As she drove away, she pulled out her phone and called the one person she knew who could help her get that evidence.
“Kat? Hey, can I come over? I need to talk to you about something.”
Chapter Fourteen
After leaving Grace and returning back to his house, Jaime showered and tried to put things away from the search warrant. Despite the cloud of doom hanging over his head due to this entire investigation, he couldn’t feel completely hopeless, either. As he put away clothes in his drawer, he thought about everything that had happened last night.
Grace, kissing him. Grace, trembling in his arms. Grace, so lovely and wet and tight and amazing. He’d never slept with a virgin, except when he’d been a virgin himself, and he hadn’t known what to expect. He’d been afraid that she’d have a change of heart or even cried, but he should’ve known better. She’d known what she’d wanted and had only faltered for one moment, before she insisted they continue what they had started.
He laughed a little at himself. If anyone had been afraid, it had been him. He’d been afraid he’d hurt her unintentionally. What did he know about women and their first times beyond that it was supposed to be painful and there was blood involved? But in the morning, there had been no bloody sheets or anything that macabre. Simply Grace, sleeping peacefully beside him, her hair fanned across the pillow, her ass pressed up against his groin, making him want her all over again. He’d wanted to stay with her all morning and take her for a second, third, thousandth time, but he’d pulled himself away.
He had to clear his head. He had to focus. He couldn’t let her distract him.
But here he was, staring out the window like a moody teenager, his heart practically floating above his head. He tossed the rest of his clothes in a drawer. Was he going to start writing poetry now? Maybe he’d go to her window and sing her a song of his love?
He froze. Jaime was not adverse to love. Love was great, it was messy, it was interesting, it was what it was. But he’d never used that word in reference to Grace Danvers. Suddenly, it seemed like the walls in his room were closing in. It was like everything came into focus while simultaneously becoming entangled and knotted.
Was he in love with her? He didn’t know. But he did know that whenever he thought about her, it was with a mixture of longing and dismay. He didn’t understand the dismay: was it his conscience, flaying him for losing his self-control? Or was it something deeper, like he was dismayed with himself for letting himself fall for her.
He shook his head. Going into his office, he cleaned that up while refusing to think about Grace any longer. He’d drive himself crazy doing that. Besides, how could they have a relationship when her own brother had warned him away from her? He scowled, remembering Adam’s warning. Well, it’s too late now…
As he cleaned, his phone rang. Seeing that it was his dad, Jaime answered it while placing pens and other office supplies back into their places on his desk.
“Jaimito, how are you?” Fernando asked in Spanish.
They talked for a few minutes, Jaime avoiding the investigation while Fernando seemed intent on avoiding talking about their citizenship applications. This made Jaime tense, although his father sounded normal as usual.
Ten minutes into their conversation, though, Fernando seemed like he didn’t know what else to say. Jaime heard a noise in the background, then his father cleared his throat.
“I wanted to talk to you about something,” he finally said, his voice quiet.
Jaime sat down in his office chair. “What is it?”
“We got a call from our lawyer. We’re close to finishing our application, but he was informed of something that could make that difficult.”
“Now you’re freaking me out.”
Fernando sighed. “Jaimito, we know about the investigation. Why didn’t you tell us?”
Jaime gazed out into his backyard, the grass brown and dotted with patchy snow. A breeze rustled the skeletal branches of a maple tree, a few large crows sitting in the tree. A chill ran through his veins.
“I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want to worry you. They haven’t pressed charges or anything like that.”
“It doesn’t matter,” his father said in an earnest voice. “You should’ve told us. Jaimito, we’re your parents. Your mother…”
Jaime winced. He could just imagine his mother’s face when she heard her only son was being looked at for possibly stealing from his workplace. She’d never believe it, but the potential taint of such an investigation was enough to make things difficult. She knew that, his father knew it, and although he didn’t want t o acknowledge it, Jaime knew it, too.
“I’m sorry, Papá. I should’ve told you. But I hoped it wouldn't go beyond just looking at me. I never thought it would go this far.” Jaime felt his throat close up. He wished he were at home with his parents because right at that moment, he felt lonelier than he’d been in a long time.
“I understand. I know you. You are a good man and a good son. But you must be careful, too.” Fernando took a breath. “As of right now, I don’t think you can provide a character reference for us.”
Jaime clutched his phone tightly. Since he was a citizen, he was one of the biggest reasons Immigration would grant his parents citizenship. He didn’t have to provide a character reference, it was true, but it would be more difficult if he didn’t.
He gritted his teeth. He wanted to yell at his father, but instead all he said was, “I didn’t do it, you know.”
“I know. I believe you. But do you see? It doesn’t matter. There are people looking at you, and not in a good way.”
“I’m sorry,” he whispered.
“We’ll get through this,” Fernando said firmly. “You will, too. Know that your mother and I are here for you. Don’t keep secrets from us, yes?”
Jaime smiled. “Considering you always find out anyway, I won’t try to again.”
“Good. We’ll let you know if we have any updates with our application. Oh, and call your mother soon. She’s worried about you.”
Jaime said goodbye before slumping in his chair. He stared out his window, not even sure how much time had passed. He watched as the sun set and a gray twilight transformed the sky. The crows had flown away hours ago.
When he heard his doorbell ring, he stiffened. Was this day only to be full of bad news? He went to his bedroom, peering out the window to make sure it wasn’t more police, but he didn’t see any cop cars. He opened the front door to find Grace on his doorstep. Again.
“Oh good, I was afraid you were out.” She came in and hugged him.
And with that, his depressed mood lightened—at least enough that he felt like he could keep going. He hugged her back and then kissed her. She tasted like strawberries.
“I missed you,” he admitted.
She smiled. “It’s only been twelve hours.”
“Doesn’t matter. Do you want something to eat?”
“Maybe in a little bit. I have something to show you.” She set her bag onto the floor, rifling through it and pulling out a stack of papers. “I found these in Adam’s office.”