Page 23

“Fine, really. Just mundane stuff with the task force. Interviewing witnesses. Reading through dry police reports. Doing research for a suppression hearing I’ve got next week in a domestic assault case.”

“Well, that sounds dull as dirt,” he said, pushing himself off the desk. We made our way to the bedroom and retreated to our own corners. Lock loosened his tie. Peeled off his dress shirt and slipped into a pair of track pants and a T-shirt. I did the same, trading what was left of my suit for yoga pants and a tank top.

I sat on the bed, twisting my hair into a topknot and sliding a clip through it. Lock plopped down beside me.

“Turn around,” he said.

I did. He started working the knots out of my shoulders. I let out a sinful moan.

I saw his face in the full-length mirror in the corner. Deep lines creased his brow.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

His hands froze. “I got called to the ER this morning.”

“One of the boys?”

“Terrence Shannon,” he answered.

I racked my brain, then hit upon the memory. “Terrence,” I repeated. “You were going to pick him for the scholarship.”

“He OD’d last night,” Lock said.

I rested my chin on his shoulder. “How? I mean… did he bring something in?”

Lock shook his head. “He left the home yesterday morning. Apparently hooked up with some friends. All three of them ended up in the hospital. This one’s probably going to land on your desk at some point. The cops have already managed to find the dealer.”

“I may have to recuse myself if the victims came from Bennett’s Place.”

“I hope not,” he said. “I probably shouldn’t have even said anything. I just… I thought we were getting through to Terrence.”

“You know how this goes. It’s never linear. Boys like Terrence are going to try to fail and fail again. One step up, two steps sideways, remember?”

He twisted so he could face me. “Hey, that’s my line.”

“You can’t take it personally every time one of these boys messes up, Lock. They’re human. So are you.”

He got that dark look in his eyes again. I knew what he was thinking. That photograph he kept in his office of those first boys who didn’t make it. The one Eli used to remind me how much more he knew about Lock’s history than I did. I felt guilty for even having that thought. Once again, I probably just let my own paranoia and insecurity creep in. Eli wasn’t lording anything over me. He was expressing concern about his friend.

“I wish you’d told me about the boys who lived in the house with you,” I said. If I was honest with myself, it was one of the things making me worried about whatever secrets he was hiding.

“How did you know about that?”

“Eli mentioned it.”

“To you? Why? And what was going on between the two of you yesterday? I walked in on something. Did you argue?”

I debated not telling him. But how could I keep something from him when his lies were what was fracturing us right now?

“I walked in on Eli and the event planner in a compromising position.” I studied Lock. If he was this WhisprMatch suspect, he’d have been cheating on me for years. Did he approve of what Eli was doing? Worse, did he know? “I told Eli I thought it was inappropriate. He disagreed.”

Lock’s face fell. “Eli would screw a garden hose if he could figure out how. I’ll talk to him.”

“Please don’t. He asked me not to tell you. He doesn’t want to disappoint you. Despite what a cad he can be, he loves you. That makes him important to me too. I don’t want him to feel like I tattled on him.”

“He shouldn’t have put you in that position. I can forgive him everything except upsetting you. I can’t let that stand, baby.” Darkness flashed in his eyes. But I wondered if this meant he knew Eli was cheating, if he allowed his friend to do it. If he could forgive Eli so easily for breaking his vows to Piper, did that mean he could break the ones he’d made to me?

“Just try not to put me in the middle. Not that Piper is that big a fan of mine, but I don’t like feeling like I’m aiding and abetting her husband’s infidelity.”