“She—”

“She told you that you could use it anytime you needed to get in.” He gives me a stern nod.

I nod along, because it’s obvious that’s what he wants me to do, and honestly, knowing Carly, she would be okay with me using her key to get into her apartment. Or at least I think she would have.

“Do you need more from Willow tonight or are you and Miles good here?” Clay asks.

I tip my head back toward him.

“You’re good to get her home.” Miles says, stepping inside the apartment, then his eyes come to me. “We’ll wanna talk to you tomorrow and get a full statement.”

“I’ll bring her to the station when she gets off work,” Clay tells him.

Miles lifts his chin in agreement before Clay ushers me out of the house.

When we get outside, he looks at my car then his. “Where are your keys?”

I pull them out of my pocket, and he takes them from me.

“I’m gonna pass these off to Miles. He can drive your car then drop your keys off when his shift’s over.”

I start to open my mouth to tell him no, that I’m not going to his place with him, but instead I give in. There is no way I’m going to be able to sleep tonight, and I really won’t be able to do that with Leah gone. Plus, he and I need to talk, so being with him will give us a chance to do that.

Ten minutes later, with him driving and me in the passenger seat with my bag and my coat on my lap, I look out the window as he heads toward the city. When he takes the exit that leads to my building, instead of getting off at the one that would take us to his place, I look over at him. “Where are we going?”

“Taking you home.” He glances over at me quickly then continues talking as he focuses back on the road. “I’ll get your number for Miles, so he can call you when he’s downstairs with your keys, and you can let him in.”

Closing my eyes, I turn my head toward the window, as that weight on my chest that’s been there for days gets heavier. I don’t know why I assumed that him showing up tonight was something more than what it was. I should have realized that he’s just that guy, the kind of guy who would show up when his brothers call. The kind of guy to offer comfort and give forehead kisses to a woman who’s freaked about the fact that her friend is missing. He’s not the kind of guy to make a statement like he did days ago in my office and not follow through on the promise he made of leaving me alone.

“Right. Of course,” I whisper, all the courage I built up to talk to him, to tell him how I feel is gone just like that, in the blink of an eye.