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Rae’s grin widened. “Your girl is slippery. She hides well. She knows where the cameras are. She pays in cash all the time. Even her apartment isn’t in her name.”
“How can you be sure? Raven’s probably an alias.”
“Oh, it definitely is. But she’s staying in a place that’s leased under the name Nolan Walker. She doesn’t look like a man to me.”
She turned to the screen and pulled up everything she had on Raven, which wasn’t much. “She lives in Wisconsin,” I murmured to myself. That didn’t seem right at all, but then again, I didn’t know the woman.
“What name does she go by?”
“Haven’t figured that one out yet. You’d have to go for a visit and check it out.”
Yeah, that wasn’t going to happen. “Well, it was worth a shot.”
“That’s it? After all my research, you’re walking away?”
“You found her.” I shrugged as if this wasn’t bugging the hell out of me. “What more did you want?”
“I’ve spent the last day digging into this woman, and I’m more curious about her now than I was when I started. You can’t really be giving up.”
“Not giving up. I know everything I need to.”
I turned for the door, not giving her a chance to look at me any closer. She’d see the curiosity in my eyes, the desperate need to find this woman. None of it made sense. I hadn’t felt this way since…since Hannah. And look how that turned out. She was screwing another guy behind my back.
I flung the door open and walked out, determined to keep walking. I would not go back for the address. I would not beg Rae to keep digging. I was through with this woman. She helped Rafe out. That was the end of it.
“Hey!” FNG shouted, running over to me. “Hey, I was thinking…this woman who helped Rafe out…if she was crazy enough to help that asshole, maybe she has a lead or something.”
“What?”
“I know it’s a long shot, but maybe she knows something. Or overheard something. We should check it out.”
She might know something. She could be the key to whatever Rafe was up to. The investigator inside me flared to life. The obsessive asshole was still in the driver’s seat, though.
“So, what do you think?”
“Huh?” I looked at FNG’s eager face and realized he was still rambling.
“Should we check it out?”
I clapped him on the shoulder. “Dead end, man. I already had Rae look into it.”
His shoulder slumped in disappointment. “That sucks. I really thought we’d have a lead.”
“You can’t win ‘em all,” I said as I walked to the elevator. As I headed out of the building, I told myself I wouldn’t do it. These compulsions were gone. Fox did not have this much control over me. I would not give in.
And then I went home and packed a bag.
7
RAVEN
Rubbing my eyes, I walked out of my room and down the floating stairs of the luxury house my ex lived in. I tiptoed across the chilly floor, wishing I had put on socks before I came downstairs. Frankly, I should have put on more than the T-shirt I had slept in.
Nolan wasn’t exactly over me, and I knew I was leading him on by wearing so little in front of him. On the other hand, his infatuation with me kept a roof over my head, even if we weren’t sleeping together.
“Hey.” He shot me a lazy grin as he plated the eggs he’d just cooked. A decadent display was laid out in front of me, filled with fresh fruit, eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes, and scones. But the first thing I went for was coffee. I couldn’t even think about anything else until I had my morning coffee.
“Morning,” I said as sweetly as possible. I stood on tiptoes, reaching for the mug, but he came up behind me, pressing his body to mine as he grabbed a mug.
