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“Of course I can,” she said, mildly insulted again. “It’s just…”
“Frustrating,” I filled in for her.
“Yes.”
“What can I do to make it easier?” I asked, watching as she slow-blinked at me, like my words weren’t making any sense.
“Ah… coffee.”
“I can do that,” I agreed. “Homemade or from the coffee place we passed down the street?”
“Either. Both.”
“Okay. How about I take the dogs for a walk, get some coffee, then come back? Babe?” I asked when she continued to stare at me, a puzzle whose pieces weren’t quite fitting together.
“Okay,” she said, nodding. “I like it—“
“With cream and sugar. Maybe a little extra sugar,” I said. We’d gotten coffee at every stop that had a machine. I paid attention.
“Yeah.”
“Are you hungry too?” I asked.
“Not yet,” she said, already looking toward her desk, clearly wanting to get back to work.
“Alright. I’ll head out now, let you get to it. You’re gonna set the alarm after I leave, right?” I asked.
“Yes.” This time, the sound was hard, and I didn’t like the look that crossed her eyes as she glanced at the security screens.
Fear.
Apprehension.
Like she expected to see someone on their way to invade right then.
“Would you rather I left the dogs?” I asked.
Her head snapped to mine. “They need the exercise,” she said, even if the tension said she wanted them to stay.
“I won’t be long,” I assured her as she followed me out into the living space as I grabbed the leashes and called the dogs. “We can both take them for a longer walk later,” I added.
“Okay,” she agreed, hand already poised to the security panel.
I wanted to ask if she had a gun, if she wanted me to get the one from the car.
But of course she would have one.
And I doubted she would like me asking about it, implying that she needed to be told how to protect herself.
“Half an hour,” I told her, moving with the dogs out into the little foyer as they looked questioningly at her, clearly not used to going anywhere without her.
In the end, they came with me, and I heard Murphy plugging in the security codes.
I waited until I was out of the cameras’ views before I texted Coach to meet up with us, taking one of the dog’s leashes as we walked.
“How’s it going?”
“She’s really closed down, so getting information out of her is not easy,” I told him. “But something happened at that apartment.”
“What? Was she attacked?”
“Definitely robbed. The guns she was working on for the Golden Glades guys were stolen. But they weren’t finished anyway, and she says she can rebuild them. But I get the feeling that something else is going on here.”
“She was hiding out in the woods,” Coach said.
“Yeah, and she hated it there.”
“She was scared of something. Someone,” he clarified.
“Yeah. That’s the feeling I’m getting. She left so fast that she didn’t set her security system. She keeps her car parked in this weird ass back lot that is only accessed through this narrow alley. I think it’s there as an escape plan.”
“The car, the cameras, the cabin, makes you wonder if maybe there was a time when she wasn’t so prepared,” Coach said. “When she didn’t get away in time.”
“Yeah,” I agreed, feeling an unexpected twisting in my stomach.
How much of Murphy’s coldness and her guards were from her line of work, from her upbringing, and how much was from trauma? From someone who tracked her down, dragged her out, did fuck-knew what to her?
“She’ll have you for the time being,” Coach said, seeming to sense my anxiety.
“Yeah,” I agreed. I mean, we hadn’t talked about where I was going to stay, but I was sure I could weasel my way into staying on her couch.
“Any idea how long she will need?”
“No. I didn’t think to ask yet. But I imagine it will be faster this time since she has already planned and started to build it before.”
“Makes sense,” he agreed.
“I will ask when I get back and text you.”
“Sounds good. You want me to walk them for a bit?” he asked, jerking his chin toward a store at the end of the corner, one of those box stores that had a little bit of everything. “You’re gonna need some clothes. I can’t give you back your stuff unless you tell her I’m here.”
“Think it might be smart to keep that to myself for the time being,” I said, handing him Samantha’s leash. “She’s suspicious and jumpy. I don’t want to give her a reason not to trust me.”
“Alright. We’ll walk up the other side of the street then back down to meet you,” he said, moving past me with the dogs who glanced back in my direction, gazes questioning.
With that, I rushed into the store, grabbing a few tees and jeans, some socks, boxer briefs, and random shit like razors and deodorant, then made my way back out in under twenty minutes.
