Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
Lydia stared out her window, noting the sharp uptick in traffic as Ty drove them closer to the city. The rolling hills and farm country that had been their scenery for the last couple of hours had quickly given way to the numerous buildings of civilization.
She plucked a green grape from the container on her lap, snacking on the sweet fruit as Ty moved around a slower vehicle that was clogging up the fast lane. “Do you want a grape?”
He looked at her. “Sure.”
She pulled another piece of fruit off the vine, handing it to him.
“Thanks,” he said as he popped it into his mouth.
“You’re welcome.”
He swallowed his bite as he stretched his tough body in his seat. “It shouldn’t be long now. Another fifteen minutes.”
She nodded, knowing exactly where they were, no stranger to the drive. She’d made the trip to and from DC numerous times.
Ty reached for the grapes as he kept his eyes on the road.
Snagging her bottom lip with her teeth, she moved the container farther to the right.
His hand touched her thigh, and he frowned, glancing her way. He gave his attention back to the traffic, reaching again as she inched the plastic toward her knees.
He grinned as he touched her skin again. “What are you doing?”
“Messing with you.”
His smile grew wider. “Clearly.”
She laughed, happy that everything felt normal between them again after things had gotten tense on Friday night. “My repentance,” she said, handing him two grapes this time.
He chuckled as he took them. “Thanks.”
Her smile was back as she looked out the windshield, remembering how Ty had been holding a gorgeous floral arrangement from Marney’s store when he knocked on her door yesterday morning.
It still melted her heart that he’d waited for her to set the vaseful of cheerful summer blooms in the center of the island, then captured her hands and held her gaze as he reminded her that he was going to take care with her family.
It was getting easier to believe him, especially when Everly and story time never came up again.
When three o’clock had rolled around, he’d tossed her a wave and left, then joined her for dinner at six before they went their separate ways to pack for their getaway.
She glanced his way again, studying his fantastic profile and how great he looked in his black short-sleeve button-down and white shorts.
Her gaze stopped on his service weapon that sat holstered on his hip—something that he hadn’t done before.
But today, they were on his turf. Today, she would get a chance to see what Special Agent Tyler Corddry’s life was like.
“Tell me one of your secrets,” she blurted out.
He raised his brow as he looked at her.
“Something that no one else knows,” she continued.
“A secret that no one else knows,” he said before he pursed his lips, clearly thinking.
She nodded. “Yeah.”
He blew out a breath. “Um, I like to sing. When I’m by myself, I do.”
“Oh, really,” she said, turning her body his way, intrigued by his confession.
He nodded. “I should also mention that there’s a second part to my secret, and that’s that I like country music.”
She raised her brow, more than a little surprised. They always listened to Top 40 stuff when they were together, and she knew that he listened to grittier stuff when he exercised. “I never would have guessed.”
He nodded. “Not the twangy, my dog got ran over by a train stuff.”
She laughed.
He grinned. “Mainstream country, I guess.”
“Will you sing something for me?”
He huffed out an uncomfortable laugh as he looked at her. “No.”
She grinned, surprised that he was shy. “Aw, come on, Ty.”
“You really want to hear me sing?”
She nodded. “I really do.”
He sighed as he started scrolling through his playlists on the dashboard screen, selecting Ty’s Country. Seconds later, Chris Stapleton’s “Starting Over” started playing through the speakers.
She smiled. “I like this song.”
“You know it?”
She nodded. “It’s a good one.”
Ty kept the beat on the steering wheel, then cleared his throat before he started to sing the lyrics as Chris did.
She beamed, instantly loving his voice—how surprisingly strong, rich, and smooth it sounded. Taking a chance, she joined in on the chorus as she danced in her seat.
Ty grinned as he looked at her.
Eventually, the song ended, and they both laughed as Ty slowed considerably in the stop-and-go traffic in downtown DC.
She touched his arm. “You have such a great voice, Ty.”
He grinned again. “Thanks. You sound good, too.”
“Thank you.”
He eased on the brake, stopping at a red light—the first of undoubtedly many. “I can’t say that I miss driving in this.”
She nodded. “Oliver Heights is certainly a different speed.”
“You’ve got that right.”
Several minutes later, he turned into a parking garage, taking a ticket from the machine before he wound his way up to the third floor, pulling in next to a red two-door Jeep Wrangler. “There’s my girl.”
She frowned as she unbuckled her seat belt. “What does that mean?”
“That little honey is mine.”
“Then who does this belong to?”
“The government.”
