Normally, he wouldn’t. Kenzie was different. Since they had actually spent Thursday night together, he told himself it wasn’t that much of a lie. And it would give them time to gather the information they needed to prove her innocence.
“I’m sure,” Reese said. “Ask Kenzie about the little mole she has on the inside of her thigh.”
Tears welled in her eyes as Ford’s gaze swung back to her. “So your relationship is more than just professional? The two of you are sleeping together?”
“Not...not exactly,” Kenzie said.
“Yes,” Reese countered.
Ford’s jaw hardened. Clearly, he suspected Reese was lying. “Looks like I’m done here—for now. If anything else comes up, you can be sure I’ll be in touch.” Ford strode out of the office without closing the door. Both uniformed officers fell in behind him as he crossed to the executive-floor elevator and disappeared inside.
* * *
Kenzie sank back down into the chair, trapping her hands between her knees to keep them from shaking. Reese closed the office door, then returned and stood directly in front of her.
“Are you okay?”
Her eyes flooded with tears she’d managed to hold back until now. “Oh, my God, Reese. What have you done?”
His jaw firmed, his usual control back in place. “Did you kill your ex-husband?”
Kenzie wildly shook her head. “No! Of course not!”
“Then I bought us some time.”
“Time? Time for what?”
“Time to figure things out.”
“Like what?”
“Like how to prove you’re innocent of murder and who the hell killed your ex-husband.”
“You lied to a police detective, Reese. You could be arrested. You’re the CEO of Garrett Resources. Your job could be in jeopardy. You could even be thrown in jail.”
“I’ll clear things up once we get rolling. I’ll talk to the police, tell them I got the dates mixed up. That we were together Thursday night not Saturday.”
She brushed away the wetness on her cheeks. “And you think they’ll actually believe you? They’ll accept your word you just made a mistake?” She swiped at another errant tear. “I can’t believe you did that. I can’t believe you would risk yourself that way.”
Gripping her shoulders, Reese eased her up from her chair. “You don’t think you’re worth it?”
She swallowed, her heart squeezing at the look on his face. “I didn’t kill Lee.”
“I know, honey. We’ll figure it out, but we’re going to need some help. Why don’t you go wash your face while I call my brother?”
Her throat ached. She still couldn’t believe Reese had lied for her. He had stepped completely out of line for her. It made her feel warm all over.
Since she didn’t have any idea what else to do, she turned and headed out the door. As she walked toward the hallway, she saw Louise standing next to her desk, her eyes wide and worried.
“The police were here when I got to the office,” the older woman said. “Is Griff okay?”
“Griff’s fine. Unfortunately, Saturday night his father was killed.”
“Killed? You mean in a car accident or something?”
“Lee was murdered, Louise. The police are trying to find out who did it.”
Louise’s eyes widened. She looked at Kenzie with concern. “Oh, dear. Poor Griff.”
“I don’t know how to tell him. He and his dad were never close, but still... Lee was his father.”
“Do the police have any idea who did it?”
Kenzie pressed her lips together and glanced away.
“Wait a minute. Surely they don’t think you had anything to do with it?”
Kenzie sighed. “It’s complicated, Louise.” She shoved her dark hair back from her face. “I’m afraid you’ll have to excuse me. I need to use the ladies’ room.”
Leaving her assistant staring after her, Kenzie headed down the hall. In the last few days, her life had been turned upside down. First, Griff had landed in the hospital. Then the custody suit. Then she had seduced her employer, a man she respected and admired, putting both of their jobs at risk. Now Lee was dead, she was a suspect in his murder, and Reese had lied to give her an alibi.
Kenzie was afraid to imagine what would happen next.
FIFTEEN
The afternoon turned stormy, dark clouds on the horizon, the wind blowing like a bitch. Reese was meeting Chase in his office at Maximum Security, one of the top detective agencies in Dallas.
Briefly, he’d filled his brother in on Lee Haines’s murder and the ongoing investigation. But Chase wanted details. Reese dreaded the confrontation. Hell, he didn’t know that much about it himself.
Shoving open the glass front door, he walked into the single-story redbrick building on Blackburn Street.
“Chase is expecting me,” he said to Mindy Stewart, the receptionist. The petite brunette sat behind a big oak desk that matched the Western decor of the office.
“He told me you were coming in,” she said, pushing her round tortoiseshell glasses up on her nose. “I cleared his calendar for the afternoon.”
Good news and bad. Plenty of time for his older brother to rail at him for what he’d done, one of the few people Reese allowed to get away with it.
He waved at Jason Maddox as he strode across the open area where oak desks sat in a line of neat rows. Since he was short on time, he didn’t stop to chat. He’d call Hawk later to thank him for his help with Rico Alvarez and ask him to keep his ears open for anything that might help him find Lee Haines’s killer.
With a light rap on the door, he walked into Chase’s office. His brother rose behind his wide oak desk, his dark blond hair slightly mussed, a scowl on his face. Reese was surprised to see Brandon sprawled on the brown leather sofa, sipping a bottle of beer.
Resigned, Reese headed in that direction while Chase rounded the desk to join them.
“I talked to Heath Ford,” Chase said. “He told me as much as he could. What the hell have you done?”
“I’m helping a friend, all right? I’ll straighten things out in a couple of days. I just needed to buy a little time to get things started.”
“Tell me you aren’t really sleeping with her,” Chase said. “You just made that up to help her out of a jam.”
Reese clenched his jaw. “Who I’m sleeping with is none of your business.”