Page 31 of Protecting Maggie
“No clue. But that was a dead end. She hasn’t been back to her job either. She’s literally just disappeared.”
Preacher frowned. He’d had no idea Smiley was so invested in finding the mysterious Bree woman. Of course, he and the rest of the team knew he’d been going back toVegas frequently, but not that he’d actually tracked down her address or where she worked. He’d never seen Smiley so…worried about anyone. Especially a woman. It wasn’t as if he was unfeeling, more that he always had a tight rein on his emotions.
“Well, shit,” Maggie said. “If thereisanything we can do, you’ll tell us, right?”
“Yeah, most of us women know what it’s like to feel completely alone,” Summer added.
“Thanks, ladies,” Smiley said. “I’m sure she’s fine. I just don’t like not knowing.”
“It’s like those crime shows that end without telling the viewers who did it,” Summer said.
“Or the ones about missing people where you watch for the entire hour and at the end…they’re still missing. I hate that,” Maggie agreed.
Preacher was right there with the women. He hated that too, which was one of the reasons he didn’t watch a lot of crime TV. He saw enough of death and hatred in his job. He didn’t need to see it on his time off as well. He was a sports kind of guy. Football, basketball, soccer, and diving. Preferably the stuff off the high platforms. Or cliff diving. He could get lost for hours watching YouTube videos of athletes leaping off insanely high platforms.
“…to go.”
Preacher had missed most of what Mozart had said, but figured he was calling it a night by the way he stood up and helped his wife to her feet.
Maggie stood and hugged her new friend, promising tokeep in touch. Smiley said his goodbyes as well, and then it was only Preacher and Maggie at the table.
“You look happy,” he told her.
“I am,” she said without hesitation. “I love your friends. They’re all so nice.”
They were. “I didn’t know you were a night person. Or an extrovert.”
Maggie laughed. “Does it make a difference?”
“Not at all. It just makes me realize anew how hard a time you must’ve had in the last two years.”
She sobered. “Yeah,” she agreed. “I kept to myself because I was terrified of saying the wrong thing to the wrong person. And it wasn’t as if I had a choice to stay up late or not, lights went out at the same time for everyone.”
“I shouldn’t have brought you to a bar tonight. I’m sorry,” Preacher told her.
“It’s okay. I’ve never been much of a drinker, so it’s not as if I was tempted.”
“Still. It wasn’t cool. I’ll make sure we have our get-togethers somewhere else from now on. Or at least until your probation is over.”
Maggie stared at him for a long moment. “You’re almost too nice to be true.”
“I’m not nice,” Preacher countered.
She rolled her eyes.
“Okay, I’m nice to you, but I don’t think I go out of my way to be nice to anyone else.”
“Whatever, Shawn. Every single person I talked to tonight had nothing but great things to say about you.”
He didn’t want to talk about himself. He’d much rather take care of her. “You ready to head out?” he asked.
“Yeah. I didn’t mean to keep you up so late. You have PT in the morning…well, later today, right?”
“Won’t be the first time I don’t get a lot of sleep before having to work out. It’s fine,” Preacher said.
“See? Nice,” Maggie said under her breath as she stood.
Preacher found himself grinning. He gave the bartender a chin lift as he steered Maggie toward the door. He led her to his car, keeping an eye on their surroundings. It was extremely late, or early, and nothing good usually happened after midnight. But it was quiet, and they arrived at his car without any issues. Preacher got Maggie settled in the passenger seat and he went around to the driver’s side.
