Page 40 of Say Yes to the Death

Detective Smith came over, apparently unconcerned by Luke’s new shirtlessness, and assured her that he would call if they found anything. He gave her permission to leave. Sawyer said he would make sure the place was locked up tight. As strange as it was to leave four people alone in her apartment, she didn’t have much of a choice. She looped Rosie’s leash around her wrist and followed Luke downstairs. For once, he didn’t try to coerce her into using the spooky death trap elevator.

“I’m driving,” Luke said.

“Whatever.” The day was catching up with her, and she could barely keep her eyes open as she climbed into Luke’s car.

Rosie refused to sit in the back seat and insisted on perching on Claire’s lap. She hugged the dog to her chest and scratched her behind the ears as the city flashed by.

Luke’s eyebrows were knit together. Something was clearly bothering him, and the quiet hung heavy between them.

“Your nipples are looking particularly brown this evening,” Claire said as they paused at a red light, bathed in the unflattering yellow neon from a bar sign.

“Why did you call Sawyer?” he asked.

“What do you mean?”

“You called him instead of me.”

“I didn’t call him. I hit the panic button on the security system.”

“Oh.”

There was silence for several more minutes as Luke drove. A club passed by the window, thumping with electronic dance music. The streets were mostly empty at this time of night, but a group of teenagers perched on a bench.

“But you still didn’t call me,” he said as they passed the city limits. His hands tightened on the leather steering wheel.

She stared at him. “Do you not remember three hours ago when you refused to tell me the truth about your brother?”

He looked back at her. “Why didn’t you ever tell me about your dad?”

She glanced at the speedometer. How many injuries would she sustain if she jumped out of the car? What were a few more bangs and bruises? She was already covered from head to toe. “You met Roy at the hospital.”

“Your bio-dad,” Luke corrected.

“Because he’s a piece of human garbage who isn’t worth the breath it would take to explain him.”

Luke sighed and tapped his thumb on the steering wheel. “So is my brother. It’s not easy for me to talk about.”

“That doesn’t mean you should keep it bottled up forever and lie to me about his existence,” she chastised.

“I’ll tell you what happened. But not tonight. This day has already been enough of a shitshow.”

“You’re not kidding.”

Finally, they turned onto Luke’s road. At least she could hide in one of the fifty-seven rooms in his house and process what had just happened. Luke hit the button to open his gate. It rose slowly in front of them.

“I thought maybe you called him because he was there for you. During the Barney incident. He saved you.”

Apparently, they were still talking about the Sawyer thing. Claire tilted her head. “Is this why you’ve been acting like a grumpasaurus every time he’s around?”

He shrugged. “I was too late. Sawyer wasn’t. It would make sense for you to feel like you can rely on him.”

She rubbed at her temples. “Sawyer was only ‘there for me’ because he happened to be the closest Sanctum personnel to both crime scenes.”

“Conveniently,” Luke muttered to himself.

CHAPTER TEN

To Do:

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