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"I know." Mumbling now, he added, "And I'm sorry. Okay?"

Funny, he almost looked like he meant it. But with his voice so low, I could hardly hear him.

Screw it. I rolled down the window and said, "And whywereyou calling me, anyway?"

"Maybe I missed you."

I gave him a dubious look. "Or maybe, Bianca put you up to it."

"So what if she did? It wasn't theonlyreason I called." With an obvious effort, he plastered on that same boyish smile as before. "Come on. Admit it. Don't you miss me at least a little?"

Why lie? "No."

The smile disappeared. "Yeah? Well, tell me that again after you and Jake split up." His lips curled into a sneer. "The way I hear it, things aren't going so good."

His words found their mark. It was true. They weren't going so good. I still had no idea where Jake was. And stupid or not, I missed him like crazy.

Did he miss me?

Pushing that question aside, I managed to tell Rango, "Well, you heard wrong."

"Yeah, sure," Rango said. "Call me when it's over.MaybeI'll give you another shot."

I looked toward the glove compartment. And maybeI'dfind a nice, thick crowbar within grabbing distance.

Hey, it could happen.

I turned back to Rango and said, "Don't hold your breath."

"Yeah. Whatever." His jaw tightened. "So about that truce, is it a deal?"

Okay, I was no expert in military terms, but I knew enough to know that truces were only a thing when both sides had been fighting. As for me, I hadn't been doing anything other than answering my phone.

And now, I couldn’t even do that.

If this was some sort of war, I was in serious trouble. By rights, Rango shouldn’t even be here.

Abruptly, I asked, "And what about your dad? Wasn't he supposed to keep you away from me?"

Rango snorted. "My stepdad? The asshole?"

I gave a non-committal shrug. Whether the guy was an asshole or not, I had no idea. But hehadagreed to keep his stepson from bothering me.

Rango was frowning now. "Shit, he's not even my stepdad anymore. Would you believe he dumped my mom?"

I blinked. "What?"

"Yeah." Rango made a sound of disgust. "Catches heronetime with the gardener, and he flips the hell out."

Suddenly, Rango looked almost ready to cry. "Makes her move and everything." In a small, pathetic voice, he added, "And, he cuts offmyallowance."

I stared at him. Rango was like thirty years old. "You have an allowance? Seriously?"

"Not anymore. Weren't you listening?"

I gave a little shake of my head. "But youdidhave an allowance?"

"Hey, I've got expenses," he said. "Who are you to talk?" He made a show of looking at the car I was sitting in. "Is thatyourcar?"