“Did something happen between the two of you when we got split up in the alleyways?” Katrina prompted when she didn’t say anything. “Something you didn’t tell me about?”
“No, nothing happened,” Talia said. “At least, not that I remember. It was all so confusing. Just a lot of running and hiding, darkness and loud noises. I went where he pointed me and tried not to scream too much. But when we walked into the living room of Kyla’s safe house after cleaning up, it was like I’d done something to upset him. He wouldn’t even look in my direction the whole time we were talking about finding Anna. And when we were getting ready to leave, he barely responded to my kiss goodnight and didn’t say anything about calling me later.”
Katrina grimaced. “Yeah, that’s pretty much the way I saw it too.”
“I thought things were going well between us,” Talia said with a sigh. “When we made the decision to start sleeping together, we sort of had unspoken agreement to put a pin in those issues standing in the way of a long-term relationship, mostly my concerns about his work. But maybe that was a bad idea. Wishful thinking probably isn’t the best way to deal with a problem.”
“So you think that’s what this is?” Katrina pressed. “That Lennox suddenly doesn’t want to be together with you anymore? Why not and why now?”
“I don’t know.” Talia felt a crushing sensation deep in her chest that threatened to overwhelm her. “Maybe now that we’ve slept together, he’s bored with me.”
Okay, that sounded pathetic when she said it out loud.
“Oh, please!” Katrina let out a snort of derision. “I know you don’t seriously believe that. If Lennox was the hit-it-and-quit-it type, you would never have slept with him to begin with. There’s obviously another reason he’s trying to push you away.”
Talia had already wasted so much time on that very question it wasn’t funny. “All I can think is that how I reacted to everything that happened last night convinced Lennox that I can’t handle the dangerous world he lives in. He’s choosing to walk away because he thinks that’s what’s best for me.”
“Is he right?” Katrina asked. “Would it be best if you two stopped seeing each other now before you get deeper in the feels?”
Tears sprang to her eyes. “Maybe. It would probably save me a lot of pain in the long run.”
“But is it what youwant?” Katrina pressed. “We’ve had this conversation more than a few times but like I’ve said before, sometimes life is more about what you need than what’s good for you. Do you honestly want to let Lennox walk away?”
Talia knew the answer in her heart but saying the words out loud seemed impossible. So, she simply resorted to shaking her head, even as tears slipped down her cheeks. Katrina moved closer to pull her into a hug.
“If there’s any chance for this thing to work between you and Lennox, you’re going to have to tell him how you feel,” her friend said softly. “Sex is great and all, but it doesn’t take the place of a real conversation. You need to say the things that need to be said.”
Talia was going to ask when her friend had become so wise, but the sound of a car door closing followed by the clattering of little girl footsteps interrupted her. Maria’s parents were watching her older sister’s ballet performance tonight, so they dropped the girls off on the way. Talia barely had time to wipe the tears from her face before Maria and Beverly ran into the living room, squealing in delight as they saw the pile of blankets and pillows in front of the TV.
“Where’s Lennox?” Maria asked, looking around as she jumped up and down excitedly. “He’s going to be here, right? He promised.”
Talia kept her face turned away for a few more seconds, wiping away the last of the tears, before smiling down at her precious little princess. “He promised, so yes, he’ll be here. Let’s start the movie and you can catch him up when he arrives.”
Talia was afraid Maria would ask why her eyes were puffy and why Lennox wasn’t already there, but thankfully, she grabbed a handful of popcorn and flopped down on the floor beside Beverly, a big smile on her face as she asked what movie they were going to watch first.
CHAPTER TWENTY
They were thirty minutes into the firstPaw Patrolmovie—Maria and Beverly lying on the floor while Talia and Katrina sat on the couch—when Talia accepted that Lennox wouldn’t be joining them. The weight that had been sitting on her chest doubled, threatening to stop her heart from beating. Regardless of his decision to take a step back from their relationship, she never thought he’d hurt Maria like this. Then again, maybe she didn’t know him nearly as well as she’d thought.
Since she muted the sound on her phone earlier to avoid interrupting the movie, Talia almost missed the humming vibration on the couch beside her. She eagerly reached for it, hoping it was Lennox texting to let her know that he was on the way. But instead, it was a text from security at the gate.
CODE BLUE
She sat up quickly, tapping on the notification to expand it, praying she’d see the word EXERCISE somewhere in the message. But there was nothing other than those two words—words that suddenly had her heart thumping out of control.
“What’s wrong?” Katrina asked softly, clearly picking up on Talia’s distress.
“Security alert.” Grabbing the remote, she turned off the TV. “Maria, Code Blue. We need to get to the safe room in the main house. Take Beverly’s hand and don’t let go.”
It said a lot about the training security made them do on a regular basis that Maria jumped up without complaint and took Beverly’s hand, running for the back door.
“What’s going on?” Katrina asked as she hurried to keep up, frowning as Talia stopped by the kitchen pantry to grab the emergency backpack. “What does Code Blue mean?”
Ignoring the question, Talia put one hand on Maria’s shoulder and the other on Beverly’s, then moved around them to step outside and look around. Satisfied that there was no one around, she turned and brought the girls out, nudging them toward the woods that ran along the left side of the cottage. Beverly had tears on her face now, but she was still following Maria’s lead.
“Straight through the garden and into the wood line,” Talia told Maria softly. “Stay low and quiet, just like we practiced.”
Maria tightened her grip on Beverly’s hand and ran in that direction, leaning over and staying low, just like they’d been taught. Motioning for Katrina to follow, Talia headed after them.
