32. Chapter 32
Chapter 32
Arlo
I’ve been up for an hour, my mind running a million miles a minute as I watch Rina sleep. Her little snores are so endearing it makes me fall in love with her more by the second. Not that I’d ever tell her about the snoring. I’d like to not get punched this morning.
My thoughts turn back to the situation at dinner last night, and I can’t get my head off of this Tyler guy. There was something about him that didn’t sit right with me, and at this point, we have no other leads, so it’s worth checking out on the off chance we find something. Picking up my phone, I send Oakley a text to see if he can come to Rina’s house so we can game plan since I don’t plan on leaving her alone anytime soon. He agrees and lets me know he’ll bring breakfast and coffee as well. For a man who claimed to not want friends, he’s a very good one without even trying. I do feel bad that Willow has to run Grind Time because of my insecurities with leaving Rina, but I’ll figure out a way to make it up to her.
“What time is it?” Rina’s sleep-riddled voice interrupts my chaotic thoughts.
“Six-thirty.”
“Jesus, is this normal for you?” She rolls over, rubbing her eyes.
“Waking up early? Usually.” I try very hard to hide my amusement .
“This is never going to work. I can’t be with someone who is this peppy in the morning. You were never this way when we first got together,” she groans.
I do laugh this time because she’s too fucking adorable.
“It’s a deal breaker?” I ask, not doing a good job of covering my laughter.
“Ugh, shut up. My brain doesn’t work this early.” She throws her arm over her eyes as I slide down into the bed, pressing a kiss to her forearm then her shoulder as a breathy moan comes from her.
“What if I wake you up in a different way?” I murmur against her skin.
“Yeah, that’s probably okay,” she drawls.
I chuckle into her neck before I pull away. “Good to know. I’ll keep that in mind. Unfortunately, we’ll have company in about twenty minutes, so it’ll have to wait for another day.”
“That’s cruel,” she whines. Dropping her arm from her face, she sends me a death stare that makes me smile.
“If it helps, he’s bringing breakfast and coffee.” I dangle the hope of sustenance in front of her.
“You’re lucky Oakley somehow always knows what I want to drink, or this would be an entirely different conversation.” She rolls to face me, and I can’t help myself. My fingers trail along her cheek, across her plump bottom lip and down her jaw before cupping it. I lean in and press my lips to hers, wanting to savor this quiet moment before real life takes over again.
As I pull away, she follows me with an unhappy groan.
“You should have started with that; I’d probably wake up happy every day if you did. ”
It’s not supposed to be a meaningful statement, but to me, it means everything. The thought of being able to kiss her every morning, to make her happy every day, sends warmth through my chest. It’s all I’ve ever wanted, and right this second, it feels attainable.
“That can be arranged,” I hum before pulling back completely and flipping the covers off of me. I wish we had more time, but I know Oakley will be here any minute, and I have to physically remove myself from Rina’s side in order to get ready for him.
“Take your time getting up,” I tell her as I pull on my slacks from last night and throw on my button-up shirt. I have a gym bag in my truck, but it feels like too much effort to go get right now. I do make a mental note to pack a bag to leave here.
Walking out the front door, I sit in one of the rockers and wait for Oakley. I’m desperately trying to shift my head to work mode and not love on Rina mode, but it’s harder than I anticipated.
A truck comes down the drive, and I throw a wave up as Oakley parks. I stand up to meet him and grab the coffee he brought.
“Rina says you always know what she drinks, so I hope that’s true because she’s grumpy as shit this morning.”
“I heard that!” Rina yells from the porch.
“Shit,” I whisper as Oakley starts laughing.
“Oh-ho, this is a good time.” He walks toward Rina, handing her a bag of food. “Good morning, lovely Rina. How are you this morning?” His sweet tone makes me want to punch him, but I know he’s just goading me.
“Wonderful now that you’re here,” she says sweetly.
“Are you two done? Trying to rile me up is not going to help what we need to accomplish today,” I grumble .
“Your americano is in your left hand, and there’s breakfast in the bag for you too. Stop complaining,” Oakley jokes as he walks into Rina’s house.
Rina smirks as I walk up the steps of the porch.
“You two are Emmerdeur together,” I snark.
“Mr. Grumpy, not loving a taste of his own medicine? Also, I don’t think you’re using that right still,” she adds.
“I’ll spank your ass later for that comment,” I say as I pass her.
“Don’t threaten me with a good time.” The door clicks closed behind her, and I have to take a steadying breath with the turn in conversation. Rina’s tinkling laughter as she passes me makes my dick hard, and now is not the time to indulge.
“So, what’s on the agenda?” Oakley asks as we all sit at the dining room table, Rina dishing out food as we do.
“We were out last night and ran into an old flame of Rina’s—”
“He wasn’t an old flame, and your jealousy is still showing. I had a half a date with him before someone crashed it, and I haven’t seen him since. He was acting super aggressive last night when we talked, and then that was it.”
Oakley starts laughing. “Is this what your foreplay looks like?”
“You know what? Maybe we don’t need your help.” I side-eye Oakley.
His booming laughter is apparently contagious because Rina joins him.
“Alright, you’ve both had your fun. Can we start working now?”
“Yes, sir.” Rina salutes with a smirk, and I arch my eyebrow at her. Yeah, we’re going to have fun later.
