Dean was covering for one of the other team members today. She wouldn’t bet on it, but he’d probably picked up the shift to avoid the birthday party the boys had today. She couldn’t blame him. Screaming kids all hyped up on sugar weren’t her favorite.
“As a matter of fact, we’ve put out two. I was the hero. Like always.”
“Sure you were.” She laughed. “Listen, I was calling to ask if Bella’s friend Sophia could hang out with her at your house today. I would have called Cass, but she said the boys had a birthday party, and I didn’t want to add to her chaos.”
“The marshal’s kid?”
Was there a change in his tone?
“His niece, yes. We had lunch together, then took the girls shopping. Some kid was following us. Liam confronted him, but he got away. Liam’s following us to your house now.”
“Is everything okay?”
“Yes. We’re fine. Just, after the week I’ve had and the threat to the girls, I’m a bit unnerved.” She hoped that’s all it was, but deep in her gut, she knew it wasn’t. “I figure if Sophia could hang out with us, it would keep the girls busy and out of trouble until I meet up with Liam tonight.”
“Uh-oh. Do I smell a romance?” Dean teased.
Sam’s face heated. Her normal reaction was to go into why a romance would not be happening, but this was a ruse. One she needed to keep herself and Bella safe. “It’s possible we might be seeing each other.”
“I knew it!” Dean yelled. “Greer owes me twenty bucks.”
“You guys seriously bet on my love life?”
“No one said a word about love, sweetheart.”
Sam growled. “Whatever. Can Sophia hang out or not?”
Dean laughed. “That’s fine.”
“Thanks. Don’t get into too much trouble.”
“Me? Never.”
She disconnected the call and pulled into Dean’s driveway, and Liam pulled in behind her. Everyone got out and met at the front of Liam’s SUV.
“Here.” She handed Bella the key to the house. “Y’all go inside.”
Bella took the key, and the girls disappeared inside.
“I called Dean, and he’s okay with Sophia staying.” She sighed. “And now he knows that there’s something going on between the two of us.”
Liam smirked. “Come on, dating me isn’t that bad. I’m quite the catch.”
“I’ll have to take your word for it.”
His face fell, and he quickly cleared his throat. “I better get going. I need to get that footage.”
Something she’d said had hit a nerve. She wanted to apologize but didn’t know how or why, so she just nodded. “Okay.”
She watched him climb into his SUV before she turned around and went inside.
The girls had already disappeared into the room she and Bella had been sharing. She checked on them quickly, then decided to sit down and watch some mind-numbing television.
She channel surfed for a while before finding a movie she’d seen a million times and watching it anyway. It was comforting. She knew everything that was going to happen, and there wereno surprises. As the movie started, she scrolled on her phone, looking for a new place to live.
Realistically, she’d want something in the same area so Bella could stay at her current school. Plus, it was conveniently close to the station. It had to have at least two bedrooms. In a perfect world, there’d be three—then she could have a workout room slash study room for Bella. Three-bedroom houses in her price range were going to be hard to find.
Suddenly, the window to her right exploded, and glass rained down on the carpet. Muffled pops and loud thudding filled the front room.
