Page 22 of Protecting Maggie
Her words made Preacher feel good. “You’re welcome.”
“So…” she said, drawing the word out.
“Right. I need to get going. Got PT in the morning,” Preacher said, feeling as awkward as a teenager. “Do you want to go to dinner again with me sometime?” he blurted.
To his relief, Maggie nodded. “Yeah. I think I would.”
“Great! I’ll call you.”
“Okay.”
“Okay.” Preacher knew he was smiling like a fool, but he couldn’t stop. He stepped toward her impulsively and leaned down to kiss her on the cheek. She stiffened but didn’t back away from him. “Sleep well.”
“I will. You too.”
“Call if you need anything.”
She scrunched her nose at that. “I’m not going to need anything.”
She was probably right, but Preacher couldn’t help saying, “You never know. Talk to you later, Maggie.”
“Bye, Shawn.”
Preacher smiled all the way home.
CHAPTER SIX
“You’ve been awfully smiley the last few days,” MacGyver said. “What’s up with that?”
Preacher looked over at his teammate. They were currently doing sit-ups in the sand, and in a moment they’d be up and running down the beach again. It was early, the sun had just peeked over the horizon, and Kevlar was working them hard this morning. And yet, Preacher felt as if he was a new man. The last week and a half had been…awesome.
He’d talked with Maggie on the phone every night, even the ones he’d seen her after they’d both gotten off work. Her job at My Sister’s Closet was going great. She said it was hectic, but she enjoyed it more than she thought she would. They’d gotten together three times since he’d taken her for the interview with Julie, and lastnight, she’d finally let him walk her up to her apartment door.
Things were progressing. Slowly, but any progress at all was a step in the right direction as far as Preacher was concerned.
“I assume things are going well with the chick who was impersonating Adina,” Flash said.
“Her name is Maggie. And she was only using her Uber credentials because she couldn’t find another job,” Preacher said a little testily.
“Are we believing that she was innocent?” Safe asked.
Preacher did his best not to jump down his friend’s throat. He didn’t sound skeptical, was simply asking a question. But it still rankled. To his surprise, it was Smiley who answered.
“She’s innocent,” he said firmly.
“How do you know?” Safe pushed.
“When you meet her, you’ll know,” Smiley said without hesitation. “There’s just something about her that screams innocent.”
“So…is there anything that can be done?” Flash asked.
“About what?” Kevlar questioned.
“About her doing two years behind bars for something she didn’t do,” Flash clarified. “Is there anyone we can call to investigate and get her conviction overturned? Wait—does she know who set her up? What’s up withthatperson?”
“Yeah, who’s the asshole who set her up?” Blink asked, sounding angry on her behalf.
This was why he loved working with these men. They were always ready to throw down for the innocent.
