She went out to run some errands, grabbing lunch while she was at it. When she got back to her building, she peeked into the bar to make sure all was well after Lauren closed last night. Chairs were neatly stacked, dishes run, the floor swept.
Good job, Lauren.
Josie went into her office and sat behind her desk, looking at the balance sheet for the last month. Realistically, adding one extra shift for Lauren didn’t cost her that much. She could do this. She added Lauren’s name to the schedule on Fridays.
Done.
Giddy, she texted Eve.Consider me a free woman on Fridays, effective today.
Congratulations, Eve replied.I should be able to leave early this afternoon. Want me to meet you at your place?
Yes. Can’t wait to see you.
Josie jogged upstairs, feeling light as air. She re-dyed her hair to match her mood and took a long, hot shower, then spent a half an hour blow drying and curling it. Tonight, she wanted to look as good as she felt, and that was pretty damn good. She’d made reservations for herself and Eve at one of her favorite restaurants, and then they were going to visit a trendy rooftop bar in Midtown. She really did enjoy going to bars where she didn’t work, where she could sit and sip a drink for fun.
After spending an obscene amount of time getting ready, she went into the living room to check on the kittens. She’d leave some extra wet food out for them, and they should be fine until she and Eve got back, whatever time that was.
Her phone rang, and she grabbed it, hoping it was Eve calling to say she was on her way, but Adam’s name was on the screen. He must be downstairs getting ready to open. “Hey,” she said. “Need my help before I leave?”
“Uh, you better get down here.” His voice sounded strange, tense, completely unlike himself. “I think we’ve been robbed.”
26
Eve entered Josie’s building through the back door, intending to go straight up to her apartment, but something stopped her. A noise. Static, like a radio between stations. It scratched at her nerves, clawing under her skin. She closed her eyes.Flashing red and blue lights. The crackle of static as a police officer rolls out yellow tape. Smothering pain as she’s lifted onto a stretcher.
Police radios.
She forced the image from her mind. Why was she hearing them now? Breathing hard, she strode down the hall toward the bar. A grim-faced policeman stood there, speaking to someone outside her line of vision. Eve’s stomach went into freefall.
Josie.
Oh God.Something cold sliced through Eve’s stomach, filling her body with an awful, paralyzing fear that she already knew too well. Her knees shook, and her chest seized. Not Josie. This wasn’t happening. Not again. Eve’s feet kept moving, propelling her toward the inevitable.
The police officer turned toward her.
“We’re so sorry to inform you…”
A silent scream rose in her throat. The world around her was blurry and sluggish, silent except for the frantic whooshing of her heart inside her ears. She glanced toward the bar.
And there was Josie, seated on a barstool. Relief almost knocked Eve’s knees out from under her. She pressed a hand to her heart, attempting to steady herself. It was all she could do not to fall into Josie’s arms, hold her, kiss her, sob into the fluorescent depths of her hair until she’d found her balance again. Josie was safe and whole. Alive.
She’d changed her hair. That was the first thing Eve noticed. Pink stripes mixed with the lavender, and it was so fucking beautiful. But then the rest of the scene came into focus, Josie’s red eyes, the devastated look on her face, the policemen on either side of her. Adam stood nearby, arms crossed over his chest, his expression pinched. Josie looked up and met Eve’s eyes, chin quivering.
Eve’s stomach bottomed out all over again. Two police officers had stood beside her hospital bed that night, just like they stood with Josie now. This time, it was happening to Josie, and Eve needed to be here for her. She forced herself to keep walking, the sound of her heels against the tile floor echoing way too loudly in the otherwise quiet room.
“What’s happened?” she asked Josie gently.
“I was robbed,” Josie said, blinking up at her.
Eve exhaled, squeezing her eyes shut. She’d jumped straight to thinking someone had died.Robbed.That was…way less horrible. “Oh.”
“Who are you?” one of the police officers asked.
“Eve Marlow. I’m with—”
“She’s my girlfriend,” Josie interrupted, extending a hand toward Eve.
Girlfriend.
