“He does not!” My voice is a shriek, and I take it down an octave. “It’s the shock, that’s all. It’s having to face the consequences of what was supposed to be a consequence-free act.”
“Sure, sure.” Hailey holds up her hands like she’s surrendering the point. “If you really need to talk to him, call the station tomorrow.”
“Maybe.” I nibble on my bottom lip. It makes sense. It’s not as if Ryder doesn’t know I want to talk to Charlie in case he finds out I called.
But I don’t know…it feels dissatisfying.
As though my phone is listening to my thoughts, it starts ringing.
I look down.
It’s an unknown caller.
My stomach flies into my throat. “Oh my god, it’s him, Hailey.”
She glances at the screen. “It’s unknown.”
“It’s him. I know it.” I can tell by the way my body immediately responds. I snatch it from my bedside table. “Hello?”
“Hello, Jessica.” That low, slightly Southern voice slides over my skin, setting off a rush of tingles.
“Told you,” I mouth to Hailey, silently waving her to the door, telling her to leave.
She sighs and gets off the bed.
“Did I lose you already? I’d think with all the work you put in to talking, you’d be more receptive.”
I don’t even want to think about the relief I experience at hearing his voice again. I’d thought I’d have to live with wanting it in my ear for the rest of my life.
Even though that is…um…wrong.
When the door shuts behind Hailey, I hiss, “How did you get this number?”
He barks out a laugh. “Take a wild guess.”
“Using police resources for personal inquiries isn’t ethical, and it’s a waste of taxpayer dollars.”
“I had your résumé in my email. You gave me the information freely.”
“Yet you couldn’t do the simplest of all things, like show up to the interview or Google me to see who your new colleague would be.”
“I was in court that day and didn’t want to hold up the process.” He bites out the words, his exasperation rolling across the airwaves. “I trusted Ryder, which I now see was a complete shit idea. And Google works both ways.”
“I didn’t need to research you when I had my brother singing your praises over Sunday dinner.”
“Then we can both agree your brother has terrible judgment.”
“Well, thanks to you, we’re now in crisis mode.” I’m not going to pretend that this isn’t doing it for me. There’s just something about the way this man gets aggravated that I’m addicted to.
He growls into the phone. “We’re in crisis mode because you stalked me through the streets of Revival instead of taking literally hundreds of better options.”
“Hundreds? Literally? I bet you can’t even name ten.”
“Any option would have been better than the one you took.”
“Fine, next time, I’ll blindside you.” I flop back down on the bed. “This is what I get for being nice in deference to our future professional relationship.”
“Everything with you is a blindside, so what else is new.” I hear a shifting over the line. “And now, because of your actions, we’ll have the pleasure of the entire town watching our every move.”