“You’ve met him?” Rick asked.
“Well, now.” Garrett refilled his cup then topped off Wren’s. “The bigger question: Does he know you’re sleeping with his daughter?”
Rick coughed up his swallow of coffee. “Wait, that’s happening?”
“When did my private life become part of the case?” Wren didn’t agree to that at all.
“Dunno, but you’ve got to admit it’s pretty damn interesting.”
Rick pushed his files aside and leaned on the table. Shot Wren a let’s-be-serious expression. “Look—”
“Save the lecture.” Wren was absolutely not in the mood for another talk from anyone about his relationship with Emery. It was new and a bit fragile. Having third parties step in, well-meaning or not, guaranteed an early death. Sure, with his reclusive tendencies it had to end sometime. He just wasn’t ready for that to happen yet. “I’m not fooling around.”
“Then I’m confused.” Garrett didn’t even try to hide his grin. “What exactly are you doing with her?”
Wren decided to answer it as if it were a real question. “I’m not sure yet.”
“That sounds promising . . .” Rick frowned. “I think.”
“If you ask me, it sounds out of character.”
Wren didn’t remember asking Garrett to weigh in on his private life either. “Back to the case. We’re dealing with someone local or someone who is still here who knows something. The person heard Emery talking about restarting an investigation or is close enough to her to know it’s happening.”
He hated that she had a target on her. Someone sat out there for a long time, just waiting. Now they’d awoken and she would not be safe until Wren tracked the person down.
“The break-ins are connected and we all know it.” Rick nodded. “Now you’re thinking we need to rule out Tiffany’s dad, Emery’s dad or Tyler. Vet them.”
That sounded about right to Wren. He’d prioritize the people differently, but the order didn’t really matter.
Garrett whistled. “That’s a grim list.”
Wren didn’t like the tone. Garrett sounded serious and concerned. “What do you mean?”
“You tell Emery that any of those three men took Tiffany, men she’s close to, and you won’t have to worry about what you have with her because it will be over.” Garrett’s words hung there in the silence.
Wren turned them over and thought about them, but he didn’t have a choice. Not this time. “I promised her.”
“I’m just being realistic.” Garrett shrugged. “Like you are when your head’s not up your ass.”
Wren got the point, but he had one of his own. “I won’t lie to her.”
Garrett didn’t break eye contact. “I think you should be more worried about losing her.”
Wren was. Every damn day.
Emery watched Wren stab the meat on his plate. Mrs. Hayes had come in and out while they were at work, slogging through a long Monday. Emery never saw her, but the woman did fold and pile up Emery’s clothes. Also collected all of her things and put them in a basket in the bedroom. Also left behind a fancy dinner for them to heat up. That made Mrs. Hayes one of Emery’s favorite people on the planet. Potatoes and carrots. The entire house smelled like Christmas morning.
But Wren kept stabbing. He moved this piece here and that one over there. She actually felt sorry for the food.
She lowered her fork to the table. “Did the roast offend you?”
His head shot up. “What?”
“You’re picking at your dinner.” She glanced at the plate and the potato he had mashed into something that looked like oatmeal.
He shoved it to the side and put his elbows on the edge of the table. “I had a late lunch.”
A lie. She’d never really caught him in one before and this one seemed stupid. “No, you didn’t. I called, remember? You ate a salad at your desk.”
His eyes narrowed. “Did I tell you that?”
“Garrett did.” The only person who picked up Wren’s phone and sounded happy. Wren tended to bark his name over the line in greeting. Not the most pleasant hello.
“Why is he touching my phone?” Wren folded his cloth napkin and put it on the table.
“Even you need to go to the bathroom sometimes.” At least that’s the excuse Garrett gave her for answering what was supposed to be a private no-one-knows-about-this line. “He also gave me his direct work number and cell number, just in case I needed to find you and couldn’t.”
Wren hadn’t stopped frowning. “I’m not sure I like that.”
“It’s hard being around other humans, isn’t it?”
He pushed his chair back but didn’t get up. “Look, we need to talk about something.”
Her heart fell. She swore it tore away and took off in free-fall toward her feet. A wave of sadness hit right behind. She had to swallow twice and force lightness into her voice before she could talk. “Is it time?”
“For what?”