Read Online A Guilty Affair by Maureen Smith - Free Book Online

and gave her his undivided attention.
    Resisting the urge to squirm, Riley crossed her denim-clad legs and folded her hands neatly in her lap, as if by perfecting her posture, she could maintain her composure.
    â€œI was wondering if you’ve given any more thought to what we spoke about on Friday,” she began.
    â€œI have,” Noah said evenly, “and my answer is still the same.”
    Though she’d been prepared for such a response, Riley felt a sharp stab of disappointment. “Let me ask you this, Noah. What if you didn’t know me? What if I’d just walked in off the street and shared the same story with you. Would you still refuse to take my case?”
    â€œWe turn people away all the time, Riley. That’s the nature of the business.”
    â€œThat’s not what I asked you.”
    â€œNo, I wouldn’t take your case.”
    â€œI don’t believe you. I know the only reason you won’t even consider helping me is that Trevor was your best friend.”
    â€œAnd your fiancé,” Noah reminded her coldly.
    â€œYes, my fiancé,” she said with a brittle half smile. “The man I gave up a good job for to move back to San Antonio just to be near him. The man I loved enough to want to marry and have children with. The man I shared my—”
    Noah’s jaw hardened. “Enough, Riley. You made your point.”
    â€œDon’t ever question my love for Trevor,” she said in a voice that trembled with suppressed fury. “This has nothing whatsoever to do with that.”
    â€œI disagree,” Noah bit off tersely. “I think if you love someone as much as you claim to have loved Trevor, you wouldn’t be entertaining these outrageous suspicions about him. Suspicions, by the way, that are based solely on dreams. Dreams , Riley.”
    Her nostrils flared with anger. “It’s not just the dreams. I told you, there was a man at the funeral—”
    â€œWhich proves absolutely nothing.”
    â€œMaybe if you put me in front of a police sketch artist, we could come up with a composite of this man, then run it through the system to find out if there’s a match.”
    Bemused, Noah shook his head at her. “If you’ve got it all figured out, what do you need me for?”
    Riley frowned, biting her lower lip for a moment. “Because no one will talk to me.”
    â€œWhat do you mean?”
    â€œI mean, when I went to see Chief Pittman a few weeks after the funeral, he treated me as if I were a hysterical woman who couldn’t cope with the death of my fiancé. When I told him about the German man at the funeral, he dismissed it as coincidence.” Her mouth twisted cynically at the memory. “He pretty much patted me on my head, offered his condolences, and sent me home with the promise that he wouldn’t mention a word of our conversation to anyone else, because he knew how much it would hurt Trevor’s comrades to know what my concerns were.”
    â€œHe’s right,” Noah said grimly. “Every one of those cops worships the ground you walk on, Riley. If they find out what you’re doing, what you’re trying to do, they’d never forgive you.”
    Riley looked him square in the eye. “That’s a chance I’m willing to take.” She paused. “But I guess you’re not.”
    His expression darkened. “My decision not to help you has nothing to do with what other people will think.”
    â€œAre you sure about that?” she challenged.
    â€œDamn it, Riley,” he growled, leaning forward in his chair. “I don’t have to sit here and defend myself to you. Nothing you can say or do would convince me to launch an investigation into Trevor’s death. I spoke extensively to every last member of the Officer Involved Shooting Team responsible for investigating Trevor’s murder. You don’t have enough evidence to suggest