The woman had buried her husband—or, more accurately, his ashes—a couple hours before, yet here he was, unable to tear his eyes from the subtle swaying of her hips as she moved.
“Dude, you’re practically drooling.”
Archer blinked, only then remembering his friend was there beside him. “I’m not fucking drooling.” He resisted the urge to wipe his mouth with the back of his hand. “I’m keeping an eye on the woman who hired us to protect her.”
“Watch her any closer, she’ll have to physically peel your eyeballs off that sexy as fuck dress.” Van arched a knowing brow. But rather than push the subject, he held up the business card and gave it a subtle wave. “There a reason I’m holding this?”
Ignoring his teammate’s remark, Archer continued following Cassie’s every move. “Detective Knox gave it to me,” he told the other man. “Check out the back.”
Van flipped over the card and read the last of the written words aloud. “Text time and place to meet?” His laser-focused gaze swung back up to Archer’s. “You think he’s planning on giving you some inside intel on the case against your girl?”
Refusing to take the bait, Archer answered with a muttered, “Won’t know until I meet up with him.”
“Knox was the arresting officer, right?”
“Yep.”
“So why the hell would the man responsible for putting the Black Widow Lawyer behind bars want to help us prove she didn’t do it?”
Pulling his gaze from hers, Archer finally turned to look at his friend. “Her name’s Cassie,” he bit out harshly. “And I don’t know that Knoxisgoing to help us. But after talking to him just now, I got the feeling he’s more on our side than it seems.”
At least, he sure as hell hoped the man was.
“You gonna share this new development with her?” Van motioned toward Cassie, who was now only a few feet away.
“Not yet.” Archer shook his head. “Not until I find out what it is Knox has to say.”
Though he found himself wanting nothing more than to put her mind at ease—with both the case against her and the possible danger lurking about—he wouldn’t get her hopes up without reason.
He’d find a time to meet Detective Knox without her. Once he heard the other man out, then and only then would he decide whether or not he’d fill Cassie in.
She came to a stop in front of him, worry marring the skin beneath her entrancing blue eyes. “Hey.”
“Hey, yourself.” Archer searched her weary gaze. “You okay?”
“Yeah. Just wish I knew why this was happening.”
“We will.” He put a hand to her shoulder, caressing the lace there with his thumb. “Trust me.”
“I do.”
The earnest look in her eyes supported the claim, and damn if his chest didn’t fill with a strange sense of warmth so satisfying, he refused to give it a name. The urge to pull her intohis arms and promise to make this whole thing go away was so strong, Archer had to shove his fists into his pockets to keep from doing just that.
A slight shift in his peripheral reminded him that they weren’t alone.
“This is Donovan Braddock,” he finally got his ass in gear and made introductions. “He’s the only member you haven’t met yet.”
Lucky, Chase, and Logan had all spent their fair share of time at Cassie’s house since officially taking her on as an Eagle’s Nest client. But Van’s quick afternoon fix of the security system had spawned a second, three-day job for the same homeowner. This time, at the restaurant the guy owned.
“Nice to meet you, Donovan.” Cassie held out her hand and waited.
“Call me Van.” The big guy’s fist swallowed hers as he gave it a careful shake.
“Okay, then. Van.” A small smile lifted the set of lips Archer shouldn’t want to taste again. “Thanks for coming so quickly.” She looked to the others on the team who had also just walked up. “Thank you all for coming.”
“What did the cops say?” Logan asked as he, Chase, and Lucky filled in the stretch of glass between Van and Cassie.
Dropping her hand back to her side, she took the lead and answered the man’s question. “They said exactly what I expected. The police will talk to the neighbors, check out the footage from my doorbell camera...put out feelers in the neighborhood. Oh, and they’ll call if and when their investigation turns up anything new.” Those dainty shoulders of hers fell with a defeated sigh. “So basically, whoever did this will likely get away with it.”