Carlos didn’t want to be as relieved as he was. A boyfriend would only cause problems for him, because the guy would insist on going with them, and Eliana always got whatever she wanted.
Eliana shot him a look, pulling her braid from the back of her jacket. “Ready to go?”
“I am. Are you?” He wanted to ask which apartment hers was or whether she lived with an older woman. This was about Luci.
Eliana patted her pockets. “Shoot.”
He didn’t have to ask. She’d have to go back inside and he would go with her. He’d get a look at her place. “Forget something?”
“You suck.”
He grinned, but they both knew it was really gloating.
She went to the third door and used a key to enter. Not the usual thumb print entry or a typed-in code. Some places even had an app that unlocked the door when a person got close. No, this was one of those old brass keys of all things.
So analogue. He had to shake his head. “You told me to show up at someone else’s apartment?”
“You can come in,” she said. “I only need to grab my purse, though.”
True to her style, it was really a tiny backpack she slung over her head so it lay across her body with her personal belongings close to her front, keeping them secure. The cop in him appreciated the care she took with her personal safety. Especially living in a place like this.
“Had any trouble since you moved here?” he asked. “Chicago is a whole lot different than small-town Wyoming.”
“I like the feel of being surrounded by humanity. The press of people going about their lives. No one knows who I am.”
He followed her into the kitchen, trying not to look around like he was curious about where she lived—which he was. No TV on the wall. A couch covered with a throw, blankets, and multiple pillows. And a coffee table with a couple of low stacks of paperback books. That was as much as he could see before she lifted an insulated travel cup.
“Coffee?”
“Am I a cop?”
She used her machine to fill two. “Is drinking coffee part of the job description?”
“There’s a reason I started drinking it at the age of nine.” He’d known even back then he was destined for one thing. Much to his mom’s displeasure.
Thinking about her hurt still, even if it had been many years since her heart attack.
“Your mom?” she said softly.
He cleared his throat. “We should get going.”
Eliana slid her arm through his, and they walked to the door. “She would’ve been so proud seeing you take the oath and receive your shield. She would’ve grumbled later to your dadabout you being in danger, but she’d have a tissue in her hand in all the photos. And you know she’d have told all her Bible study lady friends about you, just in case they have eligible daughters.”
Carlos chuckled, but that last part wasn’t true. She’d been convinced Eliana was his soul mate, which was nonsense he didn’t believe in.
She got her front door secured, and they headed down to where he’d parked out front. He slid out his phone and unlocked the truck so she could get in the passenger side.
She looked up at him from the seat. “That app can be hacked, you know.”
Carlos thought she was cute. “Tuck your feet in.” He shut her door for her and went around to the driver’s side, sliding in behind the wheel. “So you’ve gone all analogue?”
“Not as far as some people, but aside from calls and messages, I watch a little TV on my tablet and that’s pretty much it.” She shrugged, sipping on her coffee. “I have an app that alerts me to any mention of my parents online. How else would I know how it’s going with their case?”
Carlos started the truck with a push of the button. “What about your groceries?”
“I go get them myself. For me and my neighbor, Patience.”
“Your bills?”
