Total pages in book: 54
Estimated words: 49416 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 247(@200wpm)___ 198(@250wpm)___ 165(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 49416 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 247(@200wpm)___ 198(@250wpm)___ 165(@300wpm)
Zoe raises her brows my way, a little shock fluttering across her features.
And I understand the surprise because I've never hesitated to tell her anything. Even before I knew who she was, our secret little texts were things I cherished.
“Yeah, yeah,” I grumble. He's not wrong. It does take me a long time to open up to people—call it the nature of my job, but I have trust issues. But when it came to Zoe? All bets were off.
“Catch me up,” I say, leaning against the bar.
Caleb debriefs me on the happenings of the club, more of the same he’s already texted to me in our weekly check-ins. He goes through the motions though, recanting stories of dramatic love triangles that led to fights in the late hours of the night while he stocks the shelves with liquor.
“And I haven’t had any more breakthroughs since last week,” he continues, flashing Zoe—who listens quietly while perched on a barstool, looking sexy as hell—an apologetic look. “I need more time. Or I need him to make a mistake,” he continues, referring to Spencer.
“You and me both,” I say, shaking my head.
“Can I ask you something, Zoe?” Caleb asks, hesitant.
“Of course,” she says.
“If it’s triggering to answer, you can ignore me,” he says, and I cock a brow at him. I trust Caleb, something earned from our time in the military together, but I won’t hesitate to push if he does anything to scare Zoe.
“I’m all right,” she says. “I want this to be over with as much as you two do.”
Caleb nods. “When you treated Spencer as a client, did he tell you his profession?” Zoe nods. “Was it in cybersecurity?”
“How did you know?”
“Hunch,” he says, flashing me a look. “He’s covering his tracks and making sure he’s not leaving a trail for us to follow. It’s…” His voice trails off, eyes on me again.
“It’s what?” Zoe asks.
“Unnerving,” I finish for Caleb. “He’s going to a lot of effort to not be found, which means he knows we’re looking for him, and…” I sigh. “It means he has plans.”
Zoe digests the information, the blows out a breath. “Well, I’m lucky to have you both on the case then, right?”
We both nod, and Caleb extends his hand toward her. “Can I see your phone?”
She hands it over immediately.
“I’m putting my number in here, in case you need anything and Owen isn’t available.”
“Thanks,” she says, taking the phone back.
I nod at Caleb, knowing it’s a good idea to cover all the bases. I don’t want to think there’ll ever be a time where I’m not available to her, but if I was hunting down a lead and something happened? It’s comforting to know she has someone to call.
After another fifteen minutes of chatting about the club, I've determined everything is in order. The update definitely feels more satisfying, especially when Zoe would smile or give me impressed looks at every question I asked. And while Caleb headed back to the storage room to get more stock for the bar, I take Zoe’s hand and give her a quick tour before climbing the stairs with her in tow.
“This feels familiar,” she says as I unlock the roof access door and lead her through it, allowing it to shut softly behind us.
“A good familiar, I hope,” I say, my boots crunching on the graveled rooftop. I spare a glance over at the garden, noting Caleb has been watering my plants.
I straighten some of the patio furniture the wind has blown to the side as Zoe walks toward the balcony, checking out the unobstructed view of the bright blue sky.
She's an absolute knockout, a delicate silhouette with the open sky behind her, her hair blowing slightly in the sweet breeze. Something shifts inside me just looking at her, like a tether tightening, connecting me to her.
“This is such an awesome spot,” she says, motioning to the roof. “This and the club,” she adds. “I can tell how much you love it. What made you want to be an owner?”
“When I was in the military, it was something that I always dreamed about,” I answer as I cross the space to lean against the balcony next to her. “When the deployments would be long and home seemed so far away, I realized that the people in my unit were writing letters to significant others they'd left behind, or their kids or their parents, and I didn't have that. My parents both passed away several years ago, and I was an only child. And since I enlisted when I turned eighteen, the only significant friendships I made were those in the military too. And while I still keep contact with some of the people from my unit, we're all scattered across the country now. Except for Caleb, who practically followed me here.” I laugh.