Page 5 of Skeletons in the Closet

Memphis’s drink-soggy brain must have put the pieces together. I’d told him about Diem. How could I not? It was an experience one did not quickly forget.

“Oh my god. He’s the one with the—” I elbowed Memphis in the gut as his gaze slipped to the front of Diem’s pants.

“Exercise some tact,” I mumbled out the side of my mouth.

Memphis whined. “You know how I feel about exercise.”

I chuckled. “Do it anyway.”

“Is it him?”

“Yes.”

A car pulled into Gasoline’s lot. Diem’s gaze swung between Memphis and me.

“Wow. When you said he was big—”

I elbowed Memphis again, earning a grunt, but he didn’t quit. “Proportionally speaking too?”

“Oh my god. Shut up.”

“Wow. I mean… Wow.”

Memphis noticed the car driving around and tugged from my hold, waving it down. “That’s our Uber. Let’s go.”

I stared at Diem. His jaw remained locked tight, and he seemed wretchedly uncomfortable. He also didn’t seem eager to explain himself.

The car pulled to a stop, and Memphis dragged me toward it. I dislodged from his hold. “Get in. Give me a second.”

Memphis eyed Diem but got into the backseat, leaving the door open. Diem watched Memphis, a noticeable wrinkleappearing in his nose before his dark eyes shifted to me. I remembered those eyes. Stormy gray in the light of day.

The last time I’d had any dealings with the brooding giant was six months ago. I hadn’t seen or heard from him since, nor had I expected to. Diem had shown up one day in the records office, hoping to consult with Kitty, my eighty-something-year-old coworker, but he’d gotten me instead. Our meet-cute was a shamefully embarrassing situation I worked hard to suppress. Against Diem’s better judgment, he’d let me help with a case. Things between us had been… strange. Far from ordinary.

Diem was attractive, in a roughed-up sort of way, but he was also Fort Knox. An impenetrable wall hiding enough secrets, I knew enough to keep my distance. Although it had been fun pushing his buttons for a few days and flirting my way into his pants, the end result hadn’t been worth it. The guy had some serious issues, and after a regrettable fuck, we’d parted ways.

And now he was back.

Diem showing up in the Gasoline parking lot at nearly two in the morning on a random Friday night was unexpected. But there was a reason.

With Memphis tucked inside the Uber, I stared at Diem.

He stared right back.

I quirked a brow. “So what do you need, Guns? Speak now or forever hold your peace.”

Diem glanced at the car and back. He shifted his weight, ground his teeth, and backed up. “Never mind. Just go.” His words were barely audible.

I studied him, seeking something, anything, but like always, Diem gave nothing away. He hadn’t been inside the nightclub. I’d spent the night scanning faces and evaluating men. Why was he in the parking lot?

“Were you looking for me?”

Diem hesitated, shook his head, turned, and headed back toward his Jeep, chin down, gaze on the pitted concrete underfoot.

“Let’s get out of here,” Memphis hissed from inside the Uber. He’d left the door open for me.

I stared after Diem for another second, then decided Memphis was right. Prying anything out of Diem was impossible. That much I remembered. He wasn’t worth it then, and he wasn’t worth it now.

I ducked inside the Uber as a raspy, grumbling voice called, “Tallus.”

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