“Doesn’t seem likely.” Benning said. “Lotta B&E’s around here.”
“My tire was slashed the week after the break-in,” Jo said, her tone matter–of-fact.
Avery stared down at her. “Jesus, Jo, why didn’t you say something?”
“Because I didn’t think it had anything to do with the break-in and it was before we…started dating.”
Benning nodded and asked questions about what time she left her apartment, when they’d returned, if the door was open.
Jo sighed. “No, it was locked, same as before.”
“Can you tell if anything’s missing?”
“I haven’t looked,” She stared down at the metal in her hand, and his heart broke for her all over again, “but there’s nothing here worth stealing.”
“Do you know anyone who’d do this?”
“No.”
Avery could think of one person. “What about Murdi—doch?”
“Who’s that?” Sanchez asked.
“My ex-boyfriend.” She frowned up at Avery. “He’s an ass, but he wouldn’t do this. And I took his key back after last time.”
“We’ll need his full name to check him out.” Benning nodded at the mess surrounding them. “You got a place to stay?”
Jo nodded.
Avery didn’t know where she thought she was going, but she was coming home with him. He wasn’t letting her out of his sight until he knew she was safe.
She stood. “I need to get a change of clothes from my room.”
He took her hand to steady her. “We’ll stop and get whatever you need.”
“It’ll only take—” Her gaze skipped from cop to cop to his, and she sank back down on the chair. “It’s like this. My clothes? Everything?”
He squatted beside her, one hand still holding hers. He brushed hair from her face and cupped her jaw with the other. “I don’t know. We’ll come back tomorrow and figure it out, but you can’t stay here, right now. We need to let these officers do their jobs. Okay?”
Her chin bobbed, and he looked up at Benning. “If you have any other questions, you have our numbers.”
Benning stepped aside. “We’ll canvas the neighbors.”
Avery stood, and Jo rose with him. He urged her forward, but she hesitated. “Can I take Spike?”
“I didn’t see any pets, ma’am,” Sanchez said, his expression blank.
Jo pointed to the happy face coffee mug sitting in the corner, somehow still intact. The cactus Avery had sent her, also intact with the clump of dirt around its roots, lay next to it. “He’ll die if I leave him here.”
Avery didn’t wait for the cop’s approval. He stuffed the soil base back in the cup, grabbed Jo’s hand, and ushered her out of the apartment. In the hall, he grabbed her purse but left the Chinese food. They’d grab something else along the way.
As they left the building, Jo veered toward her car but didn’t argue when he tugged her toward his. “You’re in no condition to drive.”
He tucked her into the passenger seat and wedged the cactus in the back with the gift she’d refused—all that seemed so trivial now—but she wouldn’t let go of the metal casing, so he let it go, sank behind the wheel, and fired up the engine.
They hadn’t made it out of the parking lot before she pulled out her phone, her hand trembling. She stared at the screen for a minute, then dropped it back in her purse and sucked in a shaky breath that resonated through him.
He stopped the car and glanced at her. Defeat slumped her shoulders and dragged her deeper into the seat.
