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“The name listed was Laura Tia Murphy.”
Cassidy grimaced quickly before her face expressed the thoughts of surprise and curiosity she was experiencing. Davis added, “So, you see why my focus has shifted to her. Too much of a coincidence for me not to dig a little deeper.”
“And this Laura Tia Murphy is Tia, my assistant?”
“I’m pretty sure it is.”
Cassidy shook her head. “But how is that possible? I did a background check before I hired her. Nothing came up. I’ve been around her, and nothing felt off.”
“I’m sure you used Tia Murphy, and there wasn’t anything on Tia Murphy. While she was working for you, there likely wasn’t anything to hide, which meant nothing would have felt off. I did some research and found out that when she turned eighteen, Tia went to the Social Security office and requested a name change, dropping her first name. Since she wasn’t completely altering her name, they would have approved the request without questions and issued a new card. Nothing before then would have shown up, only school records. It’s perfectly legal.”
“How is this possible? How do I keep missing such important things?”
“Trust.”
Cassidy tensed.
“You said it yourself. You were tired of being alone. That’s how you let your husband in. You also dropped your guard with Tia, but it’s not like you didn’t at least try to protect yourself with her.”
“So what now? There’s a partial print that matches hers. If it’s not a twelve-point match, even a paralegal could prove reasonable doubt. What else do you have?”
“Nothing yet.”
“Then we’re right back where we started.”
“Not exactly. At least now we have a solid lead. Someone other than you. Is it possible that Tia was sleeping with Niles?” Cassidy’s face tensed, and Davis quickly added, “We have to consider the obvious. You didn’t kill him, but someone did. The guy was a piece of shit, Cass. Considering what he did to you, is it that much of a stretch to believe that he might have been—”
“Fucking my assistant?” she hissed in anger. “No, it’s not. But it is hard to believe that she would let him. But then again, who the hell am I to make that type of assertion? I married the guy and hired his potential mistress.”
Davis set his beer down and moved closer, confiscating Cassidy’s wineglass and placing it on the coffee table beside his beer. His hand ended up on her thigh. “Cass, you’re human.”
“I’m a gotdamn fool, is what I am. My assistant was sleeping with my husband, possibly in my house or at his apartment, that I wasn’t aware he had. Like the naïve woman I am, who everyone thinks has it all together, I don’t know shit,” she yelled, leaning toward him so that their faces were close, eyes aligned. “The great Cassidy Evans, the expert on reading people and solving crimes, couldn’t even notice that her husband was a gotdamn fraud. I should have known.”
She sucked in a deep breath to balance her emotions but failed miserably. The weight of Davis’s stare only made matters worse, so she tried to pull away, but he caught her arm and pulled Cassidy into him. His lips met hers, and she didn’t resist. Her emotions were all over the place, making her feel as if she were drowning. Giving into the kiss felt right. It felt safe. More than anything, it felt real, so she allowed herself to kiss him back.
Cassidy lifted her hands to his face, trapping his bottom lip between her teeth. She felt him tense before pulling back enough to show the narrow stare that landed on her face.
Please, don’t shut me down.
Desperate for the connection, she arched her back and lifted her mouth to his neck, kissing up the curve of his jaw. The intense silence made the mood a heady mix of weighted expectations. When he kissed her back, she exhaled a sigh of relief and watched as he moved down her body. His hands hooked into the band of her spandex shorts, dragging them slowly down her thighs.
A chaotic mix of her clothes and his went tumbling to the floor until he was situated between her legs again. Strong hands gripped her thighs, spreading them apart. Unlike their first encounter in New York, Davis showed no signs of taking things slow. Maybe he sensed that was what she needed, or perhaps he was simply being selfish. Both were acceptable at the moment. He thrust forward hard until he was completely seated in her depths. The fullness of him had Cassidy’s teeth sinking into her lip when he jerked back, only to return with just as much intensity. Cassidy placed her hands at his waist while he leaned into her knees, pressing them upward toward her stomach.
She met him thrust for thrust as they rode out the frustrations and desires that had been simmering between them since returning from New York. Cassidy got what she needed—an escape. To feel worthy, desired. Davis hammered into her with purposeful plunges guaranteed to relieve the tensions she refused to allow to take her under. The euphoria of her body clinging to his while he rode her hard was precisely what she needed. The moment was also a pleasurable reminder that whatever was between them would never be a “temporary” connection.
23.
Davis walked into the precinct that following day with a newfound motivation. The night he spent with Cassidy further confirmed his previous feelings. Whatever was between them wouldn’t be temporary. He wanted more, and based on the way she’d given in last night and the disappointment in her eyes when he left her bed this morning, Cassidy’s feelings weren’t all that different from his.
Until he cleared her name and convicted the person who killed her husband, they couldn’t be more than they were. Davis was grateful for the lead pointing toward Tia as a suspect, but he still had to prove the case. He needed evidence as well as the how and why, which led to him doing the one thing he swore he would never do—ask for help.
Reese.
Davis cringed when he heard the sleep-laced tenor of his colleague’s voice. “You off today?”
“No, why?”
“You sound like you’re still in bed, and if not, then you haven’t rolled out of one too long.”
