Chapter 42
A Slice of Trouble
Ryder
I stared, not because I didn't believe her, but because I was still processing what I'd just heard. That fucker.
Tessa was too quick to say, "I'm not saying he'd actually do anything."
Everything slowed, except for my thoughts. "He threatened you. That's doing plenty."
"I know…I just mean—"
"I know what you mean." I moved closer. "What exactly did he say?"
"You mean his exact words? It was nothing he couldn't weasel out of." She gave a hollow laugh that would fool nobody, especially me. "I mean…it's not like he said he'd kill us."
My fingers flexed. "What?"
"You did hear me, right? I just said he didn't threaten to kill us." She glanced away. "Or at least…not outright."
She was full of it. Even if she didn't realize this, I sure as hell did. "Terrific. Glad you're safe." I let that sit for a beat. "Anyway…the weather report says rain."
Abruptly, Tessa turned and started walking, probably to get away from the anger simmering under my sarcasm.
Nice try. She'd have to walk a lot faster than that. When she moved, I moved. And for a few paces, both of us were quiet – her thinking and me plotting, mostly about throwing Evan Carver off the roof of that Chicago bar.
Abruptly, she said, "I knew I should've stalled."
I didn't get it. "How so?"
"Like…five minutes ago, there we were, having a perfectly lovely walk, and now you're all mad."
I didn't bother denying it. "Yeah, but not at you."
"Yeah…well…maybe you should be."
"And why's that?"
"Because I was stupid to mention him." She rubbed her arms like she suddenly felt chilly, even through my hoodie and her sweatshirt. "I mean…seriously, if I truly thought you were here because of him, I wouldn't have kissed you at all." She hesitated. "Right?"
She sounded like she was figuring it out for herself, so I kept my mouth shut, letting her process as she walked.
Eventually she said, "Look, it's not your problem. We both know that."
Not the way I saw it. "Says you."
"And besides," she continued as if I hadn't spoken, "if you were here because of Evan, I would've surely learned by now." She gave a bitter laugh. "And probably the hard way."
The hard way? "Meaning what? Like I'd hurt you?" The thought was enough to make me sick.
"Or threaten me." She gave me a quick, sideways glance. "I'm just saying, you've been surprisingly nice, and here I've been, acting like a total basket case."
She wasn't completely wrong there. And it did explain a lot – especially the mixed messages I'd been getting from the start.
But then she said, "And it's not like you've been menacing me. Not exactly."
What the hell? "Not exactly?"
She sighed. "Great, now you're insulted."
"I'm not insulted. I'm confused. Menacing you how?"
"But I just said you weren't."
"Right. Except you said not exactly, which implies I have."
"Okay…it's not quite menacing. It's just that you've had this habit of showing up every time I turn around, and it started to feel like it was on purpose, you know?"
I wasn't gonna lie. "Some of it was on purpose. You think that's a bad thing?"
"That depends."
"On what?" I asked.
Her pace slowed as she gave me a quick, furtive glance. "Whether you're tied up with Evan."
"Which I'm not." It was true that I'd done a little research and had that drink with him the other night, but this was the last thing she'd want to hear, so I kept quiet and filed it away for later.
Tessa let out a long, ragged breath. "Right. And in my heart, I had to know you weren't here at his bidding…unless I've lost all sense of self-preservation." Her pace slowed to a stop. "Oh, God. What if I have?" She whirled to face me. "I mean…just look at you."
I shifted to face her fully. "Me?"
"Yeah, there you are, all hot and tempting, like cheese in a fancy mousetrap. And here I am, a mouse trying to lay low. So, when you think about it, you'd be the perfect bait."
I didn't know whether to laugh or tell her she was nuts. In the end, I settled on, "I've never been called cheese before."
She gave me a wry smile. "Better cheese than Spam." Whether she was joking or not, the fear was still there. I could see it clearly, hiding behind her defenses. And if she thought a little humor would distract me from the topic at hand, she was in for a rude surprise.
And yet, I heard myself say, "You know, you're pretty cheesy yourself, right?"
With a little laugh, she said, "And here, I thought I was a lambchop."
I liked hearing her laugh. Sure, this latest laugh was small, but it was real, and the tightness in my chest eased just a little. But that didn't mean I was done. "So Cheesechop, tell me the rest."
"Cheesechop? Seriously? You do know, these nicknames just keep getting worse, right?"
Hell yeah, I knew. But right about now, I'd say almost anything to make her smile. "If you think that's bad, you should hear what I call my lawyer."
She rolled her eyes. "I'm not sure I want to."
"You definitely don't want to." But then, I gave her a look that said joke-time was over. "But I still want the story."
"But why? It's not like you can do anything."
I grinned, making it extra-cocky to ease her mind. "The hell I can't." But inside, I sure as hell wasn't grinning.