Chapter 13
“I didn’t think you two were coming to class today,” I commented a few days later when Danny and Sam walked into the studio.
The bruises on my neck were finally gone, and I was feeling back to normal, despite being a little tired.
Danny’s eyes popped wide. “Are you kidding? You know Theo is coming tonight, right? You think we’d miss that?” she demanded incredulously.
“I’d be shocked if Sid and Dec don’t show,” Sam put in with a mischievous glint in her eye.
“Caden would be here, but he’s home with Livie,” Danny added.
“You heard about the bet,” I stated the obvious.
“Hell yes, we heard about the bet! Please tell me you’re going to make him hurt.” Sam clapped her hands in glee.
I raised a brow. “A little overeager, aren’t we? Anyway, the whole point is to prove a normal class isn’t as easy as he thinks. So that’s what we’ll do.”
“Fine.” She pouted as a few other students started to filter in.
When Theo walked in clad in basketball shorts and a muscle tee, I swore he looked a little nervous. “All right, let’s do this.” He clapped his hands together, his voice booming in the small space.
“Uh, T, you better stay in the back if you’re wearing that.” Danny pointed to his loose-fitting shorts. “Unless you want to flash everyone your junk.”
He looked down at his outfit in confusion before shrugging easily. “All right. Wouldn’t want to distract these poor ladies.” He winked.
A few of the women giggled and blushed, while I rolled my eyes. “All right, let’s begin.”
Midway through class, I walked around, correcting posture where needed. I could have stayed with Theo the whole time, correcting him, but I tried not to pick on him too much. Sam and Danny were giving him enough grief as it was.
He was a good sport, and he took it more seriously than I expected. I saw his competitive streak spark to life as he tried to master some of the more difficult moves.
Despite that, I saw the relief flash in his eyes when class ended.
“What’d you think?” I asked him, waving to my other students as they left.
“It was harder than I thought it’d be,” he admitted. “Not sure I’ll be sore though,” he boasted.
“We’ll see,” I muttered, stifling a grin.
“You guys want to come over for dinner?” Sam offered as she zipped up her hoodie. “Sid’s training, so it’ll be some form of meat and vegetables, but we can still drink.”
I laughed. “That sounds good. Let me check in with Trav.”
“I guess he’s invited too.” She rolled her eyes with a grin.
I grinned at her as I fired off a text. Sam invited us over for dinner. What are you up to?
My phone pinged a second later. Wrapping up at headquarters. Meet you there.
I always knew when he was working; his texts were straight to the point. Even when playful, he hadn’t mastered the art of the emoji—though I never pictured Travis as the smiley face kind of man.
“We’re in,” I told Sam. “I just need to wrap things up here, and I’ll be over shortly.”
“I’ll hang around out front,” Theo put in, and it wasn’t a request. I continued to be surprised by his ability to switch from playful jokester to commanding badass in the space of a sentence.
“All right.” I nodded, knowing better than to argue. “I’ll be out shortly.”
I kept the relaxing music on as I rolled up mats and took care of any trash anyone had left behind. I enjoyed these moments of solitude in the studio. The space was always a source of relaxation for me, and I welcomed the momentary break from the realities I’d been grappling with of late.
My reprieve was shattered moments later when the heavy fall of footsteps sounded in the quiet space, the sound especially jarring since shoes were never worn here.
When Detective Harris rounded the corner, his gaze cold and calculating, I took a step back. There was something about the man that had put me off from our very first encounter at the hospital.
“Detective,” I greeted, my tone wary.
“Ms. Greer.” He nodded, his gaze sweeping the small space before landing squarely on me.
“What can I do for you?” I asked, returning the last of the mats I’d collected to the spot in the corner.
“Just checking in,” he answered vaguely. “I wondered if you’d thought of anything new since we last spoke.”
Travis was still looking into Roy’s claim regarding the police department. I wasn’t about to divulge any additional information, especially without Travis.
“No, but I have your card,” I reminded him, annoyed that he’d showed up unannounced at my work. At least it had been the studio and not the school. “If I have more information or think of anything, I’ll be sure to give you a call,” I replied, hoping this would be a short conversation.
He stepped closer, his jaw clenched. “You think of anything, you come to me. Got it?”
I took yet another step back, his imposing frame intimidating, which I was sure wasn’t an accident.
“What’s going on?” Theo’s deep voice rang out suddenly.
I nearly wilted in relief.
Harris’s head whipped in Theo’s direction, his gaze narrowing. “Police business, wait outside.”
Theo’s brows rose. “There’s no reason you need to talk to her in private,” he argued firmly, before his gaze swung to me. “You all right, Em?”
I crossed my arms across my chest. “Fine. I was just telling Detective Harris that I don’t have anything new for him,” I explained.
Theo looked at Harris. “Then I guess you were just leaving.” He also crossed his arms over his broad chest, his feet splayed apart in an offensive stance. Clearly, he felt the man was some form of a threat. I was glad I hadn’t conjured that feeling in my mind.
His partner, who I remembered from the hospital, appeared from outside, his gaze swinging between the three of us. “What’s going on, Harris?”
“I told you to wait in the car, Morales,” Harris gritted out in obvious frustration.
Clearly he hadn’t wanted his partner to know about our conversation, which put me even more on edge.
“I’d suggest you take your partner to go do some real police work,” Theo advised Detective Morales.
“Right,” the dark-haired man agreed. “Let’s hit it.” He nodded toward Harris.
Harris clenched his jaw in obvious frustration before turning to me. “You remember what I said,” he told me firmly before he turned on a heel and strode out of the space.
Morales offered an apologetic wave and followed suit.
“What the fuck was that?” Theo muttered, pulling out his phone and firing off a text to someone.
