Cade didn't understand what was happening as the cop rattled off his Miranda rights. Right to an attorney. He needed to call Leigh, but first he sat in the back of a cop car. Meg. Was she waiting for him?

He felt like an actor playing a part as he sat in a holding cell. It was morning when he finally called Leigh.

"Leigh, It's Cade. I've been arrested."

"You what? For what?"

"For murder." Even the words felt foreign.

"Are you drunk? You couldn't kill an ant."

"I don't know who is dead."

"I'll be right there."

The line went dead and Cade leaned over the dirty toilet in the holding cell and vomited. How could his life go from amazing to beyond sucking in a heartbeat?

It felt like forever and no time at all when Leigh appeared. He heard her loud and clear before he saw her. "Maloney?"

She looked like his savior. "Cade, are you okay?"

"Do I look okay? One minute I was asleep the next I'm behind bars."

A guy in a cheap suit appeared. "You ready to answer questions."

He led them into an interrogation room just like in the movies, complete with a mirror.

"Are you charging Mr. Maloney?"

"Damn right we are."

"On what grounds?"

"He was at the crime scene. We have a witness who saw him talking to an enemy of the deceased."

"What enemy?"

"Vincent Pacheco."

"Why aren't you talking to Pacheco?"

"We did. He said your guy did it."

Fuck! Cade was set up.

"He's a lying sack of shit." Leigh banged her fist on the table. "What evidence do you have besides Pacheco's word?"

"Forensics is working on it." The guy turned to him. "Why were you at the Copley hotel last night?"

"The same reason I've been there all week. I sold my condo and am staying there temporarily."

"Kind of expensive when the Comfort Inn is by the airport."

"My client doesn't have to defend his choice of hotel."

"Fine. Where were you between one and two am last night?"

"In my hotel room. Aren't there security cameras?"

"So no one to corroborate."

Cade looked at Leigh. "No, you know that's not true. The guy who knocked on the door knows I wasn't alone."

Leigh's eyes widened. It wasn't like him to hook up. "Who is she?"

"Meg. Meg. I don't know. It was her birthday. The cops were checking IDs."

"There is no record of anyone in your room."

"This is crazy." He ran his hands through his hair.

"How about you tell me what you said to Vinnie Pacheco last night in the bar?"

"Let me talk to my client alone." The guy nodded and left. Leigh whispered, "They're listening. Who's the girl."

"I don't know."

"Why did you talk to Vinnie?"

"I asked if my mother knew he was with a bimbo. He called her a business associate."

"Jesus, this is his doing!"

Leigh knocked on the window, and the guy came back. "Did you get all that?"

"No, you should have talked louder."

"What was the method?" Leigh was the boldest woman he knew.

"Gun shot."

"I want my client tested for gunshot residue."

"You'll have no defense the minute we swipe him."

"You'll have no case."

The guy smiled. "Gloves."

"Then your forensic team had better find them. You find the footage showing me he was anywhere near the crime scene. He had a woman in his room."

"But he doesn't know her name. Upstanding, credible witness I'm sure."

Caden wanted to lunge. "She's a lady." As he defended her, he wondered how she slipped away.

"You never answered what you said to Pacheco."

Leigh cleared her throat. "I assume you know, Vinnie is married to my client's mother. My client spoke to him, because he was on a date with another woman."

"So you had a motive to frame Vinnie."

Cade leaned forward. "No, Vinnie could easily frame me. He doesn't like me because I know he's controlling my mother."

"Cade. Don't say anymore. Where's the gunshot kit?"

"It's coming."

"Cade, what did you wear last night?"

"These clothes. I picked them up off the floor when I went to the door."

Cade tried not to think about clothes strewn around the room, including delicious lace. He felt the bile rising, prison sex.

"Test his clothes."

Feeling angry and rebellious, he stood and took off his shirt. Removing his clothes for a stranger couldn't be any more opposite than the night before. As he reached for his buckle, the cop told him to stop. He just glared at him as defiance bubbled over. Leigh had seen him in his boxers.

