Page 63 of Love Unbound
Levi chuckled and kissed the crown of her head again. “Go to bed. We’ll see how everything plays out in the morning.”
Jodi nodded, squeezing him tightly around his broad chest one more time before stepping away. “Good night, Dad.”
“Good night,” Levi said.
As Jodi made it to the door, he called softly, “Hey, Jodi?”
She stopped, turning at the door. “Yeah?”
“Next time you decide to get into my good whisky, invite me down first.”
Jodi laughed, rolling her eyes. “Okay.”
Tucking herself back into the old, familiar bed, Jodi was asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.
Chapter 47
Jodi had called both Tessa and Kit to fill them in on what had transpired over the weekend, everything down to the suspected bug somewhere in the store. They knew a tech guy would be stopping by sometime during the day to locate it and remove it. When they arrived at the shop, mum was the word, lest Josh caught wind of what they were doing.
The young man came in an hour later with minimal gear, which surprised Jodi. Levi and a police officer met him there. Jodi felt sick to her stomach as she watched from across the room, as he found six individual wire taps spread throughout the building. When at last he felt they had found them all, the attending officer bagged them for evidence. Levi was furious.
She checked her phone regularly, waiting for a call, a text, anything, from Free or Shane that he was being released. After what felt like a lifetime of waiting, her phone finally rang, and she nearly tripped over herself running to the back of the stockroom to answer it.
“Shane?” she answered, out of breath from sprinting to the back. “Is he out?”
“Not yet, but soon,” Shane said from the other end of the line. “I’ve been waiting outside of the courthouse for three hours.” He paused, then said, “They just brought Josh in. Is this what you were talking about last night?”
“I didn’t want to say much, because I didn’t want to jinx it,” Jodi said. “Josh will drop the charges, I promise.”
“I’ll call you when I get word he’s being released,” Shane said,though Jodi could swear she heard a smile in his voice from the other end of the line. “Talk to you in a bit.”
Jodi waited. And waited. With no call.
Finally, just after four in the afternoon, a text message came through from Shane.
He’s out, I just dropped him off at your place.
Jodi sagged with relief. Tessa assured her she would be fine to close by herself, and Jodi rushed home, spraying gravel as she drove down the long driveway. When she pulled up to the house, he was already there, sitting on the porch swing.
She parked hastily and climbed out of the Jeep, rounding the hood and flying up the steps. He stood, taking several steps toward her. He was wearing the same clothes from Saturday night.
They stopped, leaving about three feet between them. Jodi let her eyes rove over him, assuring herself he was okay.
“Hi,” was all she could bring herself to say. So much had happened. And what she had told him right before it all…
“Hi,” he said back, his voice low. His aqua gaze traveled over her, warming her.
They stood awkwardly for a long moment, before she motioned toward the house, “You could have gone inside.”
Free shrugged. “I didn’t mind waiting outside. The sun felt good.”
Tears stung her eyes. “I’m so sorry, Free.”
He shook his head then, finally taking a step toward her, placing his hands on her shoulders gently. “Don’t. Don’t apologize. I knew he wanted a fight. I knew what would happen. It felt good to clock his ass.”
Jodi laughed, reaching out to spread her fingers over his chest, feeling his heartbeat beneath her palm.
Free motioned toward the red paint that marred her house and windows. “Is that why I was told the charges were beingdropped?”
