Hostile Witness (Sanctuary, Inc. #1)

Chapter 27

27

T wo days later, Tia stopped to admire her new garden. The blend of colors was almost magical, a real stunner. She could just imagine how vibrant it would be in late July and August when the perennials in the back of the bed had matured and the annuals in the front had grown to their full width and height. Oh, she could hardly wait. Planting had been a fabulous investment of her time on what would’ve otherwise been a wasted afternoon.

And wasn’t she the lucky one when Ethan had trenched and removed the sod on the new section? His generosity never failed to get her attention. Most people would’ve said goodbye and gone on with their day. Not him. Much to her recent delight, he almost always stopped to help. She’d seen it with complete strangers several times. And that kiss over there? Her insides tingled every time she thought about it.

Maybe she should trench the big sugar maple and plant variegated hosta or even liriope underneath? She ambled closer to the tree and crossed her arms as she imagined the fresh plantings. Well, the hostas would be showier, what with their purple-stemmed flowers. On the other hand, liriope would require less maintenance, and the debris in the late fall would be far less to manage.

Hmm. She walked the circumference of the tree, considering her view from every angle. The size of the tree simply begged for the hostas. Decision made, she stood back to double-check.

Her heart stuttered. Was that a camera winking at her from about ten feet up? Omigod. It was aimed directly at the front of her house. What pervert would mount a camera on her tree? Could they see in her windows? Holy crap.

She marched to the garage, grabbed her ladder, and climbed up to remove the damn thing, but it was mounted in such a way that it wouldn’t come off. What the hell?

Maybe it was time to call her uncle? He’d shoot it down. And although Carson had worked very hard to keep an eye on her and was overprotective, he simply wouldn’t stoop low enough to install a secret camera and watch her day and night. The goose bumps on her arms agreed.

Which left her with the same question: Who had put a camera on the tree?

With her nerves jumping and temper flaring, she checked to see where Carson was now. Calling him while he was at work wasn’t cool. Wait—she was sharing locations with Ethan? How? She remembered verbally agreeing to it on a temporary basis until the lieutenant’s killer was caught. But... hold on. She hadn’t actually set up location sharing with Ethan on her phone.

She closed her eyes and thought a minute. The only time she locked her phone was when she traveled. Tia worried her bottom lip. Had Ethan gone ahead and set it up for her? Without saying anything? Without asking?

What the hell? Phones were personal spaces. She’d never touch anyone’s phone without permission. Maybe the good detective wasn’t as honest as he appeared on the surface?

Oh lordy. What if he was a control freak like Brent had been? No freaking way would she tolerate another man with sneaky habits. Her fist clenched as indignation surged.

Returning to the short list of people who shared her location, she pondered Ethan’s name. Had he gone behind her back and done this? Her spine tickled with unease. He didn’t seem the type, but if she’d learned anything in the past few years... looks could be deceiving.

Nah. She tried to shake it off. If Ethan did this, he wanted to protect her, even if his methods were highly questionable.

More than highly questionable. He should’ve asked to access her phone. Or at the very least, reminded her a time or two to handle it herself.

Tia spun around, facing the tree. And where the hell had that camera come from? Who was casing her house and watching the video feed? Were they planning a robbery, or posting videos of her in her house on social media? She had to find out. Now.

She hurried Flynn into the car, checked Ethan’s location, and managed a choking laugh. This side trip would either be a disaster or a bit of fun. Either way, she’d get an answer.

Tia found him in the big grocery store on 90 th street. After she checked with the office and courteously identified Flynn as a K9, the manager waved her the go-ahead. She grabbed one of those coveted small carts, turned a wide corner, and located her suspect perusing the meat cases at the far end.

She squared her shoulders. The temptation to let go of Flynn’s leash and give the attack command was damn near overpowering. Fass, Flynn, fass. How priceless would it be to watch Ethan anticipate the hit and go down with a twelve-pound spiral-sliced honey ham in his beefy hands? But there were several people with carts in the aisle, and seeing as this was her favorite grocery store, she couldn’t let that happen.

Flynn’s tail thumped in time to the store music, which meant he’d already spied Ethan. Or scented him. One could never be sure which it was with this dog. A few feet at a time, Tia browsed the meat cases, tossing several packages of sale-priced ground lamb into the cart. And because it was a healthy craving, she grabbed a bag of fresh sauerkraut. But wait, organic extra-firm tofu was on sale. She stacked several in her cart.

Flynn’s happy wag was starting to produce a breeze. His whole body shimmied as his head swiveled back and forth between Ethan and Tia. He peered at Tia and whined the softest plea.

Okay, okay. I know you like him. She, however, was on the fence since discovering he might have touched her phone, not to mention the hell there’d be if he was responsible for the camera on her tree.

Nonchalantly, she pretended to eyeball the chicken thighs versus the bone-in breasts while inching her cart closer to his. He was holding an entire beef tenderloin and inspecting it for—she assumed—gristle and fat.

Flynn expectantly stared her down, willing her to acknowledge Ethan’s presence.

She rolled her cart one final time and bumped into the detective’s. Glancing in his direction, she said, “Oh, sorry about that.”

Ethan looked up. His eyes immediately softened when he saw her. “Hey, T, what are you two doing here?” He got down on one knee, giving Flynn the praise and attention he’d been craving.

She ran a hand through her hair. “We were in the neighborhood. I figured it was a good time to stock up for the week.”

He casually scanned the contents of her cart. “You like tofu?”

“Yeah, I prep it ahead of time for lunches.”

“Sauerkraut, huh? I already know who’s going to eat the ground lamb,” he murmured with a raised eyebrow glance in Flynn’s direction.

Tia peered into his cart. “Are you planning on devouring that whole tenderloin?”

