21. Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-One

W ill broke free of the conversation he'd gotten snagged in on his way out the door. He went to the door, but before he pushed it open, he glanced back at Zara. She was talking to AJ. At least she was with a friend and would be fine. But he hated leaving her there.

But she was a strong, independent woman and was with a friend. She would be all right.

Logan needed him right now.

Will walked out into the parking lot and scanned for Logan. But AJ's words from this morning still stung. He had chosen to stick with Logan rather than her. He wasn't doing that to Zara now, was he? He didn't mean to. His friend needed him. Logan had always been one to bottle things up and often needed someone around to keep him from fixating on the problem.

Will wandered down to the creek and looked up and down the path. Where had Logan gone?

Will picked a direction. Maybe he should have told Zara more. She needed to know the complicated past of her two friends. He should probably at least tell Logan or AJ to just tell her already. Maybe it was time to tell his friends to sort it out. But it wasn't that simple. If it was, he would.

Down by the water, he spotted Logan. His fists were clenched so tightly his arms shook.

Will called out, "Hey."

Logan turned and gave a slight up nod.

Will walked up beside him and stood in silence for a few moments then said, "She doesn't know."

"That's my fault. But you know how I feel about talking about the past."

"Yep." Did Will need to tell Logan to suck it up? Probably, but he kept his mouth shut.

Will didn't need to ask Logan what he was thinking or feeling. Not much needed to be said between friends.

But was that true? Maybe his friend did need a good rebuke. He was bitter and unforgiving. But was he ready to hear it? Give me wisdom, Lord.

"Wanna go back to the party?" Will asked, knowing full well Logan's answer.

"You know me better than that. I need to blow off steam. Basketball?"

"Sure." Hopefully Zara wouldn't feel abandoned. But she was the one who told me to go after Logan.

Zara stepped out of the sand volleyball court and slid her sandals back on. It had been fun to play a game after they'd eaten dinner, but her heart really wasn't in it. It had been an hour and a half since Will went after Logan, and he hadn't come back. Where was he? Hadn't he indicated he would return? How upset could Logan really be over her stupid comment?

AJ touched Zara's arm. "Let's go get some cake. I have to head to work soon."

"I hope it's chocolate."

"You and me both. I'm sorry Will hasn't come back."

"Whatever. Cake."

AJ chuckled, and the friends went back inside the pub, joined by AJ's friend Emily, the EMT who had taken the baby from Zara at the fire a couple of weeks ago.

The noise level inside assaulted Zara. Under normal circumstances, she'd barely notice. But whether it was all the trauma from the last few days or just her nerves about Logan and Will, it was too much tonight.

She stuck by AJ and Emily, and the three got pieces of cake—which was indeed chocolate—and found a corner by the pool tables to stand and eat.

Observing all the people congregating, Zara said, "Megan must be pretty popular."

"This is more my sister's doing than anything," Emily said. "But the police department definitely seems to have a tight-knit community."

Zara nodded. "It seems that way. I'm still trying to find my place in it. Sister?"

"Jenna."

"That makes sense. I did think at one point that you look a lot alike."

Emily chuckled. "The older we get, the harder it is to tell us apart."

"Not when you were little?"

"She's nearly ten years older."

"That would make a difference."

The three finished eating their cake.

AJ scraped her plate with her fork and licked it. "Em, what is going on with Brennan and Megan?"

Zara spotted the two in question across the room. Brennan stood beside Megan, his hand propped high on the wall. She giggled and tucked a strand of her short blonde hair behind her ear.

Emily said, "You seriously don't know? He's been pining after her for a while. Remember when we responded to the call when her ex put her in the hospital? That was the final trip wire for him. He's fallen so hard for her. Maybe he'll finally get up the nerve to ask her out."

"Her ex would not like that though."

Brennan looked at his watch, and his sigh could be felt across the crowded room.

Emily also looked at hers, and AJ looked at her phone.

