Page 78 of Playing for Keeps

There was a pause. A heavy sigh. Then, the words I feared, the words I knew were coming all along. “I can file a report,” he said tentatively. “But you know how this looks, don’t you? You were in here yourself not more than a few hours ago, and now you’re trying to tell me the man you were accused of killing took Jen’s friend against her will?”

“Officer Linden, please,” Jen pleaded from my side. “You know Vinny didn’t kill Aaron.”

“I know, honey. I know. And I’ll do what I can to get the ball moving, but if what Vinny says is true, I’m not sure it’ll be enough.”

“So that’s it, then?” Jen asked, a tremble in her voice. “You’re just going to let them get away with this? Kelly’s my best friend! You have to—”

“I didn’t say that was it,” Linden said, his voice firm but quiet, the background noise of ringing phones and loud voices going silent. “I said I’ll do what I can, but I’m not sure it’s enough. It’s not like we have a special ops team on standby to go chasing after our loved ones on a moment’s notice.”

The background noise rose again, though Linden’s voice didn’t follow. “This is a police station. There’s paperwork. Bureaucracy. Enough big egos get trampled and the wheels start to stick.”

“Are you saying—”

“I’m not saying anything,” Linden interrupted. “I’m just telling you I’ll do what I can do. As should you.”

Jen’s tear-filled eyes rose to find mine. I squeezed her hand, then turned my gaze to the determined faces hanging on my wall. “Thank you, Officer Linden. It’s getting late. If you can go ahead and get that report started, Jen and I will be down to the station tomorrow to sign it.”

“You take care. The both of you.” With that, Linden hung up.

I rose from my seat, pulling Jen with me to face my friends. “Are we doing this?”

“Doing what?” Jen asked as the guys affirmed they were with me.

“We’re going after Kelly,” I told her, snaking my hand through her hair and tugging her close, pressing a kiss to her lips as I caught a loose tear with my thumb. “Just like we did with Viv. Only this time, we’ve got a bigger, better team on our side.”

17

Vinny

My footsteps echoed around my silent apartment, a quiet tapping of my soles against the hardwood floors. Levi sat in the chair closest to the door, his chin resting on the back as he watched me pace. I knew he wouldn’t like what was coming, but Jen and I both agreed, this was something we had to do.

To keep them both safe.

My love was curled into herself on the couch, her worry for her friend evident in the furrows of her brow. I wanted to go to her. To tell her everything would be okay. But I didn’t want to lie.

I wasn’t sure if it would be, and I couldn’t tell her that.

I jumped at the knock at the door, not out of fright, but anticipation. Grabbing the handle, I yanked it open, and the slightest bit of relief seeped into me. Lee shouldered his way in, and I turned, leading him into the room. Levi shrank behind the back of the chair, like a child hiding from a scary beast.

“Don’t worry, kid,” I told him, scuffing a hand through his hair as I passed, “he’s one of us.”

He scowled, doing his best to smooth his locks back down. “I’m not a kid.”

I only raised a brow, holding back a chuckle as Lee stepped closer to the chair and the kid shrank even more.

Jen perked up slightly from her place on the couch, the grip on her knees loosening as she caught a glimpse of the man behind Lee. They stopped beside me, and I gestured toward the men.

“This is Lee, CEO of LS Security, and Brendan Stone, one of the team.” Jen rose from her seat, coming to my side. “This is Jen Lucas,” I said, sliding an arm around her back before motioning toward the chair. “And that’s Levi.”

“Good to meet you,” Lee said with a nod toward the kid, the deep rumble of his voice striking something like fear in Levi’s eyes.

Brendan reached forward and the kid eyed the man’s hand like it might bite him before tentatively leaning over to shake it. “Nice to meet you.”

“So, what have we got?” Lee asked after a quick nod toward Jen.

“This way.” I led them into my office, logged into my computer, and pulled up the video on my screen. “Levi took this with his phone’s camera on Saturday night.”

The two men watched intently until the video cut out at the end. I rewound it until the red flash of Kelly’s hair appeared, then stopped on the image of Jen’s best friend.