Page 84 of Wicked Games

I lose myself in her kiss, desperate for all this to be over, for us to be able to start a normal life together.

I’m not sure how much time has gone by when I lift my head. “I should make the bed, maybe find something light for dinner. Do you want to write a little? Email or call anyone? I don’t want to cut you off from your friends.”

“I can touch base with a couple of people. Not Darren,” she says, curling her lip. If it wasn’t so annoying he’s been trying to contact her, I’d laugh. “Bill, for sure. Maybe he’s heard more from Rowan. Hattie was at that park, and Brooke knew something too, or they wouldn’t have killed her. There’s a common denominator that we’re missing.”

“A cop who hates me,” I say grimly as she slides off my lap. I’m reluctant to let her go, but we can’t hide here forever.

“Maybe.”

We settle into one of the quiet evenings I enjoy. Sipping wine while we talk, grilling, and eating dinner. We eat inside, though. I don’t want anyone to see Avery sitting on my patio. Violet texts and says Gus and Duane are in town, and I ask Avery if they can stay at her house. Even though they’re trained for any situation, I hate it when my security is uncomfortable, and they’d be close to keep an eye on us. She says she doesn’t mind, a shadow fluttering across her face I can’t interpret, but she doesn’t seem angry that we’re going to be watched until Sunday afternoon.

“Why wasn’t someone at the park with Theo and his nanny?” she asks curiously, helping me do the dishes. This house has a dishwasher, but it’s pleasant watching her wash while I dry and put them away.

I shrug. “We tried to be normal.”

“So someone knew that too.”

“I guess they did, but anyone who knew us would know that.”

“That’s what I mean.”

This adds another question to my list.

I make the bed after dinner and then just putter around while Avery tells Bill what happened, that she’s okay, and that we’ll be in the city on Sunday. It sounds like we’re all going to be meeting at Avery’s once we get into town.

We watch a movie, but she falls asleep halfway through it, and I carry her up to bed. Her cheek looks worse, and I should’ve taken her to the emergency room. She didn’t mention her face hurting, so maybe her cheekbone isn’t broken.

I stay up and add what Avery and I talked about to the notes I’ve been keeping about Theo’s case. It’s more than that, now that I know Hattie was involved and Brooke was murdered.

Despite writing it all down as carefully as I can, all I end up with is a jumbled mess at the end.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Avery

“Don’t even think about it,” Seth says, putting one of my suitcases into the back of his truck. I didn’t pack everything I brought to Lakehaven Falls, and my car’s parked in my driveway. Not my driveway, but the house that I’ve barely stayed in since meeting Seth.

“Think about what?” I ask, confused.

I know he watches me, looking for any kind of damage that almost drowning might have caused, but all I feel is tired. I was tired when I got here, Hattie’s death and my divorce dragging me down, so I don’t feel any different than I did four weeks ago when I first drove into town. Well, except somehow I fell in love with a billionaire finance tycoon who happens to love me back.

“Driving your car into the city. I told Kelly we were going to a funeral and we’d only be gone for a few days.”

“That’s not what I was thinking about. Are Gus and Duane following us home?” The words sound strange coming out of my mouth. Obviously I’m not used to security watching my every move, not that I saw them around a lot. Seth introduced me to the two hulking men so I’d know who to trust if I needed help, but besides that, I only caught glimpses of them sitting on my patio reading the newspaper or grilling, pretending to be normal. They looked like a couple on summer vacation.

The other reason the words sound strange is that I haven’t lived in my apartment long enough to consider it home, but Seth told me earlier he wasn’t interested in staying at the house he shared with Brooke and Theo, wanting to go straight to my place instead. He must not think of that house as a home, either, but after everything, I can’t blame him.

Slamming the truck door shut, he says, “Yes.”

“What if they have to go to the bathroom?”

“We’ve already arranged a pit stop at the halfway mark.” A wry smile plays with his lips.

“Oh. Okay. I was just wondering.”

He pushes me against the truck and rubs his thumb over my bruised cheek. Tension pulls at his eyes. “I know it’s inconvenient, and if you hate it, we’ll figure something else out, but, Avery⁠—”

“I’m just a little out of my depth. It doesn’t mean I hate it or that I’m angry about it. I understand. I really do.”