Knock. Knock.
Now she’d spend this entire visit worried Noah would appear.
“Are you okay after everything?” Emma pushed into Tori’s apartment.
“You over your elevator issues?” Tori peeked behind her into the empty hallway.
Emma pulled her into a brief hug. “He’s behind bars. No one to push buttons now. I can’t believe you did that last night. That you left me in the dark to go play hero.”
Tori glanced at the Quan’s door. No sign of movement. Distractedly, she said, “I’m fine.”
Emma paced. “I’m glad the gaming stuff is over. It is over, isn’t it?”
“I think so.” Her gaze caught on Noah’s discarded jeans at the threshold of her bedroom. Crap, crap and super crap. Maybe Emma would think them one of her roommate’s.
Emma wiped moisture from her eyes. “I’m here to give you the heads-up they know you were on Noah’s computer. I’d say I can’t believe you did that, but I know you did what you thought you had to in order to finish this.”
“There wasn’t any other options. I worked with the NSA instead of the FBI.”
Emma rocked back on her designer pumps. “Has Noah or Jake called you?”
Tori nodded. “Noah let me know I’m on probation.”
“They can’t fire you. You brought in that asshat last night forthem. You put your life on the line for them. I’m calling him. Telling him he has to stick up for you and make this go away.”
“No—”
Noah’s phone rang from his jeans, lying in her bedroom doorway.
Emma’s eyes went wide. “What the hell?” She pointed at Tori’s face. “I thought you’d just come from the gym to be that red, but…holy crap, Tori. I can’t believe you.”
Noah emerged from Quan’s room and picked up his jeans.
“Hi, Mr. Harrison.” Emma glared ahow could youat Tori with a little bit of shame thrown in.
Noah pulled on his jeans. In silence they watched him stalk to his jacket and pluck it off the back of the futon where he’d draped it.
Emma folded her arms across her chest. “Neither of you have anything to say for yourselves? Noah, you put her on probation. And, then the two of you… I have no words.”
She couldn’t meet Emma’s gaze. “We’re not together.”
A snort laugh escaped Emma. “Then what the hell was this, then?”
“This isn’t funny.” She huffed, crossing her arms.
Noah nodded and stalked out without another word. Her heart urged her to run after him and soothe his battered ego, but it was best this way. They had to work together. She would not become the slut trolls claimed her to be nor give them ammo to toss in her face.
“Oh, you two are definitely a big problem about to turn into a train wreck,” Emma said.