Grayson grunted. “Was she the one who found him?”
“No,” Humbly answered, sighing. “A couple walking their dog did. They rented a beach house for the week.”
Just then, I heard the water upstairs cut off.
I lifted my chin to my team, my gaze locking with Hayes. “Be back in a few,” I muttered.
As I headed back into the foyer, the floorboards creaked. It was still raining outside, and there was another round of thunderstorms on the way, set to last through the night. At the base of the stairs, I made the decision to sleep on her couch tonight. Angel would be too stubborn to let any of the girls come over, but she wouldn’t deny me. Not after what happened on the beach. I looked up to the top step, staring at the black and white photo of the cliffside, the water crashing against the rocks. Thesoft padding of her footsteps filled my ears, and I climbed the stairs, needing a quiet second with her before I sent her to talk to the police.
The last thing I wanted was for her to be overwhelmed.
At the top of the stairs, I looked left and found three doors. To the right, there was a long hallway. Halfway down, I found a small bathroom. White. Crisp. Clean. Everything was perfect. Something stirred inside me, but I shoved it down quickly, ignoring the anxiety prickling the back of my neck.
I don’t need to worry about me right now.
I moved farther down, stopping outside the light blue door that stood ajar at the end of the hall. “Angel?” I called, lightly tapping on the door.
Nothing. Not even a whimper.
Fuck.
“Angel, I’m just checking on you,” I reassured, silently cursing myself for coming upstairs uninvited. “You all right?”
I got an answer. Soft, weak, and dripping with exhaustion. “Come in.”
With my hand on the door, I pushed it open to find her in nothing but a towel, her hair—sopping wet—still in a hair tie, sitting on the edge of her four-poster bed. She had sheer cream curtains draped across the top, creating a canopy of sorts. There wasn’t a single pillow out of the place, the quilt and sheets pulled tight, aside from the dip at the end of the mattress where she was sitting. I watched with a tight jaw as water droplets trickled down the side of her delicate neck, her skin red and steaming. She didn’t look at me. Instead, she was staring straight ahead at her bookcases, zoned out.
Fucking shit.
I moved, crouching in front of her, putting my hand beside hers on the bed. “Hey, beautiful,” I whispered. “Look at me.” Her honey eyes flicked down to me, and my mouth went dry, mybody recognizing how close I was to her, how good she smelled…fucking Christ. “How are you doing?”
“Not good.”
My hand covered hers. “I’m sorry,” I said roughly. “I’m so sorry this happened to you.”
She flinched. “He was my friend.”
I clamped my jaw shut, feeling it jump under my skin. I hated seeing her like this. She was happy. Finally happy. “Tell me what I can do,” I softly begged, lacing her fingers through mine. “What can I do to help you right now? What do you need?”
“I have to get this ponytail out of my hair,” she sighed, starting to rise.
I rose up. “Let me,” I offered, my hands going to her hair.
She let out a sound somewhere between a scoff and a laugh. Soft. Half-hearted. “Do you know anything about hair ties?”
As I began working the band, careful not to yank on her hair too hard, I said, “I grew up with a lot of girl cousins. I was the only boy in the family. They would dress me up, paint my toenails, and force me to wear glitter Barbie lipstick when all I really wanted to do was go outside and play basketball.” I pulled the little band away as her heavy hair fell.
Her eyes bounced back and forth between me and the hair tie. “I’m impressed.”
My lips twitched. “You can thank my cousin Mandy for that. If you ever need your hair braided, I’m your man.”
Those beautiful lips turned up and stretched across her face, spreading into a breathtaking smile. After this morning, I thought I’d never see it again. “Ash, my big, strong hero, braiding my hair,” she laughed. “What a picture.”
I swallowed as other mental pictures of us that I had stored away tried to pop up. She was staring up at me with her gorgeous eyes, wild wet hair, her face just inches from my belt…
Snap out of it, Doss.
Clearing my throat, I stepped back and ran a hand through my damp hair. “I’ll let you get dressed. I just wanted to check on you.” I turned and started making my way to the door.
