Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
Sutton
Ididn’t have to go to the diner all the time anymore, but I couldn’t seem to stay away. It had been three days since her brother had been locked up, and the judge had already denied bail, which we’d all pretty much known was going to happen.
Marti was still staying at my house, and she would be forever if I had my way, but it was a subject we both avoided at all costs.
I made my way to Langston’s table. I was still irritated that he’d let her make herself bait, but I knew I couldn’t stay mad at him forever. The truth was, if it hadn’t been her, I would have thought it was a good plan, especially since he’d been there watching along with Deputy Boyd.
Marti hadn’t seen me come in yet, and Rendi smirked as she caught my eye over her friend’s shoulder. “I take it you don’t need the apartment anymore?”
Marti jerked. “Uh. Well…”
“Well? Are you moving in with him or not? You’re still staying there all the time. Have you even been in your apartment for clothes or anything in the last two weeks?”
Marti cleared her throat, wiping the already clean table she’d been working on. “We haven’t talked about it yet.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t know. Probably because it’s only been like three days since we became a thing. He already thinks I’m a mess. I don’t need him thinking I’m crazy too.”
I glanced at Langston, and he shook his head as he watched Rendi, probably thinking the same thing I was. That girl was a little mean.
Stepping up behind Marti, I pulled her back into my arms, smiling when she gasped and smacked a napkin dispenser, sending it skidding off the table. “She doesn’t need the apartment anymore,” I told a smirking Rendi. “We’ll finish moving her this weekend.”
Rendi nodded, looking far too proud of herself while Marti stood completely frozen in my arms.
“What? You don’t want to live with me?” I asked her, kissing behind her ear.
She swallowed hard, turning her head slightly to look at me out of the corner of her eye. “I do. I just don’t want you to feel pressured. They have like three open apartments. They aren’t in a hurry to get me out.”
“Well, I’m in a hurry to get you in.”
She smiled softly, and I kissed the corner of her mouth before easing away. Her cheeks were red when she turned to face me, and they got even redder when she realized everyone was watching us, but she still leaned forward and gave me a little peck.
“Okay, but no take-backs.” She leaned down and picked the napkin dispenser off the floor before rushing off to the back, and I cringed when she caught her hip on the corner of the counter. It spun her slightly, but she barely slowed as she threw an embarrassed look over her shoulder.
Turning to my long time friend, I raised an eyebrow, and he returned the gesture.
“Don’t start,” he grumbled, pushing a chair out with his foot. “You’d do the same thing, and you know it.”
I curled my lip as I took the chair and plopped down with a sigh. “Yeah, but I still don’t like it.”
“You should. You don’t have to worry about her crazy brother jumping out of the shadows to get her anymore.”
“I’m not in the mood to be logical,” I grumbled. “If you were just going to hang around and watch her anyway, why did you even call us in?” I threw a hand up and shook my head. “Not that I’m complaining. I’ll always be thankful to you for calling.”
There was a long pause as he watched me before he finally looked around the room and sighed.
“I wasn’t watching her.” When I lifted an eyebrow, he rolled his eyes.
“That first night when I saw the way you were with her, I knew she was going to be fine with you, but I also realized there was someone else who might get pulled into all this, and I knew your focus was going to be on Marti.”
He glanced around the room again, his gaze catching on something, and then quickly moving away.
I blinked at him for a few seconds, shaking my head. “Someone...” Realization hit, and my mouth opened in a surprised O. “You were worried about Rendi.”
His lips tightened, and his glare deepened as he looked around the room again, probably trying to decide if anyone could hear us. “The other person involved, yes.”
“The other person that happened to be Rendi.”
“I guess that’s her name.”
I laughed, reaching out to place a hand on his forearm, closing my eyes and bowing my head. “Dear Lord in Heaven, please be with this man as he embarks on this journey––” Something smacked hard against the side of my head. “Ow!”