AllFreeNovel
Share Us
My cell rang with the picture I’d taken of Kelly while she wasn’t watching—even from the side she was stunning. “Adam Carter.”
“Adam, my brother is in town,” she started.
“Really?” I had no desire to go into anything regarding my earlier meeting with Dennis.
“He wants to have dinner, and I was wondering—”
I cut her off. “No!” I said it perhaps more strongly than I should have, but I’d had enough of the asshole for one day—fuck it, for a month, or a year.
“You didn’t even let me finish. I already told him yes, and I wanted to know if you would join us.”
“You’re not meeting him for dinner.”
“You can’t just tell me that. He’s my brother, for God’s sake.”
“I can, and I just did. Remember the rules.”
“But you can’t say that.”
I hesitated. I knew only one thing that would get her to back down for sure. “If you want to terminate your protection right now and be shipped off to your daddy, just say the word.” Giving up her freedom and being sent back to California seemed to be the only thing that truly terrified her.
“That’s not fair. This doesn’t have to do with keeping me safe or catching the Ghost. This is just you throwing a fit because you don’t like him. You also can’t do that. If you lose me, you’ve lost your whole case.”
All the Bensons were totally fucking with me now. Dennis couldn’t learn of my assignment with Kelly until it was over. It would send him into overload, and if he pulled his sister out of town, that would sink our chances of finding SMK anytime soon. It wasn’t worth the risk.
“What would you tell him about me if we had dinner? You can’t tell him about SMK. You can’t tell him we’re dating, so how would you explain me being there?”
“You could be outside, and watch from a distance.”
“I’m not letting you out of my sight. That’s the job, and besides, he’d recognize me.”
“What about your partner?”
“No. He’s not available tonight, and you know what I told you about recognizing him. He stays in the background.” I didn’t know for sure that Neil wasn’t available, but I didn’t want her meeting him anyway.
The pause indicated I’d stumped her, and for good reason. There wasn’t a good way to handle it.
“Okay,” she finally sighed. “I’ll tell him I can’t make it. You know this would be so much easier if you two would bury the hatchet.”
I knew this was one grudge neither of us would give up. “Some things are easier said than done.”
“I could help, if you’d tell me your side.”
Once again she was picking at the scab, but I wasn’t about to let her rip it off. She thought there were sides to what had happened, like an argument that could be negotiated.
“Maybe later.” It was the easiest way to let her down. She hadn’t been a part of it, and I didn’t feel like telling the truth that would surely shatter bonds with her family.
“Okay. Later.”
* * *
Kelly
He’d beena jerk about dinner with Dennis, but when he brought up the problems, they did seem legitimate.
I dialed Dennis back.
“Sorry, Dennis. I can’t do dinner tonight after all.”
