Light streamed in through my blinds that apparently I’d forgotten to shut st night. I groaned and threw an arm over my eyes, trying to block out the evil rays. Luckily, today was my day off from the shop, and with the migraine that was pulsing behind my eyes, I was beyond grateful.

  I managed to crawl out of bed after an hour of putting it off. This was definitely one of those days where I wished that I wasn’t an early bird. I just wanted to sleep in, but my body just refused to follow my pns. So, instead, I was getting up, making coffee, and turning on the morning news.

  A news reporter stood in front of an alley way, her face ashen.

  “–victim is a 29-year old male and authorities are still working to confirm his identity. The scene has been described as particurrly gruesome, but we have obtained a sketch from the police of the victim’s face. If you recognize him or have any information that could assist the investigation, please contact the number on your screen.”

  My stomach dropped as the face of the man I’d slept with fshed across the screen. He was dead? How…when? Why? What was happening? He’d been whole and hale when he’d left my apartment. Had he gotten mugged or something on his way home?

  No, that didn’t make sense, he’d had his car, so he would have driven. What was he doing in that alleyway? I blinked as I realized that I knew that alley. It was only a block away from my apartment.

  I dropped my head into my hands as my mind raced. I wouldn’t be linked to the murder, would I? I didn’t exactly have an alibi that would say I wasn’t the murderer, and I was a decent sized woman so I saying I was a tiny and there was no way I’d have been able to overpower him wouldn’t work nearly as well. And the moment the cops found out my st name? I’d be number one on the suspect list.

  Should I call Papa? He’d be able to take care of it, but I also really didn’t want to involve him. I needed to be able to take care of these kinds of things on my own. I’d never live up to his expectations if I couldn’t even do this. I was willing to do a lot of things, disappointing Papa wasn’t one of them.

  The reporter had kept droning on about further details, but I’d missed almost all of it. I picked up my remote so I’d be able to rewind to hear the details, but someone pounded on my door. Three loud, sharp raps.

  I stood up, grabbing a robe from where it y across the back of my couch and wrapped it around me.

  “PCPD! Open up!” Three more of the same knocks.

  Fuck. They knew already. Wait, knew what? I hadn’t done anything, and not answering the door would just make them more suspicious, so I headed over and pulled it open, right as the officer was about to bang on my door again.

  “Officers? Can I help you?” I ask in the sleepiest voice I could imagine. The two men gnced at each other and then back to me.

  “Aurora Gionatti?” One of them—the tall, hot one—asked. I just simply nodded.

  “Yeah, sorry I took so long, you woke me up and I had to find something to put on.” I gestured down at the powder blue, silk robe that had opened slightly at my cleavage. They both stared at my chest before jerking their eyes back up to mine.

  “We’re sorry for waking you up, miss. We were wondering if we could ask you a few questions. I’m detective Kowalski and this is detective DeSantis, may we come in?”

  I blinked and then stepped to the side, gesturing for them to come in. “This is about the guy that was murdered st night, isn’t it?” I asked.

  I figured that getting it out of the way and not acting cagey about it was probably the best way to go about this entire ordeal. I’d be as cooperative as possible.

  The two men gnced at each other and back to me as they stepped over the threshold.

  “Uh, yes, actually. How did you know?” Desantis asked—he was the tall, handsome one.

  “I was watching the news this morning and I saw the sketch, I recognized him as the guy I brought home st night. I was actually going to call the hotline before you guys knocked on my door.” I shrugged and shut the door, stepping past them to lead them into the living room.

  I gestured for them to sit on the couch. “Would you like some tea? Coffee? I think I may have some soda.”

  Neither one of them took me up on my offer so I sat down on the recliner next to them. “So, how can I help you, detectives?”

  “First, we just want to express our deepest condolences for your loss,” Kowalski said, the kindness in his eyes genuine. So, he was the good cop. Would that make Desantis the bad cop? He was too pretty to be the bad cop.

  I shook my head and gave them a soft, weak smile. “There’s no need for condolences. I met him st night. We had sex, then he left.”

  “Where did you meet st night?” Desantis finally spoke. His voice was smooth like honey, and it made my ears happy.

  “Eclipse, the new night club that opened up a few months ago.” I leaned back in the chair, tucking my feet beneath me.

