Chapter 6 #3
“We don’t work in here,” Indy says, somehow reading my mind.
“The building is split up into three sections. Upstairs, where we live, and then there are the common areas”—he gestures towards a hallway to our left—“and the offices.” He angles his head in the opposite direction, towards another hallway we haven’t explored yet.
Touching my back again, Indy gently nudges me forward.
“Through here is the kitchen. And the dining room.” He takes me into an enormous room with a kitchen at one end and a dining area at the other.
The counters are sparkling granite, and the appliances are gleaming steel.
The dining table is large enough to seat twelve, but somehow, it still has a cozy, intimate feel.
My gaze lights on the eight-burner stovetop, complete with a pot filler and a large griddle perfect for making breakfast. “Oooh.” Like a moth drawn to a flame, I take several steps towards it. “I’ve always wanted a pot filler.”
Indy walks over to the stove with me. A slight smile curves his lips. “I thought it was overkill when we got it. But Eden kept talking about hosting big dinners for all our friends, and she found a good deal on it, so… here it is.”
I move the pot filler back and forth, wishing I had a pot so I could test it. “Do you? Host big dinners?”
“Not often. But we’ll do a team dinner once a week or so, if everyone’s around. Most weeks, at least a few of us are out on a job, so it’s a good way to catch up.”
Indy catches me giving the griddle a longing look. “You can use the kitchen, too, Bea. Not to cook for us, we would never expect that. But if you want more room, or to use this oven…”
“Who cooks? For the dinners?”
“We all do.” As we leave the stove and wander to the other side of the room, he adds, “We take turns. Ace will do a lot of Tex-Mex. Webb likes barbeque. Tyler makes pizza. He keeps talking about putting a wood burning pizza oven outside. Rafe does soups and stews, mostly. Eden will throw together some kind of casserole.”
“And you?” I turn to Indy. Unexpectedly, my lips twitch. “What do you cook?”
Indy stares at me for a second. Then he grins.
And oh. His smile hits me right in the belly.
“I order pizza,” he admits. “There’s a pretty decent pizzeria in Newberg. So I’ll pick up a few pies there. Maybe some wings and garlic knots, too. Trust me, it’s better I don’t try to cook. Everyone here agrees.”
It’s right there, on the tip of my tongue, to offer to teach him how to cook. We’d start out with something basic, like a Bolognese sauce or a stir-fry. Then we could move on to hearty meals I bet the guys would like, like meatloaf and brisket and pulled pork sandwiches.
But that’s not why I’m here, is it?
And I’m still not sure if I’m mad at Indy. And if I am, how long it’ll take me to get past it.
“In the basement, we have a workout room,” Indy says, oblivious to my thoughts. “Maybe in a week or so, you could walk on the treadmill, if you want. I go down every morning, work out for an hour or two—”
“An hour or two?”
Indy guides me over to a picture window that overlooks the back yard.
There’s a large deck with a fire pit and eight chairs circled around it.
Off to the side is the barbeque I assume Webb uses on his nights to cook.
Beyond the deck, there’s a stretch of grass that reaches to a thick line of evergreens.
“Usually two,” Indy replies. “Because part of the job involves protective services, it’s important we keep in shape. So I’ll go down, run on the treadmill, do some CrossFit, spar with the guys… Tyler and I—” He stops. “Shit, Bea. I’m sorry. I totally forgot.”
“Forgot what?”
“Your parents.”
Alarm trips my pulse. “What about them?”
“Nothing’s wrong,” he answers quickly. “I just forgot to tell you. We have a contact out in Cleveland. An old Army buddy of ours. He made contact with your parents this morning, let them know you’re safe, and that you’ll call them as soon as you can.”
My muscles sag with relief. Tears burn the back of my eyes. “They’re okay?”
Indy touches my arm. “They’re okay. Worried, but glad to know you’re safe. Tyler—he’s our tech guy—is working on getting a secure phone to them. And we have one for you, too. So you’ll be able to call without worrying that the lines—”
Pink touches his cheeks. “Anyway,” he hurries to add. “Hopefully by tomorrow, you can talk to them yourself.”
I swallow hard against the emotion welling up. “Thank you. I’ve been really worried.”
“Shit, Bea. I’m sorry I didn’t say something sooner.” He looks at me appraisingly, then says, “Why don’t we go sit down for a few minutes?”
“I don’t want to go back to the apartment yet.” I’d rather be out here, learning about this place, talking to Indy and feeling closer to normal than I have since I woke up.
“Just the living room.” His hand comes to my back again, this time urging me back the way we came. “We can turn on the fireplace. Just relax a bit.”
“Okay.” I allow myself to be led back into the living room, suddenly tired again. Which is ridiculous, I’ve been out of the apartment for ten, fifteen minutes at most, when I’m usually on my feet all day.
Once we’re back in the living room, Indy grabs the remote and adjusts the flames so they’re dancing merrily in the fireplace, glowing amber and gold and crimson.
Then we head to the couch and sink down on two adjacent cushions.
Not touching, but close enough to catch the fresh citrus scent of his soap.
“What other questions do you have?” Indy asks after several moments of silence. “I’m sure you have plenty.”
“Where to start?” I ask wryly. “I have so many, I’m not sure I can remember all of them.”
“You can always stop by my place if you think of something. Or call. Tyler should have your phone all set up—”
“Did I hear my name?” A tall man with brown hair and a serious expression exits the hallway leading to the offices and heads in our direction.
