Page 78 of Law Of Love

“I have no more updates on Will,” I told him, frustrated that he had interrupted my personal time. “I told you everything that happened when Brent and I visited him last. We haven’t been since.”

“That’s not why I’m calling, Kaleb.” A pause. “The police have informed me that some additional evidence has come to light, and now that it’s solid, they’ve shared the information with us. It’s tedious to explain, so I’ll have someone drop the files to you tomorrow so you’re in the loop.”

I scrunched my eyebrows together, a groan falling from my lips. “Yeah, okay. I’ll look at them. I’m being serious, though, when I tell you I don’t know if there’s anything else Brent and I can get you. Will‌ won’t tell us shit.”

My chief hummed. “I understand, Kaleb. But I no longer believe that’s going to be a problem.”

Thirty-four: Freya

Kaleb had been distant over the past week and a half. He wasn’t ignoring me by any means, but I could tell something was wrong. Even when I questioned him about it, he insisted he was just tired and stressed about the case.

I had a niggling feeling that he was keeping something from me, though, but there was nothing I could do to get him to open up—especially since I had half convinced myself that I was actually going crazy and reading into things too much.

I hunched over next to a tree, bracing my hands on my knees and inhaling oxygen greedily, filling my lungs. Gazing back to look at the steep hill I’d just climbed, I laughed as Jackie and my mom stopped to catch their breaths, clutching at their chests. It was sunny today, and they’d insisted that we all get out of the house and go on a hike.

Kaleb had tried to get us out of it, but I couldn’t decline once Jackie’s pleading eyes honed in on me. She’d enjoyed taking Brie hiking, and I didn’t want to leave her to do it without company.

Kaleb was already at the top of the hill—showing no sign of fatigue—and he leaned back against a large oak tree and pulled out his phone, tapping away at the device. He’d been glued to it lately, and when I’d made dinner for the both of us while our moms were out, he got up from the table twice to answer calls from his chief.

He hadn’t been laughing or smiling as much, and even when I dragged him along with Hannah and me to one of Josh’s football games, he sat in the bleachers with a rigid posture and strained jaw. Kaleb enjoyed sports, and it made me uneasy that even a game couldn’t pull him from his own thoughts.

“I’m dying,” I spluttered as I dropped to the ground next to him, feeling the need to lean my head against his calf.

Gazing down at me, Kaleb smiled, chuckling, pocketing his phone and scanning the area. Forest surrounded us, our bodies perched on the top of a dirt-covered hill, two verdant trees swaying in the brisk wind at the peak. The sun peered over the clouds, shining brightly, and the bustling woodland below us basked in the sun's rays.

“I had no idea this was so near us,” I said. I understood why people came to places like this to think and clear their minds. It was beyond relaxing.

“My mom’s been coming here for years.”

“Is it your first time?” I knitted my eyebrows together. Kaleb looked so troubled, and I hated it.

He shook his head. “No, I took her here a few times right after Brie died. She really enjoys how secluded it is, and it’s become her favourite hiking spot.” Although a small smile graced Kaleb’s lips, it didn’t reach his eyes—empty grey spheres of nothingness.

I turned around to see my mom and Jackie sitting on the grass halfway up the hill, taking large gulps from their water bottles.

Knowing we were out of sight, I placed my hand on Kaleb’s cheek, his overgrown stubble grating against my fingertips. “I know I’ve asked you this a thousand times, and you’re probably sick of hearing it, but are you sure you’re okay? You haven’t been yourself since we got back from Brent’s.”

His eyes turned hard, and he subtly shrugged me off and walked forward a few steps to lean over the wooden fence that circled us, clasping his hands together as he cleared his throat. “I’m just tired. My chief is on my case, and I’m worried about your safety. Until Will is behind bars, I won’t be happy.”

“I’m sure they’ll be arresting him any day now. Sorry for pestering you.”

“You’re not.” Kaleb caught a strand of my hair in the wind and tucked it back into my claw clip for me. “It’s just—” His jaw tightened as I looked at him, and his eyebrows collapsed in on one another as he shook his head. “It’s just work. It’s a lot right now.”

I opened my mouth to respond, but once I heard my mother’s bellowing laughter behind us, I took a step away from Kaleb. I couldn’t help but recognise the small glimmer of guilt that swam within his eyes, though. It was just a flash—a spark—and within seconds, it was gone, but I’d caught it, and it indicated he wasn’t being entirely truthful with me.

“I hate to be a negative Nancy, but that’s weird, right?” Hannah mumbled with her mouth full of food, clutching her mojito and nodding towards my drink.

I rolled my eyes, sipping on it, the taste of minty alcohol burning my tongue but momentarily distracting me from my dreary thoughts.

“I know.” I gazed around the bar, smiling at a grumpy Brent, who sat in his booth in the corner of the room, looking as miserable as ever. Kaleb was busy with something tonight, so Brent was having to watch me while I had a much-needed catch-up with my best friend. “We went from sleeping together and being unable to take our hands off one another to just… nothing.”

Hannah’s thin eyebrows flew into her hairline. “Nothing?”

“He won’t talk to me unless I start the conversation, and when we are talking, he’s distracted and closed off.”

Hannah gazed at me sadly, dropping her fries back down into their bowl, a bitter expression taking over her face. “I swear to God, if he’s seeing someone else, I’ll kill him.”

My chest tightened at the thought, and I swallowed harshly, my throat spasming.

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