“I have no idea.” I shrugged, feeling slightly shaken. “It was weird.”
“Has he approached you before?”
I shook my head. “I haven’t seen him since I gave my statement at the hospital. His partner seems nice enough, but there’s something weird about Harris.”
He appeared to ponder that for a moment before nodding once. “Let’s get to Sam’s. I’ll follow you.”
I nodded. “Thanks, Theo.”
“Anytime,” he replied seriously.
When we arrived at Sam’s a few minutes later, she opened the door with a bottle of vodka in hand. “Cocktails?” she asked with a raised brow as she ushered us inside.
Nothing sounded better, but I had to drive, and I had a big day the next day. “I’d better keep it low-key tonight, I have a long day tomorrow,” I replied regretfully.
“Mama!” Hudson ran into the living room, fresh from a bath and looking adorable in his pajamas. Sid followed closely behind, a smile on his handsome face.
Sam scooped him up and kissed his cheek. “Hi, baby, did you have a good time with Daddy?”
“Yes. We played Legos, and I got to stay in the bath for ten years!”
“Ten years is a long time.” She laughed as Sid leaned in for a kiss, pressing Hudson between them.
“Teacher Emerly!” Hudson exclaimed once they’d broken apart. “You’re at my house!”
I wondered how long the shock of seeing me outside of school would last. “I am,” I agreed. “Hey, how about I read you a story?” I suggested.
His blue eyes grew wide with wonder. “Yes!”
I laughed. “Okay, go pick out what you want.” I turned to Sid and Sam after he’d rushed off. “I hope that’s okay?”
“Absolutely.” Sam nodded. “He adores you.”
“Feeling is mutual.” I grinned as Hudson came back and took my hand, yanking me toward his room.
His exuberance and easy joy had the incident with the detective fading to the back of my mind as I focused on what was right in front of me.
He crawled up into his bed, and I sat at the edge, opening Car and Trucks and Things that Go. One of my favorites. I didn’t even notice Travis leaning against the doorway, watching us with a gentle smile, until I was nearly done.
“Hey,” I murmured when I saw him. I looked down at Hudson, realizing he was almost asleep.
“Hey,” he replied. “Having fun?” he asked, his face soft as he watched the two of us.
“Definitely,” I agreed, closing the book and rising from the bed. I turned to Hudson. “Night, buddy. I’ll go get your mama.”
“Mama,” he murmured on a sigh, the adoration clear in his sleepy tone.
Travis took my hand and guided me from the room, promptly pressing me against the hallway wall and kissing me passionately.
“What was that for?” I breathed when he pulled back slightly.
“Are you all right?” he demanded harshly. Theo had obviously clued him in on my run-in with Harris.
“Fine,” I assured him, still breathless from the kiss. “I was glad Theo was there though,” I admitted.
“Me too,” he gritted out, his body still caging me in as though shielding me from some unseen threat. “What did he say to you?”
“He wanted to know if I had any additional information. He said if I thought of anything, I was to take it directly to him, and only to him,” I shared. “I feel like there’s something off about him,” I added, biting my lip.
“I do, too,” Travis agreed. “Come on, let’s get you something to eat.” He took my hand, squeezing once as he led us out to the dining room, where everyone was already seated.
Sam looked at us with a flicker of concern flashing in her eyes before she quickly masked it with a smile. “Dig in, everything’s still hot. I’ll be right back,” she added as she scooted her chair back to go tuck Hudson in.
“It looks great.” I smiled as Travis pulled my chair out for me.
“How was the interview?” Sid asked Travis as we all dug in.
“He’ll do, maybe,” Travis grumbled.
“New receptionist?” I guessed, grateful for the distraction.
“Third interview this week,” Sid put in. “Wish we could clone Sarah.”
“He was totally zonked,” Sam announced, returning a moment later and reclaiming her seat next to Sid. “And I for one just wish Sarah would come back.” She sighed glumly.
I glanced at Theo, noting he’d grown tense and broody at the turn in conversation.
“I think she will,” Danny chimed in as she held a sleepy Olivia in her arms, Caden at her side. “In her own time.”
“Who wants another beer?” Theo spoke up, scraping his chair back loudly and heading for the kitchen before anyone could respond.
We all watched him go, no one commenting on the full bottle next to his plate.
“Should I go talk to him?” Sam asked Sid quietly.
“No, baby. Give him a minute. He’ll be all right,” Sid replied, kissing her temple.
Sure enough, it was only moments before Theo returned, acting like nothing had happened.
“Should we check in?” he suggested to Travis once we’d finished dinner.
I watched warily as the guys shoved away from the table and headed for Sid’s office. I understood the nature of Travis’s work was sensitive, but I knew the check-in had to do with me, and all the secrecy was beginning to wear on me. Aside from what had happened just that evening, I hadn’t heard any update on if they’d been in touch with Mabel, if they knew more about Roy, or if I could go home anytime soon.
Not that I was in any hurry, but still.
Whenever I asked Travis about it, I received the same grunted, “We’re on top of it.”
Of that I had no doubt, but that didn’t mean I didn’t want to understand what was going on.
“Feeling a bit in the dark?” Sam surmised, cutting through my thoughts.
I looked at her in surprise. “How’d you know?”
“Because Sid tried the same shit with me.” She snorted. “Trav’s trying to protect you and sharing what they’re working on is not something any of them are used to, since most of the time it’s sensitive info. But if it’s bothering you, I’d let him know,” she advised.
“I will,” I murmured, still staring at the doorway they’d disappeared through.
For some reason, I felt hesitant to press him on it, and hadn’t worked up the nerve. Tomorrow, I told myself.
Little did I know, tomorrow would be too late.