“According to Will, Jim still keeps tabs on her.”
Sarge cursed under his breath. “He’s dirty, but he’s smart. I’ve been trying to pin something on him for the past four years, but he doesn’t do the dirty work himself. His people are terrified to make a move against him, so for now, he’s still on the street. Will’s been in and out of rehab since he was eleven. I came to the conclusion a long time ago that you can’t save someone who doesn’t want to be saved.” He rubbed his face, clearly finished with his nephew.
“You might think there was a part of her that loves him, but there isn’t. I would think she would be more relieved if he just died than anything else. She never loved her brother, she feared him.” He paused. “I just wish I hadn’t pushed her to go see him. I really only did it because I thought he might finally give her something back.”
I couldn’t imagine hating Henry. He was my person. “What do I do to help her?” I had nothing.
“Just be you. That’s what drew her to you in the first place.”
“That’s it?”
He pulled out his phone. “You know her better than most of us do these days. I’m going to go home, and I suggest you do the same, unless you want to risk the weather and stay. I’m going to try to get her to go home with me.”
“Think I’ll stick around for a bit longer.”
“Suit yourself.”
Twenty minutes later, I made my way across the hall to see if Sarge had any luck with convincing Spencer to leave with him. I peeked inside the door and wasn’t surprised to see her still in her chair. She had headphones on and flipped a pen through her fingers with one hand while the other madly tapped the down arrow on the keyboard. Her eyes swayed back and forth until she felt my presence.
“Hey,” I looked over my shoulder to see if the coast was clear, “you got a second?”
“Sure.” She leaned back to stretch out her back before she removed her headphones.
“We have a storm coming in.”
“Of course, we do,” she muttered darkly.
I purposely turned my back to the camera and slipped into one of the chairs.
“Would you rather stay here or go home tonight?”
“Can I work from home?” Her brow raised with interest.
“I don’t think that’s smart.”
“In case he contacts me.”
“Right.” I rubbed my tired eyes. “But I think we both need a break from here and that.” I tapped her laptop.
“Are you going to drill me on how I’m doing?”
I smirked and shook my head. “No.”
“Okay.” She clicked her mouse then closed the computer.
As she packed it away in her bag, I spoke up. “I’m sorry I pushed you.”
“I know.” She smiled.
“So…” I hated to bring this up, as we hadn’t had a chance to discuss it yet. “Bri is at my place, ah, so would it be okay if I stayed at your place tonight?”
Her face flinched, and I caught it. I went to reach for her hand but stopped mid-move and remembered we weren’t alone.
“She’s just an old friend. I really thought her skills in computer crime could help us. She needed a place to stay, so I offered mine since I spend more time at your place and in my truck.”
“You don’t need to explain anything to me, Blake.”
“Yes,” I narrowed my eyes at her, “I do.”
She threaded her bag over her arm and looked out the window. “Well, maybe we should discuss it once we get home. We don’t want to get stuck on the road again.”
I followed her out. “Maybe we do.” I brushed my hand over her hip and felt the waver in her step.
“Not into threesomes,” she muttered, but I could hear the lightness slowly coming back.
Once we hit the lobby, we found Bri waiting for a cab. I glanced at Spencer, who nodded back. “Bri, you need a ride?”
She muttered at her phone, “We’re certainly not in New York anymore, are we?”
“Come on.” I waved her to follow without breaking a stride. “We need to hurry. The snow has already started.”
We rushed outside to the covered carport, and I started the engine.
“Really, I have some research to do,” I heard Spencer mumble to Bri as she jumped in the back seat behind me.
I shot Bri a questioning look, but she just shrugged and took the front passenger seat and buckled her belt.
Spencer kept her head down and her eyes on her phone.
The drive home was quiet, with just a bit of small talk. Spencer remained silent, which didn’t surprise me. We were both beat after such a long day.
Bri turned around in her seat. “Would it be too much to ask to spend the night with you two? I don’t really like the thought of being alone in a storm. Blake was kind enough to sleep on the couch at his place, but he said you had a few bedrooms, so I thought maybe…”
Spencer’s eyes flickered up to mine in the mirror, and I saw her discomfort, but she beat me to the punch.
“Yeah, sure.”
Bri grinned at her. “Great. Thanks, Spencer.”
I caught Spencer’s eye in the rearview mirror. I felt uncomfortable imposing someone else on Spencer in her home. She had already suffered enough today, and now to bring in Bri might turn her off completely. There was no way out at this point that I could come up with.
“Great,” Spencer mouthed at me in the mirror then looked out the window as we started down her driveway.
“Wow.” Bri dropped her bag on the floor in front of me, which nearly caused me to trip and fall on my face. I kicked it out of the way and followed Spencer as she moved toward the kitchen. “This place is amazing!”
“I’m sorry,” I whispered to Spencer as she uncorked a bottle of wine. “But one drink will make her pass the hell—”
“Wine, Bri?” Spencer whirled around with a glass in her hand.
“Oh, yes, please.”
I chuckled as Spencer knocked me with her hip to move me out of the way, and I used the momentum to grab a brew from the fridge.
“Oh, my God!” Bri held Spencer’s award in her hands. “Shut the front door, you’re S Peters?”
“In another life, I was.” She handed Bri the wine glass and began to prepare a plate of cheese and crackers.
“I loved that series. I think I’ve read it four times now.” Bri caught Spencer’s discomfort and gave me a worried look. “Sorry. I didn’t realize it was a topic you wouldn’t like. I mean, you are an awesome writer.”
Spencer’s shoulders sagged a bit before she turned back to her busywork at the counter. “It’s just not something I allow myself to think about anymore.”
“That’s too bad. I could just imagine the rush of it all.”
Spencer turned to wash a knife in the farm-style sink then poured herself a large glass to join Bri.
“It was fun. It was the best time of my life, actually.” She shrugged and kept her eyes down.
I sat on the stool, curious to hear what she said. It wasn’t a topic she’d ever opened up to me on. I wondered if seeing her brother had opened an unexpected door after all.