Page 47 of Falling For You

“I need a favor.”

Artie’s eyebrows come down into a confused frown. “What’s that?”

“I need the address of where she is.”

He’s staring at me now, completely perplexed. “Uh...why?”

“I need to see her.”

“Uh...why?”

“Because they’ve been sleeping together,” Holly sounds exasperated as she joins us in the empty studio. Thank god it’s clear for this. I don’t need people seeing me get punched. I tense, waiting for a blow as Artie’s mouth drops open, his eyes, so similar to his sister’s, pinning me in place.

“You’ve been sleeping with my sister?”

“Oh my god, Artie,” Holly scoffs and rolls her eyes. “You’re fixating on the wrong thing. Why do you care who Thelma sleeps with?”

He flushes bright red. “I don’t. I don’t want to think about that stuff.”

“Idiot.” She shakes her head, turning back to me. “I’ll give you the address.”

“Uh, no contact, remember?” Artie hisses at her. Holly waves her hand dismissively.

“Yeah, she doesn’t want us descending on her and asking questions. I think she’ll be fine with Jimmy showing up.”

I don’t know about that, given our less than stellar parting last time, but I’m not about to mention that to Holly and blow my chances of getting the location. Holly rattles off an address in Ocean Shores, and I quickly type it into my phone. Artie makes a face, but he doesn’t look like he will punch me. Holly giggles, shaking her head and dragging him away.

Pulling up the maps app, I plug in the Ocean Shores house and wait for it to load. Two and a half hours. Perfect. I’ll swing by my place, pack a bag, borrow Trey’s truck, and be there in three. She might refuse to see me, but I have to try. I have to make sure she’s okay. Fucking death threats? She should have told me.

THELMA

Humming to myself, I spread the honey on the toast, tapping my foot on the gray marble floor tiles. The sun shines through the high windows, bathing the area in light. Sucking in a deep breath, I let it fill my lungs, settling there before blowing it out slowly.

It’s been two weeks. It still hurts to think of Jimmy, but at least I don’t start crying every time I do. That was beginning to get awkward. Grady never knew where to look when I started crying. He did a lot of “perimeter checks,” which is Grady-speak for “I’m not paid enough to care about your feelings”.

At least now I can be sure I’m not going to end every day with puffy, red eyes, exhausted from crying. I may have completely cried out all my heartache. I’m proud of myself. I’ve never been good at dealing with things, mainly because I was too busy at work and buried everything.

But I dealt with this, and I’ve survived. Now I need to figure out how to hold it together when I’m back in Seattle and at Dynamo. Oh god, what if I run into him? That’s going to bring me straight back to square one. I know it is.

Grady strides into the room, his hand on his gun. Uh, what? I stare in shock as he jabs his finger at the hallway from the kitchen to the bedroom on this level.

“Someone is here. Stay inside.”

Crap. There isn’t enough time to get to the panic room on the second floor. Straining, I can hear gravel crunching as a car parks out the front. Oh, god. Dropping my slice of toast, I run through the hallway to the ensuite bathroom, sinking onto the floor and pulling my knees to my chest.

No one but the family knows I’m here. Who could be here? They knew I wanted no contact. Surely, they wouldn’t be crazy enough to drive up here without warning me first. Oh, god. What if Grady accidentally shoots someone? Holly would call first, but what if Artie or Dad decided to come?

Shoving to my feet, I start creeping back out. It’s not smart, but I can’t let Grady shoot mydad. I’d never hear the end of it. He’d make me work for Rampwood & Stein as compensation.

Chapter 17

JIMMY

Climbing out of the truck, the loose gravel crunches underneath my feet. I stare at the blue, clapboard-sided house with creamy trim. The highest part is three levels, with what looks like a boat garage on one side. That’s fire. The building backs onto the lake, so maybe they have a boat. This is a different world from the one I grew up in.

Approaching the door, I lift my hand and knock. I hope Thelma’s in. She might be out shopping or something. After a moment, the door slowly swings open, and Quinn stands there, his arms crossing over his chest as he stares at me, his lips pressed into a thin line.

“Come to make her cry some more, huh?”