Page 101 of Just Between Us

Seargent Hollis nods. “Any suspicions you have are worth noting down,” he says.

“Adam Roth,” I say. I know Cole is looking at me, but I don’t look at him. “He’s not an ex but we did exchange a few words some weeks ago.”

Cole’s arm tightens around me. I did tell him about the last conversation I had with Adam but neither of us has thought about him much since.

Sergeant Hollis nods, jotting something down. “Okay, well we have requested the security company for all the footage from today. If there is anything, we will let you know immediately. In the meantime, we’ll check with Mr. Roth about his whereabouts tonight.”

I’m suddenly exhausted and would like to go home. “Thanks, Sergeant.”

“Of course,” he says.

I give my car one last look. It’ll take weeks to fix before I can drive it again. If Adam did this, I’ll kill him myself.

When we make it home, I call Kai half expecting him not to answer since he’s with Marie and Jenna but on the third ring, I hear his voice on the other end and something inside me relaxes.

“Hey, baby,” I start.

“Hi,” he says. “Sorry, let me just get away from the noise.” I can hear Jenna and Marie in the background plus the soundtrack of what sounds like Mama-Mia before a door shuts and it’s quiet. “Okay, I’m alone. What’s up? Everything okay?”

“Yeah,” I say. “Everything is fine but there was a bit of an incident. My car was keyed, and the tyres were slashed at the office.”

“What?” Kai says on the other end. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, completely fine. It’s just weird.”

“I’m coming over.”

I huff out a laugh. “No, you said you were spending time with Marie and Jenna, right? I’m fine. I promise. I’m with Cole and the police said they’d check the security cameras. It was probably just some random kids who tag cars.”

“No, Levi—”

“Kai, I promise I’m fine. I’m just mad that they ruined my car.”

He sighs quietly then whispers a reluctant okay before saying goodnight.

Cole goes upstairs to take a shower, and I sit in the kitchen having dinner when I hear the doorbell ring. I’m half expecting to see Daniel when I open but Kai is standing before me, eyes wide and his face flushed.

He rushes in to hug me, holding me tightly, his scent engulfing me. It’s a mixture of laundry detergent, his cologne and triumphantly I realise, Cole and I.

“Kai,” I say as he pulls away. “What are you doing here?” I shut the door behind us.

He suddenly looks shy, running a hand through his curly hair and smiling a little. “Sorry, I just had to know if you’re okay. I—” he breaks off.

If it was possible to burst into a thousand tiny hearts, it would happen now. I hold out my arms, trying to show him that I’m unharmed. “It’s okay. I’m fine,” I tell him. “My car, not so much but I’m okay.”

His eyes analyse my face for a quiet moment like he’s trying to decide whether I’m telling the truth.

“You didn’t have to come all the way here and leave Jenna and Marie. Now they are going to think we’re taking you away from them,” I try to laugh but Kai still looks freaked out.

“When will you get the security footage?” he asks, frowning.

I shrug. “Maybe in the morning? They don’t keep it on site, which is stupid, but the police said they would let us know first thing in the morning.”

He nods, almost like he’s relieved. “Do you know who would want to do that?”

I tilt my head, trying to read his face. I can tell he’s worried but there’s something else, something I can’t read. I get that anxious feeling swirling inside me again, that he’s hiding something from us.

“Maybe Adam?” I say. “It’s weird but it’s not the first car to be vandalised in this city. Someone probably just saw a nice car after they had a shit day and decided to ruin someone else’s.”

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