He walks with a slight limp, but I think I only notice because I’m trained to.
He looks at Indy first and gives him a quick chin lift, then turns his attention to me.
“You must be Bea,” he says as he approaches. “I’m Tyler.” His forehead creases with concern. “How are you feeling?”
Unconsciously, I shift closer to Indy. Not that I think this man—Tyler—will hurt me, but there’s just something undeniably comforting about Indy, regardless of my conflicted feelings about him.
Indy throws a quick look at me. There’s an unspoken question in his eyes.
More anger seeps away.
“I’m okay.” I tell Tyler. “Indy was just showing me around”
“Good.” Tyler smiles, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “A concussion, that’s not fun. And after everything…” He stops. Reaches into his pocket and pulls out a phone. “I just got this all set up. So I’m glad I’m seeing you.”
As I take the phone from him, Tyler explains, “It’s completely secure. So you can browse the web, watch videos… nothing can be tracked. No emails, but that’s more of a security issue on the recipient’s side than yours. And once your parents have their phone, you can call them any time you like.”
Indy smiles at Tyler. “Thanks. That’ll help a lot. What about the app for her implants? Is that all set up?”
I look at Indy in surprise. “You got the app?” My old phone, which is probably in police custody now, has a special app that allows me to control the settings of my implants.
Without it, I can still use them, but the functionality isn’t as good as I’m used to.
Indy found me a charger for them, which is necessary, but I wasn’t expecting more.
“Of course,” he says. “I remember you saying how you would need to adjust the volume sometimes. Or that you’d connect with the TV so you could hear a movie better.” He glances back at Tyler. “Can we get the thing for her TV? So she can—”
“You don’t have to do that,” I interrupt. “It’s not usually a problem.”
“Bea.” A fierceness fills Indy’s eyes. “If it makes things easier for you, we’ll get it.”
Oh.
It’s really getting hard to stay mad at him.
“If Indy didn’t mention, I’m kind of the tech expert of the group,” Tyler adds. “And I understand wanting—needing—tech to make your life easier. So if there’s anything you think of, just let me know.”
“Thank you,” I repeat. A lump lodges in my throat. “You don’t have to do all this, but… thank you.”
Indy looks at me for a long moment. Then he says, “Since Tyler’s heading up the online research portion of our investigation, he might be able to answer some of your questions.”
I want to ask, but I’m not sure I want the answer yet.
Still, I’ve never shied away from a challenge, and now’s not the time to start.
So, as my pulse speeds, I ask the one question that’s been nagging at me the most. “What do the police think? About my disappearance. Do they… think I ran away because I’m guilty?”
Indy and Tyler exchange a long glance. Finally, Tyler says, “They’re floating several possibilities. They don’t think you did it on your own, given that you were handcuffed to the bed with a guard outside the door.”
“What?” That’s not something Indy mentioned.
“I wasn’t hiding it,” Indy adds defensively. “I didn’t think to mention the details.”
“With the guard being incapacitated, the police are pushing the accomplice scenario. That Bea was working with someone, and they somehow broke her out of the hospital. Although kidnapping has been floated as a possibility, too.” Tyler pauses.
“But we’ll work it out, Bea. Make sure your name is cleared by the end of this. ”
A wave of dizziness sweeps through me. My skin prickles with sweat. “The guard was incapacitated? What does that mean?”
Indy turns to me. His knees brush mine. “I knocked him out. But I didn’t hurt him. It was just long enough to tie him up and get you out of there.”
“You attacked a guard?”
“Technically, a cop,” Tyler offers.
“You attacked a cop?” Now it’s hard to breathe. “Indy. You attacked a cop? To break me out? That… that’s even worse… You could have gone to jail. For years.”
Indy and Tyler exchange another silent message between them. Then Tyler announces, “You know, I think I forgot something in my office. I’ll see you later, Bea. Nice to meet you.”
Then he takes off, practically jogging from the room, leaving me and Indy alone again.
“Bea. It wasn’t that bad.” Indy places his hand over mine. “I wasn’t going to get caught. We had the whole thing planned out. I didn’t hurt the guy—”
“You could have gone to jail!”
“So could you.” His expression grows grim. “Bea. You shouldn’t be in jail. Not even for a second. The risk… it was worth it. And my teammates agreed.”
Without thinking, I wrap my fingers around his, squeezing hard. “But your life. Your career. And your team, they—”
“They trust me.” His gaze burns into mine. “And when I said I knew you didn’t do it, they believed me. They had my six. Do you know what that means?”
“Of course. I work at a VA hospital.”
“Right.” The corner of his mouth twitches. “Of course. That’s what we do here. We help each other. And when I said I wanted to help you, they did it.”
“But…” Everything feels like it’s coming at me at once. “I… I just…”
“Hey.” His voice gentles. “I know this is a lot. And I know you’re still pissed at me, for good reason.”
“I’m not—”
“You are. And I get it.”
“Maybe a little,” I admit quietly.
Something unreadable flickers in his gaze. “I accept that.”
And in the quiet moment that follows, my thoughts shift again. Things I once believed were black and white blend into a variation of greys.
“I’m still a little mad at you. But.”
“But?”
“I’m glad you came to get me, too.”
Indy stares at me, emotion working in his eyes.
Then he finally replies, “I am too.”