Page 4 of Safe With Me

My head snapped to Claudia. How had I not made the connection after reading his last name on his badge that he couldbe related to my new boss? In Philly, I’d met a lot of Russos, but there was probably only one or a few of everything here.

I’d only spoken to Jake Russo over the phone. As luck would have it, or if I could call having to move within a couple of weeks’ time luck, his office manager had quit at the exact moment I needed a job.

Steven would have lent me money until I’d found something if I’d run low on savings, but Russo’s Contracting needed an accountant and a manager right away, which was basically the job I’d just lost, only on a smaller scale.

My old hiring manager had given me a great quick reference, still upset that upper management had given her no choice but to put me on a leave of absence while I “dealt with the situation.” Ted’s antics at my now-old job had gone viral, thanks to someone recording him being dragged out of the reception area like a madman, and letting me go would have made the sudden bad publicity even worse.

But a leave of absence meant that I couldn’t file for unemployment, and no one would want to hire the girl the crazy man in the video had come to see, so I was stuck in every way possible.

Once Jake had made me an offer and Claudia had found me an apartment in town, I’d made my plan official and put it into motion.

Calling it a “plan” was reaching, as I never would have considered moving away if Steven hadn’t suggested it. He’d been telling me to come stay with Claudia and give Ted enough distance to cool off and calm down. But when I’d become jobless and terrified of Ted’s next move, Steven had asked Claudia to help get me out of Philly and away from my unstable ex-boyfriend on a permanent, instead of temporary, basis.

“Oh, you’re Lila,” Officer Mike said—or Officer Russo or whatever I was supposed to call him now.

He cleared his throat and stepped back, as ifhehad been caught doing something suspicious instead of me.

“Very nice to meet you. I know my father really needs somebody immediately, so I’m glad you were able to move here so soon.”

“Yeah, it was good luck I was able to come right away,” I said, cringing when I realized how that came out.

How was I going to explain why I was able to—and had to—drop everything to move here so quickly?

Granted, it was nobody else’s business and I didn’t have to tell anyone anything I didn’t want to, but I needed to figure out some kind of explanation when someone became curious.

I’d told Mr. Russo over the phone that I had been laid off, and thanks to the glowing reference from my now-former boss, I assumed he hadn’t really looked into it, probably because I was a family friend of Claudia’s.

But it was going to come up sooner or later.

“Thanks for the help, Officer…Mike,” I said, lifting a shoulder. “And sorry for disrupting your day.”

“You can call me Mike. No need for ‘Officer.’”

His full lips eased into a smile.

“And you didn’t disrupt my day at all.” His baby-blue eyes held mine for a long minute before he looked away and laughed. “I’m sure I’ll be seeing you soon.”

“Such a good officer of the law,” Claudia said, smirking as she reached out to tap his stubbled chin with her knuckle.

“I try,” he said, flashing us a smile that blinded me more than the summer sun at his back. “Have a good rest of the morning, and welcome.”

I almost laughed when he tipped the brim of his hat. I was sure as hell not in Philly anymore. I watched Mike head down the street, stealing a quick moment to appreciate the perfect fit of his uniform pants.

“You sound like you’ve had a morning,” Claudia laughed, glancing in Mike’s direction. “Come in. I’ll get you some coffee and order us some breakfast.”

My stomach rumbled again as she held the door open for me to step inside.

“I usually order a bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich from the coffee shop, and since they’re about two hundred feet away, they come quickly,” Claudia joked over her shoulder as she headed behind the bar counter.

The Pour House had a rustic, small-town feel, yet a little modern at the same time, with black wooden floors, gray couches in the corners, and lights strung along the wall in the back of the bar. A TV big enough to be a movie screen stretched along one wall.

“That sounds great, thank you,” I said as I settled onto one of the stools, pressing my palms against the counter to steady myself in case everything started to spin around me again. Almost falling once was enough for today.

Claudia laughed into her phone as I heard her order our breakfast. How I wished I could be that socially carefree, especially after getting so dizzy and tongue-tied moments ago. Maybe the stress of the past few months had taken away all my people skills.

“They should be here in a few minutes, but let me load you up first,” she said, placing a large mug in front of me and filling it up. My eyes followed the steam as the aroma wafted up to my nose, calming me for the first time since I’d woken up this morning and jumped into my car.

“Cream and sugar okay?” she asked, leaning over to reach into the small refrigerator under the bar.

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