the police department for ten years, but he still kept in decent shape, apart from the occasional cheeseburger. He was like a father to me, probably more so than my real dad, who I only got to see once a month at a pre-arranged time and couldn’t even tell anyone he was still alive. “How are you feeling?”
“Okay, I suppose. Tired.”
He nodded. “I remember those days. Poor Angie was exhausted through all three of her pregnancies.”
I groaned. “Don’t tell me that. I’m sleeping more than I have in my life, but it’s still not enough. I constantly wake up exhausted. Having to give up caffeine hasn’t really helped, either.”
“You work too hard, sweetie. I see the hours you keep at that restaurant. At some point, you need to start taking better care of yourself.”
“I will. I promise.” I leaned down and placed a soft kiss on his temple.
“Good. You better get a move on. I’m sure Brayden and Jenna are waiting.”
I glanced down at my wrist and checked my watch. “Shit!” I exclaimed when I saw it was quarter after six, bolting from Paul. I was usually the one waiting on them, not the other way around.
“Drive carefully!” Paul yelled.
“I will!” I responded as I dashed out the doors and into the parking lot of the condo building I lived in on the north end of South Padre Island.
The sun was still shining brightly as I took quick steps toward my car. Clicking on the key fob to unlock the door, I was startled by the sound of glass breaking and I swung my head toward the front gate. A chill washed over me when my eyes settled on a dark sedan idling on the street, the driver wearing darkened sunglasses. His expression remained fixed, never looking at me…or anything else, for that matter.
Part of me had hoped the glass breaking was Charlie making an appearance, but he was too smart to do anything that would draw attention to himself. Nearly four months ago, he had disappeared from my life when his photo was splashed all over the news as the only suspect in a rash of murders spanning close to a decade. Murders he claimed he had nothing to do with. I didn’t know what to think, although I secretly wanted to believe him. But months had gone by with no communication at all. Not even a phone call on our secret spy line, which was what I named the cell phone he left me the night he disappeared. I worried the worst had happened, that he was silenced forever, leaving me more confused than ever about whether I was simply naïve to want to believe him, given our past, or whether Charlie was another pawn in the bigger picture.
Sighing, I got in behind the wheel of my Mercedes convertible. I knew it was only a matter of time before I had to think about how I was going to afford a bigger car. I certainly couldn’t put a baby seat in the back seat of my two-door coupe.
I pulled out onto the main road and, within minutes, arrived at the wine and tapas bar Brayden, Jenna, and I had been going to for our Friday girls’ night for the past several years.
I threw the valet my keys, then strode into the restaurant and toward the bar, Jenna and Brayden sitting at the counter.
“There she is!” Brayden exclaimed, spinning on his barstool and facing me. “Come on, Mack. I saved you a seat.” He winked.
I glanced around the empty bar, rolling my eyes. “Yeah. Thanks. I don’t know what I’d do if you didn’t save me that seat.” I sat down beside him and smiled at Jenna, who was sitting on the other side of him. It was a popular place, but mostly for dinner. The dining room was packed with locals, businessmen, and tourists, but the small little bar remained relatively vacant.
I hung my purse on the hook underneath the counter and my eyes darted to the opposite end of the bar where a mystery man sat one night months ago. His stool was empty, which was exactly how I felt. I had been pretending I was over him and all the lies he told, but I wasn’t. I had hoped if I kept saying I was over him, I had moved past him, I didn’t need him, I didn’t love him, it would be okay.