Chapter Twelve
Luke
Of course Gus wanted me to pick him up from Mia’s shop. An hour after jumping awake to find her gone from my bed, it was just what I needed...not.
I drove across town, conflict raging in my rested brain. I hadn’t slept that well in months, but waking alone, even though it hadn’t occurred to me for a single second that Mia would spend the night, had unsettledme. I didn’t even remember falling asleep, just collapsing in a heap beside her, clumsily stroking her hair, and wondering if she was even real.
I parked outside, taking advantage of the deserted parking bays, and waited for Gus to emerge. He didn’t, so I rang him and called him a prick when he didn’t answer. There was no way I was getting out of the van to look for him. No way in the fuckingworld. I people watched for a while, not that there were many about, so I got bored pretty quick.
Irritated, I slid out of the van and approached the shop’s front door. Peering through the glass, I saw no one, and retreated to the back entrance. Gus was in the courtyard Mia’s shop shared with a boutique, staring at the bashed-in back door.
“The fuck happened here?”
He spared me a grimglance. “Someone broke in.”
“Robbed the place?”
“No.”
“What?”
He shook his head. “Nothing’s missing. If it wasn’t for the hole in the door, you wouldn’t know anyone had been here.”
Unease sparked in my gut. “That’s fucking strange.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Why would someone do that?”
“Dunno. Perhaps it was the same person who snuck in and fixed the window.” Gus turned to faceme, his expression hard. “I’m really hoping it was you who did that.”
“Did what? Fixed the window or broke into the shop like a creep?”
“Both, to be honest, because I’m pretty sure you’re not a creep, but I’d settle for the window.”
Busted. “It was me, but to be fair, I didn’t sneak in. There was no need when it fell out of the frame with a quick tug.”
“Why did you do it?”
“To save you a job, and to stop something like this happening.” I gestured to the door. “I thought you knew it was me.”
Gus sighed. “I thought I did too, even if I’ve no clue why you’d do something like that, but this morning freaked me out. This is some stalker shit.”
“Is it?”
Gus flushed, like he’d said too much, and shook his head. “Never mind. Listen, is it okay if I stick arounduntil the police come back? I want to get this fixed up as soon as possible, but I can’t do anything until the idiots who turned out earlier come back and take photos.”
Rushmere’s police station had closed down years ago, leaving the town at the mercy of whatever officers were free from neighbouring towns. I didn’t hold out much hope of them being back anytime soon, but there was zero partof me that objected to Gus sticking around to take care of Mia. My only concern was finding a way to see her for myself before I left. “Um—”
“If it’s a problem, I’ll work the weekend.”
“Don’t be daft, mate. It’s not that, I’m just—”Fuck it.“Is Mia okay?”
Gus didn’t seem surprised by the question. He shrugged and moved away from the broken door. “She says she is, but you know whatshe’s like. Wouldn’t tell me she’d broken her leg until it had fallen off.”
“Can I do anything?”
“Thanks, but I reckon you hanging around will probably piss her off.”
