16. Olivia
CHAPTER 16
Olivia
W hen Gemma begins to bark, my eyes open, and as the fog of sleep clears, I see the TV is still on, then feel Bax’s big, warm body mostly beneath mine, my legs tangled with his long ones, and the warmth of a blanket at my back. Apparently, we both fell asleep on the couch last night.
“Let me get that, baby,” Bax mutters when the doorbell rings, and I lift my head off his chest to look down at him as he slides my hip toward the back of the couch so he can get up. As he moves to the front door, I sit up and look at the window. The blinds are closed, but I can still see a little light coming through.
“Yeah?” he asks as he answers the door, swinging it inward, and I see an older gentleman standing on his front porch.
“Sorry to wake you, son. I tried knocking next door to see if the girl who lives there was around but didn’t get an answer. Bella told me to try here.”
“What’s going on?” Bax asks as I get up off the couch and walk around it to meet them at the door.
“I was on my way to work and saw that the car next door has been vandalized,” the older man says, and my stomach drops as I stop in place. “Looks pretty bad. There's some spray paint down the side, and two of the tires were slashed. Do you want me to call the police?”
“No thanks, Frank. I’ll call and talk to them.”
“Sure.” Frank’s eyes come to me when Bax looks my way with his jaw tight.
“I’m sorry to wake you two.”
“It’s okay.” I swallow, wrapping my arms around my middle as he focuses back on Bax.
“You have my cell if the police need anything from me.”
“Thanks, Frank,” Bax says, and he nods before stepping down off the porch and walking in the direction of his car. I can see it’s parked at the end of the driveway before the door is shut.
“Someone vandalized my car?” I whisper, and Bax closes the distance between us. Once he’s standing in front of me, his hand comes around the side of my neck, and his face lowers toward mine.
“I need you to go get your shoes on while I get on the phone with the cops.”
“Someone vandalized my car?” I repeat, my voice a panicked squeak now.
“Shoes, baby,” he says gently, giving my neck a squeeze and waiting for my nod before he lets me go. I turn to get my shoes while he goes to grab his phone, then he holds the door open for me.
With his hand wrapped tightly around mine, we walk across his lawn to Kourtney’s house, and when my car comes into view, I wonder if Frank was talking about someone else's car because there is nothing wrong with mine. Or… I don’t think there is until we walk around to the passenger side.
I stop in my tracks, my mind trying to catch up to what my eyes are seeing.
Black spray paint covers most of the red paint on the front and back doors, and both tires have been slashed with a butcher knife that is still sticking out of the back tire like it got stuck there.
“I think I’m going to be sick,” I whisper to Bax while pressing my hand to my stomach. Someone obviously went out of their way to cause as much damage as they could without making too much noise, and it’s clear whoever did this hates me in a way that sends a chill down my spine.
Turning me toward him, he tucks my face against his chest and cups the back of my head. “I’m going to take you back over to my house.”
“I need to wait for the cops,” I reply, my voice muffled.
“When they get here, I’ll bring them over. It’s too cold for you to be outside, and you don’t need to deal with this.”
It might make me a wimp, but I don’t put up a fight. I let him lead me back into his house, and I take a seat on the couch as he talks on the phone and rummages around in the kitchen. Like Gemma can feel my anxiousness, she sits with me with her head and upper body draped across my lap, holding me down.
“Cobi is pulling up outside with another detective.” Bax comes out of the kitchen and walks around the side of the couch, squatting in front of me. “I put coffee on, and it should be done in a couple of minutes.”
“Should I come out with you?”
“No, just wait in here. If you want something to do, you can call your insurance and see what you need to do in order to file a claim with them.”
I rub the space between my eyes. I didn’t even think about that. “I need to figure out how I’m going to get to work, and I need to pick up Rebecca from the airport tonight.”
“Hey.” He takes my hands in his. “One thing at a time. If we can’t get you a rental right away, you can use my truck, and I’ll ride my bike. It will be okay.” He stands but leans over me. “I’ll be right outside if you need me.”
“Okay,” I whisper, and he presses his mouth to mine, then touches his lips to my forehead before he stands and starts toward the door, telling Gemma to stay with me.
When the door closes behind him, I let out a breath, then get up and go to the kitchen to grab my phone out of my bag. It’s too early to call my parents, but it’s not too early to call my insurance company that is available twenty-four seven. Lucky for me, they don’t give me a hard time.
Within minutes, they send me over the address for a repair shop that I can take my car to. The part that sucks is that they inform me that, depending on the amount of damage, I might have to pay my three-thousand-dollar deductible out of pocket in order for them to fix my car. Seeing the damage myself, I imagine it will cost more than that, and since I don’t know who is responsible—or at least I don’t right now—I can’t hold them accountable. They also tell me that a rental will not be covered, so that will also be an out-of-pocket expense.