Her frown was back, entirely surprised. “Oh.”
“I got the truck a couple of years ago after one of the squads executed a drug raid. They confiscated it and gave it a new purpose.”
“Does that happen often?”
He nodded. “Criminals lose their property for doing shitty things, and agents get new work vehicles, which doesn’t cost the taxpayers a dime.”
“Huh.” Getting out as he did, she smoothed her pale-blue floral minidress, listening to the muffled sounds of the city beyond the cement and concrete barrier.
“Should we drop off our stuff and go see your grandma?”
“Sure.” She grabbed her bag from the back seat as Ty did the same, unable to deny that she was eager to check out his apartment.
They walked the few steps to the elevator and got in, making it to street level moments later.
“This is my building here,” he said as they stepped out onto the sidewalk and into the summer heat, then into the air-conditioning of the upscale lobby as Ty swiped them in.
“This is really nice.”
“Yeah, it’s certainly not bad.”
They hurried into another elevator before it closed, heading for the third floor.
Seconds later, they got out and headed two doors down.
Ty stopped, taking out his keys and unlocking the door, then opening it for her to walk in before him. “Welcome to my place.”
She stepped into the tiny entryway, immediately smelling Ty’s aftershave in the air as she set her bag off to the side.
He set his keys on an old table and his bag next to hers, then locked them in. “I think you’ll find that things are pretty basic. My roommate and I don’t spend much time here.”
Her gaze whipped to his. “You have a roommate?”
He nodded. “Davey. Another agent who works white-collar crimes. He and I split the rent. I haven’t laid eyes on him in three months.”
“Oh.”
“Make yourself at home.”
“Thank you,” she said, walking down the short hallway, stopping in the open-concept room, noting the dark laminate flooring, leather couch, coffee table, and big-screen TV, then the small two-person table tucked in the corner of the dining area.
Ty followed. “Like I said, it’s pretty basic.”
“It’s certainly nice enough.” But as she said so, she noted that there were no pictures on the walls or accents of any kind anywhere—a far cry from Ty’s staged condo in Oliver Heights. “Which room is yours?”
“That one right through there. We both have our own bathrooms, so that’s pretty nice.”
“Do you mind if I peek?”
He shook his head. “Go ahead.”
She walked into the room off the main living space, noting the queen-size bed covered with a tan comforter, a side table close to that, the one dresser pushed against the wall, and the open closet door.
Too curious to resist, she stepped closer, studying several pairs of slacks, collared button-downs, and ties on hangers and a navy-blue jacket that looked like the one she’d seen on numerous TV shows with FBI spelled out in bold yellow letters.
Ty stood in the doorway, watching her scrutinize his things.
“Do you wear a tie every day?”
He shook his head. “My dress code depends on the case I’m working on at the time. Sometimes, I can get away with everyday street clothes, and other times I can’t.”
She nodded, imagining that Ty looked great in a button-down and tie.
He glanced at his watch. “You told your grandma you’d be there at two?”
“I did.”
He stepped into the room, pulling off his holster and gun, securing them in a safe tucked beneath his bed. “K Street’s three blocks up, but we’re probably looking at a twenty-minute walk.”
She peeked in the clean and mostly empty bathroom, then turned to him. “I guess we should get going.”
“We can take the Jeep instead.”
She grinned as she nodded, liking the idea of riding in the vehicle that Ty actually owned. “Sure.”
Lydia stood next to Ty in the elevator at Gram-Gram’s temporary building, watching the numbers increase on the wall as they climbed to the fourth story. She sent him a small smile in the swank, subdued lighting as violin music played through hidden speakers somewhere in the ceiling.
“This place is really nice,” he said. “I think it’s supposed to be one of the best facilities in the country.”
She nodded, struggling to focus on their conversation instead of on how nervous she was becoming. Because it was nearly time to introduce Gram-Gram to Ty. “We wanted her to be comfortable and concentrate on healing, especially since we knew she would be here for a while.”
Ty nodded this time. “That makes sense.”
Moments later, the door opened to a bright hallway with pretty views of the park across the street and flowers arranged on tables outside the residents’ rooms.
“She’s in number seven,” Lydia said as she hurried that way, knocking before she chickened out.
“Come in,” Gram-Gram called.
She paused with her hand on the doorknob, holding Ty’s gaze as she took a deep breath.
“We’ve got this, Lyd.”
She nodded, even when she wasn’t so sure, but she opened the door anyway, smiling as she stepped into the spacious living room.