about, I would be looking at jail time.
I was so tired of this ridiculous scavenger hunt that Charlie had sent us on. Frankly, I was exhausted by all of it. My life had been teetering on the edge of disaster for months. Accusations, probes, suspensions, all surrounding my handling of Charlie Bingham’s case.
And then the goddamn bastard up and died.
Unbelievable.
I lowered myself to the sofa with a sigh. Great, now I was making dad sounds. Just as I was gathering the energy to explore the minibar, the burner phone I’d used to make the phone call rang.
The shrill ring pierced my skull as vibrations sent it bouncing across the surface of the table where I’d tossed it in disgust. I should have tossed it in the river. I should have at least taken the SIM card out. I knew better.
Maybe it was a robocall. But what if it wasn’t?
Sighing even louder than I had when I sat down, I pushed myself back up and grabbed the phone. Fuck, I knew that number. I had to answer. He’d come through with everything I’d needed without asking more than he absolutely needed to know.
I answered the phone. “Shook.”
“Leo,” the person at the other end said warmly. Even after all these years, his voice still got to me. It was smooth and deep and matched well with his dark hair and sparkling dark eyes.
“Jackson,” I said.
“Everything go off alright?”
“Without a hitch on our end,” I said. “Did you hear anything different?”
“No.”
“That’s great.” There was a long silence. “Thank you again for your help.”
“Anything for you,” he said with a grin I could hear. “Not your usual M.O.” He wouldn’t say anything potentially more incriminating over the phone.
Like hell I was explaining anything to him over an unsecured line. Or any other time. I gave him non-committal grunt.
“I have to say, hearing your voice again made me nostalgic for the past. It’s been a long time,” he said.
Ten years. Ten years give or take with only the minimal professional contact we needed for work. My feelings about that time were anything but nostalgic.
“What do you want, Jackson?”
“Maybe I just wanted to talk to you. We used to talk all the time.”
“We used to do a lot of things I’m never doing again.”
“Aw, don’t say never, Lee. You never know.”
“I know,” I assured him. “Thank you for your help. I know it was a huge ask and I promise I’ll never ask you for anything again. Now it’s been a long day and I’d like to have a drink and relax. Don’t bother calling this number again.”
He laughed, a smooth sound that rumbled in his chest. “Don’t worry. I’m sure I’ll be able to find you if I need you. I am a professional investigator, after all. Besides, your suspensions are almost up, are they not?”
“Yes,” I admitted.
“So then you’ll be in the Miami field office again. Not that hard to track down.”
“Please don’t,” I said.
“I miss you, Leo. I think we need to talk. Can’t you at least meet me for coffee? There are some things I need to explain.”
“I can’t imagine what you could say that would change anything.” I was done with this conversation. I’d been done with it ten years ago. “Don’t visit. Don’t call. Don’t email. Unless you absolutely have to for work reasons. And in case it isn’t one hundred percent clear, in the immortal words of the great Taylor Swift, we are never, ever, ever getting back together.”
“Okay, Leo,” he said, voice not as smooth. “If that’s the way you want to play it. I think you’re making a mistake.”
“Not as big as the one you made,” I said. “Bye, Jackson.” I ended the call. This time I did take the SIM card out and cracked it. I made sure the phone was off. I lifted the lamp off the end table and smashed the phone with it. Tomorrow, I would throw it in the river.
Well, that had been an unpleasant ending to a frustrating day. I spent a few minutes wallowing in the fact that everyone else was paired up and probably screwing like bunnies even as I considered eating alone in my room.
I didn’t know what move I was going to make next. My suspension was almost up and I would have to report back to the field office eventually. There were so many reasons I wasn’t looking forward to that, an unwanted reunion with Gabriel Jackson was only one of them. Maybe I should think about retiring. Go back to Texas, move back to the ranch with my family. Now I was too restless to sit here. I had to move. The hotel had a decent gym. A few miles on the treadmill with some loud music would help.
I tossed on some shorts and a T-shirt, laced up my sneakers, and headed out.
I pulled the door open only to be confronted by a man standing there with a champagne bottle in one hand, the other raised to knock, and a hand truck stacked with file boxes on the floor next to him.
“Leo,” he said, sounding surprised to see me. Which was odd given he’d been about to knock on my door. Maybe he’d been expecting someone else.
I knew that voice. I knew this person, but it was as if my brain couldn’t process all of him at once. I only got flashes of the whole. Shaggy blonde hair, impeccably-fitted suit. Green, green eyes with lashes too dark to be real. A plush mouth made to be kissed. A dimpled chin.
Suddenly, the kaleidoscope turned and the picture came in clear.
“Charlie?” I asked.
His grin wavered. “Hey, Leo, you look—”
I punched him in the face before he could finish.
Also By A.E. Wasp
PROS & CONS
PROS & CONS OF VENGEANCE
PROS & CONS OF DECEPTION
PROS & CONS OF DESIRE
PROS & CONS OF BETRAYAL
HOT OFF THE ICE
CITY BOY
COUNTRY BOY
SKATER BOY
BOY TOYS
BOY NEXT DOOR
BOYS OF SUMMER
BOXED SETS
THE STARTING LINE
THE O’REILLY BOYS
CHASING THE STORM (HIDDEN CREEK)
SCORE
VETERANS AFFAIRS
INCOMING
CHRISTMAS OUTING
PAPER HEARTS
PAPER ROSES
MAN IN THE MIRROR (SHORT)
BRONZE STAR
SHOWTIME (SHORT)
THE COMPLETE VETERANS AFFAIRS BOXED SET
STAND ALONES
BELIEVE (FROM HEART2HEART #1)
FAIRYTALE OF LAGUARDIA (WITH BETH BOLDEN)
About the Author
A dreamer and an idealist, Amy writes about people finding connection in a world that can seem lonely and magic in a world that can seem all too mundane. She invites readers into her characters’ lives and worlds when they are their most vulnerable, their most human, living with the same hopes and fears we all have. An avid traveler who has lived in big cities and small towns in four different continents, Amy has found that time and distance are no barriers to love. She invites her readers to reach out and share how her characters have touched their lives or how the found families they have gathered around them have shaped their worlds.
Born on Long Island, NY, Amy has lived in Los Angeles, London, and Bangkok. She currently lives on the road in a Town & Country minivan. Honk if you see her!
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