Page 83

“Morning run, he won’t be back for at least half an hour.”

“Good, I need your help. Someone was in Kayla’s apartment last night.”

Ares’s brows dip and he asks. “Are you sure?”

I nod. “She called me last night after her shift, said something felt off. I had a look, and it seemed fine.”

“She has good instincts. What are you thinking?”

“I want to check and make sure there are no listening devices or cameras. Just to be sure.”

“Good idea. If there’s something there, we need to know.”

He picks up his coffee and finishes the last of it, then stands. “Give me ten minutes and I will meet you back down here.”

I nod and polish off my own coffee before heading back upstairs to grab my equipment bag. When I push the door to my room open, Vero is on my bed with his arm around Kayla, and she is still asleep. He looks up and puts his finger to his lips, so I grab the bag and leave without a word. He will keep her busy while I’m gone.

Ares is in the kitchen when I get there, and he follows me to my truck. The drive to Kayla’s takes about half an hour.

“So, you and Kayla . . .” he starts.

“What about us?”

He shrugs. “I don’t know . . . how did you manage it? You never get close to anyone, but you didn’t seem to have a problem with her.”

“I don’t have an answer for that—I just know she is mine. I haven’t felt that with anyone before, so it is what it is for now.”

Area nods, and I know he is trying to work things out in his head. He likes to think he doesn’t have feelings, yet at the first sign of trouble with Kayla, he is offering to help. He can say it serves his purpose all he likes, but he’s full of shit.

As I pull up at Kayla’s place, Mabel is on the front porch with a watering can. She looks over at us as we get out of the truck.

“You again,” she says.

“Hi, Mabel.” I stop at the bottom step. “This is Ares.”

“Hello,” Ares says, stepping forward and smiling at her. He uses a tone that makes me want to laugh. “I’m sorry to come by unannounced. We work with Kayla, and she asked us to check something in the loft this morning. She mentioned there might be a maintenance issue with her window lock.”

“Oh no, she saw me last night. The poor dear thought someone was in her loft. I feel terrible.”

“Don’t feel bad. We are going up to fix it and make sure she’s safe.”

Mabel looks at me again, but I say nothing. Ares is doing fine without me.

“She works too hard and comes in so late. I worry about her.”

“She does work hard,” Ares agrees. “She mentioned you keep an eye on her, and she’s very grateful. It’s so nice that Kayla has people she can trust.”

Mabel sets down the watering can. “I’ll get the spare key.”

I look at Ares while she goes inside.

“She loves you,” I say, and he smiles at me.

Mabel comes back and hands the key to Ares. She tells us to leave it under the mat when we are done and to make sure we lock up properly. She looks at me directly when she says the last part.

“Of course,” Ares says. “Thank you.”

She goes back to her plants as we take the stairs two at a time. Once Ares opens the door, I see the loft is exactly how we left it last night. I set the equipment bag on the table, then start at the front of the room and systematically work my way back, while Ares takes the bathroom. We check over every surface. Inside the smoke detectors, inside lamps, every place there could possibly be a listening device, but nothing. I return to the bed, where I found the chalk, and run my hand along the underside of the frame, still coming up empty.