Page 54 of Roughing
“What’s going on?” I mused.
“Let’s see.” Briggs guided the truck to the curb, and we got out. I approached one of the onlookers.
“Hey, any idea what’s up?” Briggs asked the guy.
The guy turned his head slightly, took note of us, and redirected his attention to the action behind the tape. At first, I thought he was going to ignore us, but then he surprised me and spoke. “They found a female body in this old building that’s being demolished.”
“Do they know who it is?”
“Not sure, but there’re whispers the poor woman is probably one of the victims of the Rose City Killer.”
I exchanged a glance with Briggs. He reached for my hand and steered me through the gathering crowd of nosy bystanders.
“We should stick around and see what we can find out.” I tugged on his hand to slow him down.
“I think it’s time to head home. It’ll be all over the news tomorrow. Nothing will come out tonight.”
I was reluctant to pass up this opportunity to do some digging. Briggs sighed and gave in, but he wasn’t happy about it. A half hour later and none the wiser, we continued our trek home. Inside the old building’s lobby, we hesitated at the elevator.
“You wanna come to my apartment?” Briggs’s eager gaze gave a clear hint as to why he wanted me in his apartment. As tempting as his invitation was, I called forth every ounce of willpower I had.
“Not tonight. I’m exhausted, and I’m sure you are, too. You have to rest up. Don’t you have a game tomorrow night?”
Briggs didn’t hide his disappointment. “Yeah, I do. About that game, would you like to go?” He looked so hopeful I wasn’t sure I could turn him down.
“I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”
“You can sit in the WAGs suite with your friends. I’ll take care of the ticket and pass you’ll need.”
I liked hockey. I’d grown up in a hockey family. My brothers played hockey. I wanted to go, but I was reluctant to take this next step and come out in public as Briggs’s girlfriend, date, or whatever I was.
“Do you have my jersey?”
“Uh, no.”
“I’ll make sure you get one. It’ll be with the suite attendant.”
Wearing his jersey made me uncomfortable. I wasn’t ready to take that step, which would surely announce us as a couple. We were still tentative, testing the waters, and not sure what course to set.
Briggs frowned, sensing my lack of enthusiasm. “Is there a problem? I know I’m not the most popular guy on the team, but I’m working on it.”
The hurt in his eyes undid me, and I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. “I’d be proud to wear your jersey.”
He pulled me into his arms and kissed the breath out of me. Afterward, we gazed at each other for a long moment before I punched the Up button on the elevator.
“Remi’s not here.” Briggs wrinkled his brow and glanced around the lobby. My heart warmed even more toward this big, gruff man who was worried about that little girl.
“Hopefully, that means she’s tucked in bed, all safe and sound.”
“Yeah, let’s hope so.”
He didn’t sound overly optimistic, and I felt the same, along with my pensiveness about this relationship we were starting. Having sex was one thing; making it as a couple was an entirely different situation. I was gun-shy after my experience with Gordon, but Briggs wasn’t Gordon. Gordon had been charming and had swept me off my feet. I’d fallen deeply for him before he’d shown his true colors. Briggs was the opposite of charming, though he did have a clumsy charm about him. Compared to Gordon’s smoothness, Briggs was all angles and sharp edges, but he wasn’t hiding who he really was, or so I hoped. I didn’t hold much faith in my ability to judge what constitutes a good relationship since I’d never had one. I picked the wrong guy every time.
Had I done it again?
I’d be damn sure that I protected my heart and approached with caution.
ChapterNineteen
