Unbreakable Bond by Gemma Halliday Page B

just that with this conversation. "What about you? Have you ever been married?"
    "God, no."
    "And I’ll assume, since we’re sitting here, that you’re not involved?"
    "I’m single," I assured him.
    "Good to know."
    "I bet," Danny whispered.
    "What do you do for fun, Jamie? How do you spend your nights?"
    Was this his round-about way of asking for my alibi when the judge was murdered?
    "I’m a people watcher," I replied honestly.
    Danny snorted in my ear.
    "I hang out with friends, have a few drinks, get a bite. The usual," I clarified.
    "Do you have family in the area?"
    I filed the thought of Derek into a locked safe and forgot the combination. "We’re not close."
    "What did you do after the benefit?"
    Ah, direct. I glanced to my martini, wishing to down it in one gulp. I refrained however. "I went home. Straight to bed."
    He smirked. "Let me guess. Red silk sheets?"
    Danny continued his pig sounds.
    I laughed, not expecting the question. "Six-hundred thread count Egyptian cotton."
    "Nothing less than the best."
    "Well, I have my eye on a set of fifteen-hundred count, but a girl’s gotta eat. Is this where I ask, boxers or briefs?"
    He chuckled in response. "Only if I get to ask the same."
    Then he winked, and I couldn't help picturing his toned, tanned body above a pair of Calvin Kleins. It wasn't an unpleasant image.
    "So, were you alone?" His smile was playful, but I was an expert at reading between the lines. Do you have an alibi?
    "Oh, Aiden, a girl has to have some secrets." My turn to give the seductive wink. Score one for Jamie's side.
    "Hmm." he said, sitting back in his chair.
    But before he could pursue that thought, the server arrived to take our order. Aiden went with an appetizer of calamari. Even though the last thing that had touched my lips was the pastrami sandwich with Danny, food was light years from my mind. But, considering I was quickly draining my martini, I ordered a plate of bruschetta anyway. As soon as the man walked away, I turned my attention back to my prey.
    "So, my turn to pry," I said, shooting Aiden my best flirtatious smile as I leaned my elbows on the table. "The judge that was killed. Did you know him?"
    Aiden cocked his head to the side. "Why do you ask?"
    I shrugged. "You both run in judicial circles. I thought maybe you've bumped into each other before at social events. Maybe he and his wife?"
    Aiden paused, eyes scrutinizing me, wondering, I could tell, how much to give up. "I'd met him once or twice."
    "What was he like?"
    "Judicial."
    "And his wife?"
    "Sorry, we weren't that close," he said, cutting off that line of questioning. 
    "I saw something on the news," I said, flirting with dangerous territory. "Something about video footage from the night the judge died?"
    "Careful, Bond," I heard Danny whisper in my ear.
    While I appreciated the concern, careful was getting me nowhere. I was on borrowed time, I knew. How long before Aiden tired of the flirtation-slash-interrogation game and pulled out the handcuffs?
    I watched him carefully as he answered. "Yes. I saw that, too."
    "So, it's true? You have video of the judge from that night?"
    "We do."
    "Where did it come from?"
    "Bond..." Danny warned in my ear. "You're treading on thin ice."
    But I ignored him, watching the muscles in Aiden's jaw move as he decided just how to answer that question.
    "Where it came from isn't as important as what's on it," he said.
    "Huh," I answered, sitting back in my seat. "Odd."
    "What's odd?" Aiden asked, taking my bait.
    "Well, it's just that..." I paused, giving him my most innocent smile. "On Law & Order they always considered the source of the evidence as the main factor in how valid it was."
    Aiden sat back, giving me a perfect poker face. "Are you saying the footage we have may be faked?"
    I shrugged. "I'm saying things aren't always what they appear to be."
    He gave me a long look that was completely unreadable. Then just when the silence was starting to make me sweat, said, "Channel