Caleb had to act like he was leaving and give Tate the opportunity to get into the shop.That was when they’d stop him.Hopefully, it would be enough proof that Archer could do something about it.
“What the fuck is he doing?”West muttered as the shop’s front door chimed and it opened.
Eric Tate stepped inside.Caleb’s mouth went dry.
“Sorry,” Tate said with a friendly smile that didn’t reach his eyes, “I saw your light was still on.I was hoping to grab something for my wife.”
Up close, he was even more normal-looking than he’d appeared from across the street.He was the kind of man someone would forget five minutes after meeting him, which was probably an advantage when he was doing this kind of thing.Caleb could smell the gasoline clinging to his clothes, though.He noticed the way Tate looked around carefully.“I just closed, but as long as you’re quick, you can grab something,” Caleb said, proud that his voice came out steady.“What kind of arrangement were you thinking?”
Caleb couldn’t let Austin and West storm in here, but he had no way to stop them.They needed evidence, and a man walking into a flower shop wasn’t a crime, no matter how suspicious his behavior was.
Tate moved further into the shop, his gaze taking in every detail.“This is a nice place.You been here long?”
“About six months,” Caleb lied.“Still learning the business with Mrs.Kendricks.She’s on vacation right now.”That way, if Tate had already investigated the place, he wouldn’t wonder where she was and why Caleb was here instead of her.
There was something in the way Tate watched Caleb that made Caleb’s skin crawl.
“So, what’s the occasion?”he asked.
“The occasion?”
“For the flowers?Personally, I’d recommend the roses unless your wife hates them.They’re a classic for a reason.”
Tate waved at the closest bouquet—not roses but tulips.“Those are fine.She likes yellow.”
Caleb was hyper-aware of Tate as he moved around the shop.Thankfully, it didn’t take long for him to have the tulips in Tate’s hands and Tate’s money in the cash register.He wasn’t surprised when Tate paid with cash, and he watched him leave.He didn’t breathe easier until the door closed behind Tate, but even after the man had vanished from sight, Caleb was still worried.
He hadn’t expected Tate to set the flower shop on fire after walking in to buy flowers, but there had to be a reason for him to have come in.
What was that reason?
* * * *
THE ONLY REASON AUSTINhadn’t run to the flower shop yet was that Caleb would have kicked his ass if he’d interrupted whatever was going on with Tate.Besides, it wasn’t like Tate was doing anything dangerous.He’d talked to Caleb and had bought flowers for his wife.That was it.
“He’ll be fine,” Jonathan murmured as they watched Tate leave the flower shop from the window of the room they were in.
“I know,” Austin told him.He did know.Tate was leaving the flower shop, and he hadn’t done or said anything weird as far as they knew.It hadn’t been easy to hear, even with the phone call with Caleb still connected.Austin, West, and Jonathan hadn’t wanted to make any noise so they wouldn’t get Tate’s attention, but Austin had been close to yelling in frustration several times.He hated that they couldn’t see inside the flower shop from where they were.He wouldn’t have known if Caleb needed him to intervene unless Caleb screamed, and that wasn’t something Austin wanted to experience.
But it was over.Tate walked away, and just seconds later, Caleb’s voice came through.“Guys?”
“You’re okay,” Jonathan said.
Caleb sounded a bit shaky, but that was understandable.“Yeah.I’m okay.”
“What happened?”Austin asked.
“Nothing much.He came in and said he wanted to buy flowers for his wife.I don’t think he was actually here for the flowers, but he did buy something before leaving.We talked a bit about the shop.”
“If this was one of his targets, he’d have investigated it.He probably knows you’re not usually there.”
“I told him Mrs.Kendricks was on vacation.”
“Did he buy it?”
“I don’t know.Does it matter?What’s he doing?”
“He dumped the flowers in the first trashcan he found,” West explained.He was listening to Caleb, but unlike Austin and Jonathan, he was more focused on what Tate was doing.
