“Reilly wasn’t an asshole,” Harley yelled. “Don’t you call him that you moron. He was the best brother in the world.” She started crying and through her tears she said, “And even if you are a moron, I love you.”
Christ, they were a mess and in public too. Scottie had to get her out of here before someone recognized either one of them or worse, called the cops. He stepped toward her. “I love you,” he said feeling the tension slowly subsiding from the moment as he pulled her to him again to hold her, resting his chin against the top of her head. “What in the hell are we going to do?”
“I don’t know.”
“Brand thinks this could jam us up,” Scottie said.
“I know.”
He blinked and shook his head. “Let’s go get lost in the Winter Wonderfest at the Navy Pier for a while before we’re spotted standing here together,” he said. “That’s the last thing we need.”
“Okay,” she murmured. “I need to run to the ladies first and blow my nose. I didn’t bring any tissue with me. I should have known to do that even if I didn’t bring my purse.”
“It’ll be okay.”
“When?” she asked. “When? The last few days have been painful. A nightmare. I thought losing my folks was bad, but this…”
He shrugged. He didn’t have any words for this. And that sucked.
He spotted two officers from the force up ahead and he steered her into the crowd to avoid running into them. He got to the women’s restroom; pretty sure they hadn’t been seen. He waited for her to come out, purchasing their tickets online for the Wonderfest, and then they headed on to the attractions.
“What should we do first?” he asked.
“Skate?”
“Are you sure?” he asked. “Won’t getting on the ice so soon after…”
“No. It’s fine. I’m fine,” she said taking hold of his hand. “I don’t blame you for what happened to Reilly.” She steppedcloser to him. “Besides, your skate nicking his neck isn’t what killed him, at least that is what Commander Burns and Brand told me.”
“It wasn’t it?” Scottie stopped in mid-stepped. Unsure what she might tell him was the cause of Reilly’s death. And if he wasn’t the reason her brother died, then why hadn’t Brand said so when he questioned him?
She shook her head. “I probably shouldn’t be telling you this, but it seems there was something wrong with Reilly’s blood. It wasn’t clotting right. They think he was taking a blood thinner, something called Warfarin.”
Scottie had heard of Warfarin. It was a common drug for heart patients. His grandfather had taken it after open heart surgery. But why would Reilly be taking it? He was healthy police officer which made Scottie consider this for a moment as they got in line to rent skates. “What does this mean?”
“They said it makes Reilly’s death suspicious more than accidental,” Harley whispered. “Do you know of anyone who would want to do my brother harm? Maybe a case he worked on where he jammed up a perp who’d want revenge?”
Scottie shook his head unsure how to digest this information as he recalled Brand saying he couldn’t discuss what he’d learned at the hospital because it might jeopardize the investigation. That meant Brand saw him as a suspect whether he admitted it or not.
“Honey, why are you frowning?” Harley asked.
“Sorry, you’ve given me so much to think about here. This news changes the dynamic of what happened on the ice.”
“I know.”
And yet, she didn’t. How could she realize that it put them in danger even more if Reilly’s death were now seen as suspicious. And they might be implemented because they’d kept their relationship a secret.
He took a deep breath and pushed aside the thought. They were there to spend time together and he couldn’t let negative thoughts cloud their time. He pulled her closer against him and nuzzled her neck.
“We’re lucky to have one another,” he whispered.
“We are,” she agreed.
They got their skates and headed over to put them on before stepping onto the ice and joining in the many holiday skaters enjoying the festive lights and décor. They broke for a few minutes to enjoy hot chocolate with miniature marshmallows before taking a few more turns around the rink, until Harley pointed to a couple across the way.
“Who is it?” Scottie asked.
“Pepper and Jett Taylor. I’m sure of it,” Harley said.
