Hear Me by L.J. Breedlove

Author:L.J. Breedlove
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Portland, protests, Black Lives Matter, doxing, BiPOC, Black suspense, women sleuths, new adult suspense
Publisher: L.J. Breedlove
Published: 2021-10-18T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 17

9 A.M., THURSDAY, APRIL 21, 2021, SE Portland — Ryan was alone, lying in bed listening to the sounds the house made. The house was old and it creaked. He couldn’t see out, so he had no idea what the weather was like. Was it windy? he wondered. He started to tell Alexa to play some music, but then he wouldn’t hear Abigail when she came in. And he didn’t want to be caught by surprise.

He hated being alone. He was so goddamn needy, he thought. He tried to hide it from Teresa, not wanting to burden her with how much he needed her. Needed Rafael. But God, he did. He needed people, all kinds of people, too. He’d thrived in the newsroom because he was never alone. Same with the Loft. Never alone there either. He wondered how Corey was doing living in his old room. He grinned.

He heard the front door open and close, and he frowned. He thought Teresa had said Abigail was coming at 10 a.m. Teresa had left for her own class at 7:30 a.m. An ungodly hour, but she had to drop Rafael off for his weekly playdate with John Lewis and make it to her honors seminar this term. Why would anyone schedule seminars at 8:30 a.m.? Tradition? That would figure for the Honors College, he thought morosely.

He heard the footsteps come down the hall, and he frowned. A bit slow and heavy for Abigail. And that was the good thing about a creaky old house, he thought with amusement. He would soon be able to recognize the footsteps of people. “You’re early,” he said and looked up to see that it was the other McShane in his doorway. Andrew McShane not Abigail.

“Sir?” he said uncertainly. “Shouldn’t you be in the office by now?”

“Took a personal day for the morning,” he said. “My secretary about died of shock. May I come in?”

Ryan gestured to the chair beside the bed. McShane looked at it skeptically, and Ryan grinned. “Bigger chair behind the desk,” he said.

McShane spied it and pulled it closer to the bed. “I have an apology to make,” he began.

Ryan shook his head no. “You don’t have to apologize,” he said. “Or even explain. I wasn’t sure you’d come again, ever.”

“You know that damn intuition of yours has got people speculating that you’re telepathic?” McShane grumbled. “Ramirez said if it wasn’t for the fact that he knew you couldn’t get out of bed without help, he’d have brought you in for questioning when someone vandalized that residence hall. How did he know? he kept asking. How did he know?”

Ryan snorted. “I’ve learned a lot about escalation this last year,” he said. “They have to talk themselves into the next thing.”

“And then the next,” McShane agreed. “How far will they take this?”

“Who? Bianca and EWN or the assholes who are stalking her?”

“Either? Both?”

“I don’t think there’s any backup in Bianca,” Ryan said, with a grin. “Damn, I didn’t know she had it in her.

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