Page 51 of Love Me Fierce

“If I was in a jam, would you expect me to pay you back in chores?”

“Of course not.” I heave a giant sigh. “Okay.”

He offers me a fist. With a shake of my head, I give it a bump.

I climb into my car with my free lunch while Everett heads back to The Sweet Spot, giving me a moment to drink in his tall, athletic frame, thick thighs and broad shoulders and those tiny curls at the nape of his neck.

A groan of longing escapes my lips, but I shut my eyes to stifle the craving sparking to life inside me.

Doesn’t it complicate things even more now that he’s investigatinga crime against me? Kent once complained to me that a cop in his unit slept with a witness, and the case ended up getting thrown out because of it.

The last thing I want is to be someone’s conflict of interest.

After work,I pick up Mateo from the aftercare room, but instead of letting me lead him to the car, he drags me to the playground behind the school. The giant jungle gym with a pirate ship, slides, and monkey bars are empty at this time of day, with the surrounding forest casting long shadows.

“Watch me!” he says, dashing to the monkey bars. He climbs the metal rungs, his freckled face so focused as he reaches up and grabs the first bar. My heart flutters in my chest. Partly from worry—a fall from way up could cause an injury—and partly, I’m proud of my little boy who’s learning to take risks.

Mateo’s tongue pokes from the side of his mouth as he aims for the next bar in the row, and then he swings his body and reaches for the next one.

“Well done, Matty!” I cheer, following along. It takes effort not to reach for him, so he knows I’m here to catch him if he falls. He clearly doesn’t need it. He reaches the opposite end of the bars, huffing, his cheeks pink, and climbs down to the ground.

I wrap him in a soft hug and lean down to kiss the top of his head. He wraps his arms around my waist and squeezes. When I take his hand and turn us away from the playground, a flash of color from the surrounding woods catches my attention. My pulse flutters into my throat. I take another second to stare, willing the face I saw to be something else instead—an animal slipping past, or a bird. A gust of wind stirs the branches of the ancient trees. Was that all I saw? The swirling colors of the forest?

Leading Mateo from the playground, the instant my back is turned, the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Unable to fight the sense of unease, I tighten my grip on Mateo’s handand hurry us past the school to the parking lot. A few other cars are scattered and the lights in several classrooms are still on, but it’s not until Mateo is safely buckled and I’m behind the wheel with the doors locked that I feel safe.

I tell myself I’m just spooked and not that someone was watching us.

Everett’sif you start to feel unsafe, I want to know about itfloats through my mind. Is it weird that I want to hear his reassuring voice right now?

My phone rings, startling me. It’s Helen.

“Helen, hey.” I glance at Mateo in the backseat, his nose already in one of his library books.

“He’s in L.A.,” Helen says.

I fold over my steering wheel and release a giant breath. “You’re sure?”

“Yep. My source is very reliable. I had them track his movements. There’s nothing to suspect he’s been out of town, and he’s certainly here today.”

“Thank you.”

“Does this help?”

“Yes.”

“Good.”

I thank her again and end the call.

Relief trickles down through me as I start my engine. I decide to share this bit of news with Everett.

Because it’ll come through the Bluetooth, I’ll be careful about my word choice.

“Hey, how was your day?” he asks.

With the relief of what I learned from Helen still ebbing inside me, this makes me smile.

“Um, you’re on speaker. “

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