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“Either way is fine. You don’t have to stay.”
“I’d like to if you’re okay with it.” Evan looked at her but she looked anywhere else, staring out the window at the moment.
“Okay. I’m going to lock up then and head to bed. You know where everything is.”
With that, she escaped to her room and closed the door. She should have told him to leave, she fussed at herself. There was no point in letting him stay other than to break her own foolish heart yet again.
The thing was, it really would help her sleep to have someone she trusted out there. She knew he would never let harm come to her as long as he could stop it. It was her heart she couldn’t trust him with.
Kayla crawled into bed, her phone on silent, and stared at the ceiling. Sleep overtook her quickly, and she slept harder than she had in a week. Thoughts of Evan swirled in and out of her dreams, but no nightmares haunted her.
ChapterTwenty-Six
Evan
Evan had slept on Kayla’s sofa last night, and oddly enough, he felt pretty rested this morning. He had been surprised that she had let him stay without arguing. He was fully prepared for her to say no and he was just going to leave.
Instead, she’d agreed and then ran away. She must have been more affected by the break-in than she had let on to anyone. It was the only reason he could think of that she would so readily agree to letting him stay, even if she made it sound like a casual indifference.
He stretched and ran a hand over his face. She hadn’t made any noise yet, so he assumed she was still sleeping. He took his time in her guest bathroom, splashing water on his face and brushing his teeth. He was grateful she had stocked it to have extra things in case someone stayed over.
Finished, and more awake, he headed to the kitchen. The first order of business was coffee. He got it started and then rummaged through her fridge for breakfast ingredients, grinning to himself as he found everything he needed to make some French toast.
It was her favorite and super easy to make. He set about getting it together as quickly and quietly as he could. It was late morning now, and he knew that despite the late hour they went to bed, she would likely be up soon just like him. They were both naturally pretty early risers.
He called Jake while he cooked to ask for an update. His plan had been to wait for her to wake up before he did, but he had worried she might forget he had stayed over and hear him moving around and panic. Nothing to base that on, but he wanted her to know he was still here.
“Hey,” Jake answered.
“Hey. Any luck?” Evan jumped right into it.
“Maybe, actually. There are two leads that they are tracking down today, and if either one proves to be her, we can have her arrested.”
Evan smiled. Things were finally beginning to take a turn. “Fingers crossed.”
“Right? I hope it’s her so we can move on from this mess.”
“Agreed.”
“Did you see what the blackmailer did?” Evan asked.
“No?”
Evan explained what happened last night and then all the work the three of them had put in.
“Shit. You guys should have called. We would have helped, too.”
“I know. Kayla has just really been through the wringer lately, though.”
“She really has. How’s she taking the news?”
“Damn near collapsed when we got word none of the data had actually been breached. I stayed on her couch last night, and we are meeting with Catherine at her office at some point today.”
“Well, I’ll let you know if either of these leads pans out today. The police will too if it works out and they arrest her.”
“I hope so. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Later, man.”
