Page 64 of Tackle

“I love you, beautiful.”

“Love you too, Oz.”

As soon as Matt arrived at the pub, Oz was ushering Emerson to his SUV. He was on a mission.

“Where’s the fire?” she laughed as he pulled her along, giving her guard a chin lift as he passed him.

“I knew if I didn’t get you out of there fast, you’d find something else that needed doing.”

She nodded. “That’s fair. So where are we going?”

They piled into the Escalade and he navigated the parking lot before answering. “Your place. I want to grab some more of your stuff.”

“We grabbed a bunch of stuff the other night,” she said, bewilderment in her tone.

“You were looking for your red sweater this morning and couldn’t find it, so obviously you didn’t pack enough.”

She exhaled a small harumph but didn’t say anything else, so he took that as agreement.

They’d just exited the bridge when he heard, “Um, Oz?”

He looked over to see her studying something in the passenger-side mirror. “Yeah?”

“I don’t mean to alarm you, but I think someone’s following us. I’m pretty sure the same black sedan has been behind us since we left the pub.”

He glanced in the rearview mirror. “That’s your security. I called after our conversation. They’ll now follow you if you go anywhere alone and will be adding a detail to me as well.” From the corner of his eye, he saw her turn to look at him and he added, “Don’t worry, I told them not to be intrusive, but they will take action if they see someone matching Holly’s description approach you.”

She placed a hand on his thigh. “Thank you for taking my concerns seriously. I know you thought they were silly. But even being a big, bad football player, you don’t have eyes in the back of your head.”

He covered her hand with one of his own. “I’ll do whatever it takes to make you happy.”

Oz parked in the guest parking area of Emerson’s complex and after helping her out, he went to the back and pulled out a stack of flattened cardboard boxes and a roll of duct tape.

“That’s a lot of boxes,” Emerson said, eyeing them.

Oz hit the button to close the hatch. “They were lying around work. I just grabbed them all.”

“At this rate, I’m going to have more stuff at your place than mine.”

Oz’s eyes shot to her face, and since she didn’t look like she’d meant anything by that, he figured his secret was still safe. He had every intention of making it very inconvenient for her to move back.

He jogged the short distance to the discreetly parked security personnel, giving them an update and making sure there was nothing he needed to know before heading upstairs with Emerson.

“I’m going to grab a few things from the bedroom.”

Oz set the boxes down on the floor and the tape on the counter. “Do you need any help?”

“It’s okay, I think I’ve got it.” She was already making her way down the hall, so Oz picked up a box and started assembling it.

He’d just finished taping the last box when he heard a shouted, “Hey, Oz? Can you bring one of those boxes in here?”

Oz picked up two for good measure and headed down the hall to the bedroom. He came in to find Emerson, adding clothes to an already large pile on the bed.

Maybe he should’ve grabbed three boxes. Getting all her shit packed might be an easier endeavor than he’d anticipated.

“Oh, thank you.” She pulled one of the boxes toward her and started shoving the folded clothes into it. “There’re a few things in the bathroom I want to take, but that should be it.”

“Take whatever you want. I’m going to go pack up your coffee maker. It’s nicer than mine.”

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