Control (Harper Security Ops #18)

Nine

NINE

Ty

Disbelief.

That was the only word I could think to best describe the way I currently felt.

If anyone had told me that just a few weeks after learning that my girlfriend of a year had cheated on me that I’d be feeling this good, I wouldn’t have believed them.

But here I was, feeling better than I had in months and convinced it was only going to get better.

As I made my way to the front of the Harper Security Ops office, I had only one person to thank for it—Alana.

Initially, I had assumed I was merely experiencing the effects of being caught up in my work and being around someone new. And while it was true that I was enjoying the work I was doing now, there was a part of me that realized what I was feeling now had less to do with the work and more to do with her.

We were about to spend our third day working together on the Annie Sanders story. We’d visited two more spots the same day we’d met up with Carl at the Steel Ridge Rec. And yesterday, Alana and I had checked off another two on her list. It was safe to say I was impressed by Alana’s ability to just keep going, to keep digging. Even though she had that walking boot on and could technically get around while wearing it, I would have thought she’d need more down time to help her recovery. Either her body was doing an excellent job of repairing itself, she had a high tolerance for pain, or she was far too determined to uncover the truth to slow down.

Rounding the corner, my eyes went toward the front door, where Alana was having a conversation with Avalon while she waited for me. Alana was in the middle of saying something I couldn’t hear from the distance, when she glanced up and saw me. She smiled and waved, making it impossible for me to ignore the flutter in my stomach.

With the exception of Avalon—who’d done what she’d done for the man she loved—Alana was the only woman I’d ever met who was so determined and dedicated to her work that she was willing to put herself in harm’s way. Alana was pushing herself to get to the bottom of this story, risking her safety to do it, and she didn’t even personally know the woman who’d been murdered. I thought it said a lot about the kind of woman she was.

I came to a stop in front of her, just beside Avalon’s desk. “Good morning.”

“Good morning, Ty. Ready for another fun-filled adventure today?”

There was that, too.

Other than one or two instances where she’d been reflecting on the whole investigation or the time that I’d walked into her hospital room and found her shouting at her boss, Alana was such a pleasant woman. Maybe that was another reason I was feeling so good so soon after my break-up.

I smiled at her. “Try and stop me.”

She laughed, her gaze shifting to Avalon. “It was nice to talk to you for a few minutes this morning. See you later.”

“Yeah, you, too,” Avalon replied. “Have a good day, Ty.”

I could tell from the way her voice changed that Avalon wanted to say more than she did, but it was likely her unwillingness to scare Alana off that had her refraining from being more forward with me.

“Later, Avalon.”

I moved forward, urging Alana toward the front door, holding it open for her as she walked through. We took our time making our way to my car since she still needed to contend with the boot.

After opening her door and letting her in, I rounded it and got in on my side. I’d barely closed the door when Alana asked, “Hey, I don’t mean to inconvenience you at all, but before we dive into the work today, would you mind making a quick pit stop for me?”

“Not at all. Where do you need to go?” It surprised me how easy it was for my response to roll off my tongue. I didn’t even take a moment to think about where she might have wanted to go.

“Oh, thanks. I didn’t have much time this morning, so I skipped breakfast. I was hoping to grab something quick this morning. Would it be alright to stop by the bagel shop downtown? It’s only five minutes away from our first stop this morning.”

“Sure. Are you talking about the one around the corner from the police station?” I asked.

Alana’s eyes narrowed. “Oh, I forgot about that place. No, I was actually referring to the one two blocks north. The one across the street from the post office.”

As soon as she said it, I turned on my car and pulled out of the parking lot. Ten minutes later, I grumbled, “The traffic is so bad this morning. There’s no place to park.”

“Oh, that’s okay. Why don’t you just drop me off, circle the block, and come back around to pick me up? Hopefully, I’ll be done by then.”

I sent a warning look her way. “My job is to be your bodyguard. Sending you off on your own isn’t how this works.”

“But there’s no place to park, I’m starving, and I’ll be inside the bagel shop. Somebody would have to be pretty bold and not care about getting caught if they were going to do something in a public space with this many people around,” she reasoned.

