Gayle commented that she loved Oliver’s makeup and Brooklyn shyly admitted that she bragged to her friends at school about her dad dating a supermodel. That part took me by surprise. I had no idea that Brooklyn had told any of her friends, but the fact that she had proved to me that she really was okay with everything.
Oliver, of course, was his usual charming self, just as I knew he would be, and soon he had everyone at the table eating out of the palm of his hand. Brooklyn and Gayle gushed over his hair and makeup and hung on his every word as he told them about the time he met Kate Middleton. In fact, they got along so well that before we left, they made him promise they’d all go shopping the next time Brooklyn was back in town.
“You okay? You’ve been awfully quiet,” Oliver said as we drove back to his place.
“Yeah, sorry. I guess I was just lost in thought.”
“Care to share?”
I shrugged my shoulders. “I was just thinking about how lucky I am. Not only are Gayle and I still friends, but my relationship with Brooklyn is stronger than it ever was. But the best part is having you in my life. You make me happier than I’ve ever been, and I’m so in love with you. Seeing the three of you getting along so well tonight just made me realize that I really do have everything I could ever want.”
“I can see why you love them so much, they’re absolutely wonderful and they couldn’t have been any nicer to me. But you’re not the only lucky one. Meeting you was the best thing that ever happened to me. You make me feel happier, safer, and more loved than I’ve ever been.” He lifted my hand that was resting in his lap and brought it to his mouth, giving each fingertip a delicate kiss.
We drove for several miles without talking, both of us enjoying the other’s company while a romantic song played softly through the speakers. In my head, I was already making plans for getting him home and making slow, sweet love to him. The sound of his phone ringing broke through the quiet, making us both jump. We laughed as he pulled it from his pocket and looked at the screen, but then his forehead scrunched.
“Who is it?” I asked.
“I don’t know. It’s not a number I recognize,” he said as he hit the green button with his thumb. Curious, I listened in to his side of the conversation, broken by pauses as he listened to whoever was on the line. “Hello? Speaking, who is this?” He looked over at me, his face showing concern as he listened. “What’s this about? Okay, I’m actually not too far away right now. I can be there in a few minutes. Yeah, see you then.”
“What was that about?” I asked as he shoved his phone back in his pocket.
“I have no idea. That was the police, calling from one of the nearby stations. They said they need to speak to me, but when I asked what it was about, they wouldn’t say. They just told me to get there as soon as possible.” His face had started to go pale. “Do you think it could have something to do with Korey? Do you think he’s trying to start trouble of some kind?”
I grabbed his hand and held onto it. “I have no idea, but I can’t imagine it would be Korey. You did absolutely nothing wrong and he knows it. Either way, you won’t have to deal with it alone.”
“Thank you,” he said weakly and I ground my teeth together. I didn’t say it out loud because Oliver was already stressed enough, but if it was Korey trying to cause him problems, I was going to kill him.
We pulled into the parking lot of the police station a few minutes later and I held his hand as we walked inside. The man behind the desk glared at us over the top of his reading glasses, seeming particularly put out by having to put his crossword puzzle away to help us.
“Can I help you?” he asked in a bored voice.
“Uh, yes, sir. I received a phone call a few minutes ago from a Detective Rogers. He asked me to come in, so he could speak to me,” Oliver explained politely.
“Name?” the man asked in that same droll voice.
“Oliver Hughes.”
“Have a seat and wait while I call back…”
“That’s okay, Ted, I’m right here,” said a deep voice.
A second later, a man came around the corner. He was tall and handsome, but his face looked tired and drawn as he looked up from the open file he was carrying in his hands. He frowned as he looked at Oliver and I stiffened next to him, ready to come to his defense if the guy was going to be an asshole. He seemed to shake off whatever was bothering him though and stepped forward to shake our hands.
“I’m Detective Rogers. Thank you for coming in so quickly.”
“This is my boyfriend, Samuel Bishop,” Oliver said as the detective and I shook hands.
“Nice to meet you. Why don’t we go back to my office, so we can talk privately?”
Oliver shot me a nervous look, so I laid my hand on his lower back as we followed the detective down a narrow hallway. When we reached the last door on the right, the detective opened it and told us to go on in.
“If you’ll both excuse me for just a minute, I want to ask one of my colleagues to sit in with us while we talk. Please, have a seat. I’ll be right back.” He was back out the door before we could say another word.
We exchanged bewildered looks but sat down in the two chairs across from the desk. I stared at a framed photo on the desk of what I assumed was the detective’s family. He had a beautiful wife and three younger kids. He looked relaxed and happy in the photo, much different from the tense man we’d just met.I suppose dealing with the worst of society every day will do that to a person.
I turned my head quickly when Oliver gasped beside me. His face had lost all color and his eyes were huge as he stared up at the wall to the right of the desk. I followed the direction he was looking, and a cold chill swept down my body as I took in what had spooked him.
I recognized several of the young men from their news stories. They were the victims of the serial killer that had been terrorizing Los Angeles for months, but there were three other faces that I didn’t recognize.
