“I was upset. And when I get upset, my blood sugar drops, so we made the driver swing through the Taco Bell drive-through,” Mrs. Penny explained.
“I enjoyed something called a gordita. Mrs. Penny called it ‘eating my feelings,’” Gabe added.
This was what he got for working with amateurs…and accepting money from old ladies.
He was going to find Riley, handcuff her to his side, and turn this house into a fortress with a state-of-the-art security system so no one could ever take her away again.
“Is your face well?” Gabe asked with concern. “It appears to be bruised.”
“I walked into a None of Your Damn Business sign,” Nick snapped.
Burt’s ears perked up, and he scrambled out of the room.
“I’m calling Weber. You call Brian and Josie. Explain what happened and have them meet me at Savannah’s,” he told Gabe.
The man gave a noble bow. “It would be my great honor.”
“Can’t believe you expect us to not go to the nudie club,” Mrs. Penny grumbled.
“Why are you going to a strip club?”
Nick whirled around and found Riley, his beautiful, alive, very-much-in-trouble girlfriend, leaning against the doorway. She looked pale and shaken, but a quick count assured him she still had all her limbs attached.
Burt danced around her as if he’d been as worried as Nick.
“Oh, good. She’s not dead,” Mrs. Penny observed helpfully as she bit into the burrito.
“Does anyone want to explain why my dog has sesame-chicken breath?” Riley asked weakly.
“Where the hell have you been?” Nick demanded. His legs ate up the distance that separated them, and then he was crushing her to his chest.
“Mmmph mmmm,” she said.
He loosened his hold incrementally, and she peered up at him. “Guess this means you noticed I was missing,” she said softly.
“I swear to God, Thorn. If you decide to lure one more stalker away, I’m going to lock you in the Smelly Closet.”
It wasn’t exactly theI love you and I’m so relieved you’re safethat he was feeling inside. But he was confident his girlfriend knew him well enough to see past the bluster.
“I love you too. And I was never in any real danger. What happened to your face?”
“He was attacked by a rude sign,” Gabe explained.
“I’m not letting you go for at least another hour,” Nick decided. “After that, the lecture begins, and for the next week, you can’t be more than ten feet from me at all times.”
“What the hell happened in here, Santiago? Was there some kind of struggle?” Detective Kellen Weber strolled into the room, his hands in his suit pants pockets.
“That’s Nick’s housekeeping style,” Mrs. Penny said through a mouthful of beef and refried beans.
“What are you doing here?” Nick snapped.
“I called him,” Riley explained. “This involves both of you.”
“What involves both of us?” Kellen asked.
“I am very happy to see you, Riley,” Gabe said, his eyes misty.
“I’m sorry I scared you,” she said.
