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“No, of course not. I mean, I hardly know the guy, but it kind of got me thinking, what if…” The idea was so crazy she could barely utter the words, but she wanted to be sure before she went ahead with her plan. “What if -”
“What?” Hallie asked.
“I mean, he has been coming around Madigan’s a lot lately. More than he ever has before. So, unless he’s become an alcoholic, which I don’t think he has, that would explain it.”
Hallie sighed, a line forming between her eyebrows the way it always did when she was thinking. “Do you like him?”
Yes. But she couldn't tell Hallie that. It would complicate everything and solve absolutely nothing. Skyla’s goal here was to push the man away, not draw him in. Even if it seemed like she was trying to do the complete opposite. “I don’t know.” She hated not being honest with her closest friend, but it was the most she could say without ruining her plan that would hopefully keep Blake safe from the wrath of Arlo J.
“Wait, is that where he was last night? Because he stopped by our house on the way home and he had a huge bruise on his cheek.”
“Yeah, a guy got a little handsy with me and Blake came in and got between me and a punch. It was totally unnecessary but - whatever.” It was the sexiest, most romantic thing a man had ever done for her, but again, Skyla kept that part to herself. “The point is, I have no idea why Blake keeps coming by Madigan’s. It’s not like we’re the only bar in town. It used to be that he only came around with the rest of the guys, but now he comes alone. All the time.”
“That is strange. He hasn’t said anything to me, and Caden hasn’t mentioned anything. Maybe he’s just bored or lonely. I know he and Caden used to hang out a lot with Luke and the other guys, but now Caden’s with me, and Luke and Orly are married. Maybe he just doesn’t want to be home alone every night.”
Hallie’s suggestion made perfect sense; except why did Blake have to come to Madigan’s?“Maybe. Though that still doesn’t explain what Vivian was doing on my property this morning, and it looked like she’d been there for a while before I saw her.”
Hallie gave a little shudder. “That is creepy. Did she offer an explanation?”
“Not really. She had a camera with her, so I’m guessing she was taking pictures of the wildlife, but I didn’t ask.”
“Do me a favor.” Hallie’s gaze locked on Skyla’s and there was something in her emerald green eyes she was trying to get across without actually saying the words.“Just remember she’s not Blake or Caden.”
“What is that supposed to mean? Of course, she’s not.”
Hallie nibbled her bottom lip and took a deep breath. “Just don’t let her get too close to you.”
“You don’t trust her?” Skyla was a little surprised by this since Hallie had been the one to invite her over to their barbeque.
Hallie shrugged. “She seems nice enough, but don’t say anything to her about me or Orly.”
“I would never.” Skyla was shocked and slightly offended that Hallie even felt the need to ask such a thing. “I hope you know that.”
“I know,” Hallie said, sounding relieved. “I just - I don’t want her causing trouble for the guys. Caden’s been under a lot of stress lately with this case he’s working on that he can’t tell me about, and I think it’s rubbing off on Blake, and you know how those two are.”
Skyla rolled her eyes. She’d been around the guys long enough to know that when one of them was stressing out, they all were. It was kind of endearing and adorable how they had this all for one, and one for all mentality. It was rare to see these days, but it just further showed the kind of people they were, and how deeply their friendship was rooted in their identities. Skyla admired that about Blake, and all the guys, really.
They spent the next hour going over their plans for the Books and Booze event. By the time Skyla left, they both felt great about the upcoming weekend. It was going to be a blast and Skyla couldn’t wait to see the amazing turn out.
But first, she needed to take care of the Blake situation, once and for all. After Orly’s kidnapping, all the guys had insisted she and Orly have their numbers on speed dial in case of emergency. That made what she had to do now even easier. As soon as she got into her car, she pulled out her cell phone and sent Blake a text message.
Skyla: Will you be at Madigan’s tomorrow?
Blake: Maybe
Skyla: Stop by my office when you get there.
Blake: Why?
Skyla: We need to talk. See you then.
Chapter 11
“You did what?” Blake nearly roared as he shot out of his chair, not caring that the whole department could not only hear him, but see him as well. Hundreds of photos of Royce Madigan’s house, his property, and even some zoomed in shots through the windows were littered across his desk. Not only had she broken more rules and protocols than Blake could even think of, she’d nearly blown his cover and his entire investigation.
Vivian took an involuntary step back, her eyes widening more in surprise than in fear of his outburst. “I did what you have been refusing to do. We needed more information and -”
“And you violated her basic rights.” His voice was still a dull roar, though he forced himself to lower the volume before he was reprimanded. He didn’t know what bothered him more. That Vivian had gone outside of protocol, or that she’d done it to Skyla. “Have you forgotten that a federal agent needs a warrant to access private property under an investigation?”
