The Enforcer - Kelli Callahan Page 0,31
my phone.
“Well Jake, that’s a big thing for you. I haven’t known you to be with a girl longer than two weeks. At least not since―”
“Yeah, I know,” I say, cutting him off. “It is what it is. I’ll make the best of it, but I can’t think about that right now. I can’t get emotionally involved.”
“I know how you feel. I’ve been there.” Noah says, “Well, just be careful. And, you know, keep me updated.”
“I will,” I say. “Bye Noah.”
“Bye Jake,” he replies, hanging up the phone.
Glaring at the road ahead of me, I try not to be angry at his words. He doesn’t know that there’s no way for us to find the killer or attempted killer. He’s just assuming that we have to go out in the open. There’s still a chance. The police could gather some sort of information from security cameras for the fire. I imagine that will take considerable time. Things aren’t as fast in real life as they are in the movies. It’s a sad reality... and something that has made my life considerably easier over the last decade. But now I’m here, needing the law on my side, well, let’s just say I wish it was more like CSI.
Maybe I can talk her into laying low for a couple of days and make it interesting for her. Yes― if I can keep her engaged here for a little while, just long enough for the police to get ahead of it or for Noah to find something useful, then maybe, just maybe, I can keep her out of harm’s way. Not because I’m in love with her or anything ridiculous like Noah said, but because it’s who I am. I’m a protector, a defender. I stand up for what I believe in, and I believe in Diana.
Chapter Eleven
Diana
My heart beats faster in my chest. What the hell is taking him so long? Striding back and forth across the hotel lobby, I raise my hand as I reach for the door before pulling it back again. I know he told me not to leave, but I couldn’t wait in that damn room a moment longer. He was foolish for expecting me to do so. If the roles had been reversed, does anyone really think he would have stayed there, waiting for me like a child? Absolutely not. He’d have told me he was coming with me, and that would have been the end of it. No arguing, nothing.
Men. What is it with men and making demands? Telling women what to do, what to wear, what to say, when to come, and when to go. God, the list goes on and on, and I’m sick of it. I am tired of living my life by rules created by other people. I am a grown woman, and I can and will do whatever I want, whatever will make me happy. I know what is best for me.
“Ma’am?” Gritting my teeth, I turn as Becki, the nasty woman behind the desk who so sweetly gave us a room because of her obvious attraction to Jake, stares at me.
“What?” I snap at her, feeling a little foolish for getting angry.
“Ma’am, is everything okay?” she asks, her voice a little sympathetic.
“Yes, I’m fine.”
“Is there an issue with your room, Ma’am?” she asks.
“No, the room is fine. Thank you.”
“Okay…” she says, trailing off. “But if you need anything else, please let me know. I’m happy to help you.”
“Thank you,” I say with a sigh, turning to face her. “It’s just men…” I say with a shudder.
“Oh. Yes. Well, they certainly make life interesting, don’t they?”
“That’s a word for it,” I grumble. “Sorry for being irritated with you. It’s just that, well, I don’t like being told what to do. I don’t want to stay and wait because he says so. I want to do something, not be this damsel in distress that they seem to think I am. Christ, I’m older than him. Did you know that?” I say, irritation flooding my system.
“No, I didn’t know that,” she replies.
“Well, I am, and you know what that means?”
“I assume that you’re more experienced?” she supplies sweetly.
“Well, that―” I say “but not really. It means that I am in charge― or, at least, I should be in charge. Not him. He has a penis, though, so it’s all about him. Blah blah blah.”
“Oh,” she says with a sigh. “I have a soft spot for the moody and self-absorbed too. It’s a weakness