Even though she had a point, I didn’t like it. So, I ordered, “If you finish in there and don’t see me waiting out here, do not walk outside. Wait until you see me here before walking out.”

Alana saluted me. “Yes, sir.”

My lips twitched, but before I could respond, she opened the door and got out. I waited in the middle of the street until she was safely inside, doing it while laughing at the salute she’d just given me. My eyes lingered on the store for several moments afterward until someone pulled up behind me and honked. That’s when I drove off and circled the block.

Minutes later, I was back in front of the shop, and the timing was perfect. As soon as I pulled up, Alana walked out. I threw on my hazards, got out, and opened her door for her. Then we were on our way to the next spot on the list—the public library.

As soon as I pulled in and parked, Alana dug her hand into the bag she’d gotten at the bagel shop and asked, “You don’t mind if I eat in your car, do you?”

I shook my head. “Not at all.”

She pulled out the sandwich and held it out to me. I took it from her, assuming she needed me to hold it while she pulled out condiments, but when I saw a second sandwich, I asked, “What’s this?”

“Breakfast.”

Though it was wrapped in parchment paper, it was obvious the sandwich was huge. “You’re eating two of these?”

“What? No. That one’s for you.”

“Alana, you didn’t need to get me anything.”

She cocked a brow. “And you don’t need to be doing this, being my bodyguard, for free.”

I winced.

As Alana unwrapped her sandwich, she explained, “I had the chance to talk to Avalon this morning while I was waiting for you, so I asked her about completing the paperwork and setting up the payment for your services. She informed me that I wasn’t being charged at your request. I thought we could take a few minutes, have breakfast together, and you could explain that to me.”

Direct.

Straight to the point.

I didn’t think Alana would ever be the kind of woman who could do to anyone what Evangeline had done to me. Sure, she had to make up a story about doing a piece on Annie Sanders in order to get people comfortable with her, so they’d be willing to talk. But even if that had started out as a lie, she was now compelled to follow through on that part as well.

“I’m not sure what you want me to say,” I replied.

“I want to know why you told Avalon not to let me complete the paperwork or allow me to pay.”

I watched as she lifted one half of her sandwich to her mouth and took a bite. My eyes focused on her mouth for longer than was reasonable before I snapped myself out of it and went with something I thought might work. “Maybe I’ve been inspired by Annie Sanders.”

Alana raised a curious brow. “So, I’m your charity case?”

My stomach dropped. “Absolutely not. No. I guess that didn’t come out right. I just meant that I wanted to do something good. Plus, if you really think about it, maybe we’re spending a good chunk of the day working together now, but once you go back to work, it’ll just be later in the day after I’m already done at work.”

“It’s still your time, and you should be compensated.”

I nodded. “Yeah, but I’ve wasted plenty of time on things that weren’t worth it before. Trust me.”

Alana stared at me in silence, her eyes swirling with questions. Whatever they were, she didn’t ask. Instead, she made a ridiculous declaration. “Every day that you are with me and we’re working on this, I will be buying meals.”

Shaking my head, I insisted, “That’s not necessary.” I held up the breakfast sandwich. “This is nice. I appreciate it. But I don’t want you buying me meals every day.”

There wasn’t a hint of anger in her voice when she retorted, “And I don’t want you to work for free, but I guess we don’t always get what we want.”

“Alana, I’m serious. I?—”

“Ty, don’t. Just enjoy the sandwich and don’t fight me on any future meals. If you do, I’m going to start paying for your gas, too.”

Now it was my turn to send her a questioning look. “I’m tempted to argue simply because I’d love to see how you plan to accomplish that.”

She smiled and lifted her shoulders toward her ears. “I mean, I get that you’re probably the most physically fit person I’ve met in my whole life, and I’d probably have my work cut out for me if I tried to tackle you, especially with this boot on. But give me a few weeks to fully recover, and I think I could give you a run for your money.”

I burst out laughing. For the first time in weeks, laughter spilled out of me in uncontrollable waves. And even though I’d recognized how much I enjoyed spending this time with Alana, it wasn’t until this very moment that I realized how much I needed it.

When I finally settled myself down, I looked over and found her beaming at me, her eyes dancing. Something swelled in my chest at the sight of her.

“Eat your breakfast, Ty,” she urged me eventually, her voice soft.

