“Are you going to be okay, Rory?” Lydia asked. “Can youbreathe now? I should have thought to find your inhaler. I thought I was good in a crisis, but I failed you epically.” She’d said it twice.
“Lydia,” Detective Larrsen said, his tone gentle, “there’s no need to be upset with yourself. Looking at this wreck and then seeing your friend fall to the ground was terrifying. You did your best to support her. I think it would be wise for both of you to go back to the apartment and let us sort this out.”
Lydia’s eyes met Rory’s. “Are you coming?”
“I’ll be right behind you. I’m just getting my legs. Would you mind bringing my nebulizer to the lounge where we always meet?” Rory knew giving Lydia something to do would help ground her again. She’d never seen Rory have a full-blown panic attack before, and it must have been frightening.
Lydia brightened immediately and nodded. “Yes, of course.”
Larrsen watched Lydia until she was safely in the elevator and it was on the way down to the second floor.
Rory took the time to look around her. A small crowd had gathered. She spotted Javier and Ethan. Javier didn’t look very happy. His phone was out, and he seemed to be taking pictures of the wreck of her car from every angle he could. There were several people she recognized from the apartments. They looked horrified. Scott Tinsdale stood in the middle of the little crowd talking to another man she’d seen in the bar twice. Scott looked up and met her eyes. She couldn’t help the icy-cold fear that slid down her spine.
What is it?Gideon followed her gaze.
Tinsdale had already turned away. Some of the crowd was dispersing as uniformed officers were insisting they leave. He moved with the others, unhurried.
Gideon, see the man in the gray shirt wearing the gray newsboy cap? He’s maybe thirty? Jeans and expensive sneakers? He’s been in the bar acouple of times. He’s never talked to me. Always orders a whiskey. No ice. No frills. Never has more than two. Tinsdale talked to him briefly after I spotted him. Tinsdale may have just been standing next to him and used him to distract me by just simply talking to him.
She saw that Ethan had slipped into the crowd, most likely shadowing Tinsdale. She noted that Gideon hadn’t shared with Larrsen that Tinsdale was connected to Harvey Matters, but then she hadn’t either.
I passed on the message to Harvey without trying to read it, and then I deleted it permanently from my phone just in case that horrible Detective Westlake decided to question me again and insisted I show him my phone.
Once again, Gideon stroked a caress down the back of her hair before tangling his fingers in it. He stood with one easy, fluid movement before she had another chance to protest. He did so with her in his arms. His strength absolutely astounded her every time. He carried her across the parking garage to the elevator before he set her feet on the concrete floor. He didn’t let go of her, keeping one arm wrapped around her waist.
Did Harvey threaten you in any way?
No. He seemed afraid for me. For all of my friends, especially Lydia and Cindy with the kids. He didn’t like that he had put them in danger. He said he had nothing to do with killing the cop or his friends, but someone was trying to frame him.
She needed to keep her mouth closed. She had no idea why every single time she was near Gideon, she felt compelled to share everything with him. “You don’t need to ride the elevator with me, Gideon. You really have to go away.”
“I’m not going to be able to stop reaching out to you.” He made the revelation like he was confessing a sin.
She didn’t answer him. She should have, but the image of that little boy with those sad, too-old eyes welled up and made herheart ache for him. She wasn’t going to forgive or forget what he’d done. She couldn’t ever trust him to put her first, but he came when he shouldn’t have, when he knew she was in trouble. His doctor was probably having convulsions right about now.
The elevator door opened, and she started to step in. Gideon’s palm wrapped around the nape of her neck, halting her. “It’s hard to let you go.”
Rory didn’t turn around. She hadn’t once looked up at him. She still didn’t. She couldn’t. She wasn’t that strong. Her world had already begun to unravel. She wanted to cling to him, but he wasn’t real. She wanted him to be, but he wasn’t. She had to accept that what she wanted in a man, in a partner, wasn’t the man she’d thought Gideon was. That wasn’t his fault; it just was what it was.
“I understand, Gideon. I really do. It’s difficult for me too. You need to go home. I have to get inside and try to sleep. I’m working again tonight and we’re down a bartender.”
“All right, Red.” He leaned down and swept her hair from her neck.
Rory felt the brush of his lips against her skin, and it felt like a lash of flames. Then he was gone, and she was ice-cold all over again. She refused to turn around and look out of the glass door to watch him go. She felt his gaze on her and she couldn’t face him. Gripping the brass guardrail with both hands, she took the ride to the main floor, where she knew the women waited in the lounge for her.
Exhaustion settled over her as she stepped off into the wide foyer. Her phone began to ding frantically, as if someone had repeatedly messaged her. She saw that her boss, Brad Fitzpatrick, had called, leaving her four voice mails, and he’d texted her numerous times. He clearly was panicky, trying to get ahold of her. Afraid someone had told him about her car and he was worried, she called him back.
Her boss hadn’t heard about her problems. He had enough of his own, and now he dumped them on Rory, as if she could fix everything. She turned around to start down the hall and ran straight into Javier. He scared her because her warning system hadn’t gone off, and he was so silent she hadn’t heard him. Now her heart was pounding, and she wanted to resort to violence. He looked calm and in control, the way he always did.
“Go away. I’m not talking to you.”
One of his eyebrows shot up. He didn’t stand aside. “Why are you angry with me?”
Rory went around him, or tried to. He just paced along beside her as she stalked down the hall toward the smaller lounge. “Because you won’t leave Gideon alone. You’re driving him crazy, Javier. You can’t do that to him. He knows his limitations. If you keep pushing him and reminding him he’s hurt, he’s going to explode. You need to stop. He’s not a child.” She yanked at the door to the lounge, but he slammed his palm against it, effectively keeping it from opening.
“You’re telling me you’re angry with me because I’m upsetting Gideon?”
“Yes. Now go away. I already have a major headache from a million other things, and you’re just adding to it.”
