Page 3 of Ever After
“Any idea what they would want?”
She sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose, dropping her head. “Well, since they won’t get opioids from me, my guess would be information?”
I raise my eyebrow at her. “Your guess?”
She huffs and rolls her eyes. “Listen, Grayson, this is a lot for me to take in, and now I have my secretary, Allie, to call, and patients to reschedule. Do you know how long until I can have my office space back in working order?”
“It’s going to probably be at least a week. I’ll be by with paperwork and a warrant for information within that time frame.”
I pull out my business card and hand it to her. She looks down at the information, looks back up at me, and when I nudge it closer toward her, she finally accepts it.
“Give me a call if you can remember anything else, but in the meantime, I’m going to need your contact information so I can get in touch with you.” I snatch one of her business cards off the floor and hand it to her. “Give me your cell so I can reach you directly.”
She narrows her eyes at me, but when I point to the card again, she huffs and scribbles her number on the card before handing it back to me.
“Anything else?” She looks like she could burn a hole through me. She’s pissed, I see the fire in her eyes, and I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t a turn on. Images of her pinned under me flash through my mind, and I shake my head to rid the thoughts.
“I’ll be in touch.” I turn and walk away from her before I can see the look on her face.
Katie and I were on a break when I asked Finley to prom. When we arrived, Katie wanted to talk and dragged me to the dance floor. I was a horny high school kid. It’s not like I could ignore that. I let Finley know I would be back in a few minutes, but Katie made sure I stayed busy for most of the night.
When I finally made my way back to her, she had hitched a ride home with some friends. Katie and I broke up after that night, and I was too ashamed to reach out to Finley to give her a true apology. No one needed to know Katie had me wrapped around her pinky. Looking at the woman she’s become now, I wish I hadn’t been such an idiot then.
I finish my notes around the crime scene, and my partner, Detective Amelia Shaw, is by my side. She closes her notepad and taps the pen on the cover. “Did she give us anything to work with?”
I shake my head. “No, she wasn’t willing to give any information without a warrant. She has no idea who would’ve broken in. According to her, the only thing they could have possibly wanted was medical records, and all of those are kept on her computer. It appears she takes it home with her every night.”
I pocket the notepad in my worn jeans and look in Finley’s direction again. She’s talking with a petite, older woman, who keeps blotting her eyes with a tissue.
“Come on, not much else we can do. Let’s head back to the office and try to sort through this. I think this is connected to the old Genova case I’m working on, too.”
Amelia sighs, and I know what she’s going to say before she even starts.
“Buddy, you gotta let that old case go. It went dark months ago. You haven’t gotten anything new, and the man’s clean as a whistle.” She shakes her head, the wrinkles on her face pulled taut from the tight bun on top of her head.
“Well, he’s dead now. Good guys don’t get murdered for no reason. He’s got some big secret, and I’m going to figure it out. I’m close. I’m just waiting for someone to fuck up.”
Finley doesn’t know I’ve been watching her for the past year. When I started digging into Nick Genova’s business dealings, I saw large payments being made to her. Originally, I thought she was in on everything, but after a few stakeouts outside her office, I ruled her out. He has—had—a standing appointment with her. Every Tuesday at lunchtime, he would meet with her and stay for an hour. Amelia has no clue I have been watching her. If she did, my badge would be gone.
Just because he’s gone doesn’t mean the problem is.
Chapter Two
Finley
Will this day ever end?
Allie and I have spent the majority of the day calling all my patients. I had a few that were willing to have our appointment over the phone to get stuff off their chest. The rest of my patients for the week said they understood and wished me luck in getting everything put back together.
The cops won’t allow me to touch anything in the office, not even to organize the place, so I’m working from home. I’ve been in touch with the landlord to get the door fixed, and I still have to call the alarm company to find out why it didn’t go off. I was the last one to leave the office last night, and IknowI set it. I’m paying these people enough money; the damn thing should work when I need it to.
Finally, around eight at night, I close the top to my computer and run a nice hot bath. I need to get my mind off things. I undress and dip a toe into the water, testing the temperature.Perfect.I sink into the hot, soothing water. I take a few deep breaths and close my eyes. The tension leaves my muscles, the longer I soak.
I finally feel my shoulders aren’t up to my ears, then Grayson’s face takes shape behind my eyelids and I pop them open. He’s the last person I need to be thinking about. I can’t believe he’s working the case.It’s just my luck, really. My body tenses the more I think about him and his perfect hair and smile to match.
I figured he would have moved out of state and be working as a high school football coach or something. I remember hearing the news he enlisted in the Marines right out of high school. He always did enjoy a team environment. A small smile tugs at my lips as I think about him. He’s grown more handsome with age. He’s a lot bigger now—broad shoulders, large biceps, and I assume a perfect set of washboard abs. I lick my lips and clench my thighs together, the longer I think about him and what it would feel like to be wrapped in his perfect arms.
It really isn’t fair. I slap the top of the water in annoyance and try to relax once more.