Page 45 of Covert Affair

“Thank fuck,” I mutter under my breath and follow him back inside to grab whats left.

A short while later we’re all packed up and headed north but damn near midnight before we make it to my place, right above our new office.

“Why don’t we get my bed inside and this air mattress? It won’t take me long to get the bed put together and toss clean sheets on it. You and Vera can take the bedroom, I’ll crash on the air mattress in the living room and we can unload tomorrow. Your wife looks like she’s about ready to drop,” I tell Robert after we pull into the garage bay outback.

“You sure man? I can take her over to the new place and come back to help you unload.”

“And where exactly would I sleep, Robert?” she asks with a frustrated look on her face.

I guess being six months pregnant and driving for over six hours will do that to a woman.

“Shit. Right. I’m sorry, honey. Are you good with staying here?”

“I’ll put you two up in a hotel if you’d rather do that. I can carry an air mattress upstairs and crash for the night,” I offer.

“You don’t have to do that, we can spring for our own hotel room for one night,” Vera says over a yawn.

“Nonsense. I’ll handle it. Robert, put it on the company card, I’ll fill out the paperwork for it tomorrow. You two get out of here and get some rest. The hotel around the corner is pretty nice and has a jacuzzi suite. Book two nights as a matter of fact. Let Vera have a little break from the norm.”

“Oh, come on, man. Don’t go spoiling her now. She’s having my baby,” Robert chuckles, and rubs Vera’s shoulders.

“I’m looking out for you two. Now go on, get out of here. I’ll call over and let the front desk know you two need a room.”

Robert claps me on the back and Vera gives me a hug before they climb into their SUV and back out of the garage.

I should sleep but instead, I’m going to get as much of my shit out of the back of the U-Haul as I can. The sooner it's done, the sooner I can get back to work. Each box I carry in, I take the time to empty and put things in its rightful place instead of just piling up boxes. Probably because I need something to occupy my Goddamn mind.

My entire body aches and I feel like I can’t unback another box by the time I inflate the air mattress and lay down.

21

STACEY MAE

The unknown numberon my screen in the middle of the night is more than enough to set my nerves on edge. Especially when they call back when I don’t answer on the first attempt.

“Uh, Taylor,” I shuffle out into the living area where Taylor’s been crashing in Grady’s guest house.

“Huh,” he immediately pops up off the couch and rubs his eyes. “What’s up?”

“I…there’s…this…” The phone starts ringing again. “This is the third time this number has called me,” I finish, holding the phone out so he can see the screen.

“Answer it and put it on speaker,” he orders.

I nod and follow his instructions. “Hello.”

“Hello. I’m looking for Stacey Adams, we have her listed as the emergency contact for inmate Franklin Tomlinson here at the Tennessee Federal Correctional Facility.”

Taylor gestures that it’s okay for me to respond.

I can only imagine what they’re calling for at nearly five a.m.

“This…this is she.”

“Ms. Adams, I’m Lieutenant Herrea and I’m calling to notify you of Mister Tomlinson’s death. Our guards found him in his cell a short while ago. It appears that he may have been stabbed. Additional details will be forthcoming once we know more.”

I gasp in shock. “I’m sorry, can you repeat that?”

“Yes, I’m sorry to inform you that Franklin Tomlinson has passed away. You have our deepest condolences, ma’am.”

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