as I tucked the phone between my ear and shoulder to keep my hands free.
“Hello?”
I frowned at the sound of the male voice on the other end of the line until he repeated himself, and recognition struck me.
“Cree? Why are you answering Alicia’s phone? Did something happen to her?”
“Some of her homegirls and five too many margaritas happened to her,” he chuckled. “She is knocked the fuck out, but when the phone woke me up and I saw it was you, I figured I should answer. Are you okay?”
“I...I don’t know,” I admitted. “Somebody broke into the shop. Then ran when I confronted them.”
“Confronted?? Did you shoot anybody?”
“No!” I rolled my eyes. “I wanted to, but I knew better, and now I… don’t know what to do. I didn’t have a plan for something like this. I should’ve had a plan for something like this,” I said, even though that last part was more for myself than him.
“Call the police.”
“What would I do that for?”
“So that if whoever it was comes back, you’ll have an explanation for shooting them.”
“They can’t come back for me if I’m not here.”
“But you will be there, because this is your life now, remember? You can’t just jet anymore,” Cree said, his tone stern, but still gentle. “Stuff like this happens to anybody, all the time. You gonna pull your roots up and run away?”
“Fuck you.”
“You’re welcome,” he chuckled in response. “Call the police, so they can file the little report, and I’m gonna talk to Willow about making sure all your documentation is in order for your gun. You’re a regular citizen, Tempest, so that should be reflected in your response to this.”
“Oh, so I should expect the police to beat my ass and accuse me of breaking in then?”
Cree busted out with a full laugh this time. “Nah, not in the Heights. I hear you though. I get it. I don’t think you’re gonna run into that there.”
I pushed out a sigh, denying the urge to make an unfair quip about him being a cop - he’d quit the force in Vegas because he was disgusted with them, so it would be a low blow to take it there.
Especially when he was trying to help.
Especially when… He wasn’t wrong.
“Fine. I’ll call,” I conceded.
“Good. As soon as Alicia is conscious, I’ll update her on what’s going on.”
I thanked Cree and we said brief goodbyes, so I could get MHPD on the line. It was a small operation, so I was impressed by how fast they arrived.
I still couldn’t wait for them to leave.
I was tired, and anxious, and annoyed, and… Just not at all in a good space. All I wanted was for them to stop asking questions, stop poking around, stop being here so I could crawl back into my bed and pretend the world didn’t exist for a few hours.
Of course that was wishful thinking.
There was no way I’d be able to relax now.
“Tempest!”
I was still standing outside, waiting to be left alone when I heard my name. When I looked up, Tristan was headed toward me, his arrival decorated by the steady red and blue flashes from the police cars.
Ah hell.
“What happened?! Are you okay?” He asked, removing his jacket to wrap around my shoulders, making me realize for the first time how much the temperature had dropped for the night.
It was warm, and it smelled like him, so I decided not to shrug it off.
“What are you doing here? It’s like four in the morning,” I said, taking a step back to put some distance between us. It was coming up on two weeks since we’d spoken, and the longer I ignored him, the easier it was.
At least, it had been.
Now that he was in my face, it was a bit of a different story.
“I was at the shop, finishing a big piece for a client,” he explained. “Neither of us wanted to spend a second day on it, so we toughed it out.”
“Oh.”
He raised an eyebrow. “You gonna tell me what’s going on, or?”
“Nothing. Somebody threw a brick through the window, and broke up the door. I think they were trying to get me to come down, but I kinda snuck up on them, and they ran.”
Tristan’s eyes went wide. “Trying to get you to come down? For what? Who was it?”
“Obviously I don’t know the answers to any of that.”
“I know, it’s just….” Tristan blew out a sigh. “Aiight, pack yourself a little bag. You’re gonna come with