Zara snorted. "I guess that means you all have to leave."

The women nodded. AJ said, "Thanks for hanging out with me. I know I'm not Will."

"I'm sure he'll show at some point. I think I'll text him."

"Good idea. I'll see you at home tomorrow."

Zara smiled at AJ. Home. She liked that. Zara hugged both women before they left.

Taking the last bite of her own cake, Zara considered what to do. Stick around and wait for Will or leave?

Before she could decide, Jenna came up beside her. "I'm glad you came."

Zara shrugged. "Thanks. It's been fun." It'd be better with Will and Logan.

"You and Will seem to be getting serious. I've never seen him so happy as when he looks at you."

"We might be." Although Zara was beginning to doubt since he'd abandoned her at this party he knew she didn't really want to come to.

Megan came across the room and joined them. "Zara, thanks for coming."

She smiled. "The cake was amazing." What a stupid thing to say. "Happy birthday."

"Thank you. At least Wesson didn't get this one."

Megan and Jenna both laughed.

"There's a story in that, isn't there?"

They both nodded. Megan said, "Last year, Jenna brought me a cake and set it on the kitchen counter. We turned our backs for like two minutes, and it was gone. The entire thing. The bakery box barely survived the mauling."

Jenna added, "It was all over his face, but he was like ‘What? The cake attacked me.' He tried to look so innocent."

Zara laughed at the mental image with the German shepherd covered in cake and icing.

Someone across the room called Jenna away. Zara was tempted to ask Megan about her and Brennan but was terrified of putting her foot in her mouth again, so she left it.

Instead, she asked, "Have you had a good birthday?"

"I have. Not looking forward to four more days of work, but at least it's days this time."

"Megan," someone called from the karaoke stage.

She groaned. "Time to get embarrassed. I'll talk to you later."

"Sure." Zara gave an awkward wave. Now she knew she wanted to leave. Not that she didn't enjoy talking to Jenna or Megan—she really liked both of them—but she was done.

Zara slipped out of the pub as a rousing rendition of "Happy Birthday" began.

Will's truck was gone. She wasn't surprised, considering how long the guys had been gone, but part of her had hoped they were still close by.

She climbed into her car and texted Will.

I'm leaving the party. Where are you?

She didn't wait for a reply; she pulled out and headed home.

The sun was low in the summer sky. When she'd left her apartment earlier, she'd thought Will would come home with her and check the apartment before she went inside.

She pulled into the driveway. A light was on in AJ's grandmother's upstairs bedroom. She was already heading to bed.

The shadows of the large oak trees cast an eerie darkness across the backyard.

Zara parked in her spot and turned the car off, but she didn't get out. Maybe sleeping in the car would be fine. The thought of walking up those stairs and going into a supposedly empty apartment left her unable to breathe.

Creak. She jumped. Probably just a tree branch, but this wasn't going to work either.

She grabbed her purse and draped it across her body before hopping out of the car. After locking her car, she reached into the concealed compartment of her purse and wrapped her hand around her gun.

She dashed to the stairs and climbed them as fast as she could, letting go of her gun only long enough to unlock and open the door and go inside. She drew her gun out.

Paranoid much? She wanted to laugh at herself, but she didn't feel it. Her whole body shook.

The light was on in her room like she'd left it. She let out a tense breath.

Light or not, she cleared the apartment before holstering her gun back in her purse.

She checked her phone. No reply from Will. Why on earth hadn't he at least replied? It really wasn't like him. Was he mad that she'd upset Logan so much?

Spotting the ring on her finger, her heart constricted. She pulled it off and considered it. How had they gone from talking about replacing it with a real ring to this?

Her jaw quivered. She shoved the ring into the pocket of her shorts. She needed to not overreact, but she felt like she'd been trapped in a closet all over again. Disregarded and forgotten.

Fighting tears, she got ready for bed and crawled under the covers. God, what is happening? Help me, please.