I happily obliged. And for the next few minutes, Alana and I sat in comfortable silence, eating breakfast and exchanging heated glances. I enjoyed every second of it, unable to deny just how much of a bright spot Alana had been in my life recently.

After we finished eating, we made our way inside with hopes that we’d finally get something to work with.

Following our visit to the library, we made two more stops.

“We should go grab some lunch,” Alana suggested, hours after we’d had breakfast together outside the library.

“Is this a lunch that you think you’re going to pay for?” I questioned her.

“I thought I already made that clear.”

My eyes narrowed as I assessed her. “I know, but I didn’t agree to it.”

“I didn’t agree to you not charging me.”

The corners of my mouth tipped up. “And yet, I’m here with you, acting as your bodyguard. Strange how that works.”

She growled at me. Actually growled. And it was all I could do not to burst into another fit of laughter.

“Alright, alright. I’ll let you do this just for today.”

“We’ll discuss that later,” she advised. “For now, since I picked the location for breakfast, I’ll let you choose where we have lunch.”

I let out a laugh and drove away.

By the time we were seated at a table at the local burger joint, I could admit to myself that I felt as though I was getting in a bit over my head. I was supposed to be working. And although I’d always enjoyed my work, this time was different. I went home each night eager for the next day. Now that we’d spent another morning and early afternoon together, I was excited about us having some time together. I wondered if I’d be able to learn a bit more about her, or if she’d keep her focus solely on the information she’d gathered over the last couple of days.

Once we’d placed our orders, Alana said, “Well, if there’s one thing that I can say I hadn’t anticipated in all of this, it’s everyone’s willingness to sit down and speak with us. I was sure we’d get some push back or hesitancy.”

“Maybe that’s because the people you’ve been talking to don’t have anything to hide. Generally, especially given your non-threatening approach, individuals don’t have a problem talking when they aren’t trying to conceal something.

“True. And if that’s the case with going to all these different organizations, perhaps we’re just wasting time,” she reasoned.

“It sounds to me like you have a new plan in mind.”

Alana nodded. “I do. I just hope it’s not a mistake.”

Curious, I said, “Well, maybe I can help you figure that out. What’s your plan?”

She leaned forward, lowered her voice, and returned, “I think it’s time to start trying to reach out to people who were closer to her.”

“Her family?”

“And her friends. There has to be someone who knows something. I mean, it’s really been an eye-opening experience to see just how beloved this woman was by so many people in this community, but someone murdered her. I don’t think it was random, not someone of her stature.”

Alana was right.

We’d heard nothing but wonderful things about Annie. And while it was all to be expected to a degree, there was a part of it that was frustrating.

Because without even a stitch of conflict, it was difficult to know where to turn.

The way it had been going, Alana would have a ton of content for the piece she’d been telling everyone she was planning to do, but there wouldn’t be anything that would lead her to finding out anything that might explain what happened to this selfless, beloved woman.

“You tell me where you want to go, and I’m up for it. Anytime, anywhere.”

Alana let out a frustrated sigh. “Unfortunately, it’s not going to be tomorrow, since we’re already planning to make contact with Jackson Taylor at The Taylor Group. We could blow that one off, but I think it’ll be a different take, since he worked in a different capacity with Annie. And, sadly, the next day isn’t an option for visiting Annie’s family or friends, because I have to go to the doctor and get these stitches out.”

Without thinking twice, I asked, “Do you need a ride?”

She jerked back. “You want to take me to the podiatrist?”

“I know you said he cleared you for driving, but I’m not sure you should be operating a vehicle immediately after having your stitches removed. What if there’s a complication, and you’re in too much pain?”

Alana sent a mischievous look my way. “You better watch yourself, Ty Weaver. I might think you want to spend time with me just for the heck of it.”

Now we were getting somewhere. I leaned forward on my forearms, a smile playing on my lips. “Maybe I do.”

A flush crept over her skin as she glanced down at her hands that were fidgeting on the table. “If you have nothing better to do, I’d love an escort.”

With impeccable timing, our server returned with our lunch, breaking the tension and giving me the opportunity to stop and think. Was it okay that I wanted to spend more time with Alana, or was I playing with fire?