“I’m not terrified,” Alex said with a frown. “I’m just…okay, yeah, he’s pretty creepy.”
Kyle nodded. “Yep. Okay, so, should we continue or head back?”
“Head back. Maybe I can pull some surveillance footage from the neighbors security cams or the street cams. If he’s on foot, they still may have caught something.”
“Good thinking, Mav. And I will assist you by makingsure I keep everyone else away from you under the guide of medical care.” Kyle poked a finger at him.
“Perfect. Because after this little…disappearance, I’m pretty certain Julia is going to be concerned.”
“I can handle Julia,” Kyle answered as they stalked past the old pool slides of the resort.
Alex’s features pinched as he glanced at the man. “Seriously? Because it seems like…maybe you think you can, but can you?”
“I can. Trust me, I can. It’s Sierra we need to worry about. I can’t handle her. She’s too much, and she’ll get the truth out of me.”
Alex stopped, his features pinching. “You can’t tell her, Doc. Not a word.”
“Yes, I know,” he answered. “So, I need to avoid her. We need to avoid everyone. I’ll just whisper something to Julia about you needing some time. I’ll pretend to be really…concerned.” Kyle wrinkled his forehead, his lips forming a slight pout. “See? This is my concerned look, and Julia falls for it every time.”
“Hmm, that’s a pretty good concerned look. I like it a lot.” Alex nodded approvingly as they resumed walking.
“Thanks,” Kyle said with a grin. “I’ve practiced it a lot. You know, at first, one my first angles when I met my dad was to steal Julia. So, I worked on that concerned look a lot. I had to use it when I accused Dad of abusing her.”
Alex slid into the car again, one corner of his lips tugging back into a confused expression. “You accused Grant of abusing Julia?”
“Yeah,” Kyle said as he tugged on his seat belt. “Went for the whole abusive spouse thing hard. Even decked him when he got in between our conversation.”
“That’s messed up, bro,” Alex answered as Kyle fired the engine.
He pulled away from the van, leaving the old resort behind. “I know. I did some really screwed up things, but it’s all in the past now.”
“Right, now you just do illegal things,” Alex said with a chuckle.
“Exactly,” Kyle said with a grin.
A few minutes later, they pulled into Alex’s driveway, climbing from the car and pushing into the house.
Julia raced from the living room, her features pinched with worry. “Alex, thank goodness. Where were you?”
“I, uh, I just went for a drive, you know? The walking was…it reminded me of Ava. And, uh, I wanted to clear my head. So, I got in the car and just drove.”
“Then he blew a tire,” Kyle added.
Alex poked a finger at his friend. “That. Yep. When it rains, it pours.”
Julia pressed a hand over her heart. “Well, thank goodness you are back. We have been worried sick. Why don’t you come in and sit down?”
“Umm, actually, I’m going to go upstairs–”
“Alex, I’m a little concerned that’s not healthy right now. I’m certain Kyle would agree.”
“Actually, I wouldn’t,” Kyle answered as he stepped between them. “The thing is, Julia…”
Alex used the distraction as his cue to race up the stairs. He hurried to his room, closing the door behind him as he blew out a long breath. Had he blown it with Julia?
He’d been sick with grief when he’d left, was he too jovial upon his return? He wandered to the mirror, crinkling his features as he tried to pout. Could he pull off a concerned look, too?
No, it looked like he was trying too hard. He shifted his features, trying to look more pathetic, but he only came across as sickly.
