Chapter 21 #3
“Don’t ‘Morning, Elizabeth’ me like Officer Big Brother didn’t escort her home last night,” she said, pointing a pen at me.
“And now Foxy Firefighter Almost-Boyfriend is escorting her in this morning. Add to that, me, Amateur Detective and Full-Time Menace, providing the security camera evidence. Dude, I expect details. Soon.”
I felt my face heat. “There are no details. Not yet anyway.”
Elizabeth leaned forward over the counter. “There are always details.”
Levi’s hand rested lightly at the small of my back, steady and unbothered.
Elizabeth noticed that too.
Her eyebrows lifted almost imperceptibly. “Ah,” she said under her breath. “Now that makes sense. Detail number one. Hand on the lower back. It’s giving protective with a side of she’s mine now, back off.”
Before I could respond, the bell above the door jingled again.
Matt walked in.
He took one look at the scene—me standing close to Levi, Levi’s hand at my back—and visibly relaxed. The tension that had been riding his shoulders since yesterday eased in a way that was almost comical.
“Well,” he said, folding his arms. “This makes me feel significantly better.”
“About what?” I asked.
“Everything. You good?” Matt asked me, softer now.
“I’m good.”
He studied my face for a beat, like he was making sure I was telling the truth. Whatever he found must’ve satisfied him.
“Car’s fine,” Matt added. “I’ll swing by after my shift and check again.” He paused, then glanced toward Elizabeth. “If that’s okay with you.”
Elizabeth blinked at him once, slow and deliberate, as if she’d just been handed a stage cue. “Oh,” she said, pressing a hand to her chest. “Officer Hartford, asking permission? This is new.”
Matt rolled his eyes. “It’s your store.”
“It is my store,” she agreed, leaning one hip against the counter. “And I do appreciate a man who respects my jurisdiction.”
Levi’s mouth twitched.
Matt crossed his arms, but there was a faint pink rising in his ears. “I just don’t want to overstep.”
“Overstep?” Elizabeth repeated, amused. “You’re offering to review security footage in a potential stalking situation—is that it?
Stalking? Is it Dipshit Travis? Anyway. That’s not overstepping.
That’s proactive.” She tilted her head slightly.
“Also heroic. Which is an excellent look on you, by the way. I approve.”
I closed my eyes briefly. “Elizabeth.”
“What?” she asked innocently. “I’m encouraging law enforcement.”
“You run the plate?” I interrupted. “From the sedan yesterday?”
Matt nodded once. Registered with a company. Pacifica Valley Holdings.”
The name meant nothing to me and everything at the same time.
“Holdings,” Elizabeth repeated, already intrigued. “This is getting good. Like, what do they hold?”
The words settled wrong in my stomach. A company name should have been harder to trace than a person. Which was probably the point.
Matt shook his head, but he was smiling now despite himself. “I’ll stop by later.”
“You do that,” she said smoothly. “I’ll have coffee ready. Maybe something sweet, too. For morale.”
“For morale,” he repeated dryly.
“For morale,” she confirmed.
Matt’s gaze flicked once toward Levi, assessing but no longer tense.
Levi met it evenly
Matt gave a small nod, satisfied. “Try not to get kidnapped before lunch,” he added, almost cheerfully.
“Matt,” I snapped.
He grinned and headed for the door.
Elizabeth watched him go with exaggerated appreciation.
“Well,” she said, fanning herself lightly with a receipt. “If we’re being surveilled by mysterious holding companies and I’m getting almost flirted with by responsible police officers, I’d say this establishment is thriving.”
Levi let out a quiet breath beside me.
I glanced up at him.
He wasn’t smiling. He was watching the door like he was already thinking three steps ahead. And somehow, that protectiveness felt far more dangerous than Elizabeth’s theatrics.
“I’ll be running calls nearby,” he told me. “I’ll have my phone on.”
“Okay,” I said. “I’ll be right here.”
His gaze held mine a second longer than necessary. Like he was committing something to memory. Then he turned toward the door to leave.
Elizabeth cleared her throat loudly.
He paused.
She leaned her elbows on the counter and pointed dramatically behind her without looking. “For the record,” she said, “I will also be keeping an eye on her. I may not know what’s going on, but I’m perfectly willing to kick some ass. I don’t need a reason.”
Levi followed the direction of her gesture.
Behind the counter, propped neatly against the shelving unit that held beef jerky and motor oil, was her wooden baseball bat. It had a pink grip.
Elizabeth gave him a solemn nod. “Louisville Slugger. Bought it during the Great Coupon Shortage of 2019. It has range, accuracy, and I have a solid swing. Hey batter, batter.”
Levi’s mouth twitched despite himself. “Good to know.”
“I’m not saying I’ve named it,” she continued. “But if I had, it would be Debbie. Gibson. After my mom’s favorite recording artist of the eighties.”
I closed my eyes briefly. “Please stop.”
She ignored me. “You go do brave firefighter things. I will defend this establishment—and our girl, Becca.”
Levi looked back at me, amusement softening his expression, but there was gratitude there, too. “Sounds like you’re in good hands.”
“I definitely have good hands,” Elizabeth said brightly. “And a lot of internalized rage.”
His eyes flicked to mine again, and then he gave a small nod and stepped outside.
The bell above the door jingled as it closed behind him.
Elizabeth waited three seconds before leaning across the counter and whispering, “He is absolutely feral for you.”
Something went through me that I was going to categorize as embarrassment and absolutely nothing else.
My face did something I had no control over.
I turned toward the coffee machine so Elizabeth couldn’t see it, which was a tactical error because Elizabeth noticed everything, and the sound she made behind me indicated she had noticed that too.
“Elizabeth.”
“What? I’m observant.” She straightened and tapped the bat affectionately. “Debbie and I have you covered. And, just saying, you are definitely not using that man to his fullest potential.”
Despite myself, I smiled. And somehow, between Levi’s steadiness and Elizabeth’s bat, the world felt a little less scary.