Page 103

Jesus Christ.

Swiping my keys off of the table, I grab her sweater off of the hook and follow her out. As I climb behind the wheel of the Bronco, she sulks in the passenger seat and I pass her the sweater but she just looks at it, refusing to take it. Rolling my eyes, I drop it onto the seat next to me. Her skirt rides up slightly but I ignore it as I pull the truck out of the driveway and reach across the seat, holding my hand out to her.

“You gonna be mad at me all day, baby?”

Her gaze flicks to me. “That depends. Are you gonna be a stubborn ass all damn day?”

“No, I’m done.”

Sighing, she slips her hand into mine and as I feel the tension leave her body, I pull her across the seat to me. She cuddles into my side and I press my lips to the top of her head, savoring the smell of her honeysuckle perfume. I’ve been acting like a maniac lately - extra possessive, over the top jealous, and not willing to let her out of my sight - and I know she doesn’t deserve this but I can’t shake this fear that I’m going to lose her. The worst part is, I don’t know how it’s going to happen so I feel like I have to cover all of my bases but it’s making me lose my mind and no matter how much she reassures me that she is good and that she is here to stay, I can’t help but think the worst.

“You ever been to Seattle, baby?” I ask and she looks up at me with a scowl on her face, her eyes searching mine.

“Seattle? No, why?”

I shrug. “Just wondering.”

“Well, if you’re planning a trip or something, pick somewhere else. I don’t want to go on vacation to a place that rains all the damn time.”

“Note taken,” I mutter as my mind spins. Is she lying to me? All this time that I’ve been following her, I haven’t seen anything that would make me think she is planning to leave me but that just leaves me with more questions. If she has nothing to do with the flowers at her work and the reservations in Seattle, then who could it be? As I stare out at the road in front of us, a theory pops into my mind and it’s so ridiculous that I shake my head but it still nags at me.

What if it’s the same person threatening the club?

“What are you thinking so hard about over there?” Piper asks and I glance down at her, forcing a smile to my face.

“Nothing, babe.”

I can feel her gaze on me as I glance up at the road again. “You doing okay?”

“Yeah, baby. I’m great,” I lie, hoping the smile I flash her this time is more convincing as I slow down and turn into the parking lot of the doctor’s office. She sighs but doesn’t say anything. I turn the truck off and get out of the truck before turning to help her down and she remains silent as she takes my hand. The silence makes me fucking nervous and I resist the urge to twitch as we walk into the doctor’s office and Piper walks up to the window.

“Can I help you?”

Piper smiles. “Yes. I have an appointment at ten thirty.”

“Piper Landry?”

Piper nods and the receptionist tells her she is all checked in and to have a seat in the waiting room. She doesn’t even glance back at me and I follow behind her, wishing I could get my shit together but I don’t see that happening anytime soon.

“Hey, babe,” I say and she stops, glancing back at me. I pull my phone out of my pocket and hold it up. “I’m gonna go make a quick phone call.”

“Just don’t take too long.”

Nodding, I turn away from her and walk back outside as I dial Streak’s number and put the phone to my ear. His annoyed groan greets me.

“What?”

I laugh. “Morning, sunshine.”

“Oh, shove it up your ass, Fuzz. I was up until five in the morning going over those fucking cases.”

“Speaking of which, you got anything new on those?”

“What the fuck do you think?” There is a pause before something crashes on his end of the line. “Jesus fuck. I mean, this is fucking hopeless. You know that, right? I’ve combed through these cases, you’ve combed through these cases, and I’m just not seeing anything that will help us. I talked to Rodriguez again today but he’s just as stumped as we are.”

Blowing out a breath, I run my hand through my hair. “Yeah…”

“I mean, there is evidence but it’s like only the evidence he wanted us to find. It’s just enough to drive us crazy but not nearly enough to get us anywhere.”