“You, Rose Strickland, are turning into a criminal. And I’d like to take a little credit for that.”
I laughed and started the car. “I need to stop by the police station.”
Roxy snorted. “Gonna turn yourself in?”
“I have to get a copy of the police report from last night. My landlord needs it.”
Ten minutes later, I parked across from the police station and pulled Sheila Graystone’s bank statement from my purse. I held it in my hands and stared at it. I felt weird about taking it, but I had to know what kind of trouble Pack was in.
Roxy tapped her finger on the plastic bag window. “You hoping the information will jump into your head or are you going to open the damn thing?”
“I suppose I should, since I went to the trouble of stealing it.” I squared my shoulders and ripped the flap, pulling out the piece of paper inside. “Wow.”
She leaned over and peeked at it. “What? What’s it say?”
“They’re overdrafted to the tune of fourteen thousand dollars. That’s a lot of money.”
“No shit,” Roxy said.
“And the rest of their mail? All credit card bills.”
“He makes a butt-load of cash though, right? I mean he’s a doctor, and all.”
“A doctor who is in debt up to his eyeballs.” I shoved the statement back in the envelope, and stuck the whole thing in my glove box. Although I felt guilty for stealing Sheila’s mail, getting Axton back was more important than mail theft. Well, maybe not to the postal service.
Roxy and I walked into the police station and up to the reception desk. I was beginning to know my way around here and that probably wasn’t a good thing.
Officer Delany, whom I spoke to on my first visit, was on duty. Her gaze swept over me, then moved to Roxy. Her bored expression didn’t change. “Can I help you?”
“I’m here for a police report. Someone broke into my apartment last night.”
“What was the name of the officer who responded to your call?”
“I don’t remember. I wasn’t paying attention.” I think I was in shock the night before. Watching the police, my neighbors, seeing my things broken and scattered, had left me numb. It wasn’t until Roxy arrived with her cleaning supplies that I woke up from what seemed like a really bad dream.
Officer Delany sighed. “Wait over there and someone will be with you shortly.” She gestured to a small room across the hall. It had a vending machine and four black padded chairs.
Roxy sat and texted while I wandered around. Cops may not care about Axton or all of my worldly possessions being trashed, but apparently they loved softball. Years’ worth of team photos covered the walls. My gaze drifted over last year’s picture. Police Chief, Martin Mathers, held a trophy in one hand. His other arm was thrown around the shoulder of a grinning Officer Andre Thomas. The two looked very chummy. Roxy was right. Officer Thomas might not be on the hard drive list, but he could be doing dirty work for his softball buddy.
Speak of the hardass, five minutes later he walked into the room. My life just kept getting better and better.
He hooked his thumbs in his belt. “Well, Miss Strickland. Seems you can’t stay out of trouble.” He gazed briefly at Roxy before staring me down, like if he looked at me hard enough, I’d confess all my sins.
Roxy lowered her phone and snorted. “Yeah, like it was her fault.”
“Have any ideas on who would do that, Miss Strickland?”
Yeah, I could come up with a few names, and his just leaped to the top of the queue. “No. I don’t.”
He raised one brow and continued to stare.
“You know what?” I said. “I don’t have the energy to argue with you today, so can I just get the report?”
“Come with me.”
Roxy rolled her eyes and went back to texting, while I followed him to his corner cubicle.
He typed something into the computer and grabbed a piece of paper from his copier. “Read this over, make sure all the information is correct.”
I read through everything I had told the police the night before. “It is.” I hitched my bag up on my shoulder and turned to leave.
“Miss Strickland.”
I faced him.
“It seems like large pieces are missing from your story. Is there anything you’d like to tell me?”
I peered at the ceiling, my brow furrowed as I pretended to think. Then I looked back at him with a blank expression. “Nope.” My eyes lowered and snagged on a gold pen sitting on his desk blotter. I’d been seeing a lot of those lately.
I marched forward and grabbed it. “Where did you get this?”
He frowned. “Why?”
I rolled the pen in my fingers. Dane and Manny. They both had pens just like this one.
“Miss Strickland?”
He stared at me like I’d lost my shit. Maybe I had, because I was starting to think everything was a conspiracy. I dropped the pen on the desk and left his cubicle. I couldn’t even think straight. I was a paranoid, frazzled mess.
I made it to the front of the building without getting lost this time. Roxy saw me and hopped up, following me outside.
