Chapter 13
Kinley had no idea how in the world she’d found herself sitting in a chain restaurant a few miles from Gage’s apartment, laughing her ass off with Devyn, Gillian, and Gillian’s three friends, Wendy, Ann, and Clarissa.
She’d never clicked with other women, hadn’t ever had much in common with them. But over the last week, she’d found herself hanging out with Gillian almost every day. Kinley had been helping her with research for places to hold events, and for new and exciting options to offer her clients.
One day when she’d arrived at Gillian and Trigger’s apartment, Devyn had been there.
At first she’d been self-conscious, as she didn’t really know the other woman, and there was the awkward fact that she’d pointed out her bruise to Lucky.
But Devyn hadn’t mentioned that day, or anything about why she’d decided to move to Killeen, instead telling funny stories about Grover and how he’d been protective and a bit of a badass, even growing up.
With every day that went by, and no boogieman jumped out from behind the bushes to ambush her, Kinley was feeling braver about going about her daily business.
She wasn’t being stupid, though. She always went outside the apartment with someone else, mostly Gage, sometimes Gillian, and she never answered when someone knocked on Gage’s apartment door during the day when he was at work—at least not when she didn’t know who might be there.
She was also fielding calls from the FBI almost every day.
Cruz had called a few times, as had other agents who were also working on the case.
They were always polite and vigilant, giving their names and requesting that she call the San Antonio field office to verify their identities before speaking to them about the case.
It made her feel better that they were so concerned for her safety.
A district attorney from DC had also called—and told her they were moving forward with the case against Brown and Stryker as soon as they had enough information.
Search warrants were being secured for their electronics, and he’d told her he had little doubt they could, at the least, be charged with child pornography.
The French police were extremely interested in talking with her, excited that they might finally have a lead in The Alleyway Strangler case.
Kinley wasn’t happy about the possibility of having to go back to Paris to be interrogated about what she’d seen, but Gage had reassured her that if that happened, he’d do whatever he could to be right there with her.
Cruz had informed her things were actually moving along very quickly, at least as fast as the federal government could move.
He had high hopes that both Stryker and Brown would be arrested in a few weeks to a month.
And while they were doing their best to keep the investigations on the down-low, it was possible information would leak.
When and if that happened, she’d have to be even more careful about her safety.
While she was happy the cases against Stryker and Brown were definitely moving along, she was happier still that it seemed she might’ve made some true friends.
Gillian had mentioned recently that she and her other friends hadn’t been out in a while, so they’d all decided to meet up.
And it had been Gage who’d pressed her to agree to dinner, which surprised her.
He’d told her that she needed to get out and show the world she wasn’t going to hide away as if she’d done something wrong.
It wasn’t until he’d said that he, Trigger, and Lucky would be there, watching over them, that she’d let herself be talked into attending.
And she was having a great time. She felt normal.
Like a woman who was out with her friends without a care in the world.
Devyn told them about her job-hunting adventure, which apparently wasn’t going as well as she’d hoped.
Most of the vet clinics in the area weren’t hiring, and because she didn’t have any references, the ones in need of staff were leery to take her on without having anyone vouching for her.
Ann, Wendy, and Clarissa were hilarious in a way only friends who’d known each other for years could be. Kinley had thought maybe she’d feel like an outsider, but they’d gone out of their way to include her. It felt amazing.
“Wendy, how are things with you and Wyatt?” Ann asked. “Have you talked about the M word yet?”
“Money? Ménage? Mommy?” Wendy quipped.
Ann rolled her eyes. “Marriage, dummy,” she said.
“We’ve only been dating for about six months, it’s a bit early for that. We can’t all be like Gillian and Walker.”
“Hey, don’t bring me into this!” Gillian said with a laugh.
“You guys were living together and engaged in like three seconds,” Clarissa said.
It was easy to tell Gillian’s friends were just teasing her, but the conversation still made Kinley uncomfortable.
“When the man you can’t keep out of your mind moves you in to keep you safe, are you gonna say no?
” Gillian asked with a smile. She didn’t wait for an answer and kept talking.
“No. You’re gonna agree and take the opportunity to get to know him better in the hopes that he’s just as amazing as you thought he was.
