Whispers of You (Lost & Found #1)(40)

Guilt gnawed at my insides. The idea of my father battling this guilt while recovering from two major surgeries had self-hatred flaring to life again. “Dad…”

“There are two people in this relationship. We are both responsible for saying what we want. And what I want is a relationship with my son. A real one. One where we’re honest, even if it hurts.”

“I’d say you’ve been honest lately.”

My dad winced. “Okay, we’re honest but we do it with a little more kindness and grace.”

I took him in, reading nothing but honesty in his face. “I’d like that.”

He clamped a hand on my shoulder and squeezed. “Good. Now, tell me what the hell is going on with some creep loitering around Wren’s house.”





18





WREN





The lights in the break room hummed as I stared at the coffee spilling into my mug. I willed it to magically have more caffeine. Okay, something more than caffeine—maybe just shy of cocaine. Shoving the pot back under the drip, I poured creamer into the inky blackness.

Amber strode in wearing street clothes and grabbed a takeout container from the fridge. She let out a low whistle as she took me in. “Rough night?”

“That obvious?”

She winced. “Just look a little tired.”

“Didn’t get the best sleep.” Understatement of the century. Maybe I could get one of the EMTs to give me an IV and pour the coffee directly into it.

“You didn’t have any more incidents at your place, did you?”

I tried to hide my wince. Small town. Working for the department. Nothing was private. “No, nothing like that.”

Not unless you counted an overbearing ex-boyfriend and nosy friends.

“Good.” Amber idled for a moment. “I’m off the rest of the day and tonight. If you’d feel better with someone at your place tonight, just give me a call.”

I had to fight the urge to rear back. It wasn’t that Amber was ever rude to me, it was that I could feel her grief every time she was forced to be in my presence. The fact that she would even offer to come and stay said a heck of a lot about her character. “Thanks, Amber. I really appreciate that.”

“No problem.” She gave me a sort of half wave and headed for the door.

I leaned back against the counter and took a long drink of my coffee. “Please give me a miracle,” I whispered into my cup.

“Talking to beverages now? Should I be worried?”

My gaze snapped up at the familiar, raspy tone. But I wished I hadn’t looked. Holt wore workout shorts that hung low on his hips and a T-shirt that clung to every ridge of muscle. I swallowed. Hard. “What are you doing here?”

He stepped into the break room, and I fought the urge to flee. “Meeting Lawson for a sparring session, but I was hoping we could talk. Do you have a minute?”

I wondered if I could chug the coffee first. I needed all my synapses firing at full speed for a conversation with Holt. “I’ve got five minutes left on my break.”

He nodded and shut the door behind him.

The room suddenly felt too small—as if the walls were closing in around me and making it hard to breathe. And even though Holt was still feet away, I swore I smelled that blend of pine and spice. Either that or I was having some sort of scent hallucinations now.

Holt twisted his keys around his finger. “I’m sorry I steamrolled you this morning. I’m used to coming into a problem and having people expect me to fix it.”

“I’m not a problem,” I gritted out.

His eyes flashed. “No, but someone creeping around your place is. I’ve worked more stalking cases than I can count. I just wanted to help. But, instead, I was overbearing and rude. I’m sorry.”

What was I supposed to say to that? It was hard to hold onto my mad when Holt was being all reasonable. “Thanks.”

He gripped the keys tighter. “I would like to help if you’d be comfortable with it.”

“Holt, it’s a bad idea.”

“Cricket, there’s nothing I can do that will fix the past. There’s not much I have to give now. But I can give this. It’s what I do, and I’m damn good at it.”

The sincerity and the deep pain beneath it were too much. I felt those danged walls I’d constructed to keep Holt at a distance crumbling. “No motion detectors, and no cameras inside the house.”

A grin stretched across his face. “I can work with that.”

“And we need to talk price. It has to be affordable. We come up with a budget before you order anything.”

“Totally fair. My friend owns the company I use for alarm components, so he’ll get us a good deal.”

I arched a brow. “Is this company good?”

“Halo security systems are the best in the business. You know I wouldn’t put anything less in your house.”

I did know, damn it. And I’d also seen that name before on homes and businesses. “Okay. Let me crunch some numbers, and I’ll figure out what I can afford.”

Holt’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed. “Thanks for letting me do this. For trusting me with it.”

There was that dangerous T-word. Did I trust Holt? With my life? Yes. Without hesitation. With my traitorous heart? Never again.