Kye stood up, wrapping an arm around me. “No. Go home and get the boys. Scout and Chase are on their honeymoon and will be fine if you set up there for a day or two.”

“No. I’m not stealing someone’s apartment just because I’m a little freaked out.”

He was already texting Scout to double check, but I knew her well enough that I knew the answer would be yes. Any of them would say yes. Even if I asked Kye for Amber to stay with us at his place, he would say yes. 

I wrapped both arms around him now, holding him closer, just to remember this amazing man was real, and he was mine.

“When did Mia dye her hair?” I asked Amber. “I just saw her two days ago and it was still black.”

“Yesterday. I thought it was you yesterday when I walked into work.”

“Alright, Scout and Chase are fine with it. Go home, get your stuff and the boys, and come over for a bit. At least until we know what is going on.”

Her shoulders sagged and she smiled. “Thanks. I appreciate it. I’ll see you guys in a little bit, then?”

I nodded, hugging her once before she left.

“Daisy,” Mark said, waving me over. “I need you in here alone.”

Kye’s hand tightened on mine. “If you have any problems,” he whispered, “just scream, and I swear I will kick down that door for you.”

I smiled, kissing him once before heading over to Mark’s door. Even knowing Kye was on the other side of the door kept me calmer. 

And it was Mark. At the very least, he cared about his job and would take this seriously.

He waved to the seat across from his desk before he pulled off his gun and a handful of keys from his pocket. He looked at me, flustered, as he threw the keys into a drawer along with the gun. The keychain flashed in the light, and it made me wonder if he was already seeing someone to have a keychain like that.

“How have you been?” he asked. 

“I’ve been better. You?”

“I’ve been better,” he said.

“Seeing anyone?”

His hand tightened on the pen he had poised to write, and his eyes narrowed. “After we broke up two weeks ago? No. Unlike some other people, I don’t go fucking around immediately.”

My eyebrows jumped, and I sat back a little further in the chair. “It’s not like I went out and found the first guy off the street to sleep with him. I’m sorry, but I’ve always loved Kye. There’s nothing wrong with you, Mark. I just can’t help who I love.”

“Right.” His jaw tightened, and he took a deep breath before continuing. “Look, this isn’t about us. It’s about what happened tonight. I need us to focus on that.”

I nodded, feeling a pit of guilt in my stomach. I knew what I did wasn’t the greatest, but I couldn’t help it. “Okay. And I am sorry.”

He sighed, running a hand through his hair. “I need you to tell me everything you remember about tonight. Any detail, no matter how small, could be important.”

I recounted the night’s events as clearly as I could, from the moment I arrived at the diner to what I did after. Mark scribbled notes furiously, his face a mask of concentration.

When I finished, he leaned back in his chair, tapping his pen against his notebook. “Did you notice anything unusual about Mia before tonight? Any strange behavior or comments?

I shook my head. “No, not really. She seemed fine the last time I saw her. She did dye her hair recently, which is drastic, but that’s about it.”

“And you’re sure you don’t know anything about her personal life? No ex-boyfriends, enemies, anything?

“I told you, she didn’t talk much about herself. I know she had a roommate and maybe a boyfriend, but she was pretty private.”

“She didn’t tell you anything about her boyfriend? Nothing at all?”

“Not really. Just that she would see him once or twice a week, but didn’t say much otherwise. Do you guys know anything?”

“Nothing yet. Where was Kye that day?’

My eyebrows furrowed as I looked at him. “With me? Why?”

“All day?”

“I mean, I was at the apartment for a while with Bailey while he was at the garage, and then I met up with him there.”

“And was anyone else with him at the garage?”

“I’m sure one of the crew was there at some point. I don’t know who exactly, though.”

“So one of his closest friends will be the only one to give him an alibi for the hours when Mia could have been killed?”

“One of them, or me.”

He was already standing up with a shake of his head. “All the people who would gladly lie for him if needed.”

“What does Kye have anything to do with this? He barely knew Mia.”

“We have reasons to think Kye could be involved, Daisy.”

“How?”

“Because the last person Mia called was Kye, twenty minutes before she was killed.”

FIFTY-FOURDAISY

Two days went by without a word from my dad or Mark about Mia.

Or trying to arrest Kye.

I tried to keep busy, but Carly had shut down the diner, not knowing when it would reopen. I think she was even thinking about moving it completely now.

I had spent every day with Kye. Either at the apartments or at the garage. But until they found out who killed Mia, he didn’t want me out of his sight, and I wasn’t inclined to fight him on it. There wasn’t a single part of me that thought Kye did it. As ruthless as he could be, he wasn’t going to kill some random girl for no reason.

I still hadn’t asked him why Mia had called, though. I couldn’t bring myself to wonder why he would have.

Kye had gone out today, doing a few errands for us so I could stay home with Bailey. Part of me knew I would be fine if I went with him, the other part was still scared to go out of the apartment. Someone had been after me. The tires, the break-in, and the worry that Mia’s hair was blonde kept bothering Kye, which quickly bothered me.