Page 39 of The Finder

Kevin nodded. “Yeah, it’s really picked up business. I’ll bet Helen is glad she hired you,” he said with a smile.

Emma smiled but didn’t comment. She felt uncomfortable being the center of attention. “How about you? How was your day?” she asked.

“Crazy,” he said and launched into a story about a domestic situation he had dealt with. He kept her entertained with stories from his patrols. Soon their food came, and Emma had something to focus on.

The time passed, and Emma was surprised to admit to herself that she was having a good time. She was leaning forward listening to a story when sounds interrupted her concentration. She looked towards the sound of the noise and stiffened in surprise. She stared at the storm approaching them because she couldn’t look away. The storm had a name—Garrett.

Chapter 22

Emma couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Garrett was here, in this restaurant; and he was heading straight for her table. His eyes weren’t locked on her though, they were locked on her date. Emma’s heart rate started speeding up. She had no idea what was going on, but she had a feeling she was about to find out.

Garrett came and stood next to their table with his arms crossed, glaring at Kevin. Kevin crossed his arms and looked up at him. “Can I help you?” he asked.

“Uh, Kevin, this is Garrett, my...” she stopped, totally unsure what to say. “…friend,” she finally settled on.

“Emma, go to the car with Liam,” Garrett said in a low voice. He didn’t even look at her. His gaze was fixed on Kevin. Emma didn't know what to do. She didn’t want to leave Kevin with him. Garrett looked like he could possibly kill Kevin, but she didn’t want to risk making him angrier by staying.

She looked across the table at Kevin. “Um, I guess I’d better go. Thank you for tonight. I had a really g—”

“Go,” Garrett barked at her, interrupting her.

Kevin stood up. “You don’t have to go, Emma. You’re with me. I’ll take you home.” He said all this without dropping eye contact with Garrett.

“That’s okay. I’ll just... go,” Emma said. She stood awkwardly and put her coat on.

Kevin broke eye contact from Garrett to look at her. “Are you being threatened, Emma? Are you safe?” he asked.

A low growl-like sound rumbled through Garrett. Emma wasn’t sure what was going on but she knew things were escalating fast. She needed to get everybody to calm down, but she wasn’t exactly sure how to do that.

“Good evening, everybody, this is a nice place.” Emma had never been so grateful to see the easy-going Liam. “Emma, you look beautiful tonight. Let’s get you to the car. Officer,” he said, tipping his head to Kevin. Liam put his hand gently around Emma’s elbow and guided her to her feet.

Emma looked at Kevin quickly. “Thank you for a lovely time.”

“I’ll call you,” he said. This earned him another growl from Garrett. Liam pulled her away from the table before she could say anything more. They were walking quickly through the restaurant. Emma chanced a glance back at the table. Garrett was now sitting where she had sat, leaning forward, talking. She shuddered. She had no idea what he was saying, but she was thankful she wasn’t the one on the other side of the table.

Liam led her outside to a waiting car, different from the one she had ridden to the restaurant in. Liam opened the door for her. Emma slid in, and he shut the door behind her. Levi and Kyle got out of the car they were in and came over to stand beside Liam. Emma couldn’t hear what they were saying, but she could see facial expressions. She didn’t miss the looks of dismay on Levi and Kyle’s faces. She didn’t need to be an interpreter to figure those looks out. They were both in trouble.

A few minutes later, the door to the restaurant opened, and Garrett stormed out. Max followed him out. Emma stared at Max. She hadn’t even realized he had been in the restaurant. Emma shrank in her seat, hoping against hope Garrett wouldn’t see her. He looked right at the car. Emma wasn’t sure if he could see her through the tinted windows or not.Pick another car, pick another car, she began chanting in her head. It didn’t work. To her dismay, he came around the front of the car, opened the door, and slid in the passenger seat. She nearly groaned out loud when Max climbed into the driver’s seat. They pulled away from the curb. Emma glanced back to see Levi, Kyle, and Liam walking towards the other car.

Emma couldn’t breathe in the heaviness that was all Garrett. She could see he was still angry. She should have been scared, but her traitorous heart was happy to see him again. She closed her eyes as she breathed in his scent. He always smelled so good, like one hundred percent male with some amazing cologne. Her eyes popped back open, and she scolded herself for letting go of her emotions like that. She took a breath and tried to settle her racing heart. Whatwasthat back at the restaurant? Emma looked at Max. He was like a silent, but deadly villain straight from one of the novels she loved to read. He never seemed to say much; he just appeared wherever Garrett was. By now she’d figured out he was some sort of bodyguard or something for Garrett, which was weird. Garrett looked like he could handle himself against anybody. So why in the world would he need a bodyguard? Questions rattled around inside of Emma’s head until she was exhausted. It had been areallylong day, and it wasn’t over yet. She somehow had to get to the house and escape a confrontation with Garrett. She grimaced to herself. The odds of that were slim to none. The longer they drove, the more frustrated Emma got.What did I do wrong? Why did Garrett storm in there like that? He had no right to. I was on a date. Now, I’ll never be able to look at Kevin again. He made me look like an idiot.

By the time they got home, Emma was angry. She had worked herself into a temper.They should have never let me stew to myself,she thought to herself. When they pulled into the driveway, Emma opened her door before they’d even fully stopped. She jumped out and ran inside. She heard Garrett call her name, but she ran inside. She didn’t want to face him right now. She opened the door and flew inside, past a startled Madison. “Emma? Are you okay?” Madison asked.

Emma made it only to the stairs before she heard his voice. “Emma,” she heard his commanding voice.

She turned around in anger. She’d had enough. “What, Garrett?” she snipped at him. “What do you want? Isn’t it enough that you ruined my date, humiliated me in front of the entire restaurant, and brought me home early? What else could you possibly want?” she demanded, crossing her arms across her chest.

His eyes narrowed at her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Max walk into the house and go into the living room. A moment later, the door opened again and Levi, Liam, and Kyle walked in. Liam and Levi went into the living room, and Kyle walked over to Madison and talked to her quietly. Emma felt like all of them were just holding their breath at what was coming next. “I can’t do this,” she said, throwing up her hands in exasperation. She turned and walked towards the steps, ignoring Garrett’s call behind her.

She walked into her room, grabbed a bag Madison had insisted she buy. She threw some underwear and socks in, and grabbed some leggings, jeans, a few shirts, and pajamas. She walked into the bathroom and cleared out the cosmetics and shower supplies. She zipped everything up in her bag, stuffed the cash from Helen into her pocket, and picked up the coat Garrett had given her. She put the bag on her shoulder and walked back downstairs. The voices stopped the instant she began walking down the steps, and Emma rolled her eyes. She was over all of this. Garrett was standing against the wall in the living room with a scowl on his face. She could feel his eyes tracking her movement. She walked right up to him and thrust the coat into his hands, leaving no chance for him not to take it.

She stepped back. “The money’s in the pocket. Thank you for all you’ve done for me. I left most of the clothes, so Madison can take them back. I took just a few and I’ll make sure to repay you for them. Thank you for everything.” She turned to face everyone in the living room. Everyone was staring at her with surprised looks on their faces. “Thank you, all of you for everything you’ve done for me. I’ll never forget your kindnesses to me.” Then she looked down and started towards the door.

Garrett was in front of the door a moment later, blocking the door. “Where do you think you’re going?” he asked in an angry growly voice.

“I’m not sure yet. I’ll figure it out on the way,” she said.

He crossed his arms. “No, you’re not.”

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