Delaney

If I thought the police were slow to come when rocks had been thrown at me, they were even slower for vandalism to my car. No one was in danger, so I was a low priority. At the same time, I’d been told to wait for the police to arrive to take my statement, meaning I couldn’t head back to Sebastian’s and attempt to wash away my stress in his shower. I used the time to take photos of the damage of my car and contact my insurance company. Sebastian had made some calls to see about getting the car towed to a shop for repairs.

I also checked with my neighbors to see if they’d witnessed anything. Two had been out of town. One hadn’t noticed the damage until that day. Another said they’d noticed it Saturday night, but they insisted they hadn’t seen who’d done it. There seemed to be no witnesses. I was more than a little annoyed that not one neighbor had thought to call the police, or at least, come by to check on me. I was surrounded by assholes.

By the time we finished the police report, it was after ten. They’d agreed that Cody was the likely suspect and planned to question him. Since I didn’t know where he was staying, it wasn’t quite that simple, but I had been able to give them his phone number. I’d also given them Cody’s father’s number in the hopes he could help locate his son.

Sebastian was driving me back to his place. Neither of us had said much since we’d left my house. It seemed both of us needed to think. I didn’t have any piano lessons that week, so I decided to stay with Sebastian for a short time. With any luck, the police would make an arrest soon.

I’d gone over things in my mind several times, and Cody just didn’t seem right as a suspect.

“I’m having a really hard time believing Cody would do this,” I finally said.

“It can be hard to imagine someone we were close to acting this way,” Sebastian replied. “I had trouble believing Tessa tried to poison me despite the evidence.”

“It’s not that this is hard to believe because I was married to Cody,” I assured him. “Before Friday, I would have had no trouble believing Cody was capable of something like this. It would have fit in really well with what I’d expected of him. He could be childish and vindictive.”

“What changed?” he asked.

“He apologized for everything that happened when we were married,” I explained. “When I first saw my car, I felt like he’d lied to me. The apology had seemed like a way to throw me off, but now I’m not so sure. He seemed sincere.”

“Some people are good liars,” Sebastian pointed out.

“Cody’s always been one of those people,” I admitted with a sigh.

“Then why believe his apology?” he pushed.

“Because he’s never apologized,” I explained. “He’s never admitted to being wrong because he’s always believed he’s in the right. When he’s lied, it’s been to convince me he hadn’t done anything wrong.”

“I still don’t trust him, but you know him. The fact that I want to kill him for hitting you all those years ago may be clouding my judgment,” he admitted.

“Hopefully, this will be resolved soon,” I told him. “I have piano classes to teach.”

“When is your next class?” he asked.

“Not until next Monday,” I replied. “This week is spring break so I don’t have any lessons. I don’t offer lessons during spring or winter break.”

“I have a piano,” he told me. “If they don’t mind the commute, you can do your classes at my house next week, if you need to stay there longer.”

“That’s really sweet,” I told him. “I’m pretty sure they won’t want to travel that far. Most parents are running their kids from one thing to the next. One family lives in San Ramon, and they’d probably appreciate the shorter commute. I don’t know why we’re worrying about this. I should be home by next Monday, right?”

“The police will figure it out,” Sebastian assured me. “I’m just not sure how long it will take.”

“Do you think I’m in danger?” I asked, not sure what to think. On the one hand, I felt like I’d be safe as long as I was in my house and didn’t go out at night. On the other hand, I was a little afraid. I had no idea how far this might escalate. It could just be my writer’s imagination turning this incident into the twisted plot of a deranged serial killer. Or it could really be a deranged serial killer, or just someone I’d insulted at the grocery store. People really piss me off when they blocked the entire aisle with their cart.

“I honestly don’t know,” Sebastian replied. “I’m worried about you, so it’s hard for me to reply without letting my emotions get in the way. My instincts are telling me to hide you at my house until the police catch the guy.”

“Do you think it’s Cody?” I asked.

“Yeah, I do,” he said with a sigh. “With any luck, the police will solve this soon.”

“I hope you’re right,” I admitted. “I also really hope it’s not Cody. This would kill his mother. I wasn’t sure I should give the police his dad’s number, but I don’t think he’ll tell Elsa Mae about the police calling. He’s always been protective of her. Now that she’s sick, he’ll be even more protective. Do you think I should call Cody?”

“No!” Sebastian nearly shouted as he pulled into his garage. He took a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have yelled. Even if the police hadn’t recommended it, you should avoid contact with Cody. Let the police investigate this. There’s nothing you can gain from talking to Cody. He’s not going to confess.”

“You’re right,” I agreed. “He definitely wouldn’t tell me if he’s guilty now that the police are involved.”

Sebastian climbed out of the car and came around to my side to open the door for me. That’s when I realized I’d just been sitting there, staring off at nothing. Crouching down beside me, he gave me a sweet smile.

“You look exhausted,” he remarked.

“I think it’s all just starting to catch up with me,” I admitted.

“Let’s get you inside and tucked into bed,” he suggested. “I’ll grab your stuff from the trunk.”

I nodded and walked toward the door to the house. Even as my mind told me I should offer to help carry my stuff in, it was all I could do to carry my own weight in the house and up the stairs at that point. Sebastian set my suitcase and laptop bag down in his room and walked over to wrap his arms around me.

I hugged him back, breathing in his delicious scent. Tired or not, I could definitely appreciate Sebastian’s appeal. My hands slid under the back of his shirt, and I moaned when I came in contact with his warm skin.

“I want you,” I breathed out.

Sebastian pulled back just slightly to meet my eyes. “Are you sure?” he asked with obvious concern. “I know you’re tired.”