A small smile tugged at his lips. “Uh, no, I’ve got a friend flying in from Baltimore in the next day or two.”

Her eyes widened. “Flying from Baltimore?”

“Yeah. This guy has his pilot’s license.” He gave a good-natured shrug. “Maybe you and Flynn would like to join us for dinner?”

She smiled politely. “No, but thank you.”

He leaned back against the meat case. “Is this your usual grocery store?”

“It’s the store closest to my house. You and I probably shop at different times of the day.”

“Yeah, maybe.” He leaned slightly closer. “I would’ve noticed you.”

“Is that so, Detective?”

“Definitely.”

Tia folded her arms across her chest. “I noticed the oddest thing on my phone a little while ago.” She pulled it out and tapped the screen. “I don’t remember actually setting up location sharing with you. Do you know anything about that?”

He closed his eyes and nodded. “I did that while you were putting your pizza in the oven a couple of days ago. You agreed to do it temporarily, and I was concerned about your safety overnight because you were alone.”

Her voice rose half an octave. “So you touched my phone? You enabled it for me?”

Ethan smiled agreeably. “I didn’t want to forget.”

“Ooh, is that all?” She rubbed her forehead and summoned her most reprimanding schoolteacher voice. “I thought you might be creeping on me or something weird like that.”

Shock darted across his face as he held up his hands. “Hell, no. But I was in a hurry and didn’t have time for the conversation we’re having now. I wanted you safe.”

Tia held up a picture of the tree camera and enlarged it. “Do you know anything about this on my sugar maple in the front yard?”

He stiffened at the question. “Yes, I need to talk to you about that, but not here. Somewhere private.”

“I’m not going anywhere private with you until I have an explanation for this,” she quipped, pointing at the phone.

He lowered his voice, leaned closer, and raised his eyebrows. “Your traffic stop? Flynn was at the vet, and I was working that night. I was concerned for you.”

She tapped her foot insistently. “I was perfectly safe, and I know how to take care of myself.”

“I get that. I should’ve asked. I apologize.”

She pursed her lips. “You should never touch someone’s phone without permission. I spent two years with a man who did things behind my back. My tolerance for shifty practices is nonexistent.”

His eyes turned sharp and assessing. “Understood.”

She held her phone up. “I have half a mind to remove you from my location sharing.”

He stepped closer and touched her arm. “Think about it, T. If you needed help, wouldn’t it be easier for me to find you with location sharing on?”

“If I needed help, I would simply call you and you wouldn’t have to know where I am twenty-four seven. It is invasive, Ethan, no matter how you justify it.”

He shook his head. “My bad. I apologize.”

“I have Flynn now. Rest assured he’ll take good care of me.” She pulled her cart away so other shoppers had access to the meat case and pointed an index finger at Ethan. “You don’t think I can take care of myself, do you?”

His expression tightened. “Of course you can.”

“Then what’s got you in a dither about my safety?”

He raked a hand through his hair and whispered, “Look at the difference in our sizes, Tia. I’m a foot taller than you and at least a hundred pounds heavier. You said the guy at the traffic stop was tall. He already has that advantage over you.”

“You’re forgetting that I know how to defend myself and own a legal firearm.”

“I haven’t forgotten. But I’d prefer to nab an intruder ahead of time.”

“You’re completely ignoring the fact that I know Krav Maga. I asked you to fight me once before, and you wouldn’t.” She glanced at the shoppers eavesdropping on their conversation and lowered her voice. “My house, front lawn, in a half hour. If you win, I’ll keep sharing my location with you. If I win, you back off and stop trying to protect me.”

Stepping away, she crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. A female shopper swerved around Tia’s cart and muttered, “You tell him, honey.”

Ethan’s eyes widened. “Are you freaking kidding me? I’d hurt you.”

She laughed, grabbed a Cornish hen from the case, and lobbed it at him as she clucked like a chicken.

An older man wearing an Orioles ball cap elbowed Ethan in the side. “You can’t let her get away with that, you know.”

Tia lifted her chin and stood her ground. She couldn’t back down now, but the befuddled look on Ethan’s face was victory enough. Besides which, the people gathering between the poultry and beef sections were craning their necks to hear his reply.

“You want to compete . . . against me?”

“I most certainly do. Let’s settle the question of whether I can take care of myself or not.”

He held out his hands. “You’ve got me at a distinct disadvantage here, Miss O’Rourke. If I sound the least bit threatening, these good folks will call the cops. But if I back down, your safety is in jeopardy and you’ll think you’ve won.”

Tia shrugged one shoulder and pointed at him. “You’re chicken.” She peered straight into his eyes, where the green was stormier now.

A frazzled-looking woman forced her cart through the crowd. “For crying out loud, I came here to get away from my bickering teenagers, and there’s drama in the meat aisle. Get it together, people. The grocery store is a hallowed zone for weary parents.” She grabbed several large packages of hot dogs and a family-size tray of pork chops and tossed them into the belly of her cart.

Ethan’s lips flattened into a grim line. “All right. You can show me your moves in a half hour. But I’m not fighting you.”

A pissed-off heat rose through her neck to her scalp. The patronizing ass, as if she were a five-year-old showing off a new karate move. “You’re a chicken.” Without another word, she broke free of the carts in the meat section, zoomed into frozen foods, tossed a few necessaries into the basket, and made a beeline for the cash register.

Ethan was already paying for his tenderloin, so she hurriedly backed up and began checking out at a self-service, but the tofu wouldn’t scan. Dammit. Dammit.

Glancing over, Ethan headed toward the door with a large bag and a bouquet of flowers in one hand.

Tia held up a bag of frozen vegetables and called after him, “I got some frozen peas. You’ll need them later.”

He waved goodbye without turning around.

Yeah, she’d show him her moves, all right.