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“Good. Then we are going out to celebrate afterwards.”
“I don’t know about that. We’re working a lot and he doesn’t want me to leave right now.”
She huffed, muttering under her breath. “What is it with this asshole?”
“Now, he’s an asshole? That’s not fair. We’re working on a book. Together. As in long hours. You once were pining away for him, rubbing a juicy red apple on your very short skirt before batting your long eyelashes and placing the forbidden fruit in front of him.”
“That was before my father sat me down explaining things.”
“I don’t want to hear it, Josie. I know everyone in this city seems terrified of him. I also know he had one too many enemies.”
“And he and his family should. He’s a dangerous man. Not only that, he’s done some unspeakable things.”
“Oh, please. So you’ve told me. I never knew you as one to pay attention to rumors. He’s a good guy with a creative mind. He’s merciless when it comes to the competition in his corporate business. So what?”
“So people are dying because of him.”
“Spit it out,” I barked, just about done with the baseless accusations for a long time to come.
“He’s a killer.”
“Right. You have proof of this?”
“No, but my father is insistent.”
“Maybe then that’s the problem. We shouldn’t be speaking. Your father is running for re-election. Isn’t he trying to push some crime bill through the Illinois state department?”
“I don’t know but my father says he knew the Saint patriarch.”
“Okay. So what?”
“So they’ve killed hundreds of people.”
Now I growled. “That’s it. I’m hanging up.”
“Don’t. I need to tell you some things, not rumors but truths.”
“Save it. I don’t want to talk about this again. I don’t buy Easton is a killer. Not in the least. Has he performed his business in manners some would call reprehensible? That’s the way of it these days, Josie. Dog eat dog. Although you wouldn’t understand that since you’ve come from such privilege.”
“What does that have to do with anything?” She was incensed. So what?
“It has to do with your ability to understand those who actually work hard instead of being handed everything in their lives. Try working on the sheep farm you’ve made fun of me for. Then we can talk.”
I ended the call, struggling with how she sounded. She was worried about me, which I appreciated, but it wasn’t like I was in a lion’s den waiting to be eaten, for God’s sake. I half expected her to call back. When she didn’t, that said she was pissed at me.
Again, so what?
If I kept thinking that maybe I would believe it instead of feeling the nagging little voice pushing at me.
Exhaling, I rubbed my eyes, hating the exhausted feeling even more. Okay, so maybe a night off would refresh me and keep me from wringing her neck if I went to the graduation ceremonies. After doing a good job of shoving her bullshit aside, I spun around in a circle, trying to contain my excitement from our progress. At this rate, we’d be finished with a first draft in two weeks. If we didn’t burn out in the process. I continued to marvel at our tenacity.
Dinners had been mostly takeout, Chinese food or pizza and at the end of every night, we’d discussed the foibles of serial killers and the lure of them as well. The process wasn’t nearly as dark as I’d believed in the beginning. In fact, we’d laughed together more than anything.
But there’d been one thing missing.
Romance.
Get it out of your mind. It was your choice.
