Page 77 of Talk Birdie to Me

She narrowed her eyes to glare at him. “You’re awfully bossy all of a sudden.”

“When someone I care about is in danger? Yeah, I get a little bossy.”

With a slight flinch at the “care about” part, Geena nodded. “Fine. You can follow me back.”

Relief washed over him. Whatever was waiting at her house, he didn’t want her facing it alone. And if it was just a glitch, he could call Lauren to talk him through a fix.

Cody stepped back to give her some space and squeezed her hand.

“Lead the way, Bourque.”

Geena walked to the front door of her townhouse, bracing against a powerful gust and jogging through the light but steady rain. After the large heavy drops began at the zoo, the rain had settled into a constant downpour halfway on the road to her place.

Cody followed only a step behind her. She really hadn’t needed him to come with her. That wind was the most likely culprit for the security camera notification. It had glitched before on a windy day with leaves floating past the lens. That was probably the cause again. And maybe some rain had shorted out the video feed.

“See,” she said, waving a hand at the door area. “Everything is fine.”

Neither the camera nor the door appeared tampered with. In fact, the door was still locked, just as she left it.

“I’ll feel better once I get you safe inside and see what happened with that camera,” Cody said. “Even if it’s a glitch, I want to call Lauren to see if she can help with the settings or something, so it doesn’t keep going out like that.”

She’d been initially defensive about him coming with her. She didn’t need protection, she just needed to verify her hunch that everything was fine.

But his insistence on following her was unwavering. She didn’t like being bossed around, but she found comfort in his care for her safety.

Maybe it was good vibes from their date. From that kiss. Whatever it was, she was glad to have him with her, even for just a bit longer.

Geena slid the key into the lock and turned the handle. Cody remained behind her, only inches back this time. But they both stopped dead in their tracks the moment they entered.

“Oh, no.” Geena’s stomach swirled with panic, leaving her with a sickening feeling.

Cody cursed under his breath and stepped around her, striding across the living room in just a few steps.

Gary’s cage door was wide open, and Gary was nowhere to be seen.

“Maybe I didn’t secure it,” she said. “Maybe he’s hiding somewhere in here.”

“You’re the most cautious person I know,” Cody said, inspecting the metal door. “I don’t believe for a second you left this cage open.”

“Maybe not open. But maybe not locked?”

Geena ignored his insistence that she hadn’t been responsible for Gary’s disappearance and began a tour of the townhouse. She scanned the tops of each piece of furniture and peered inside every nook and cranny where the bird could be hiding.

No Gary.

She had to resign herself to the fact that Gary was nowhere in this building. And since the door had been locked, he couldn’t have gotten outside.

Geena stood in the center of the room, a couple of feet from where Cody was examining the front door. Checking for signs of forced entry, she assumed.

“I’m so, so sorry.”

Her voice cracked as guilt flooded her, filling every cell in her body with red-hot shame that burned beneath her skin. She fought to hold back tears, but they filled her eyes anyway, threatening to spill over any second.

Cody shifted his attention from the door to Geena standing behind him. He assessed her with the same concentrated stare he’d given the door a moment earlier.

“It’s not your fault.”

“I was supposed to keep him safe.” She choked on that last word and wiped at her face since she’d lost the battle of trying to contain those tears. “It’s the reason you brought him here.”

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