A softness stole over her expression.
I smiled. “Are you done eating?”
She pointed her chopsticks at me. “You don’t understand how much I love sushi, Raff. I don’t leave anything behind.”
Over an hour later, we arrived back at Alexandra’s apartment complex. I’d talked her into taking me on a tour of the campus after we were done eating. It wasn’t my first time in Gainesville, but I had two ulterior motives for taking such a long walk. It gave me an idea of where she would be most days, and it gave us both time to work off our nerves.
My instincts said Porter wouldn’t try anything on campus with Lex. I’d forgotten how many students attended school year-round. It was cool to hear her talk about the classes she took in each of the different buildings.
I held her hand as we climbed the stairs to her floor. When we hit the last step, I paused.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
I looked at her and whispered, “Your door is open. Get your phone out, call 911.”
She let go of my hand to grab her phone.
I nudged the door open with the toe of my boot.
“What are you doing, Raff?” she hissed.
“Call 911, babe.”
She wandered to the other end of the breezeway. I peeked inside. The lights were off, but from the dim light shining into the unit, I saw papers were strewn everywhere.
Alexandra trudged back to me. “An officer is on the way.”
I ran a hand through my hair. “Do you have a phone number for Brantley?”
She shook her head. “No. Why would he come back?”
“Why was he here unannounced earlier?”
“I’ll try Ines’s parents. Maybe her mom has a number for Brantley.”
A police car pulled into the lot, parked, and a male officer came upstairs. “I’m Officer Hatcher. Have either of you been inside?”
I shook my head. “No. We found it open when we got back from dinner.”
The officer entered the unit, leaving the door wide open behind him. I saw him wander into the kitchen, and then back to the living room and down the hall toward the bedrooms.
A sinking feeling filled my gut. Something was wrong. I fired off a quick text to Cal, Blood, and Volt, since a group chat with them was at the top of my text threads. I also put my phone on silent so it wouldn’t interrupt anything.
The officer stood outside one of the bedrooms, and spoke into his shoulder walkie-talkie. He eyed me and Alexandra and that sinking feeling turned outright sour. I’d left my prospect cut in the truck, but it still felt like the cop was judging us.
I leaned toward Alexandra and lowered my voice. “Be careful when he asks questions; we might need a lawyer.”
Concern shot through her eyes, then realization quickly replaced it.
She grabbed my hand. “Should have DoorDashed after all.”
I heaved a silent chuckle. “Don’t make me laugh right now, Robertson.”
“Can’t help it, Rolland,” she said, nudging my bicep with her shoulder.
I’d missed this… missedher.
Officer Hatcher came to the front door. “Do you live here?” he asked me.
