“This is empty too, but only for about a month, so there shouldn’t be extensive damage inside.”

“Let’s have a look.”

He unlocks the door and when I walk in, I stop in my tracks and cover my mouth and nose with my hand. “I think you were wrong, Pete.”

“Holy shit,” he mutters. “This just went on the market yesterday, and it’s obviously not been cleaned.”

“They’ll have to tear it down,” I reply, stupefied by the sight before me. There is a hole—a hole—in the ceiling, all the way through to the second floor, and a bed, the object that obviously caused the hole, is in the middle of the living room. There is garbage everywhere, and it smells like a sewer.

“Do you want to see the rest?” he asks.

“Is it safe?” I turn wide eyes to him and then shrug. “Meh, I’m always up for an adventure, and I’ve never seen anything like this.”

We move carefully through the living room, stepping over garbage and God knows what, to the kitchen, where I have to will myself not to throw up.

The fridge is standing wide open, and no one bothered to empty the contents, so rotten food permeates the room.

“They tore off all of the cabinet doors,” I say in surprise. “And how in the bloody hell did they manage to crack this granite?”

“I have no idea,” he says, obviously as taken aback as I am. “I’ll call the other realtor as soon as we leave and tell him that he needs to take care of this before he shows it again.”

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” I reply in awe and open the French doors leading out to a back yard with a pool. “Pete?”

“Yeah?” he says from inside.

“You’ll want to see this.”

He comes out behind me and gasps. “Callie, there’s a car in the pool.”

“Yep.”

“I’ve officially seen it all.”

I giggle and shake my head, my eyes surveying the back yard. “I wonder where that toilet is supposed to go?”

“I’m assuming that the rose garden isn’t the right answer,” he says and leads me back inside and upstairs, where we find the home of the toilet now living with the roses, along with a dead squirrel. “Someone had a campfire going in here.” I follow Pete into one of the bedrooms and stare at the perfect circle of rocks and burned wood in the center of the room. “They left the sticks they used to roast marshmallows.”

“Or, you know, body parts, because this place has the vibe of a serial killer’s house.” I laugh, but I’m not really kidding.

This place gives me a serious case of the willies.

By the time we reach the master bedroom, I can’t take any more. “Are those shackles on the wall?” I ask quietly, on the verge of tears. This isn’t fun anymore. It’s scary.

“They are.”

“I think you should call the police before you call the realtor.” There’s another toilet, just sitting against the wall, not actually hooked up to anything. The carpet was ripped out, exposing just the sub-floor. There is no hardwood.

“Let’s go.” He wraps an arm around me and leads me down and out of the house and to my car, but I’m not ready to drive. We both stand outside as Pete dials the cops and tells them what we discovered, then calls the other realtor and gives him the same report, along with a tongue lashing for not inspecting the property before listing it.

When he hangs up, my nerves have calmed enough for me to drive, but we’re quiet on the way back to Pete’s office.

“I’m so sorry about that,” he says softly and wipes his hand over his mouth. “That’s not only unprofessional, but so disturbing. I never would have taken you there if I’d known, Cal.”

“I know.” I nod and then shiver when I think of those shackles on the wall. “I wonder what happened there?”

“It’s probably best if you don’t think about it.”

“Right.” I pull up to his office and turn to face him. “Thanks for your time today, Pete.”

“Anytime. We’ve just started looking. We’ll find you something.”

“I know.”

“Can I take you to dinner sometime?”

The question is blurted out and I have to blink at him for several seconds, trying to catch up. “Dinner?”

“I’d really like to take you out, Callie.”

“Well, I—” All I can think is, you have three kids, and I’m so not ready to date a guy who comes as a boxed set.

“Just dinner.” He holds his hands up as if he’s surrendering. “We’ll just catch up a bit. No pressure.”

Well, it is nice to see an old friend, and really, what could a simple dinner hurt?

“Okay. Sure.”

“Great.” He grins and opens his door. “I’ll call you tonight and we’ll make plans.”

“Talk to you later.” I wave and smile, then pull away and shake my head. This has been the weirdest day I’ve had in a very long time.

Chapter Five

~Callie~

“He’s sure here a lot over the past few weeks,” Adam says as he pours a beer next to me. “Even on his days off.”

I simply shrug and finish cutting a lime, then grab another. It’s been two weeks since my night with Declan, and in that time, he’s shown up before closing to walk me to my car almost every night. We’ve slipped into an easy camaraderie with each other, and rather than wait outside to scare the shit out of me, he just comes inside to wait.

And the fact that my pulse speeds up and an army of butterflies takes up residence in my belly when I see him is irrelevant.

“He’s just walking me to my car,” I reply and lift my gaze to survey the bar., Sure enough, Declan just walked in and is sitting at a table on the other side of the room. He’s in his usual dark, plain T-shirt and jeans, showing off a bit of ink on his arm. He pushes his hair off his forehead, and I have to swallow hard. I know how it feels to have his fingers in my hair, and it feels damn good.

“Why?” Adam asks.

“Why what?”

“Well, two whys, actually. Why does he walk you to your car, and why are you looking at him like he’s a plate full of hot wings?”

“Awww, you remember my favorite food.” I pat Adam’s shoulder and move on to stocking napkins. The place is almost empty, and closing time is almost here.

Thank God.

I like my place, but I’m ready to get off my feet.

“Answer the questions.”

“Well, I’m assuming he’s walking me to my car because the Quarter is dangerous at night and you usually go home with some unsuspecting victim at closing time. And two, I wasn’t looking at him like he’s delicious, but now I want wings, thank you very much.”

“So you’re not seeing each other?”

“We’re friends,” I reply, making sure Adam knows that the subject is closed.

I didn’t lie. Declan has been nothing but a complete gentleman in the past few weeks, just chatting with me about our days as he walks me to my car.

The fact that I keep parking just a little farther away each day is something that I’ll deny until I take my last breath.

I walk around the bar to where Declan’s sitting.

“Hey, friend, can I get you anything?” I smile, but I’m cringing on the inside. Friend. Even though it’s true, why does it feel wrong?

“I’m fine.” He shakes his head and offers me a smile, but his eyes look tired. “I’ll just wait here.”

“I can bring you a water if you like,” I offer, but he simply shakes his head again, so I nudge his shoulder with mine playfully. “Hey, you okay?”

“Of course.” He nods again, so I return to the bar and help Adam with the last of the clean up and shoo out the few remaining patrons.

Finally, I slip into the back office to grab my handbag and check my hair in the mirror, then join Declan. “I’m ready.”

He waits for me to lock the door, and then we set off down the sidewalk.

“How was your day?” I ask, as I always do.

“I can’t complain,” he says, but doesn’t elaborate. Silence falls between us, and I frown up at him, confused. Something’s wrong.