Hostile Witness (Sanctuary, Inc. #1)

Chapter 22

22

T ia shoved aside the lap desk she was using to correct papers on the couch and jumped up. Mo’s ringtone chimed close by. She ran for the credenza in the hallway.

Tapping the speakerphone button, she shouted, “Girl, you won’t believe what happened today.”

“Well, hello to you, too. Sorry it’s so late, but the treadmills at the gym were booked, and I took a Pilates class instead.”

“No worries. I’m glad to hear your voice.”

“Same here. What happened? I hope it was something good.”

Tia plopped into a chair and crossed her legs, instantly regretting the move because of the sore spots from Flynn’s nails. “A cop stopped me out on Holly Knoll Road, and Flynn decided he didn’t like the guy, leaped on top of me in the front seat, and bit the guy’s hand. The cop hit Flynn with his baton, and now my sweet dog is back at Bayside for yet another overnight stay. The vet needs to trim his broken claws, x-ray his mouth, and fix any dental damage.”

“What? Oh, that poor animal,” Mo groaned.

“I know. My heart breaks for him. No dog’s life should be this hard. When I got home after the traffic stop, I asked Ethan to get Flynn out of the car because he wasn’t listening to my commands.”

“That’s not good. Why wouldn’t Flynn listen to you?”

“Ethan thinks he went into K9 mode to protect me, as if he were working.”

“Protect you from a traffic stop?”

“There was something he didn’t like about that cop. Ethan said Flynn felt threatened.”

There was a long pause. “Wait, who’s Ethan? A new neighbor I haven’t met?”

“You know, Flynn’s other guardian. Detective Kelley.”

Mo gasped. “The cop from the ride along?”

Tia grabbed a potato chip from a bag she’d opened earlier and munched. “Yes, him.”

“Oh my goodness. The cop who brought you coffee and ordered Thai and bought you that pretty red coffeepot? The kid from the beach bonfire when you were a teenager and the guy you want to fix up with Sarah from your school?”

“He won’t let me arrange a blind date so they can meet, but yeah, that’s him.”

“I never put it all together that he’s the guy you’re sharing Flynn with. So, Ethan is Detective Kelley and the kid you made out with at the party?”

The chips were just what the salt craving ordered. Tia reached for another. “Uh-huh.”

“Last I knew, you couldn’t stand him and called him a founding member of the modern patriarchal resurgence.”

Tia leaned back against the couch cushions. “Hmm... that was harsh. The overbearing men in my life are annoying, but they’re just trying to help.”

“I can understand Carson’s concern after what you’ve been through the past couple of years.”

She sighed. “Me too, I’m just tired of it.”

“So when did you and Ethan switch to first names?”

Tia cocked her head and thought for a few seconds. “It’s a lot easier to call him Ethan than Detective Kelley. That’s two syllables versus five, you know?” She stuffed her hand into the chip bag again.

Mo laughed. “I’m just shocked, that’s all. I’m glad you have a friend.”

Tia’s chip-laden fingers froze midair. Are Ethan and I friends now? The first-name thing had happened so organically. Come to think of it, he had called her Tia weeks ago, but when had she started calling him Ethan? Oh, wow, she’d really let her guard down and broken rule number one—stay polite and aloof. When had that happened? It hadn’t been the morning he’d brought coffee. She smoothed her forehead with a finger. And it hadn’t been the time he’d ordered Thai food. It most certainly hadn’t been the day he’d intimated those things about her pajamas in the school office.

Tia bolted upright, planting her feet on the floor. It’d been the day he’d dropped off the coffeepot. He’d signed the little gift card “My apologies, Ethan.” She shook her head with horror. Man pitfalls were everywhere, and she’d fallen into one of them. She’d even been stupid enough to kiss him.

Mo’s alarmed voice shimmered into her thoughts. “Honey, are you still there?”

Huh? She threw the chips into the bag and stammered, “Omigosh Mo, I let Detective Kelley clean Flynn’s nail marks on my back with my shirt off.”

“You really took off your shirt?”

“Yeah, but I wore a halter swimsuit cover-up on my front.”

“I remember you telling me he saw a lot more than your back at that bonfire back in high school.”

Tia lowered her voice to a whisper. “Right. But that was before I had the scar. I was, like, sixteen. My body was perfect back then.”

“For heaven’s sake, I wear less than a cover-up at the gym. It isn’t like you dragged him to the floor and jumped his bones.”

Tia paced the main floor. “Well, I did kiss him in the garden just to prove there was nothing between us. Boy, was I wrong.”

