“Sit,” Finn commanded.
Abernathy sat, which didn’t prevent him from taking another few licks.
Eva giggled. “You look ridiculous. There’s a bathroom over there.” She gestured to the staff restroom.
“Stay,” Finn ordered.
The yellow Lab’s large brown eyes looked mournful as Finn crossed over to the bathroom. Eva knew she shouldn’t, but she wanted to give Abernathy a treat to reward him for being a good boy.
Instead, she reached down to scratch the silky spot between his ears.
When Finn returned he pulled a small doggy treat out of his pocket. Abernathy went still, his gaze locked on Finn. Finn gave him several commands, all of which Abernathy executed perfectly, before rewarding the K-9 with the treat.
“I like to use toys when training, but figured he was pretty well behaved surrounded by food like that.” Finn shrugged. “He’s a good partner.”
“You make a good team.” She pushed the bag of dog food back into the corner and closed the door. “I guess that’s it, then.”
“Yeah.” Finn looked disappointed.
“It bothers me that you found cocaine in the office,” she said as they made their way back through the center to the front door. “Malina hasn’t been here for at least four months, and we have a cleaning crew that comes in once a week.”
“Maybe they’re not a very good cleaning crew.” Finn relocked the front door and headed toward the SUV. “Clearly, your boss is overpaying for their services.”
“Maybe.” She’d never noticed the lack of cleaning before now. And since the white powder was in the office, where Malina had often sat to do the books, she thought it was odd that Wade Yost hadn’t noticed the mess. Normally her boss didn’t tolerate mediocrity.
It was likely he’d been distracted with the center being broken into and Cocoa being dognapped. A thorough cleaning job wasn’t high on his list of priorities.
“Which hotel?” Finn asked once they were seated in the SUV.
She wrinkled her nose. “I’d rather just go back to my place. I’m sure it’s safe enough. No one would expect to find me there tonight. And by tomorrow, you’ll have the stinky guy in custody.”
“Eva.” Finn let out an exasperated sigh. “We already discussed this. I’d feel better if you stayed in a hotel.”
She pursed her lips, then turned in her seat to face him. “Finn, with my vision issues it’s hard for me to be in a strange place, especially at night. I’d really rather be surrounded by my own things in a room where I know exactly where the furniture is located.”
He drew his hand over his face in a resigned gesture. “Okay, fine. I’ll drive you to your place.”
She narrowed her gaze, distrustful of how easily he’d capitulated. But he didn’t say anything more, simply turning right and taking the familiar route to the small house she shared with her two college roommates.
Finn carried in her duffel bag, then insisted on searching through the house with Abernathy to make sure no one was hiding inside. She unpacked her things, noticing that one of her roommates had swept up the broken glass on the floor of her bedroom.
“I could sleep on your sofa,” Finn offered when she joined him in the living room.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea. I’m not entirely sure whether or not Alecia or Julie are working tonight. I think they’re still staying at the hotel, but if for some reason they come home unexpectedly, they’ll be shocked to see you.”
Finn didn’t look happy as he shrugged. “Okay, that’s fine. Sleep well, Eva. Come, Abernathy.”
The yellow Lab trotted over to Finn’s side. Eva walked them to the door and stood in the doorway, watching as they headed toward Finn’s car.
“Bye,” she said before shutting the door and locking it. She walked back into the living room, feeling vulnerable and alone.
She pulled out her phone to call Finn, ready to ask him to come back and sleep on the sofa. She stopped herself and slipped the device back into her pocket.
Leaning on Finn the way she had over the past few days had to stop. She needed to be independent. Finn had watched the rearview mirror like a hawk, so there was no way they could have been followed. No one knew she was home.