Before I could cross the street to my car, someone called my name. I turned around and saw Dane in front of the City Hall. With a briefcase in one hand and a phone in the other, he jogged toward us.
“My God, Rose, I just got a call from Andre. He says someone broke into your apartment.”
I hadn’t seen Dane since the other morning in the diner. And my conversation with Roxy had me second guessing his motives about helping me. Was he one of Sullivan’s lackeys sent to spy on me?
“Yeah,” Roxy said, “someone trashed everything she owns.”
“Are you all right?” Dane frowned, little lines creased his forehead.
“Yeah. I was out when it happened.”
His blue gaze scanned me. Then he suddenly dropped his briefcase pulled me to him, buried his face in my hair. “What if you had been home? You could have been hurt. God, you could have been killed.”
“I’m going to go sit in the car, now,” Roxy said.
He pulled back and cupped my cheek with his palm. “Rose.”
My heart skipped two beats. I wanted to believe he was genuinely concerned for me, and not there because of Sullivan. “I’m fine.” I bit my lip as he continued to scrutinize me. “Really, Dane, I’m okay.”
He hugged me again. My arms crept around his waist and hugged back. He tucked my head under his chin, stroking my hair. It felt foreign to be comforted by someone. It felt…good.
When we pulled away, I wiped at my eyes, and did that little not-a-real-laugh-just-an-awkward-pseudo-laugh. “So,” I said, staring at the white gazebo in the park across the street. The afternoon light was fading, leaving orange and pink streaks across the sky.
Dane cleared his throat and shoved his hands in his pockets. “Who do you think did this?”
My eyes met his. “I think it may have been Sullivan.”
“Who the hell is Sullivan?” His look of angry confusion seemed real. If Dane was in collusion with Sullivan, then I was my parents’ favorite daughter. Or he was an amazing actor. In that moment, a weight lifted off my shoulders and I believed Dane was for real.
“Who is Sullivan?” His mouth twisted into a frown, and there wasn’t a hint of dimple in sight.
“Oh, um, the guy who broke into my apartment. You know, BJ.”
“You know his real name?”
“Yeah.”
“Have you seen him again?”
Should I lie and have a guilty conscience or tell the truth and let Dane drag me back to see Officer Hardass? “No, I just figured it out.” I waved my hand like it was no big deal. But Dane was a better lawyer than I was a liar.
“Like hell. You have seen him again. When? Where?”
“Calm down. I found his phone number, okay? That’s how I know his name.” I looked him right in the eye as I said it. It was the truth. Just not all of it.
“Where did you find his phone number?”
I huffed in exaggerated annoyance. “I’m not on the witness stand here. I’ve been through a horrible experience and you’re questioning me like Officer Thomas did. What the hell?”
He pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’m sorry, I’m just worried.”
“Okay.”
“Look at me,” he said. “Things are getting dangerous. You can’t go around asking any more questions. This Sullivan guy did this because you identified him. Think of yourself, of your own safety. Let the police find Axton.”
He looked so concerned, so sincere. “You may be right, but the police aren’t as interested in Axton as they should be.”
“They’ll find him.” He rubbed my arm with one hand. “Try not to worry.”
“Sure.” I nodded, absently. I wanted to believe him, I just didn’t.
Dane smiled. “Good. Now until the police find Axton, maybe you should stay with your parents or your sister.”
“That’s an idea.”
He leaned forward and kissed my forehead. “Let me take you out to dinner tonight, hmm?”
I put my hand on his chest. “I can’t.”
“I’ll call you tomorrow?”
I realized Dane was the type of person who heard what he wanted to hear. And he wanted to hear I would stop searching for Ax so he didn’t have to worry about me.
I felt a twinge of sadness as I made my way to the car.
When I got home, I went to the bathroom, and after washing my hands, realized I didn’t have any towels to wipe my hands on. I held up my dripping fingers and heard a ping at my window. Then another. I pulled the curtains aside and saw Kevin standing in the side yard beneath my window. A yellow halo from streetlight bathed him in a florescent glow and he held a toaster-sized CD player above his head.
“Oh, dear Lord, why me?”
“Rose,” Kevin called.
I unlocked and opened the window. “What are you doing?”
He pushed a button on the CD player. A TurkeyJerk song blared. “Hang on. That’s the wrong song.” He fiddled with the buttons some more.
