“I need you to come down to the station when you can, Blue. We have to sort this out. For now, I’m going to look for this asshole who broke into Jay’s place, but I don’t hold out much hope he is still in Lyntacky if it is related to your employment in New York.”
Blue wasn’t sure she could speak anymore. Waves of fatigue were rolling over her, and suddenly all she wanted was sleep.
Birdie pulled up at the same time as Dan’s cruiser. Worry was marring her sister’s face as she got out of her car. “Blue, are you all right?”
She let her sister hold her, and then they went inside. Dan did another sweep of the place.
“Okay, it’s all clear, but you keep your phone with you, Birdie, and call if you have any concerns,” Dan said.
“I will, and thank you, Dan.”
“Everything will work out okay, Blue. We’ll beat some sense into him if he doesn’t listen to reason.”
She managed a tired smile at that.
He kissed them both on the cheek and then left.
“Come on, I can see how tired you are. Sleep now and talk tomorrow,” Birdie said.
Blue didn’t argue, and soon she was in her bed, covers pulled up to her chin.
“I’m going to be waking you, Blue Jay, so don’t think about throwing any pillows at me,” Birdie said.
Blue managed a weak smile, and then she closed her eyes. Her last thought was for Jay, wondering where he was and what he was doing, and then she was out.
Chapter 30
Jay had flown to the Middle East and spent a week there working with US military staff on the ground regarding cyber defense and intelligence. He slept fleetingly and tried not to think about what he’d left behind in Lyntacky, but of course he had been.
Blue wanted to help him deal with past trauma and thought that connecting with Hazel may help with that, and as the days passed, he began to wonder if she was right.
It was hard to change his mindset when it had always been about protecting himself from his past. To open that door and let in what he’d pushed down deep inside wasn’t going to be easy. But, if he wanted to let Blue into his life, Jay knew he had to try.
He hadn’t allowed himself to check his phone while he’d been working, but as he entered his hotel room in Washington, Jay turned on his phone and read the messages that were waiting for him.
There was a message from Blue, but only one. He read it twice.
Time and distance had told Jay he’d reacted badly. Yes, she’d betrayed him, but he also understood the circumstance and howpersuasive Dan could be. He knew she cared about him and wouldn’t have done it out of malice.
He’d also received five missed calls from Dan. Listening to his messages, he heard his friend yelling down the phone at him to call him.
“Where the fuck have you been?” were his friend’s first words when he answered Jay’s call. “I’ve tried to contact you five times, and you didn’t even bother to answer. You think I just call you for shits and giggles when you leave Lyntacky? Have I ever done that before?”
“Calm down, Dan,” Jay said. “What’s happened?”
“What happened days ago, do you mean?” Jay could hear the frustration and anger in his friend’s voice as Dan continued to rant at him. “It’s not just about you anymore, Jay. You need to be contactable, damn it!”
Blue,he thought. This had to do with her. “Is Blue all right?”
“No, she’s not all right. Fuck, Jay, someone broke into your house and stole her sketch pad. Then she tried to get it back from the guy, and he knocked her to the ground.”
He’d heard it said that a person goes cold all over when they’ve had a shock but had never really experienced it—until now.
Blue was hurt, and he hadn’t been there for her. Panic gripped him.
“Dan, tell me she’s all right,” he rasped.
“She’s okay,” Dan said, calmer now.
