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Finn frowned. “If you don’t recognize whoever it is, don’t open the door. Callie said one of the shops down the street was robbed at gunpoint a few weeks ago.”
She nodded, her stomach tightening a bit. “I’m just going to take a peek. I won’t let anyone in. You stay by the phone in case we need to call the police.”
She made her way over to the door and discreetly lifted one slat of the blinds. Familiar chocolate-brown eyes met hers, and her shoulders sagged in relief. Unlatching the dead bolt, she called over her shoulder, “It’s fine, Finn. It’s a friend of mine.”
She pulled open the door and had to swallow down her gasp. Andre. In full uniform. Holy mother of God. Black button-up shirt stretched broad across his chest, badge gleaming in the streetlight, pants that fit him in all the best places. But her body’s lightning-fast response was thwarted when she took in the worn expression on his face. She lifted her hand, planning to reach out and touch his cheek, ask him what was wrong, but she remembered they weren’t alone. She lowered her arm quickly.
“Hey, bella.”
“Hey.” She glanced over her shoulder at Finn, who’d stepped away from the office area and into the main part of the gallery. “Finn, this is my friend Andre.”
Andre gave a cursory nod to Finn. “Nice to meet you.” Then he looked back to Evan. “Am I catching you at a bad time? I didn’t realize you’d still be working.”
“No, we just wrapped up a little while ago. Both of us were about to leave.” She sensed a disquiet coming from Andre, something unruffled in his normally smooth exterior. “Finn, why don’t you go ahead and leave? I’ll finish locking up, and Andre will make sure I get to my car safely.”
Finn eyed Andre, wariness in his hazel eyes. “You sure?”
She offered him a bright smile, one that hopefully didn’t say get the hell out of here please, which is what she’d been tempted to say. “Yes. Go. I’ve already worked you into the ground tonight. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Evan waited until she made sure Finn had driven away on his motorcycle without getting mugged, then dead-bolted the door and turned to Andre, who had sank into one of the club chairs in the waiting area she had near the door. “What’s going on?”
“Jace said you weren’t going to be able to come by tonight. And I just . . . needed to see you.”
“My session ran late and I told Daniel I’d be home by ten.” She squatted down in front of him, placing her hands on his knees. “Is everything okay?”
He leaned forward and touched her hair with gentle reverence as if making sure she was really there at his feet and not a mirage. She hadn’t seen him in a few days and, since then, bags had taken root under his normally sparkling eyes. “I just needed to see something good after the shift I had.”
The simple sentiment tugged at her. She leaned her face into his touch, feeling the warmth of his palm against her cheek and adjusted from a squat to a sitting kneel. “Want to talk about it?”
“Not really. Just working a pretty gruesome case with the detectives. It’s what I signed up for. But it never gets easy seeing innocent people die,” he said, the words as tired sounding as he looked. “I can’t get the images of the crime scene out of my head tonight.”
“Oh, honey.”
He rubbed away the crease in her brow. “And look at me, laying this macabre shit on you. I’m sorry.” He glanced around at her studio. “I shouldn’t have even come here. I know this is your job. If I had known your employee was still here, I would’ve never—”
“Shh . . .” She laid her hand over his. “It’s fine. He thinks you’re my friend. No harm done.”
The corner of his mouth hitched a bit. “Am I your friend?”
She ducked her head. “I’d like to think so.”
“Then why does it always feel like more with you, bella? Why when I had a shitty day are you the first person I wanted to see?”
Her breath hitched, the naked honesty in his voice catching her off guard. He hadn’t said it in that patented Andre seduction tone, but in a way that made her believe he really was curious about her answer. She glanced up at him, her shields flying up in defense. “Because you had a bad day and wanted to get laid.”
Hurt descended over his features, making her immediately regret her glib remark.
“You know, you and Jace are way too much alike sometimes.” He shifted forward in the chair. “Come on. Do what you need to do and lock up. I’ll walk you out so you can get home to Daniel.”
“Wait.” She put a hand on his thigh and pushed him down before he could stand up fully. “I’m sorry. I didn’t really mean that. It’s just . . . I can’t be that person. For you or for Jace. In a month, if you have a bad day, I’m not going to be here. We can’t pretend like this is something more than it is.”
“And you can’t go on pretending that it’s not,” he said softly.
She looked down, her eyes stinging. “Won’t change the outcome.”
He slipped a finger beneath her chin, tilting her face toward him. “So be it. But at least be honest when you’re with us. Trust us with the real you. Not some edited version. Do you think you can do that?”
She swallowed hard, the tempting idea sending cold fear through her. “I can try. But this scares the shit out of me.”