In an alternate universe, he should be doing all the things he hadn't done the night before. Top on his list was tasting her sweet spot, but also asking the real questions, the ones they avoided. It didn't feel like a one-night stand, but the start of something. Cade was facing a murder charge and his mind was on the woman who got away.

A guy came in and bagged his clothes, including his jeans. Cade put on a cheap paper scrub top and pants. Then the guy ran a wipe all over his hands. Nothing happened. Leigh sighed and stood. "We've cooperated. You have nothing on my client to hold him. Come on, Cade."

Cade trusted his sister, so he followed her. No one stopped them, except to find out where they could find him. Leigh said, "Call me." She wrote her personal number on the back of her business card.

Once outside, he sighed and felt tears forming in his eyes. "Is that it?"

She shook her head. "They seem determined to pin it on you. I want to rip the bastard's throat. This can't be an accident."

"You'll be in jail for murder too."

She sighed. "See you are the calm, reasonable one."

"Can you take me to get my stuff?"

She looked at him. "I don't know if they'll let you in."

"I need to check out. Can I stay with you?" She had a one bedroom, but her couch was comfortable. "I never should have sold my condo."

"You wouldn't have been at the hotel."

"Vinnie, fucking knew I was staying there. He set me up. I know it!" He wanted to say their mother would save him, but she was a weak woman.

Leigh insisted Cade stay away from the hotel. So he paced back and forth while waiting for her to return. He thought of calling Joe or Eden, the methodical one, but then he would have to speak the words that kept his gut churning. His head hurt, and he wanted to run for miles, but he didn't even have shoes. They took him out of the hotel without them. At the police station, they gave him booties to wear, like the kind CSI guys wore at crime scenes.

It took forever for Leigh to return. She looked ready to blow. "They went over your room. They better have a fucking warrant. At least they did a shitty job."

"Why?"

She held up a bag with a used condom. "This was behind the toilet."

He remembered tossing it and missing the wastebasket. Getting back to Meg had been more important. "I got hair too. Blonde, huh? Who is she?"

He ran his fingers through his hair. "I wish I knew."

"That's not like you. Was she a trap?"

Cade thought about her dress at the hotel and her protective friend at the club. How would she know they were going to the club? He hadn't. "It would have to be an elaborate one. Trailing me all night and then putting her there." He shook his head. Hadn't he ran into her? "I doubt Vinnie is smart enough."

"Let's hope not. I requested security footage from the hotel."

He dug through his suitcase for clothes. Maybe he would feel better after a shower. "Where's my laptop?"

Leigh's eyes widened. "It wasn't there."

He felt the anger bubble up. "My tablet?"

She took out her phone, and as soon as the call connected, she started yelling. "I don't care if it's Sunday. It was an unlawful search. I want proof of a warrant or I want them back. Without a warrant, you might as well throw out anything you have from the hotel room."

"Who did you call?"

"An assistant DA. Cocky SOB, but he likes the law."

"But won't the lack of evidence prove I'm innocent?"

"It doesn't work that way. Plus, I have the evidence. I told the hotel they could clean the room."

"What are you? A CSI now?"

She shrugged. "I know what I'm doing."

"At least one of us does."

"What's on your laptop?"

Cade stared at her. "My finances. They'll think I got a payout to kill. Who the hell did I kill?"

"Don't know. They never fucking told us!"

Cade scrubbed his face with his hands. "I don't know if this would help or hurt me, but I've been drawing for fun."

"What?"

"The mobster and his wife."

"If this wasn't so serious, I might think it was funny."

Cade's face fell as the last eight hours washed over him. "I'm screwed."

Leigh pulled back her shoulders. "I will never stop fighting for you. Go shower. I'll fix us something to eat."

Cade mumbled. "I'll just puke it up."

Leigh lunged for him and hugged him. As they clung to each other, he cried for the first time since he learned his parents were splitting.

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