“Okay then, roomie.”Mobility problem solved for now.With no bike, I would have to rely on the bus if I lived at the condo, and the closest busstop was a long hike. With the need to rebuild my escape stash, using money for an Uber or a taxi was a bad idea.
Even so, I had to be crazy. I’d just agreed—no, I’d maneuvered—to room with March for a while, the same man who’d kissed me senseless last night.No problem, I convinced myself after a moment. I’d already rationalized that it was the loss of my money and my bike that made this necessary. Therefore, I wasn’t crazy, only taking the best path available, even if it had emotional risks.Yeah. Putting it that way felt better.
March had fallen silent after my roomie comment, which sent my mind to a dozen bad places at once.
We hadn’t talked about the kiss. Did it mean anything to him? It had certainly felt like it. Or was passionate kissing a normal, everyday event for him? Maybe my hormones were out of balance after my long dry spell, and scrambling my brain.
“March, can we?—”
“Later, Angel.” He turned the car in to the parking lot at SpaceMasters. “I’ll be back before lunch, but right now I’m running late. I have to meet Winston for our chat with your neighbor.”
Typical guy. He didn’t want to talk. I’d completely missed how close we were to work because he’d taken a different route to the building. “Did you take a back way on purpose?”
He shut down the engine and unbuckled. “It’s a precaution to determine if we’re being followed.”
As he escorted me inside, I felt a lot less confident than earlier.
“We weren’t followed,” he said before he turned to go.
Zane
After I droppedPeyton off at work, I met Winston at the grocery store. “There he is,” I said, pointing at the twerp, who was bagging at the first register.
Frank Fussenbach was going to answer a few pointed questions, and then maybe I could put Peyton’s condo burglary to rest.
“After you,” Winston said.
I walked up behind our suspect and waited until he’d finished with the customer. “Frank, we need to borrow you for a minute.”
He turned, and his jaw dropped when he noticed the two of us.
Winston had his arms crossed, which made him even more imposing than usual.
In contrast, I had my thumbs hooked in my pockets to seem less threatening. The last thing we needed was to chase a bolter through a crowded store.
“I know you.” He pointed. “You were with Peyton at lunch yesterday.”
At least he didn’t deny spying on Peyton.
“That’s right.” I nodded to the left. “We need a word.”
Winston pulled out his old FBI credentials wallet and flashed it open super quick. The wallet said FBI in bold letters on the outside, but the creds inside weren’t real. In fact, they were his private investigator’s license. Technically, it was legit for him to flash the wallet so long as he didn’t verbally claim to be a current FBI special agent. The trick worked wonders in terms of getting cooperation from witnesses or undesirables. So far, nobody had questioned him about it.
Frankie’s eyes darted left and right.
I prepared to run after him if he squirted.
“Gloria, I’ll be back,” he told the cashier.
Gloria’s eyes widened as she nodded. “Don’t be long. We’re short today.”
We took Frankie outside.
“What’s this about?” he asked as we walked.
“You might want to keep your voice down,” Winston warned. “Unless you want all your coworkers to know your business.”
I stopped us in a secluded section of the parking lot alongside the store. “Frank, Peyton’s unit was broken into yesterday and some things were stolen.”