“What? Seriously?”

“I told him it was like kissing a brother, but I lied. He completely unnerves me, Mo. He’s an amazing kisser, kind of takes my breath away. And he’s such a nice guy. This is serious. I promised myself I wouldn’t get involved with anyone for a long time.”

“You’re not involved, Tia. You kissed him once and received medical attention from a cop. There’s no need to alert the authorities that you’re a fallen woman.”

“You don’t understand. He came with me to the vet earlier, and I let him drive. He cleared my house when we got home because they still haven’t found Margie Plante’s killer. I look forward to seeing him, and sometimes I find myself gazing at him and wondering... things. I don’t think I want to fix him up with Sarah anymore.”

“Ooh. Well, the first part is all typical cop stuff. It’s normal, and considering he’s Flynn’s other half, you have to deal with him sometimes. He must be something special if he’s caught your attention. Maybe don’t overthink it.”

Hot embarrassment ricocheted from Tia’s chest to her cheeks. She set the phone on the kitchen counter and braced herself on her elbows. “And I teased him about his muscles.”

Mo sputtered on a laugh. “Really?”

Tia shook her head. “Yeah. He asked me for a description of the cop who stopped me, and I compared his muscles to the other guy’s. Ethan is beautiful to look at. I’m not usually so shallow, but he’s hot.”

“Oh. Wow.”

“I told him I wasn’t blind, but keeping my distance, and we laughed about it.”

“Did it feel good to have a normal conversation, T?”

“That’s not important. Ethan is a detective. A. Detective. Mo. What was I thinking? If I were to get involved with someone, I surely wouldn’t pick another detective.”

“Because of Brent.”

“Of course,” Tia muttered.

“Sometimes, you can’t control who comes into your life. Circumstances tossed you together again, and I see what you’re saying about the detective part, but Brent was a dirty cop, and you were one of his victims.”

Tia pulled aside the white lace curtain and glanced out the window. There was an unmarked police car in her driveway and two people dusting her Kia hood for fingerprints. She shook her head. “I hate the word victim.”

“I don’t blame you.”

“I refuse to ever be a victim again.”

“Good for you. You deserve better than what you got. Don’t ever forget that I’m on your side, okay?”

“Thanks. I don’t know what I would’ve done without you these past two years.”

“You would’ve handled it with the same grace and tenacity, my friend. Have you been in touch with my mother’s plastic surgeon yet?”

“No. I’m thinking about getting a tattoo instead. Maybe the artist can use the long scar as a flower vine or something. I’ve been browsing designs online.”

“That’s an idea. You wouldn’t need the grafting surgeries if you made it part of a tattoo.”

“My thoughts exactly. It might be a great accessory for my new badass self. Maybe when I decide to date again in five years, I’ll hook up with a biker and get leathers, too.”

Mo howled with laughter. “That’s a positive mental picture if I ever heard one. But seriously, hon, you’ve always been a badass.”

“No, I haven’t. I was sweet and innocent and na?ve, and a trusting idiot. And because of that, I’m wearing turtlenecks and button ups every day of my life and have spent months in therapy.”

Mo groaned. “Don’t go there, T. After the surgery or the tattoo, or even if you decide to do nothing at all, when you’re comfortable with your body again, we’ll get dressed up and go out for a night on the town like we used to. We should do it soon. Maybe one of those bayside bars with a live band.”

Tia sighed. “I like that idea. I’m tired of drinking a glass of wine all by myself.”

“You want some company this weekend? I’m free.”

“I wish I could, but third-quarter grades are due next week, and I’ve got a lot to do.”

“All right, a rain check, then. And Tia?”

“Yes?”

“Don’t freak out when we get off the phone about getting to know Ethan. It’s a healthy step in your healing journey, and it’s nice to hear you smile again.”

“I won’t flip out, but I can feel my guard slipping where he’s concerned.”

“Relax, breathe, do some yoga. Maybe it’s time to start mingling again. Enjoy the relationship.”

“Yeah, I guess. I’m pretty sure he views me as part of his job.”

“Well”—Mo drew in a deep breath—“it’s had a positive effect on you. We’ll talk soon?”

“You bet. Later this week.”

Tia put her phone on the charger and considered the crime-scene duo cleaning the hood of her car. A rather tall woman closed what from a distance appeared to be a metal box. Hopefully, the results would yield a fingerprint for one of Ethan’s cases.

Mo was right. She should chill out about Ethan being a detective. It wasn’t his fault her ex had been one, too.