And when you find out he is just as amazing, you aren’t going to hesitate to say yes when he shows you the most perfect engagement ring and asks you to spend the rest of your life by his side. ”
“So when’s the big day?” Ann asked.
Gillian smiled. “I’m not sure. I just know it’s going to be super low-key. I don’t want a big, fancy party. I already told Walker that I’m not planning it. I do enough of that shit for my day job. One day, we’ll probably just go to the courthouse and get it done.”
“I’m never moving in with a guy,” Devyn said out of the blue.
Everyone turned curious eyes on her.
“I mean, on the outside, they look like they have their shit together. They’re nice to old ladies in the store and say all the right things.
But when you least expect it, bam! They turn on you.
Say hurtful things, lie, steal, and only care about themselves.
There’s no way I’m going to risk falling in love with someone, only to have them pull a bait-and-switch on me.
No thank you. I’m going to be single for the foreseeable future. It’s just easier.”
Silence followed her little speech, and even Kinley was a little taken aback.
“Jeez, Devyn. What happened?” Gillian asked.
The other woman sighed. “It doesn’t matter. I am happy for you and Trigger. He really seems like a nice guy. But nope. No men for me.”
“Does Lucky know that?” Ann asked, gesturing with her head toward the men sitting at the bar.
“Lucky?” Devyn asked, a blush spreading over her cheeks.
“You know he’s been extra attentive lately,” Gillian said. “I heard him asking Grover about you the other day.”
“What’d he say?” Devyn asked.
Everyone grinned at her interest. “He just wanted to know how you were settling in and if you’d had any luck in your job search.”
Devyn shrugged. “Oh. Whatever. He’s Grover’s friend. That’s all.”
“I’m not sure that’s it,” Gillian insisted. “Walker says he’s never seen Lucky so focused on a woman before.”
Devyn snorted. “Yeah, right. With a name like Lucky, I’m sure he’s not hurting for women.”
“He doesn’t have that nickname because he’s lucky with the ladies,” Gillian said.
“At least not from what I understand. I guess he’s super lucky on missions.
Like, he’s always at the right place at the right time.
He’s just missed being shot more times than they can count, and he always seems to be the one to find whatever evidence they’re looking for. ”
“Whatever,” Devyn said again. “I’m not interested.”
“Hmmm,” Clarissa hummed.
“I’m not,” Devyn insisted. “Anyway, I don’t know why you’re all gossiping about me. We should all be grilling Kinley on what’s going on with her and Lefty.”
“Duh. You just gave us a long anti-men speech. Why wouldn’t we try to change your mind?” Gillian smiled.
Everyone laughed.
“But now that you mention it…what’s up with you and Lefty?” Clarissa asked not so innocently.
Kinley had just taken a sip of her margarita when five pairs of eyes turned to her, and she nearly choked on her drink. “Me?” she asked, wracking her brain for a way to change the topic, and coming up empty.
“Yeah, you. You’re shacking up with Lefty. Are the rumors true? Are left-handed men better in bed than their right-handed counterparts?” Wendy asked with a smile.
Everyone giggled, but Kinley was suddenly flushed with embarrassment. She wasn’t ready for this kind of banter. She’d never had a girlfriend to gossip with. And she didn’t have the knowledge to talk about sex in a way that would make these women think she was more experienced than she was.
Gillian put her hand over Kinley’s. “We’re not making fun of you,” she said quietly.
“I know,” Kinley said. “I just…I don’t know.”
There was silence around the table for a moment.
“You don’t know what?” Clarissa asked.
“I don’t know if Gage is better in bed than other men because I’ve never had sex.”
Kinley hadn’t meant to just blurt out that she was a virgin, but it seemed to be her new habit.
She was so a weirdo. Why had she admitted that?
“Seriously?” Ann asked.
Kinley took a big gulp of her drink and nodded.
“I think that’s kinda cool,” Wendy said. “I mean, I lost my virginity when I was fifteen and regretted it immediately. I wish I would’ve held out longer.”
“Right?” Clarissa agreed. “The older you are when you give it up, the better you know yourself and what you like.”
“Exactly,” Ann agreed. “My first time was horrible. It hurt so bad, I thought I was being split in half. And the boy didn’t give a shit. Just kept thrusting inside me, trying to get off. He didn’t care that I was writhing in pain under him.”
“Guys,” Gillian said, but Ann was on a roll.