He looked down at his lap where he was twisting his hands. I reached over and gently squeezed his thigh. “It’s goin’ to be okay, mo mhuirnín.”
“You should have come to me right away,” Candy said gruffly.
Guilt washed over and through me. He’d always been more of a mate and mentor than a boss to me. I should have trusted him with the whole story but at the same time, I’d wanted to protect the quiet, gentle bear of a man seated beside me. He was a bloody mathematician, for Christ’s sake, not some criminal.
“I know, boss.”
“And you should have told us too,” Mike said. He exchanged a look with Cassidy before turning back to us. “But we understand why you didn’t.”
“We’ll need a statement about the break-in from both of you and as long as you’re cooperative, the things you tell us won’t end up in a police report,” Cassidy said. His slight smile made me let out a relieved sigh. “We need to know where that car is parked so that we can have it fingerprinted. We might be able to figure out who those men were who chased you, Mr. Chaudry. Do you understand?”
“Yes, of course. I’ll cooperate any way I can.” He looked at Candy and then around the room at my brothers. “I’m so sorry that all of you had to go to so much trouble on my behalf, but most of all, I’m sorry to you, Patsy.” When his eyes filled with tears, I reached for his hand and squeezed it hard, not caring what the others thought.
“It’s okay. I’m not in any trouble.” I glanced at Candy whose expression had softened a bit. He was still angry, but at least I knew he wasn’t going to do something terrible like suspend me.
“We’ll talk about this privately, Good,” he said, glancing around the room. “Okay, you can all go…everyone but Monroe, Clifford, Good, and Way. You all have reports to write. Good, you and Monroe need to get with Cassidy and Mike’s sketch artist as soon as humanly possible.”
“We’ll set up something for tomorrow morning,” Mike said.
“Okay,” Candy said, pounding the table. “Everyone else is dismissed.”
As the others stood up, I noticed how sad Wes looked. “It’s goin’ to be okay. We’ll work all this out.” When he nodded, I said, “I’m goin’ to be a wee while. I can have someone drop ya off home.”
“Would it be okay if I hung out here to wait for you?” he asked.
“I have a report to write,” I said, “but ya can wait if ya want.”
He smiled at me. “Yes, thank you, Patsy.”
I was thinking everyone in the vicinity could surely hear the way my heart fluttered as I slowly smiled back.
Chapter Thirteen
WES
I was dozing with my head down on my crossed arms when someone shook me awake. I looked up to find Patsy standing over me wearing an amused expression. His hand was on my shoulder. “Ya ready to go?”
I blinked a couple of times and sat up straight, wiping drool away from my mouth as I glanced around the room, trying to get my bearings. The realization that I’d somehow fallen asleep after everyone left the room and Patsy had gone off to write his report made me flush with embarrassment. I must’ve looked confused because he reached for the top of my head and smoothed a callused palm over the top of it.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing…sorry,” I said, leaning back until he dropped his hand. “Forgot where I was for a second. I don’t know how I fell asleep. One minute I was daydreaming and the next, here you are, waking me up.” I scrubbed both hands over my face to wipe away the final traces of sleep.
“I’m not surprised yer sleepy. Adrenaline letdown. Come on, Wes,” he urged. “Ya must be hungry too.”
I stood, rubbing a palm over my belly. “Maybe…I don’t know. I ate a lot of pizza. What time is it?”
He glanced at his dive watch. “Nearly seven.”
“Oh, man.” I clasped my hands, lifting them over my head and stretching so far back, I felt the cold air on my belly.
It didn’t escape my notice how Patsy’s gaze was laser focused on the narrow strip of skin that showed then blushed when he realized he’d been caught staring. He quickly broke eye contact and cleared his throat, deliberately looking away as he made a sweeping gesture toward the door. “Come on,” he said, leading the way out of the room. “It’s been a long day for me too.”
I couldn’t help but grin at his reaction, but I kept silent, following him through the office, and nodding at a couple of the guys on his team who acknowledged me with curious looks as we walked past their desks. I felt like all eyes were on me, so I was relieved when we finally stepped through the double glass doors in the reception area and headed to the bank of elevators on this floor.
We silently rode the elevator downstairs. So much had happened since Patsy had walked out of the house this morning on his way to see the psychologist, most of it terrifying. I was a mathematician for God’s sake, not someone who was used to being chased by thugs, and if the detectives were right, murderers. I longed for the day when I could once again sit at a desk and just run my data.
I really hoped Patsy’s teammates believed I had nothing to do with the murder. I was grateful Patsy’s friend, Rex, had seen the men who’d followed me onto the roof this afternoon, but I was also relieved they were clearing me as a suspect in front of Patsy’s whole team. The threat of being arrested for committing a terrible crime had been hanging over my head ever since they’d shown me the police artist’s sketch. I hadn’t realized how worrying it’d been until just now.
