Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
“Greer.”
Greer jolted awake, nearly catching Chase in the jaw as he loomed over her, eyes narrowed, mouth pinched tight. She clutched her hand to her chest as she searched the room for some kind of threat before relaxing against the back of the couch, pain already creeping into her neck.
She scrubbed a hand down her face. “What time is it?”
“Early. Just shy of seven.”
“Did Shirley call? Is there another body—”
“Nothing’s wrong, it’s just…” He sighed. “You were dreaming, and it didn’t sound like a good one.”
She let her head fall against the cushion as she blew out an exhausted breath, remnants of the nightmare still lingering in the shadows.
Nothing concrete, just dead eyes staring at her from the darkness.
A sense of familiarity that prickled the hairs on the back of her neck. “I don’t really remember.”
Chase nodded, staring down at her for a few moments before shifting back — reclaiming the chair on the other side of the coffee table. He didn’t talk, merely eased onto the cushion, watching her as if he thought she’d vanish.
Several months’ worth of wanting to be in this exact scenario — the two of them alone in her apartment — and he couldn’t have been farther away if he’d tried. The distance between them larger than a fissure now. More like a chasm. The kind of expanse no bridge could span.
Irony at its best.
Greer rocked to her feet, stretching out her neck as Chase stood, still staring at her as if she were a ghost. “I can’t believe I fell asleep out here.”
Chase shrugged, shoving his hands into his pockets. “I tried to move you but…” He chuckled, though it sounded forced. “You get a bit aggressive in your sleep. Tried to deck me, twice.”
She cracked a hint of a smile. “A girl can’t be too careful.” She pointed to the chair. “Did you seriously sleep in that?” She groaned when he simply stood there, shifting his weight. “You didn’t sleep.”
He glanced at the door, then back. “Your security system’s not nearly as robust as mine. Zain would be disappointed.”
“Then, it’s a good thing Zain doesn’t live here. And it’s plenty secure. Haven’t had to shoot an intruder, yet.”
Chase scoffed. “With how easily someone could bypass that alarm, you wouldn’t get the chance before you’d be dead.”
His voice roughened on that last word, as if he’d caught himself a bit too late to stop it from clawing free. Hadn’t wanted to jinx the future by putting the thought out into the universe.
She pursed her lips, wanting to walk the few feet over to him — sink into his arms. Instead, she rounded the couch to the hallway, stopped at the edge. “I’m going to grab a quick shower before another emergency springs up.” She turned, pausing when the floor creaked behind her.
“Greer.”
God, the way he said her name. It made her knees weak, her damn heart beat so fast she thought it would explode.
She took a fortifying breath, looking back at him over her shoulder. “Did you want to go first?”
Or join me…
She didn’t say the words out loud, but damn, she wanted to. Wanted to wrap her arms around him, close her eyes and believe that everything would be okay, even if it was only for a moment.
Chase toed at the floor, looking like he had the other night when she’d thought he’d bolt. “I already had one.”
“Then, feel free to make some coffee, unless you take after Zain and burn everything.”
“I don’t. And I would have already, but you’ve got less in your cupboards and fridge than we do, which I didn’t think was possible.”
Greer raked her hand through her hair. “It’s been a long few days.”
“Don’t you mean months? Because you’ve been working insane hours since we met.”
“My boss was a drug dealer. The sheriff’s station has a lot to atone for, and I can’t earn back everyone’s trust by sitting on my ass.”
“Pretty sure you’re allowed to eat.”
She sighed, barely pushing the breath out amidst the suffocating pressure all around them. As if he’d increased gravity in the center of her apartment. “I’ll go shopping later.”
“It’s about more than just groceries. You need to take better care of yourself. Of your safety.”
“Chase…” She paused, noting the tight press of his mouth.
The hints of red on his cheeks. All that hyper-vigilance focused on her.
Like the death vibe he’d given Faraday last night, and she knew this was about more than just coffee and milk.
“I’ll look into a better security system.
” She motioned toward her room. “After I shower.”
He glanced down the hall, and she wondered if he’d insist on searching the shower before he deemed it safe enough for her to be alone. “I’ll tell Zain he needs to fortify this place.”
“Fine.” She got another two steps in before he called her name, again. She turned, this time, repeating her mantra in her head. How she needed to give him time. Space. Anything to alter the cold reality staring back at her.
