“Maybe I should pull over,” Carter chuckled. “Give you two lovebirds a minute.”
“Don’t even think about it,” she warned, then huffed out a breath and lifted the phone slightly closer to her mouth. “You can calm down or I can hang up—the choice is yours.”
Radio static and the garbled voice of the RCMP dispatch crackled through the phone. There was a second or two of Brett’s voice, quiet and distant, talking with dispatch; then he was back on the phone, just as angry.
“You can’t just up and leave, Ellie.”
“Oh, is that right?” She snorted. “Who says I can’t? People leave all the time, Brett. It happens.”
Silence. Just as well, too. Who the hell did he think he was, telling her she couldn’t leave? She could do whatever she wanted, and he had no say in the matter. He hadn’t asked her before he’d decided to leave, had he? No, because she wasn’t his keeper. And sadly, despite the present circumstances, he wasn’t hers, either.
They each had their own lives—that’s what he’d said at the start: she’d do her thing and he’d do his. Well, look at that—they were both doing exactly what they wanted.
“Ellie.” She didn’t have to see him to know he was sitting in his patrol car, eyes closed, trying to be calm. “I have to go. Will you please call me as soon as you get to the hotel?”
“Because you asked so nicely, yes, of course I will.” She hit End before he could bark anything else at her and set Carter’s phone back on the dash.
Carter waited a whole two seconds before choking out a laugh. “Oh, come on, you gotta give me something. Hale yells about as often as he smiles, so you must’ve really done something to piss him off.”
“Me?” she cried. “It’s not my fault he’s got his Kevlar in a twist again.”
“His—” Carter snorted. “Oooh, that’s good.”
Ellie wasn’t even listening to him. “You know what? Yeah, okay, I probably should have called him back this morning—he’s right on that. Maybe, but the last little while has been…well…not good between him and me, so who cares if I go away for the night? He’s not my mother. I don’t need to report my every move to him, do I? Do I?”
“Am I supposed to answer that?” Carter asked after a few seconds, his confused glance brushing over her, then back out the front window. “ ’Cause I know that the answer most chicks would want to that question would be ‘No, you don’t have to report your every move,’ but…”
“Oh, please don’t stop,” she snorted. “I’m on pins and needles waiting to hear why there’s a ‘but’ in that sentence.”
“Well, because, Ellie, in case you forgot, you’re dating a cop and you’ve got some crazy guy stalking you.”
“I’m not d—” She slammed her mouth shut before the word could escape. “I’m not dense, Carter. I’ll be surrounded by people all day, and my sister and her boyfriend are coming down from Kelowna to stay with me in the hotel, so no matter where I go or what I do, there’ll be plenty of babysitters.”
The wave of guilt hit her even before she saw Carter’s brow arch.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “That was beyond bitchy. I really do appreciate everyone’s concern, seriously, I do. I just hate what that son of a bitch is doing to all our lives.”
“We just want you to be safe, Ellie, and from the way Hale was barking there a second ago, I’m guessing that goes double for him.”
It took everything she had not to snort. Brett might be worried, but only because it was his job to be. He was getting paid to worry about her. Lucky for him, he’d be free and clear of her in a matter of days.
“Brett’s the one who said I shouldn’t let Kurt hold me prisoner. I still have a life, and I’m not going to just sit back and let him take it.”
“Okay, I get that—we all get that.” He nodded. “And I bet Red would support you a hundred percent, but you chicks don’t understand what it’s like for us. It’s in our genetic makeup to want to protect you, and when you go off like you’re doing now…Seriously, I pity anyone Hale arrests today.”
“Oh, please.” She shook her head, but she couldn’t stop the smile. “He’s fine. Besides, I’m pretty sure you Scotts are the last of the cavemen. It’s a wonder you don’t