“Sure.” He points to the half burrito on my plate. “You going to finish that?”

“You can have it.”

He scoops it up and takes a big bite. The movements of his mouth mesmerize me as he chews. Suddenly I’m thinking of other things that mouth is skilled at. I shift in my seat and redirect my gaze, which snags on a familiar face ordering at the counter.

“Isn’t that one of the cops who showed up when my apartment got broken into? I wonder if they got any leads that would help find out who broke in.”

Leo glances around until he spots the officer. “Looks like him. Must be his beat. That reminds me.” He turns back toward me. “I was followed to Zelda’s house. The guy didn’t even try to hide it. Black Mustang with heavily tinted windows and no license plates. He took off before I could get any kind of description.”

“We must be onto something to stir up all of this attention. Do you think he knew you were going to see Zelda?”

“No idea, but he wanted me to see him. He wanted me to know he was onto us.” He leans across the table. “I think he’s worried, and if he’s worried it’s because we’re onto something. We just have to figure out what.”

A shudder runs through me. I never thought for a moment my investigating would bring the killer out of the shadows. He was always this faceless, nameless unknown, the answer to all of my prayers, and the key to get Beau out of prison. We must be close to a break if he’s willing to take these kinds of risks.

Leo puts a hand on my arm. “It’s going to be okay. We’re going to figure this out.”

I’m not as certain as he is. I know what that bastard did to Cassandra. I see it when I close my eyes at night. I nod anyway.

“There’s something else I need to tell you,” he says. “Zelda’s gone. I have a lead on where she might be living, but she was hard to find when she had a home. Now that she’s in the wind it’s going to be even harder to locate her. But don’t worry. I found her once. I can find her again.”

“I feel like we’re further away from solving this than ever. The more we discover, the more there is to be discovered.”

“My dad’s meeting with Damien LeFeaux tomorrow. With any luck we’ll catch a break there.”

“I hope so.” I can’t remember a time in the past five and a half years when I ever felt more overwhelmed with the task of freeing my brother. “I think I’ll go see Beau tomorrow. It’s been too long since I’ve seen him.”

“That’s a good idea. I’ll go with you.”

“About our earlier conversation…”

“Yeah?”

“I have a proposition for you.”

He puts his folded arms on the table and leans in. “What kind of proposition?”

“I was thinking since you’ll be going back to L.A. in the fall that we should keep things casual between us. Nothing to keep us from going our separate ways when you leave.”

“No strings.”

“Right. We seem to have a lot of chemistry between us. I was thinking we could keep things going the way they are. You know, just fun.”

“Cora. Are you saying you want to have uncommitted sex with me?”

“Yes.”

“So in this non-commitment would we get to go out with other people?”

“Well, no. While we’re, you know, we’re not doing it with anyone else.”

“Not even with that Dylan guy who was all over you?”

“He was not all over me. Besides, Dylan’s like a brother to me and I’m nothing more than Beau’s little sister to him.”

“Let me get this straight. You want to have committed non-commitment sex with me until the end of the summer.”

“Right.”

“I can’t do it.”

Is he joking? “Why not? All you have is casual sex. This wouldn’t be any different.”

“Except that it is. And thanks for calling me a man-whore.”

“I’m not judging. In fact, I like that you’ve had a lot of experience, since I don’t really have any.”

“So you want to use me for sex?”

“Well…yeah.”

He stares at me for a moment. I wish I knew what was going on inside his head. I didn’t think he’d get insulted over me pointing out the fact that he’s slept with a lot of women. He always seemed pretty open about that.

“Okay, I’ll do it. On one condition—you can’t fall in love with me.”

“What? Why would I fall in love with you?”

He shrugs. “It happens.” His phone rings. He glances at the display, his brows bunching together, and hits the accept key. “Hello?” His body language changes, going from curiously annoyed with me to alert. “I’m so glad you called, Zelda.”

I jerk upright in my seat. Finally something is going our way.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” he tells her. “Yeah, I can meet you anywhere you want. Twenty minutes? See you there.” He ends the call. “She wants to meet at that new coffee shop on Baker.”

We jump in the car and hightail it across town. Leo parks with less than a minute to spare. Through the window I can see that Zelda isn’t here yet. We climb out of the car and go inside.

“Find a corner booth that’s out of the way so she doesn’t see you,” Leo says. “There.” He points to the far end of the café. “That one over there.”

I slide in and try to make myself as inconspicuous as possible. Leo, on the other hand, chooses a spot where he can see and be seen. We don’t have to wait long. Zelda comes in and looks around. Leo walks up to her. They exchange some words and then take a seat at a table by the window.

Zelda looks different than she did the last time I saw her. I might not have recognized her except for the small red birthmark on her cheek. She looks tired and sad until Leo works his charm on her, then she becomes all smiles and coy looks. I sure as hell hope he’s able to get something out of her about her and Cassandra’s old neighbor Mrs. Wheeler.

The waitress arrives at my table. I order a pot of Earl Grey and take out my cellphone to look busy. The conversation at Leo’s table gets chummy. Twirling a strand of hair around one finger, Zelda narrows the distance between them across the table. Leo does the same. They look like a couple having an intimate discussion. They’re more evenly matched than Leo and me. I can almost see them together. I slump in my seat and try not to let that thought get too far.

What Leo said back at the taco place about me not falling in love with him comes back to me. He shrugged it off like it happens to him all the time. I can see it. He’s nice to look at, funny, sexy as hell, dependable, and easy to be around. I imagine a lot of girls have fallen for him. But he’s also stubborn, immature, and arrogant. Those should be negative traits, and yet mixed in with the rest they work. At least for me. And for Zelda too, by the looks of it.

I’m not jealous. I’m not. Leo’s free with his affection and charm. His personality more than his looks make it hard to resist him. When he turns those chocolate eyes on you you’re the only girl in the room. It’s just the way he is. I wouldn’t change him for anything, and yet…uhh. I want him all to myself. It’s going to be difficult to say goodbye to him at the end of the summer.

Chapter 24 Leo

I’m trying really hard to focus on getting Zelda to tell me about Mrs. Wheeler, but Cora is sitting across the room in my line of sight right over Zelda’s left shoulder. I can’t believe Cora sexually propositioned me. And I can’t believe I almost didn’t take her up on it. She’s more than a quick summer fling to me. What am I to her other than a means to gain some sexual experience? If I give her what she wants, then what? Where does that leave me?

Because if I sleep with her I know it’s going to mean more to me than it means to her. And if I don’t she’ll eventually meet someone else and they might not make her first time everything it should be. She should be loved and cherished and cared for and have orgasms that shock her. She should be with someone who will take care of her and be there for the hard stuff. Not someone who will leave her.