“So, you’re wanting to look into this guy? ”
“Yeah, if we can. He raised all the red flags and if nothing else, I’d like to just rule him out.”
“Okay, does this guy have a name?” He looks at Rina as he pulls out a small notebook from his back pocket. I have to smirk at his action because, as much as he resisted the idea of working with me, he’s falling into the role with ease.
“Tyler … umm, let me see if I have his last name anywhere,” Rina says as she pops up from her chair and goes to the bedroom, presumably to grab her phone.
“You really think it could be this guy?” Oakley asks quietly.
“I honestly don’t know, but we don’t really have another lead right now, and the way he acted last night was … too much for how much interaction they had.” I don’t know how to tell him it’s a gut feeling more than anything. Maybe it’s desperation to find this guy or maybe it really is just jealousy, but I don’t want to take any chances.
“Okay, Tyler No Last Name, but I have a phone number that you can do your cop thing and check out who it’s registered to, right?”
Oakley and I stare at her with blank faces.
“Is that not how things work? Is it just on TV?” she asks, looking between the two of us.
I crack first, chuckling as Oakley joins in. “It’s not that fancy, but we can call the cellular company and ask nicely. Possibly make it seem like we need the info for an investigation that’s of highest importance and see where it goes. Otherwise, we need a warrant.”
“Well, shit. What happens if we don’t get the information?” she asks.
“We’ll figure something out,” Oakley reassures her.
“And we don’t have any more information on the IP address, right?” I ask Oakley, knowing he would have told me if he had it .
“Not yet, but my guy at the Marshals said he should have it in the next day or two.”
“Okay, that’s good.”
“Can I ask a question?” Rina asks as she puts her Danish down.
“Go for it,” I say.
“What happens when we figure out who’s behind all of this?”
“We go arrest him.” I shrug as Oakley looks at me, knowing it’s not quite that simple.
“Liar,” she says, rolling her eyes. “What if we figure out a way to use me as bait?”
“No.”
“No, listen. I don’t want this to continue longer than it already is. If we use me to draw them out, this all ends faster. It’s not like I’ll be unprotected. Lord knows you won’t leave my side, but we could end this.”
“No.”
“Sheriff…” Oakley draws out.
“You can’t seriously think this is a good idea.” I throw my hands up in exasperation.
“I don’t necessarily think it’s a good idea, but it would streamline things. Less red tape to work through.”
“No. End of discussion.”
Rina rolls her eyes as Oakley eyes me, with more curiosity than anything.
“You’re being ridiculous,” Rina says.
“Let me do my damn job, Marina. I don’t tell you how to do yours, so don’t tell me how to do mine,” I say in frustration.
“I’m going to let that slide because I know you’re stressed, but that’s the only time you get to say that to me.” She looks at me, irritated.
I sigh. “I’m sorry. This whole situation stresses me out, and I don’t like that you’re in the line of fire. I need to do something, but I can’t risk you in the process. Please understand that,” I beg.
“I do, but it doesn’t make me less annoyed,” she grumbles.
“And with that, I think it’s time I head out and call my friend for an update.” Oakley stands up.
I sigh and pinch the bridge of my nose, frustrated that things have taken such a turn. But I should have expected it from Rina. She’s hardheaded and independent as hell.
“Keep him updated!” Rina calls as Oakley chuckles in response.
“You’re a pain in my ass,” I mumble.
“I know, but you wouldn’t like me if I wasn’t this way. I meant what I said, though. Don’t take your frustrations out on me, please.”
“I won’t. I’m sorry I was a dick.”
“Hey, guys!” Oakley calls from the front door.
“Yeah?” Rina asks.
“You might want to come see this.”
Rina and I look at each other before abruptly standing and meeting Oakley by the door.
The box wrapped on the porch sends a chill down my spine.
“Do you have gloves?” Oakley asks Rina, who is standing stock still next to me.
“Umm, yeah, there’s some by the side door and some in my workshop,” she whispers.
“Hey, come here.” I pull her to me as Oakley disappears to grab a pair of gloves .
“I don’t understand why this is happening. What did I do?”
“You didn’t do anything, and Oakley and I will figure out who’s doing this, I promise,” I tell her before pressing a kiss to her temple.
“You can’t promise that, and you know it.”
“I can, and I will,” I counter.
“Okay, let’s check this out.” Oakley interrupts us as he takes a couple of pictures with his phone before bringing the package inside.
We stand around the dining room table as he carefully unwraps it and takes pictures as he goes. Once it’s finally open, he peeks in and furrows his eyebrows in confusion.
“Umm, I’m not sure what I’m looking at. I mean, I know what it is but not its significance,” he says, looking at both me and Rina.
“Show me,” Rina says, strong and firm.
Oakley sighs as he shifts to the side, taking a picture before he pulls whatever it is out. Rina may be prepared, but I know I’m fully unprepared for what’s inside. Anything at this point could send me over the edge.
Oakley reaches in and pulls out fabric, but I can’t make out what it is until he holds it up fully. Rina’s gasp combined with what I’m feeling makes me feel dizzy, and the panic starts to close in on me.
Rina’s dress that she wore to dinner last night is a stark reminder of how serious this guy is. How much he’s escalating, and how close he really is.
What he doesn’t know is I’ll do anything to protect my wife, and he just signed his death warrant.