be in uniform, anyway. “It’s nice to meet you, Norman.”
“Call me Norm. Everybody does.” He smiled at Bailey before turning to Randy. “You should probably stop touching him before Detective Alfred gets the wrong idea and chews your ass out again.”
“Oh, right.” Randy quickly removed his hand from Bailey’s neck.
Bailey shot a grateful look toward Norm while Randy pulled out his notebook and pen. “I already know Will, Heather, and Joey were there last night. Anyone else?” Randy asked.
“Not that I can think of. Honestly, I wasn’t there very long. I closed the theater after the show, then met up with them. The others are on their way over, though, so maybe they’ll be able to help more.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Randy said. “From what Will said, you’re the one who saved Ashley. She’s lucky you were there.”
“No, Logan saved her. Well—he found her? I’m not sure exactly what happened. None of us are.”
Norm made a little noise that drew Bailey’s attention. “Why don’t you tell us exactly what you remember.”
“Not much. We were dancing. When we went back to the table, Ashley wasn’t with us. It was weird because she usually tells me when she’s going to step away.”
Norm nodded.
“Yeah, Bails here is their keeper. He moms them all, don’t ya?”
Bailey glared over at him. “Look, Rands”—the nickname didn’t have the same annoying factor as Randy using his, but he at least tried—“I’m not their keeper. I’m their friend, and I look out for them. You should try it sometime.”
“Whoa, whoa,” Randy said. “I didn’t mean any offense. I like it.”
“Back off, Randy,” Norm said sharply.
“God, fine. So fucking sensitive.”
Norm rolled his eyes, but Randy didn’t notice. “What happened then?”
“I don’t know. I just had a weird feeling something was wrong. I can’t really explain it. I said something to the others, and we all went to check on her. We found her in the bathroom hallway. Logan had her arms, and I told him to let her go. When he did, I realized something was wrong. I never saw anyone else with her.”
“Except for Logan,” Norm said.
Bailey hesitated, not wanting to imply Logan had anything to do with it. “Right. But I don’t think—”
“It’s okay. We’ll talk to him separately too,” Norm said. “Find out his story.”
Bailey got it. He did. They had to be suspicious of Logan. Hell, he should be suspicious of him too. But he wasn’t. Maybe that made him naive, or worse, a fool.
He glanced over and found Logan talking to the other guy he’d arrived with. Logan looked around the area, searching for something maybe, and then his gaze landed on Bailey. He leaned his head to the side a bit, as if questioning Bailey, then his gaze moved over Bailey’s shoulder toward the street.
Bailey turned to look as well, and saw Will, Joey, and Heather approaching. He glanced at Norm and found the officer watching his interaction with Logan. “Um, our friends from last night are here.”
Norm nodded and moved away without a word, meeting them on the sidewalk in front of the sorority house. Randy, on the other hand, stayed with Bailey. His eyes had sharpened into a knowing stare that made Bailey uncomfortable. “You have something going on with him?” Randy asked, gesturing toward Logan.
“That’s none of your business,” Bailey snapped.
Randy scowled, then took a step back. He took a deep breath before blowing it out. “I’m being a jerk.”
“Pretty much.”
“Damn. Kick me while I’m down, Bails.”
“Don’t try to be cute, Randy. You’re being a jerk, and you know it. And you’re making me uncomfortable. I don’t like it.”
“That’s the opposite of what I’m trying to do.”
It took Bailey a second to process. “What?”
“Fuck, I’m bad at this. I just… I… Would you, like, go out with me sometime? Maybe get some coffee?”
Bailey had no idea what to say. He didn’t want to be nasty, but Randy really wasn’t one of his favorite people. “How about this?” Bailey offered. “After all this is settled, ask me again. I can’t right now.”
“You can’t what right now?” Logan asked.
9
Logan
Even from across the yard, Logan couldn’t focus on anything other than Bailey. When he scented the sharpness of anger, the alpha in him had to fight back a snarl. He crossed the yard, only to hear Bailey say, “After all this is settled, ask me again. I can’t right now.”
“You can’t what right now?” Logan asked.
“Bails?” Ashley called from the porch. “Can you come here?”
Bailey glanced nervously at Logan before hurrying toward her.