As I’m hanging up with them, Bax walks through the door with Cobi and another man, the two of them dressed in plain clothes with badges at their hips. Bax comes right to me and tucks me against his side, and I instantly feel my body relax as I melt against him.
“Hey, Olivia.” Cobi smiles softly, motioning to the man with him. “This is Detective Hammer. He and I are going to be investigating what happened to your car.”
“Hey.” I lift my hand in a tired wave.
“We already know from Bax that you two were asleep and didn’t hear anything last evening when your vehicle was vandalized.” I nod, and he continues, “He also told me that yesterday, you had a situation come up with a woman you work with.”
My gaze flies to Bax. “You don’t think Julie would do something like that, do you?”
“I don’t know,” he says softly, and I press my lips together. I hate to admit it, even if only to myself, that I don’t know either.
“Right now, we are just trying to gather a list of suspects who we can look into,” Detective Hammer says, then asks, “Can you think of anyone else who might have a problem with you?”
“No.” I shake my head.
“We understand it’s difficult to look at the people you know and question if they would do something to harm you,” Cobi says gently.
“I just moved back to town. I haven’t had a chance to make any enemies… or friends, for that matter. And I honestly can’t think of anyone who would do something like this.” I wave my hand in the direction of Kourtney's house.
“That’s okay. We’re hoping there were prints left on the knife used to slash your tires,” Cobi replies, then looks at Bax. “I’ll also get the footage from last night off your door camera, and if you know anyone else who has a camera, you can give me their names, and I’ll contact them.
“No one does except me. I checked with everyone on the block after the brick was thrown through the window next door.”
My muscles tense. How did I forget that happened? It’s like I blocked it out even though it’s the reason I’ve slept at Bax's house almost every night since.
“Are the two things connected?” I ask.
“They could be, but we won’t know until we find the person responsible, which is why it would be good if you could give us any names.”
I think for a moment, then shake my head as I look up at Bax. “What if it’s not someone who has it out for me? What if it’s someone who has an issue with Kourtney? I mean, the window at her house was broken, and yeah, it was my car, but I’m parked in her driveway.”
“Who’s Kourtney?” Detective Hammer asks, and I turn to look at him.
“She owns the house next door. I just moved in with her a couple of weeks ago.”
“Where is she now?”
“In LA. She’s a travel nurse, so she’s out of town a lot. I…” I shake my head. “I don’t think she has any enemies either, but….” I shrug, not finishing my thought.
“We can talk to her and see if she’s had any issues with anyone,” Cobi assures me, and I let out a breath. It doesn’t make me feel better thinking that someone might be intentionally doing things to hurt Kourtney, but it makes more sense. I mean, I know Julie might have a problem with me dating Bax, but I don’t think she would vandalize my car over it, and I didn’t even have a problem with her when the brick went through the window.
“Thank you.”
“I promise we are going to do everything we can to get to the bottom of this situation,” Detective Hammer adds with a soft smile before looking at Cobi. “Do you have any more questions?”
“No.” He shakes his head, then looks at Bax and me. “We’re going to collect whatever evidence we can from the car, then get out of your hair.”
“Thanks, man. I appreciate you coming out.” Bax uses his free hand to clasp his cousin’s.
“You know you don’t have to thank me,” Cobi says before looking at me, his face instantly going soft. “Bax has my cell if you need anything.”
“Thank you,” I whisper, then look at Detective Hammer. “Both of you.”
“You’re welcome.” The man dips his chin. “We’ll be in touch.”
I wrap my arms around my middle as Bax walks them to the door, and when it closes behind them, he turns to face me. “You okay?”
“No,” I mumble, and he sighs, closing the distance between us.
“Did you get ahold of your insurance company?”
“I did.” I burrow against his chest, letting out a breath as his arms wrap around me. “They told me where I can take my car, but they don’t open until nine, so I can’t call them yet.”
“When is your first appointment today?”
“I think ten. I also need to sort out a rental car.”
“I’ll make you some breakfast while you do that,” he tells me.
“I can’t eat.”
“You can, and you will.” He cups my jaw and tips my head back. “Then I’ll take you over to Kourtney’s, wait for you while you get ready, then make sure you feel comfortable in my truck so you can get to work. And this evening, I’ll take you to pick up your rental if you are able to get one, and you’ll spend the weekend with your friend like you planned. You’re not going to let whoever did that shit derail your day or your life.”
“Okay.” I drop my forehead to his chest and feel him kiss the top of my head before I let him lead me into the kitchen, where he makes me breakfast while I call and schedule a rental car pickup.
Afterward, we go over to Kourtney’s, and I shower for work while he hangs out on my bed. And once I’m dressed and ready, he takes me out to his truck, makes sure I feel comfortable driving it—exactly as he said he’d do—and I leave him with a kiss and head to work.