People were staring; hands moved unnecessarily toward hips where Tasers and guns were located. Hayden was many things, but he wasn’t violent. Although where Cross was concerned, he might make an exception.

“It’s okay.” I moved closer to Hayden, latching on to his arm.

Officer Miller frowned, watching the interaction with professional detachment.

“Miss Page, I advise you to step back,” Officer Cross said.

“Are you serious? You think I’m going to hit her?” Hayden asked, incredulous.

“I think you’re forgetting that I’ve seen you worked up before, Mr. Stryker. You’re very agitated right now,” Officer Cross replied, calm and rational.

Officer Miller looked at me, her expression both questioning and concerned.

“Agitated? Of course I’m agitated! We’re talking about my dead parents and how you messed up the investigation. How do you jump to the conclusion that I would abuse my girlfriend because I’m pissed at your incompetence?”

Cross’s face darkened with anger. “I’m going to have to ask you to leave the premises, unless you’re looking to spend the evening in a cell.”

I said, “He didn’t mean that. I’m so sorry—”

“Don’t apologize to him!” Hayden snapped at me and leveled Cross with a hateful glare. “You’re a fucking joke. I would never hurt Tenley—she’s my goddamn world.”

He stormed out of the building.

Officer Miller deferred to Cross. “Do you want me out there?”

“He’s not a violent person. He won’t damage anything,” I said, even though they’d obviously made up their minds as to the type of person Hayden was.

I turned to Officer Cross. “It was very hard for him to come here. It brings up terrible, painful memories. All he wanted was some information.”

“He pulled the attitude.”

“Is that how you want to see it? Do you think your judgment goes unnoticed? Just because he doesn’t ascribe to your set of norms doesn’t mean he’s a felon or a murderer. You should know that better than anyone else. The most dangerous criminals are the ones who appear the least threatening.”

I could feel the stares as I turned and headed for the door. When Officer Cross called after me, I ignored him. For the first time in my life, I didn’t care about anyone’s perception of me. It was liberating.

I pushed through the door and stepped out into the sunshine to find the man who mattered most.

15

HAYDEN

I stormed across the lot, my head a mess. I wanted to go back in there and punch Cross in his smug face. But that wasn’t an option because then I’d be arrested for assaulting an officer. I’d acted like a complete asshole in there. Tenley was probably mortified.

When I got to the car, I leaned against the side and crossed my arms over my chest, working to get a handle on my emotions. I was way too aggravated. Cross had that effect on me. Most of the time I could keep a lid on my temper, but he and Sienna made me crazy.

A minute or two later, Tenley came out of the building. I met her halfway and put an arm around her as soon as she was close enough to touch.

“I’m sorry I lost it in there.”

Tenley returned the embrace, burrowing into my chest. “It’s okay. Cross was antagonistic, as usual.”

I helped her into the car, then went around to the driver’s seat. “I wish I’d handled that better.”

“Next time we go, you’ll be better prepared. It’s been an intense morning, and I’m sure you didn’t expect to run into Officer Cross. It definitely didn’t help, and neither did his judgment.” Tenley fingered the sleeve of her coat, picking at a loose thread.

“The judgment I’m used to. Sometimes it gets a little tedious, though.” I let my head drop back against the seat. “You know I would never raise a hand to you, right?”

Tenley’s eyes went wide. “Are you seriously asking me that?”

“I’m just making sure.”

“Cross said that to wind you up.” She took my hand. “Do you want me to cancel my plans with the girls?”

“Why would you do that?”

“It’s been a difficult morning.”

I wasn’t sure if I should be embarrassed or grateful that my girlfriend was so concerned about me. “That’s cool of you to offer, but I have clients lined up this afternoon.”

Besides, as enticing as the thought was, if I stayed home with Tenley, I was liable to do a lot more than talk. I put the car into gear. Her phone chimed in her purse. She rooted around in the oversize bag, then checked the e-mail.

“Oh, no.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Professor Calder wants to meet with me tomorrow morning.”

“What time?”

“Ten.”

“I’m coming with you.”

“If you want.”

I expected more of a fight. Usually she wanted to deal with things on her own.

“I think he’s sleeping with one of his students.”

I pretended to be surprised, even though I wasn’t. “Why do you think that?”

“Because I saw a girl go into his office and there were . . . un-professional noises.”

I’d already seen the same thing. I had to wonder how stealthy this jerk-off thought he was being. Or how above the rules he believed himself to be. “I won’t be waiting in the car.”

“I didn’t expect you to.”

I did not get to spend the night with Tenley. Lisa and Sarah, hijackers that they were, stole her from me. Which meant I had to hang out with the guys instead. Normally that would be fine, but the day had been a roller coaster and the only thing that got me through was the plan to spend the night with Tenley.

So the change in plans was a little hard to take. I would have used guilt to get my way, but I could tell she already felt bad. She said they had a little project they needed to finish before the end of the week. She wouldn’t tell me what it was, but promised to make it up to me tomorrow night. When she offered to describe the ways she planned to do that, I declined, figuring it would make it worse. Now I wished I’d taken her up on it.

We ended up at Chris’s place, since he had the most beer in his fridge. I planned to bail after a few, on the chance that the girls’ night ended early enough for Tenley to come over.

His place was in a dodgy neighborhood in a sketchy low-rise building. Everything from the linoleum on the floors to the avocado-colored stove in his kitchen was outdated and ugly. The only new things in the place were his couch, the massive flat-screen fixed to the wall, and the gaming system set up on the coffee table. Chris was all about comfort and electronics.

Chris should have been able to afford a better place with the money he made working at Inked Armor. But a good chunk of his paycheck went to help out his family. Chris was loyal to a fault. His father practically disowned him by the time we opened Inked Armor, but Chris refused to let his mom and sister suffer as a result. From what I knew, his dad was a real loser. Because of that I didn’t get on him about his crappy apartment.

After using his germ-infested bachelor-pad bathroom, I returned to the living room to find him and Jamie watching porn. I dropped down on the couch and waited for the good parts: the blow-job scene or the nipple sucking, or the penetration from behind. That didn’t happen, though, because it actually wasn’t porn—it was some period drama with a lot of nudity.

“What the shit is this?” I asked.

“I don’t know, but Jamie said he wanted to watch it, and there’s tits, so I said fine,” Chris replied.

Jamie’s phone went off and he fumbled with it, his eyes half on the screen and half on the message coming though. “Holy fu—” He shoved the phone back in his pants, a massive grin on his face.

“What’s going on?”

“The girls went lingerie shopping, and Lisa just sent me a picture of one of her purchases. They’re all at Tenley’s place now.” Jamie shifted and tried to rearrange himself inconspicuously.

“I don’t want to know,” I said into my beer.