Page 51 of Spark
“Yeah.Believe me, I know.”
The words arrived like an admission, vulnerable and soft, and they arrowed right into Chloe’s chest.“You want to talk about it?”
“No.”
“It doesn’t have to be with me,” she tried carefully.“I can call Tom, if you want.Or Dr.Pam.She’s a great therapist?—”
“No.”
Esme’s shoulders dipped inward, her arms crossing the front of her dark green T-shirt, and Chloe decided to skip the pleasantries and dive right into the point.“Look, I know all this waiting for updates is probably stressing you out?—”
“I’m fine,” Esme said automatically, and Chloe let a tart laugh past her lips.
“Okay, then it’s stressingmeout,” she admitted.“But I’m meeting with Detective Hale and the rest of the Intelligence Unit in a few minutes.I promise to tell you right away if there’s anything new to report.”
Esme eyed her through the screen.“Anything?”
“Yep.”Chloe nodded.She’d promised honesty, and that’s what she’d deliver.“We’re going to get through this and go back to normal.No matter what happens, I’ve got your back, okay?I’ll do everything I can to keep you safe.”
Esme’s chin lifted and lowered the tiniest fraction, even though her expression remained next to impossible to read.“So, is Tyler, like, working on the case with you guys, or was that just for the fire part?”
The question whacked Chloe from its point of origin in left field, leaving her a little breathless.“He’s working on the RFD’s investigation, yes.”In his texts last night, Tyler had mentioned that both he and Ryan had met with Nat and the Arson Investigation Unit to discuss their reports in more detail when they were on shift yesterday.“Do you have questions about the fire?”Chloe asked, but Esme shook her head.
“Not really.I was just kind of wondering.”She loosened the knot of her arms around her rib cage in favor of a shrug.“He seemed pretty okay.You know, for a grown up.”
“He is pretty okay,” Chloe said, fishing with a couple beats of silence before asking, “Are you sure you don’t want to ask him anything?”
“Nah, I was just being nosy.Anyway, I’ve got to dip.Homework, and whatever.”
Chloe fought the urge to push, although, damn, it was strong.She didn’t like to press Esme unless it was absolutely necessary—getting her to open up was already hard enough.Not letting her dictate the terms by sharing on her own?Mostly yielded piss-poor results, anyway.
“Okay.If you change your mind, just let me know.I can ask anyone on the team questions, or I can arrange meetings so you can ask them yourself if that feels better to you.And I’ll see you on Saturday for party prep.”
Inviting Esme to the family-friendly portion of the pre-wedding festivities had been Addison’s idea—“that kid could use some fun, and this way, you won’t doallthe decorating by yourself”—and one to which both Tom and Chloe had agreed.Esme hadn’t blackballed the idea, but she hadn’t done backflips for it, either, but hey, you had to walk before you could run.
“’Kay,” Esme said, her voice melting the tiniest bit with an unspoken “thank you”.
But then she was gone, and Chloe channeled her newfound and probably tenuous calm into the next hurdle in front of her.Collecting her keys, cell phone, and the small paper bag she’d filled before leaving Sweetie Pies after her shift, she headed toward the main entrance to the precinct.She made her way past the large double doors of the Thirty-Third, enjoying the hit of relief provided by the air conditioning for only a breath before the sight of Tyler standing in the lobby made her temperature boomerang right back up.
“Oh!”God, her grin had to be the stuff of idiots.She pressed it between her lips.“Hi.I didn’t know you’d be here.”
Tyler smiled, looking unfairly hot in a gray T-shirt that made his eyes that much bluer and a pair of black jeans that did criminal things to both his thighs and Chloe’s.“I didn’t know until today.Nat’s swamped and Ryan’s taking care of some wedding details, so I volunteered.I spent the morning getting spun up on the fire investigation.”
Chloe’s “oh” came out a lot more cautiously this time.“Any leads?”
“Lots of information,” he said with equal caution but a hell of a lot more calm.“Let’s go upstairs.I’m sure the Intelligence team is going to want to hear everything, too.”
“Okay.That’s a good plan.”She nodded, her resolve falling into place as she headed for the sergeant’s desk spanning the front of the lobby.
“Hi, Sergeant Riordan,” Chloe said with a smile she knew wouldn’t be returned.The guy had been a desk sergeant since the dawn of time (source: Addison) and he had all the cantankerous attitude to prove it.But Chloe had learned ages ago that Riordan was a secret softie who could be bribed with baked goods (source: Ryan), so she placed the brown paper bag she’d brought specifically for this purpose and put it on the desk.“It’s nice to see you again.We’re here to see Detective Hale.”
“Huh,” was the man’s only reply.He liberated the package from the spot where she’d left it, and Chloe could swear the edges of his mouth lifted by a tiny margin before he tucked it beneath the counter.“She expecting you and this yahoo?”
“She is,” Chloe confirmed, and Tyler, to his credit, looked entirely unruffled as he nodded a greeting at the desk sergeant.
“Tyler Gates.I’m with the RFD.”
Riordan arched a bushy salt and pepper brow.“Good for you.”He harrumphed, but picked up the phone on his desk, murmuring something indistinct into the receiver.A minute later, Addison appeared from the business side of the precinct, making her way through the security gate and smiling warmly in greeting before turning toward the sergeant.“Thanks for letting me know I had visitors, Riordan.”
