Page 65 of Fools in Love

“I’ll meet you inside.” Nick walked over to his car and pulled out his gym bag.

Kate’s phone rang three times and then he remembered she was probably in class. He was about to hang up when she answered it. He could hear a bunch of laughing in the background.

“Hey,” Kate answered. He could hear the humor and joy in her voice and hated to squash it.

“Hey, I thought you should hear it from me, but I caught my dad. He’s in custody. Aiden has him.”

Before she responded, the music stopped and everything went quiet. He didn’t know if she’d stepped outside or if she’d just turned it off and everyone had stopped talking.

“I… as in you? Or I as in the police?” she asked.

“Me. He was spying on me at the Boys and Girls Club. I came here to box until your class was over. I chased him down on the beach.” Remembering that it was basically the same spot he’d first saved Kate from the wave had his stomach rolling. Had his dad been squatting on the beach? He knew that a lot of beach bums came up from California and hung out around the Boys and Girls Club. They didn’t get a lot of them in Pride, but over the past three years, he’d had to deal with a handful of them.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“Yeah. He elbowed my nose, but it’s not broken.” He wiped his nose and was pleased when his hand came away clean.

“I’ll be—” Kate started.

“No, finish your class. Your brother and I are going in to take out my pent-up frustration on the bags.”

“Tom?”

“Yeah?” he said, closing his eyes.

“I love you.”

Just hearing her say those words relaxed him. “I love you too. I’ll see you in about an hour.”

“I’ll be here.” She hung up.

He walked into the gym, changed, and then met Nick at the boxing bags. For the next hour, they pummeled the bags and even sparred for a couple rounds. Nick was a pretty good boxer. Not Tom’s level, but still, he was a good partner.

After showering and changing, he drove over to the studio to pick Kate up. When he arrived, the lights were off, and the place was locked up. Suzie’s place was closed and dark as well. The unit on the other side had just begun construction for the new tenant, but it was dark inside as well.

He dialed Kate’s number and frowned when it went to her voicemail. He tried calling her again. After the third try, he called Aiden.

“Hey, we’ve got your dad all processed—”

“Kate’s missing,” he broke in. “I’m here to pick her up, and the place is dark and locked up.”

“Do you think she walked home?” Aiden asked, but Tom could hear him rushing somewhere.

“No, we agreed I’d pick her up,” he said, moving around the building to check the back door.

“When was the last time you talked to her?” Aiden asked. Tom heard his car start as Aiden headed over there. The police station was about two blocks away and, already, Tom could hear the siren.

“An hour. I called and told her what happened.” He pulled on the back door to the studio.

“I’m calling Suzie to see when she last saw her. I’ll be there in a minute.”

“I’m checking the back doors,” Tom said. He hung up and rushed over to the flower shop to try that door. It was locked as well.

Then he heard a noise coming from the other unit and jumped into action.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Kate decided to wait out on the front walk for Tom after class. She locked up as she chatted with Lilly about ordering more bottles and shirts. They’d come up with even more ideas for swag, as Lilly called it. Warm-up jackets, sweats, yoga mats, and even gym bags.