That somewhere between the kiss in the parking lot and Rhett’s death, she’d already lost him.
Chase closed the distance by half. “I’m not trying to be…” He huffed out a rough breath. “I’ve lost two people in twenty-four hours on my watch. I can’t lose you to this asshole, too.”
“Dismissing the fact we don’t know for sure these two incidents are connected, yet, I’m not a regular civilian.”
“They’re connected. And there’s nothing regular about this bastard, either.”
“I’ll be careful.”
“I need you to be more than careful. I…” He fisted his hands, blew out another breath. “Go have your shower, just leave the door cracked open and lock the window. Just in case.”
“We’re on the fourth floor.”
“I could still access that window if I wanted to, as could my team.”
“Which suggests you’re the ones I should be more concerned about.” She turned and tossed, “I won’t be long,” over her shoulder.
She headed down the hall, opened her door and grabbed some clean clothes before heading for the bathroom. Water splashed in background as she readied the shower, then stepped inside, allowing the heat to ease the tension in her muscles. Calm the fluttering in her gut.
Talk about torture.
Looking back, she wasn’t sure how she’d lasted all this time without acting on her feelings.
How she’d managed to focus on work and not how his voice sent shivers along her skin.
Or how just standing in the same room with him affected her way of thinking.
Bent it until she’d subconsciously aligned it with his.
He was right about one thing. The killings were connected. She just wasn’t sure whose attention the asshole wanted — hers or Chase’s. Maybe his entire team’s.
Answers she hoped to have today once she’d received more reports. Knew, for sure, what had killed Rhett.
Air ruffled the curtain, a cool swirl breezing over her skin. She frowned, inching toward the back when the curtain flung open partway, Chase’s arm stabbing into the open space, her phone grasped in his hand.
She screamed. Nearly tumbled onto her ass before she clutched the curtain and held it against her as she whipped her head out. “Jesus, Chase, what the hell?”
He furrowed his brow, glancing at the phone, then back to her. “Shirley keeps calling. I figured it was important.”
Greer allowed her head to tilt up. “Then, you could have just answered it and taken a message instead of scaring the crap out of me.”
He shifted his weight on his feet. “If you’d brought your damn gun into the bathroom with you, I wouldn’t have scared you.”
“If I’d brought my Glock, you’d have a gunshot wound instead of the welt I’m going to give you on the backside of your head once I’m out of here.”
“At least, you would’ve been able to defend yourself. What would you have done if I’d been our crazed killer?”
“I would have started with a kick to your nuts, followed by a few throat punches, which I’d be happy to demonstrate.” She glared when he arched an eyebrow. “Just call the station and put it on speaker.”
Shirley answered immediately. “Sheriff? Are you okay? I called three times.”
Greer stayed behind the curtain. “I was in the shower. What’s up, Shirley?”
The other woman sighed. “Sounds like you still are. And I’m sorry to call so early when I know you didn’t even get home until after four, but Dr. Pike called. He wants to talk to you, in person, at his office.”
Greer groaned. “By office I assume he means the autopsy room.”
“Afraid so. He says it can’t wait.”
“Right. Please call his office back and tell him I’ll be there as soon as possible.”
“Will do. And Sheriff… try to remember to eat today.”
“Says the woman who should have gone home an hour ago.”
After she’d said goodbye, she nodded to Chase, and he ended the call, then crossed his arms. Looking at her as if he’d been vindicated.
Greer stared at him. “Are you going to stand there while I get dressed, too, or…”
He blinked, as if he hadn’t even realized she was naked behind the thin fabric before carding his fingers through his hair. “I’ll call Foster. He’s already at the hangar since we’re on call for the next few days. Get us a lift to Providence.”
“I can drive.”
“You heard Shirley. It can’t wait.”
His boots didn’t even make a sound as he turned and walked out, vanishing through the door. Greer leaned against the shower wall. If this was an indication of how the day would progress, it was going to be another long one.
Chase stopped outside the autopsy room when Greer raised her hand before slipping inside. It had only been twenty minutes since they’d left her apartment, but it had felt like hours, each minute crawling past until he’d wanted to scream.
He glanced at the large silver doors. Rhett was back there. Spread out on one of the cold, stainless steel tables. Reduced to a number on a file. The sum of Chase’s failures.