Toby takes a drink of his own water. “You said you have to work today. Cleaning at Dylan’s, right?”
“Yeah.” I stare at the television. Toby turned it on at some point when I wasn’t paying attention. It must be on mute, but it’s one of my favorite movies of all time, Romeo and Juliet. DiCaprio and Dane are kissing on-screen and I stare at them.
All this tragedy is probably more true-to-life than people realize.
“Emerson? You with me?”
“Ah, yeah. I’m tired.” I don’t mention the fact that I didn’t get much sleep last night, as he very well might be guessing. “I don’t think Dylan will want me there today. Not after...well, you know.” My voice sounds as dead as I feel.
“Do you need to call and let someone know you won’t be there today?” Toby’s gentle voice makes my throat tighten.
“I’ll text Jordy.”
“Okay.”
He turns up the volume on the television and glances at me. “Want to watch something in particular?”
Diesel scoots his front paws onto my lap and burrows his head into my stomach. “No.” I answer without taking my eyes off the screen.
Toby places the remote on the arm of his chair and lays his head back. “I am sorry this is happening to you. Really. But it won’t go on forever.”
“How long have you been watching me?” I think back to the time I met Toby in the parking lot and the note on my car.
“About three months.”
Shock tunnels into my brain as I absorb his words. “Why so long?”
“Rafa had feelers out. Your dad’s been threatened in prison. Roughed up a little. When we became aware of what was going on, we knew he’d target you. It makes sense that your dad would’ve either hidden information with you or that you can get the code from him.”
I nod numbly. “I see.”
Toby’s brow furrows. “I know you don’t like me, but we just have to spend the next couple of days together and this is over.”
“You make it sound very easy.” Diesel snores softly in my lap. “If you know all this stuff about Rafa, why don’t you just go arrest him?”
“He hasn’t done anything yet that we can take to trial. That’s how the best criminals work. Nothing’s traced back to them.”
“I still don’t get it. If I give you the code, he doesn’t have anything incriminating.”
“We’re going to wire you. You’ll give him a copy. We need to get him to prepare to run Eavesdropper on his servers and then we shut him down.”
“Wait. You said I’m going to give it to him. Do I have to emphasize that I am not trained for this espionage shit?”
His mouth pulls for a brief moment. “That’s why you have me. You won’t be alone.”
Chapter Twenty
Suspicious Minds
Dylan
Jordy lingers in my doorway, both hands braced on the threshold. “I said Emerson’s not coming today. What happened?”
“Nothing.” I knot my tie and grab my wallet from the dresser. The house is filled with the voices of Collin and Ace downstairs.
“Don’t lie to me. I know you too well.” He comes in and leans against the wall. “You two got into a fight.”
“That’s one way of putting it.”
I attempt to leave, but Jordy puts an arm across the open door. “She needs you, so get over whatever the little spat is and call her.”
Alarm bells ring in my brain. She does need me, but I’m still recovering from the aftershocks of knowing she wouldn’t give up the other guy.
Or am I the other guy?
“She’s seeing a guy named Toby.”
Jordy’s shock, before he covers it, is real. “Maybe they were dating before she started seeing you,” he says.
“No. She hasn’t known him long. This is some long-haired dude who rides a motorcycle and works at Folks’ Auto.”
“Really.” Jordy’s pauses. “That doesn’t sound like Emerson to date two guys at once. It doesn’t make sense.”
“Yeah, well, I thought that too.” I shove him gently to the side. “I’m going to the office.”
Jordy stays propped in my doorway as I pass him and head downstairs. Footsteps sound on the stairs and he suddenly meets me at the front door. “I’ve watched Emerson’s life for a while,” he says. “She hasn’t dated anyone for the past year. I’m positive. Then she up and decides to date two? Think about it.”
He’s right. It doesn’t make sense. The girl who laid it out for me in no uncertain terms that she is into monogamy wouldn’t have another guy in the picture.
I open the door and breathe in the frigid air. Maybe I’m overthinking everything.
It’s one in the afternoon when I finally stop to take a lunch break. We’ve had a busy morning with a sales meeting about our spring marketing plans. The sales staff seem to know I’m in no mood for jokes and light conversation.
My cell chimes and I glance at the display. It’s Jordy. “Hello.”
“Did you say you know this Toby guy?”
My gut burns at the mention of his name. “Met him once. Is that why you called? I really don’t want to talk—”
“I called Gabby. She met this Toby guy for the first time today.”
“So?”
“Don’t you think that’s a little odd?”
“Not really.” I drum my pen against a pad on my desk. “What’s your point?”
“Gabby is the nosiest person I know. Chic should be a private investigator. She goes through Emerson’s things, knows her sister’s business. I’d think she would know all about Toby.”
“Emerson did a good job of keeping the secret from me...”
“I’m telling you that something isn’t right. I went to the Folks’ webpage. They have a page called ‘At Your Service’ where they put names and photos of all their mechanics. It’s a PR thing. No Toby there.”
“Well, you got an A in detective work until that point. I met him while he was working at Folks’.”
“Gabby says Emerson is crazy about you. That anytime she mentions you, she gets all flustered.”
Jordy’s statement sends a zing of pleasure through me. A second later, the zing dies and numbness takes over. I twirl to face the wall of glass and stare at the ceiling while I rub my temple.
“I think she’s exaggerating. Or maybe Emerson was afraid of getting caught.” I look out to my showroom floor and see my office manager watching me from her desk. I rotate my chair away from her prying eyes.
“I think you should call Gabby. Ask her yourself. I’ll give you the number. Just think about what I said.”
I take the offered number all while thinking I’d have to be a real loser to call Emerson’s younger sister and ask for details concerning the other guy. The guy who has something I don’t have—some trait that Emerson is looking for in a man she dates.
“Hey, Dylan,” Aggie calls over the phone intercom. “You have a guest heading your way. And she’s too fast to stop.”