Deep Burn (Burned Duet 2)

“Oh.” Detective Olso’s eyes widened and he slowly turned to face me. “Is Brody a friend of the family, or…?”

“He’s my boyfriend’s dad.” I felt my shoulders loosen the more I spoke. It was easier to talk about anything but what they were really here to tell me.

Detective Oslo blinked several times, almost as if I’d just told him he’d won a million dollars. Was he in shock? I frowned as I waited for him to say something else, and finally Jenette nudged him with her elbow. “Sorry.” He shook his head and cleared his throat. “I just…he was the reason I joined the force.” He chuckled as if he was reliving a memory. “My dad was one of his informants.” I wasn’t sure what to say to that, so kept my mouth shut, waiting for what else he was going to say. “Anyway.” He pushed his shoulders back, morphing into the detective who’d been standing at the front door moments ago. “We’re here to tell you about the case. The DA is taking it to trial. It’s set for May tenth.”

I mentally did the math in my head. We were already toward the end of January, so that meant it was only four months away. Four months until I’d have to confront Knox. Four months until all of this would be over—hopefully. “Okay.” I gripped on to the back of the armchair, digging my fingers into the soft leather. “Do I need to do anything?”

“The DA wants you to testify. She thinks the jury needs to hear what happened directly from you—”

“But,” Jenette interrupted, narrowing her eyes at the detective. “If you don’t think you can do it, they think they have enough evidence for a conviction.”

“I’ll do it,” I said without hesitation. I didn’t even need to think about it. If I was going to confront Knox, I was going to do it like this, in a controlled environment, where I’d be the one in control and not him.

“You can think it over,” Jenette said. “You don’t have to make the decision right now.”

“Will the case be stronger if I testify?”

“Yes,” Detective Oslo replied right away.

“Then I’ll do it.” I pulled in a sharp breath and placed my hand on my chest, trying to calm my racing heart. It’d be the final step I’d need to take. The last thing I’d need to do so this would all be over. “What happens now?”

“The DA will be in touch with you to set up a meeting. She’ll want to prepare you for what will happen on the day.” They both stood from the sofa and Detective Oslo continued, “In the meantime, the conditions of Knox’s bail remain in place. If he comes near you, you can call me directly.” Detective Oslo passed me his card. “Save that number in your cell so you can reach me anytime. I’m in charge of your case, so if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to

call me.”

I stared down at the card, reading the number several times, then nodded. “Okay.” There was a second of awkward silence, then they walked out of the living room and to the front door. Jenette stared at the locks, reached out and undid them, then smiled back at me. She didn’t need to say anything to know why there were so many, and I didn’t need to explain. It was an unspoken understanding not many people comprehended.

“Take care of yourself, Elodie,” Jenette said as she exited the house.

“I will,” I murmured, following behind them. As soon as they were both outside, I closed the door, put all the locks back in place, and pressed my back against the door. I felt like I was exhausted but also full of energy all at the same time. I hadn’t expected that to happen, but I should have known they’d turn up. No matter how much I tried to take the steps to move forward, there would always be the final one: seeing Knox in court.

But as I leaned against the door, I realized there was something else I needed to do before that. Each hurdle I’d jumped over got me closer to the finish line: coming back to town, going outside alone, driving my car, dancing in the studio. But there were still other things I hadn’t faced yet.

I hadn’t gone back into Pink Feather. I hadn’t plucked up the courage to let Asher touch me like he did before all of this. And as soon as I thought those two things, I knew what I had to do. I’d held myself back. I’d focused on just making it through another day. But now I was faced with the final thing I had to do—I had to confront what was the scariest.

All it would take were a few texts and a couple of hours organizing, but I had to do it. For me, and for Asher.

ASHER

Elodie: Meet me at Pink Feather at 5.

I frowned down at the message and looked at the time in the corner of my screen. 2:47 p.m. The message had come through almost two hours ago, but I hadn’t seen it because I’d been tattooing my second client for the day. And now that I’d had a free thirty minutes until my last client of the day, I’d managed to check my cell.

Asher: Why? Is everything okay?

It was only seconds until I had a reply back.

Elodie: Everything is perfect. See you at 5.

I wasn’t sure what to say back to that. We hadn’t talked about her returning to work because I hadn’t realized it was an option in her mind. But now I was confronted with the reality that she could go back to dancing at Pink Feather. I wouldn’t stop her—I’d never stop her doing anything she wanted to do—but that didn’t mean I liked the fact she was taking her clothes off for other people to look at her. I was conflicted, not knowing how to feel about it. I wanted her to feel the strength it took to be able to get up on that stage, but I wanted to be the only person she did it for. I wanted to be the only man who got to see the way her curves moved to the beat of the music. I wanted to be the only one who got to stare at her silky-smooth skin knowing I’d get to touch it.

Fuck. I couldn’t stop thinking about how she’d look on the stage. We hadn’t done more than kiss since we’d been at the lake house, not that I was complaining because I knew she needed to take her time. She had to do things at her own pace, but that didn’t mean I hadn’t imagined touching her in every single way possible.

“You okay, boss?” Mav called, and I whipped my head up to face him where he was cleaning up my station and getting it ready for my next client. His brow was raised, waiting for me to answer him.

“Yeah. All good.” I pushed my cell back into the front pocket of my jeans and tried to concentrate on what I needed to do for the next couple of hours. I printed off several sizes of the tattoo I’d drawn, and once the client had arrived, he chose the size he wanted, and then I got to work.

My mind swirled with possibilities as to why Elodie wanted me to meet her at the strip club, but none of them made sense. The club didn’t open until seven, so why did she want me to meet her there at five? Was there a special early dance? Was she taking part in it if there was? I couldn’t wrap my head around it, not while I was tattooing, not while I was driving from the shop to Pink Feather, and not even when I pulled up outside and saw nothing but a lone motorcycle parked in front of the doors with Jax leaning against the seat.