Taking a deep breath, he pushed the feelings away, he wasn’t going to give into them, he wasn’t going to chase a woman who didn’t want him, even if something deep inside told him she was the one for him. Before he could take that thought any further, Emily looked up, saw him watching her and for an instant he could see the desire in her eyes, but she quickly looked away.
“I’m sorry I’m so late,” he said when he opened the door. “It wasn’t all my fault; they’ve got security at the front door.”
Emily didn’t look up at him, and he was a bit relieved. “It’s okay; thanks for texting me to let me know,” she said. “It took me ten minutes to get in here; this is crazy.”
“Do you know what’s going on?” he asked, shrugging out of his backpack and sitting down. “Someone mentioned something about some robberies.”
She finally looked over at him. “You don’t know?” she asked, then shook her head. “Everyone’s been talking about it. Someone has been breaking into buildings on campus andstealing things. They won’t really say what, but from what I’ve heard, we’re talking some big-dollar items.”
“I haven’t heard anything, but I’ve been so busy,” he said, unloading his backpack to study. “When did this start?”
“I guess it’s been going on for a few days, one or two buildings each night,” Emily said, then shrugged her shoulders. “I hear they’ve got security camera footage of the break-ins; it’s just a matter of time before they catch someone. I can’t believe anyone is stupid enough to try and rob the university. I just wish we didn’t have to put up with all this extra security until they figure it out, I don’t have time to wait in line every time I want to go to class.”
“If they’ve got pictures, this shouldn’t last long,” he said, pulling out his notes, putting the entire thing out of his mind. “Are you ready to debate?”
Emily grinned at him. “You bet,” she said. “I’m going to bury you tonight.”
His study sessions with Emily had become his favorite part of the day, but he was distracted that night, and she got the better of him most of the time. “Okay, okay, you win,” he finally said, waving his hands in the air. I give. Tonight isn’t my night, but I will live to fight another day.”
“Or night,” Emily said, laughing. “I booked the room for us again tomorrow night, but at the rate you’re going, I don’t think we’re going to need as many practice sessions this week. You’re really getting the hang of thinking on your own. Professor Whitmore is going to be so pleased, I bet he’ll even give you an A.”
“I hope so. This has been more work than I thought it would be, but I’m glad I did it. There’s more to being smart than just memorizing the material,” he said. “Thank you for helping me, Emily.”
“You’re welcome,” she said, smiling at him. “We’re about out of time; I guess we should clean up. I was thinkingabout grabbing something to eat. Do you want to tag along?”
“I wish I could,” he said, meaning it, “but I have to go to work.”
“Oh, well, okay. I guess I’ll see you tomorrow night,” Emily said, clearly a little disappointed. “I know how hard it is to study all day and work all night. Maybe I’ll stop by with a treat on my way home.”
The last thing he needed was her stopping by the hotel. “That’s not allowed,” he said, his voice a little too loud. “Sorry. I mean, my boss doesn’t like personal visitors when we’re working. He says the guests should be all we’re thinking about, but it was sweet of you to offer.”
“I wouldn’t want to get you into trouble,” she said. “Maybe next time.”
Feeling like he’d dodged a bullet, he finished packing up. “I’ve got a couple of days off next week,” he said. “Will you take a raincheck until then?”
“You bet,” she said, smiling at him. “You just tell me when.”
***Emily***
Emily was disappointed with Taylor’s answer, but not for the reason he thought. Although having dinner with him had been appealing on several levels, she’d been hoping to get the subject of Diego out of the way. Her opinion of the situation hadn’t changed with time. She was still sure that Captain Strattler was off base thinking that the Sigmas, including Taylor, had anything to do with his disappearance. They needed to look at other possibilities, maybe even the Kappas themselves, but the Captain was so focused on Taylor and his friends, he couldn’t see that, and she didn’t dare suggest it, not the way he’d been acting lately.
Too tired to think about it anymore that night, she packed up her things and followed Taylor out of the building. “Have a good night at work,” she said. “I’ll see you tomorrow night at eight, same room.”
“See you then,” Taylor called, already heading down the sidewalk. “I might have to work tomorrow night too, but we can get a couple of hours in before I have to go.”
That was not what she wanted to hear. “Taylor, hold on,” she called, running to catch up with him. “Let’s meet early for coffee or something. There’s something I wanted to talk to you about.”
He looked surprised but nodded his head. “I guess I can squeeze you in,” he said. “I hope I haven’t done anything wrong?”
She shook her head. “No, nothing like that,” she said, then shrugged her shoulders. “I just want to talk, that’s all.”
He was still looking at her funny when she walked away, but she hadn’t really had any choice; she was tired of dragging this out, the Captain wanted answers, and she was going to get them. She wasn’t sure how, only that she needed to get this final puzzle piece before the Captain would be satisfied, even if it meant embarrassing him with the truth. It was time they moved on to other suspects; the trail had already gotten cold, and they may have waited too long already.
Annoyed that a simple job had turned so complicated, she went home, dropped her backpack at the front door, and decided to take the rest of the night off. After a long, hot bath, a simple dinner, and a little television, she climbed into bed and fell asleep, trying to figure out how to get Taylor talking.
Her phone buzzing on the table next to the bed woke her the next morning just as the sun broke the horizon, and she rolled over thinking it was her alarm. When she couldn’t getit to stop, she grabbed it and looked at the screen, then sat up in bed, still half asleep.
“Captain Strattler,” she croaked. “Is there something wrong?”
