Reclaim - Aly Martinez Page 0,80

said, desperately trying to make conversation that didn’t consist of a scold or stoic silence as I slid into the leather passenger seat.

He folded his tall body into the driver’s side and pressed a button on the dash to start the engine, muttering, “It’s a rental.” Stone faced and unreadable, he stared at the backup camera as he maneuvered out of the parking spot.

I waited until we were on the main road before giving it another try. “I really appreciate—”

“Shh!”

My head snapped back. “I’m sorry. Did you just shush me?”

“Shhhh!” he repeated louder as though I’d misheard him.

“Um—”

Literally, that was all I got out before another, “Shhhhh!” headed my way.

Slack-jawed, I turned in my seat and glared at him. My day had been next-level fucked up, and while watching Jonathan Caskey get put in his place had possibly been the high point of my entire year, this eerily quiet and frankly rude guy who had shown up in my best friend’s skin was seriously ruining it for me.

“Stop telling me to shh,” I snapped.

“Then shh!” he clipped right back. His eyes remained on the road as he turned into an empty parking lot a few blocks down from the police station. The glowing sign of the Burger Max illuminated the side of his face.

What the hell are we doing here? hung on the tip my tongue, but I wasn’t too eager to claw his eyes out if he shushed me again, so I gave him a second to dig deep and hopefully find a complete sentence.

“Four years of working my ass off to keep a four-point-oh in undergrad,” he stated at the windshield, his long fingers opening and closing around the steering wheel. “Three grueling attempts at the LSAT. Three years of law school, where I became a glorified zombie who never slept. An internship where my mentor was banging his secretary and handing off the majority of his caseload to me before I’d even graduated law school. Then, when I did graduate and had to dive straight into studying for the MPRE and then the Bar—twice. Once for New York and again for Georgia. But oh. My. Fucking. God. Nora, I would do that shit seven times over just to finally watch that piece of shit cower.” He pounded his hand on the steering wheel with a Grammy-worthy drumroll, and a loud laugh bubbled from his throat. “Fuck me, that was incredible!”

And there he was, my cute, sweet, and dorky Camden Cole, sitting in the driver’s seat, laughing like he was a kid again. Though he was still in that suit, so the gorgeous and powerful things stuck around too.

I gave his shoulder a shove. “You scared the shit out of me. I thought you’d gone to law school and received a diploma in being a dick.”

“It’s more like a license to be a dick, and I reserve that specifically for Caskeys and courtrooms. Though you should have seen your face when I called you Ms. Stewart.” He grinned wide, toothy, and bright. “How the hell are you, stranger?”

I dove across the center console and pulled him into a hug. It hurt like hell, but he was too close to resist. When he wrapped me up tight, I melted into his strong, safe arms. “Well, today sucked, but suddenly, it’s a lot better.”

He released me, smiling and straightening his suit as he righted himself in his seat. “It seems you’ve picked up a Mary Jane habit since I last saw you.”

I shot him a glare. “It wasn’t mine. Your stupid cousin has it out for me. He started with Ramsey, but when they moved, Joe and I became his next targets. Do you have any idea how many times the city inspector has been to Joe’s barbershop over the last three months?”

His smile fell. “We’re going to figure it out.”

I wanted to argue, but I really didn’t have it in me. A shower, a change of clothes, and some catching up with Camden sounded far more appealing. “Why would you book a room at the Clovert Inn? You can always stay with me.”

“And miss the complimentary shampoo?”

“I hear the bedbugs are complimentary too.”

“You hear anything about frogs though?”

I barked a laugh and reached over to give his forearm a squeeze. “It’s really good to see you. And not just because you saved my ass back there.”

He rested his hand on top of mine and smiled, warm and content. “You too, Nora. You too.”

“Come on. Let’s go to my place