Page 27 of The Stalker Snafu

“First she’s pretty and now she’s a tiny little thing?” Noah sounded annoyed.

“I thought you’d like that.” Julian’s voice held a hint of teasing. “And there’s no reason she can’t be both. So, who’s Charlie?”

I wanted to tell Julian that Charlie wasn’t any of his business, but my mouth felt too heavy to move.

“Nobody important,” Noah answered for me.

Julian snorted. “Then why’d you get all tense when she mentioned him?”

“I wasn’t tense.”

“Don’t play with me on this. A lot of shit just went down, and I haven’t said a thing about it,” Julian pressed, his voice growing harder. “Who is he?”

Silence stretched as my body felt floaty on the bed.

“He’s a classmate who has a crush on her,” Noah answered shortly. “Apparently they went on a date or two.”

“So?”

“So, nothing. Thanks for your help today. Sorry if I pulled you away from class.”

“Wait—you’re not getting off that easy. You told me you would stop talking to Emma. That was clearly bullshit, so care to explain why you lied to me?”

My sluggish heartbeat was the only thing filling the silence. One beat. Two beats. Three beats. Four⁠—

“Oh God, Kincaid. Please tell me you’re not actually in love with this girl? Hello? Are you an idiot?”

“Be quiet. She’s right here.” Noah’s voice lowered, and I tried to lean closer, but my body refused to move. It just continued floating. “And we can’t all be geniuses like you.”

“She’s asleep. Either the pain meds and loss of adrenaline knocked her out, or she’s so out of it she won’t even remember this. Tell me you didn’t mess everything up by falling for this girl.”

“You know I’d never do that,” Noah said evenly. “This doesn’t change anything.”

Julian’s voice took on a hysterical edge as I fought the growing lethargy. “It changes everything. Our whole job is at a tipping point right now. You think we can afford for one of us to bring someone into it?”

“She’s not in it.”

“You can’t know that⁠—”

“I’ve taken every precaution. Every safeguard. You know I wouldn’t compromise a job.”

“How much does she know?”

“Nothing.”

A weighted silence blanketed the room before Julian finally scoffed. “You’re lucky you’re team lead, or Rafe would have your ass for this.”

“That’s why he won’t meet her until we’re finished. But she’s not a liability. She’s—Damn it, Julian. Can we talk about this when my girlfriend isn’t passed out after getting flattened by a linebacker three times her size?”

Another beat of silence passed—then two, three—and I thought I might be asleep by the time Julian finally answered. “I’ll be in the kitchen. You owe me answers. Real answers this time.”

The door clicked shut shortly after, and a featherlight touch of lips against my forehead was the last thing I felt before sinking into the welcoming darkness.

CHAPTER 9

An Interlude

Cupcake Thief