Cross the Line: A Gabriella Cross Paranormal Romance Book 2 Read Free Page B

cellar.”
    Riggs perked at this. “I’d like to see that collection some time.”
    Shit! The last thing she wanted was for him to go snooping around down there, so close to the white room.
    “Half the names I can’t even pronounce,” said Gabby with a nervous laugh. She nearly twirled a ringlet with her finger, but reminded herself not to act like a silly twit.
    Riggs poured them each a small glass and then raised his own, smelling it. His eyes closed and a smile crept across his face, as though he were standing in the summer sunshine after a long dark winter.
    Gabby watched him, unable to take her eyes off of him. The sensuality with which he went about simply drinking a glass of whiskey made her wonder how he treated a woman’s body.
    He opened his eyes and raised his glass. “What should we cheer to?”
    “Hmm,” said Gabby, snapping herself out of it. “Oh, um…to my sister, Maggy.”
    “To Maggy,” said Riggs and clinked his glass to hers.
    Gabby tossed back the whiskey as though she were out partying with her friends. Riggs, however, savored the drink slowly. She wasn’t a big fan of whiskey, but she had to admit it was about as smooth and syrupy as they came.
    “Wow,” said Riggs as he put down the empty glass. “That was hands down the best I’ve ever had.”
    “If you like it you can have it. I’m more of a wine person,” said Gabby.
    His eyes widened with excitement, but then he shook his head. “I couldn’t.”
    “Please, it’ll remain down in the cellar for another forty years if you don’t take it.”
    “That bottle’s got to be worth hundreds, if not thousands of dollars. I cannot accept such a gift from someone I just met, and definitely not while on the job.”
    “Have it your way. I’ll save it for your next visit,” said Gabby, surprised at her own words. “I mean, you know, because you’re investigating my sister’s murder.”
    The timer on the stove dinged and Gabby jumped. They both laughed nervously. “That would be the garlic bread,” she said, getting up to take it out of the oven.
    Riggs ate twice as much as Gabby, though he paused to scribble this or that tidbit of information down in his little black book. He seemed to be very interested in Michael Steele, and where Gabby had been for the six months after Maggy’s death. Gabby gave him the rehearsed story—that she had been so distraught after the murder that she went on a long road trip across the country, something that she and Maggy had always talked about doing but never got around to.
    “Why are you on the case now, after so long?”
    “Some new evidence has come to light,” said Riggs. “It’s kind of embarrassing. It seems that DNA evidence was missed the first time around.”
    “You have a new lead?”
    “Yes, Michael Steele is once again a suspect.”
    “Michael?”
    “You say his name as if you know him,” said Riggs, eyeing her.
    “I…well…I’ve met him.”
    “Yes,” said Riggs, flipping through his book. “You spoke to him at a restaurant called Empyrean. A waiter there says that he spilled an entire tray of champagne on you. What was that meeting about?”
    Gabby was surprised by how thorough he had been and became a little nervous. “I wanted to speak to him. I thought that he might have something to do with Maggy’s death, considering that she was found outside his building.”
    “So you went alone to speak with the man you suspected of killing your sister?”
    “Yeah, I guess it was a bit impulsive.”
    “It was downright dangerous.”
    Gabby shrugged.
    “Do you still think he had something to do with it?” Riggs asked.
    “I don’t know. I did. But the police found nothing on him.”
    Riggs’s phone chimed, and he apologized before checking it. “Sorry,” he said, getting up and wiping his mouth with a napkin. “Something has come up. We’ll have to finish this some other time.”
    “When will I see you again?” said Gabby, getting up as well. “I mean…I can