I grabbed a brand new used sweatshirt and pulled it on as I hustled out of my apartment and down the stairs, wiping my hands on the seat of my pants. By the time I made it outside, Kevin had another song going. Once again, he raised the CD player over his head.
“This is just like the movies and this song represents how I feel about you.” Bret Michaels sang about roses and thorns. I rolled my eyes so hard it actually hurt.
“Turn it off,” I yelled over the music.
“Huh?”
Kevin was much taller than me, but nevertheless, after a little scuffling, I pried the player out of his hands and pushed the power button. “What is wrong with you?” I asked.
“I’m crazy in love with you. I got a new tattoo to prove it.” He lifted up his t-shirt. He’d gotten a rose inked over his left pec. Blood dripped from the thorn.
“Kevin.” I took a deep, deep breath, and tried really hard to be patient. “I don’t love you. We only went out for three short weeks. For the last time, leave me alone. If you contact me again, I’m going to call the police.” Even though I didn’t think the police would do anything, it was a good threat.
He looked at me with sad blue eyes. “But we’re destined to be together, you and me.”
I rubbed a hand over my face as I moaned. “Did you break into my apartment and trash my stuff?”
He gasped. “God no.” Either Kevin was a great liar — which I doubted — or he was genuinely shocked. Or maybe I was a crappy judge of facial expressions. Seemed like I believed everyone’s shock.
He reached out to touch me. “I would never do anything to hurt you. Did you call the police?”
“Yeah.”
“You need a bodyguard.” He stepped closer. “I will guard your body twenty-four seven. You can count on me.”
I stepped back and almost tripped. “No, I don’t want you guarding me. I want you out of my life. I don’t know how to make that any clearer.”
“Hey.” A voice called. Dane walked around the corner from the parking lot, his gaze flitting between Kevin and me. “What’s he doing here, Rose?”
I shoved Kevin’s CD player at him. “He was just leaving.”
“I will always love you,” he whispered. “Always.”
I hated to be derisive of Kevin’s feelings, but we only had a handful of dates. We had nothing in common. We were sparkless, sizzle-free, flat. His attachment to me was odd and a little disturbing.
“If you love me, then you’ll respect my wishes and leave me alone.”
“Is it because of him?” He gestured at Dane with his chin. “You can’t want this guy. He’s a suit. You’ll never be happy with him. I can make you happy if you’ll let me.”
Dane’s face was a tight mask. “She wants you to leave her alone. Now get the hell out of here. If you bother her again, we’re going to file an injunction. Understand?”
Kevin gave Dane a nasty look. “Whatever you need, Rose. I’ll always be there for you.” With his CD player in one hand, he flipped Dane off with the other and left.
Dane thrust his hands in the pockets of his trousers. “Tell me again why you dated him.”
“He had on tight pants and I had too many margaritas.”
He shook his head. “I’ve been trying to call you for the last two hours.”
“I haven’t had a chance to charge my phone.”
“I thought you were going to go stay with your parents, or Jacqueline. They haven’t seen or heard from you and they had no idea your apartment had been vandalized.”
“Excuse me?” I stood there, glaring at him with my jaw on my chest. “You called them?”
“Let’s go inside and discuss this.” He put his hand under my elbow to lead me away.
I jerked my arm out of his grasp. “You had no right to call my family or tell them my business. Why did you do that?”
He bent toward me, his brows knit, his lips thinned into a straight line. “I had every right. I’m concerned about you. Why didn’t you tell them about the break in?”
“Because I didn’t want to worry them,” I said. “And it wasn’t your place to say anything. You didn’t want to help me when I needed it. Too afraid of people like the Chief of Police and your boss. You can’t get involved when it’s convenient and blow me off when it’s not.”
“Is that what you think I’m doing? Because none of this has been convenient. I care about you and I’m worried about your safety.” He continued to glare at me. “You said you’d let the police look for Axton. Was that a lie?”
I scoffed. “Of course it was. And if you knew me at all, you’d have known that. You just heard what you wanted to hear.”
Dane turned away, watched a few cars drive by, their headlights whizzing past in the dark. He inhaled before glancing back at me. “I think you’re being self-destructive. You’re diving into danger head first and you don’t even care. This Sullivan character could hurt you.”
“Then I better get to Axton before that can happen.”
“I can’t do this anymore. You’re on your own.” He held up his hands.
“Fine.”
“Fine.”
He turned around and left.
I stood there next to my shabby little apartment building and felt more alone than ever.