Page 35 of Protecting Chaos

I pulled out a chair for her to sit and then moved one facing her. “How well do you know those kids that you teach?”

“Uh, let’s see…” she said, biting her lip as if thinking back. “I started my after-school outreach program a couple of years back. I think most of them came in within the first month and they stayed with me even after they graduated and started college. Why?”

“And when did you start getting sick?”

Her gaze narrowed with suspicion. “You’re barking up the wrong tree, Ash. Those kids didn’t get me sick. Hell, if anything, they helped me get better.”

“You sure about that?”

Her brows dipped, and she frowned. “What does me being sick have to do with my outreach kids?”

“You didn’t start getting sick until you opened your door to the after-school kids, did you?”

“Yes, but those kids are good kids. They couldn’t have made me sick. It’s not like what I have is something contagious. Hell, the doctors aren’t even sure what’s causing it.”

“Detective Morrison called to let me know that half the cops that ate here last night called in sick with symptoms of headaches, drowsiness, brain fog, and some even more severe that required the emergency room.”

“Oh no,” Stella whispered.

“He thinks it’s food poisoning. Stella, I know two of your kids work at the pizza place. I read their thoughts. They have access to the food. Heck, a room full of cops saw who delivered the pizza last night.”

“You think it’s the pizza?” she asked, jumping from her chair and hurrying into the kitchen.

I followed her. “You eat it every week to support kids.”

“That makes little sense. Those kids would never hurt me. They come and checked on me and brought me soup or medicines when I’m not feeling well enough to go out. If anything, they’ve been the ones to help me.”

She moved to the trash and glanced around the kitchen. “Where are the leftovers? Where are all the boxes?”

“While you were in the shower, forensics picked them up this morning to run some tests,” I said.

“This doesn’t make sense. I ate the pizza. I even talked you into eating mine. We’re not sick. Why would someone at the pizza place want to get me sick unless it was an accident? Were the ingredients bad?”

“Detective Morrison is looking into it.” I pulled her into my arms and hugged her tight and kissed her head. “How well do you know Avery? She’s the one that was jumpy that I was a cop, and she is the one that delivered the pizza.”

“Avery is a good kid in a bad predicament. I help her as much as I can. I’ve let her stay here before when her parents were fighting. Avery didn’t do this. Not intentionally. Maybe the ingredients went bad and she didn’t notice. That’s management’s fault, right?”

I hoped she was right, but my gut was telling me there was something seriously wrong. “How about we go set up for the gallery opening tonight and then we’ll stop by the pizza place and see what we can find out?”

“You believe me, right? You’ll give Avery the benefit of the doubt?” Stella turned to leave, and I grabbed her hand and spun her back into my hold.

“I believe in you.” I kissed her as if I were tasting her for the first time. I was letting her know exactly what she meant to me. She leaned into me, and I broke the kiss and cupped her cheek. “I need you to understand something.”

“What’s that?”

“I’m not here because of Grant. I’m here because of you. Because I’m an idiot and because I should have confessed my feelings for you long before now, regardless of the consequences. You deserved for me to fight for you, and I didn’t.”

“It’s okay, Ash. I’m fine. You see it with your own eyes. I built a life here. A life I love. When this is over, you can go back and not have to worry about me.”

“Stella, it’s not like that.”

She kissed my lips. “It’s fine.

She stepped out of my hold and headed for the stairs. “Go grab whatever you’re wearing tonight. We’ll have to get dressed at the gallery. I always run out of time before the showing.”

“Okay. After the opening, then we’ll check out the pizza place.”

“Let me go grab my art bag in case I have to do any touch-ups, and pack a change of clothes. Then we can go.”

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