Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 100604 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 503(@200wpm)___ 402(@250wpm)___ 335(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100604 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 503(@200wpm)___ 402(@250wpm)___ 335(@300wpm)
“What’d he say?” Cole asked.
But just then Sia answered, and I turned around.
“Hello?! Addison!” She sounded hysterical.
“Yeah.” I hit speaker, holding the phone out so Cole could hear. “I’m here. I’m so sorry. I lost my phone last night. What happened?”
“Your house was broken into!”
That still made no sense. “What?”
“One of your neighbors called it in, and when the police couldn’t reach you, they called me. They had my information from Liam’s accident. Addison, where have you been? I’ve been calling nonstop since last night.”
“Dorian said you’re at the police station?” I ignored so much there.
“No. I was.”
Oh, no. “Where are you now?”
“I’m at Jake’s. We tried getting into your floor, but it’s impossible. The elevator wouldn’t budge. I finally called and harassed your building manager. Addison…” Her voice calmed, but grew cautious. “The cops were asking me all sorts of questions.”
I frowned. “Like what?”
“When I told them where you were living now, they got weird.”
A different form of alarm rose up. I shared a look with Cole and gripped my phone tighter. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, like, at first they were acting like it was some regular kind of break-in, almost like it was no big deal. Then the second I mentioned you were living at The Mauricio, their heads literally jerked up. One of the cops left the room and came back with a detective. Is that normal?” She whispered into the phone, “They asked if you knew Cole Mauricio.”
My throat grew dry. “What did you say?”
“I said yes. I mean, you did meet him at that event.”
“But that was it? That’s all you said?”
“What else would I say? It’s not like you’re bosom buddies with the guy.”
I was a shitty friend.
“Oh, yeah. And Jake.” Her voice rose again in volume. “They talked to him, too. They pulled him into an interrogation room. Of course, they said it wasn’t an interrogation, but it sure felt like it. I could see the whole thing from where I was sitting. Jake told me they were asking how long ago he moved into the building, had he met Cole Mauricio before that, all sorts of questions.”
“Did you tell them about Liam’s parents?”
“No. Why would I? Wait. Should I have?”
“No, no.” My hand loosened its grip on the phone. “Okay. Um, did they give you a number I should call?”
“Yeah. Hold on. I’ll get it.” There was silence, then she spoke again. “Wait. I’ll just come down. They want you to call, and they want to meet you at the house. You need to go through it and let them know if anything’s missing. You still had some things there.”
“Um…” A headache began to form. I was going down a wayward path, and it led to a nasty intersection with Cole’s world.
Cole mouthed to me, “Tell her to wait. You’ll call her back.” He made a motion of holding a phone to his ear and hanging it up, then pointed to my phone.
I nodded. “Give me—I just woke up. Let me dress and shower. I’m kinda in shock. I’ll call you in a bit. Okay?”
“Are you sure you don’t want me to just come down?”
“I’m sure. I’ll call you.”
“Okay.”
Cole took the phone and hit the end call button. “They’re going to ask about me.”
“I’m aware.”
My stomach was in knots. It had been twisting, tightening the more Sia told me, but this was inevitable.
“I chose you last night,” I reminded him.
“Things were heated. I saved your life. You helped me. You might’ve said something you regret now. Your friend called you, and you could be remembering how life was without me.” His voice softened. “I wouldn’t blame you if you wanted to walk away. You can. There’s still time.”
“And what? Lie about knowing you?”
He shook his head, his eyes holding mine. “Tell the truth. You knew me. We had a fling, and that was it. It ends now. Everything ends now. You can still get out.”
But I didn’t want out. “I know that’s the right thing to do. And I know what it meant last night when I chose you. I still do. And I know I should leave, but I can’t.” The knot loosened with each word I said. “And even if I do, and we end this—it will take one night of loneliness, and I know you’ll be in my bed. One night. One call. That’s all I have to do. We’ll start this up all over again.”
His eyes grew hard. “Not if I walk away from you.”
Those words stung. They shouldn’t have, but they did. I drew in a sharp breath. “I don’t know if I could handle that.”
His eyes softened again. “I don’t know if I could walk away either.”
“Well.” My head hung. “There you have it.” I started toward the elevator.
“Wait.” Cole grabbed my arm. “I have cops on my payroll. Your friend is going to find out, but I can delay it.”