  DeSantis leaned forward, pulling a small notebook from his pocket. “What time did you leave the club together?”

  “Uhm,” I pulled my phone out of my pocket to check the time that I’d sent the message to Ats. “We left at 11:32.”

  He nodded and wrote that down. “And you came straight here? Did you take two different cars or just one?”

  “We took his car. I’d gone with my brother so I didn’t have mine.”

  “And which brother would that be?”

  “How is that at all relevant?” I asked, a slight edge creeping into my voice.

  “Just getting all the facts straight,” Mr. Hot-Detective said.

  “I went with Mars,” I lied smoothly.

  “Right, and where else did you stop on your way here?” That time that was Kowalksi.

  “Nowhere. We came straight here.”

  DeSantis nodded and scribbled that down as well. “How long did he stay?”

  “Like…an hour? Maybe an hour and a half. I wasn’t really paying attention. He left right after. I watched him drive away.”

  He raised his brow, tapping his pen against the top of his pad. “Did anything seem off when he left? Did you notice someone following him or anything suspicious?”

  I sighed and shook my head. “No. He just got in his car and left.”

  Kowalski leaned back with an unreadable expression. “We reviewed the surveilnce footage from the area around the club, and it wasn’t Mars you arrived with.”

  Shit.

  “Okay, fine, no it wasn’t. It was Ats.”

  “Why would you lie?” Kowalski asked. “We’re just trying to help you out here and figure out what’s going on.”

  “Ats just got out of prison. Are you saying that if I said I’d gone with him I wouldn’t have been even higher on your suspect list?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

  “Why would you be on our suspect list?” he asked.

  I gave him a droll look. “If I wasn’t on your suspect list, you wouldn’t be here. I was the st one seen with him alive, and the moment you saw my st name that probably skyrocketed me up to the top of your list.”

  DeSantis cleared his throat, gncing sideways as Kowalski, who straightened in his seat. “Miss Gionatti, I’m sure you’re aware of how these things an go,” DeSantis said. “But just to crify, we’re talking to several people connected to the victim. This is routine.”

  I arched a brow and let out a short ugh. “Routine?” My voice was sharp, but my tone light. “You don’t usually come knocking on doors this early for routine questions.”

  DeSantis rubbed a hand over his jaw and Kowalksi remained silent. “Given your…st name,” Mr. Hot-Detective continued, “we have to be thorough.”

  There was no warmth in the smile I gave him. “Thorough. Right.”

  Kowaski leaned forward, intercing his fingers with his eyes trained on me. “You understand why we need to be, right? The victim was found a block away, and you were seen with him st night. Just basic detective work.”

  My heart hammered in my ears, but I refused to let that show through my voice or expression. “I get it., But, I’ve already told you that I don’t know what happened after he left here. He was fine the st time I saw him.”

  More scribbling in that notebook. “You met him st night? At Eclipse?”

  I crossed my legs and barely resisted rolling my eyes. “That’s what i said already. Met on the dance floor, had fun, he was hot. Came back here, had some mediocre fun, then he left. End of story.”

  “And you didn’t see or him from again after that?” Kowalski pressed.

  “No. I watched him get in his car and drive away.” I couldn’t keep the annoyance out of my voice this time. “Whatever happened after that isn’t my business.”

  DeSantis nodded slowly, jotting down a few more things before looking at me again. “Just to be sure, we’ll follow up with your brother, Ats. I’m sure you understand.”

  Irritation flickered in my stomach. “Ats has nothing to do with this. He didn’t even meet the guy. But, if you need to talk to him, I’m sure he’ll cooperate.” I was going to need to message him and let him know that they’d probably be coming interrogate him too.

  The apartment descended into a tense silence as the two stared at each other. They knew not push too hard. My name carred way too much weight and if I wanted to I could decimate their careers.

  DeSantis finally stood, snapping the notebook shut. “Thank you for time, Miss Gionatti. We’ll be in touch if we need anything.”

  I nodded and stood with them. “Of course, detectives. Happy to help however I can.”

  As soon as the door clicked shut I sank back down on my recliner and let out a slow breath, the tension seeping from my shoulders. My st name may shield me for now, but how long would that st?

  Not with a dead man so close to my door.