense of things.”
She paused and glanced at him over her shoulder. “Thanks for your approval to grieve my fraud of a husband’s death, Detective. But again, I’m fine.”
Her walls were up once more. She’d trusted one man who betrayed her. Cassidy had no plans on allowing another the opportunity to do so. Especially not one who was convinced she was a killer.
Sitting in the interrogation room, Cassidy was reminded of how much her life had changed. She wasn’t foreign in this space. However, in years prior, she had been asking questions, not on the other side of things.
Davis entered a few moments later with two bottles of water, one of which he placed in front of Cassidy before filling the seat across from her.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
After he uncapped his and had taken down a healthy amount, his intense gaze was on Cassidy. She rolled her shoulders back, preparing for his questions, and Davis didn’t disappoint.
“You were alone today.”
“I’m sure you understand why.”
