18. River
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
River
I wanted Charlie to jump me again. More than any damn thing in this world.
But I also had a job to do, and I’d been neglecting it. Protecting her meant finding out exactly what Jud Hale was up to. And determining, once and for all, whether he was working for Stillwater.
Charlie went back to constructing our lunch, while I opened her messages. Hale had sent almost a dozen yesterday, starting before the fundraiser at the botanic gardens. A couple of voicemails too. I had no idea if he’d sent more after Charlie had turned off her phone. But a man showing this much persistence wasn’t likely to stop.
What the hell are you up to, Hale?
“What did he say?” Charlie asked.
I read the messages first. “He wanted you to call him. Really wanted you to call. Said it was urgent. 911, top priority. But he didn’t give any more specifics than that.” I checked the transcripts on the voicemail the phone had downloaded. Same story.
Then I pressed play on the second message, putting it on speaker .
“ Charlotte, I’m serious. Please call me back. Or answer your phone or something. If you’re at the fundraiser, you need to leave. Just trust me. Get out of there and call me back .”
Charlie was leaning against the kitchen counter with a hand over her mouth. “He knew.”
“If he didn’t, it’s quite a coincidence.” But I didn’t believe that. I was convinced that Jud Hale had advance notice of the attack last night. The panic in his voice made that clear. He had known Charlie was in danger.
But he had also sounded terrified for her. He’d warned her to leave. Which suggested he was working against Stillwater’s interests. Unless it had been some kind of ruse to draw her out.
“If there’s a safe way for me to call Jud, I could ask what he meant. I can get the info out of him.”
I didn’t like the familiarity her statement implied. Which was ridiculous, because she’d dated the man for a couple of years. Of course they were familiar.
“We’ll consider it.” I kept my tone professional, though everything in me rebelled at the thought of letting Jud Hale near her, even via phone call. “For now, I’ll transfer Jud’s messages and the associated data from your phone over to my laptop and send it to Cerberus.”
I decided to share the info with the Protectors as well via our server. Maybe there were rumors going around Hartley about Jud that could be useful. Never underestimate the small-town gossip network.
Once I’d finished that task, I put away the Faraday cage and the equipment, clearing off the table so we could eat. Charlie brought a couple of plates over. Some kind of chicken salad with red peppers on crackers, and it was surprisingly delicious. Trace’s wife Scarlett had given me a collection of little spice jars for Christmas, and I’d brought them here since I couldn’t imagine anything else to do with them. Charlie had put the seasonings to good use.
She took a few hungry bites of her lunch, then set it down, turning thoughtful. “I met Jud my first year in the General Assembly. I was representing a district in the Denver Metro. It was a series of lucky events that led to me running for that seat. A friendship I’d developed with the former incumbent while I was working for the nonprofit, and then I was living there and got to know the residents…” She trailed off, waving a hand. “Long story. Anyway, Jud came over and introduced himself. Told me he represented a district near my hometown. He knew the ins and outs of the state government and kind of took me under his wing.”
I frowned. “I bet he did.”
“Not like that . Not at first. We’d known each other for two years before he asked me out. I said no. He was patient, though. Sent me flowers every Friday for months. He can be a charming guy, and I guess I’m susceptible to that.”
I huffed a laugh. “Charming like me?”
“Actually, Jud is nothing like you at all. Thank goodness.” She pushed her plate back. “Does it bother you to hear about this?”
I saw no point in lying. “Some.”
Jud had been with Charlie in countless ways I hadn’t. So had my brother. I’d been with plenty of other women myself, but they weren’t so prominent in my history. Probably because none of my girlfriends had made it past the three-month mark.
But it made me feel a sliver better that Jud had to woo her for so long. Charlie was a longterm relationship kind of woman. Maybe she’d had casual hookups or flings that I didn’t know about, but I didn’t think so. Charlie didn’t jump into intimacy impulsively.
Except with me .
Though I’d wanted her for eighteen years. If there was an award for patience, did I win?
“Did you fall in love with him?” I asked.
“No,” she said softly. “Not really. Our relationship worked because we were both busy. Jud wasn’t demanding or clingy, and I appreciated that. Sometimes we’d go a week without talking. Looking back, it was a warning sign.”
“Of what?”
“Of how little I actually knew him. He was all gestures and no substance. Romance is all well and good, but if two people aren’t right for each other, no amount of flowers or chocolates or weekend getaways can fix it. For years, he acted like the perfect boyfriend. But eventually I realized Jud wasn’t the man I thought he was.”
“What did he do?”
She sighed. “Nothing extreme. His voting behavior changed. Flip-flopping on issues I’d thought were important to him. Then there were rumors he’d pulled strings to get some criminal investigations quashed for no good reason. These were cases against drug dealers and an identity theft ring. A friend in the state attorney general’s office tipped me off. Jud denied it, and nobody could prove anything. I didn’t know what to believe.”
I nodded. That sounded like it could be connected to Stillwater. If they’d had Hale in their pocket, Stillwater could’ve sold his influence to the highest bidder.
“The final straw was when he tried to convince me to change my vote on an important bill. I refused, and he got angry.”
My jaw clenched tight. “Did he take that anger out on you?”
“Not physically. He wasn’t like that. We argued, and he backed off right away. Apologized and claimed it was all a misunderstanding. But for me, our entire relationship had clicked into a different focus, and finally I saw it clearly. He’d been trying to bend me into someone he could mold and manipulate.”
I made an angry sound in my throat. I already hadn’t liked Hale, but he was quickly climbing my shit list. “Then I hope I get the chance to chat with him in person. I have some questions for Mr. Hale, plus a few choice opinions I’d like to share.”
Smiling, Charlie got up from her seat and slid into my lap. Her legs draped to one side, arms looping my neck. “You accused me of being jealous earlier. What about you?”
I squeezed her hips, making her T-shirt ride up in a tantalizing way. She had her panties on beneath, but nothing else. “Am I jealous of Jud Hale? That’s not the right word. What’s that feeling when you want to rip a guy’s eyes out because he once looked at your woman the wrong way?”
She nuzzled my neck. “Not sure I agreed to be your woman.”
“Too bad. While you’re sharing my bed, you are my woman.”
“A slightly unfair standard when your cabin only has one bed in it.”
“Hey, I don’t make the rules.”
Her lips met mine. A few soft kisses later, she pulled back and said, “Since we’ve been radically honest with each other today, I’d like to ask another question.”
“Uh oh.”
“Have you spied on my phone or computer before today? I’ll do my very best not to get mad.”
I snorted. “Sure you will.”
“I’m serious! You hacked my laptop. Did you go digging around in my personal stuff? I just want to know.”
“You’re asking if I’m some kind of stalker? People are already saying I kidnapped you. Being your stalker would be the natural explanation.”
“That is so not funny, and yet I want to laugh. Don’t distract me. Answer the question.”
I wrapped my arms around her and kissed her temple. “I checked on you over the years. I could have dug around beyond publicly available info if I’d wanted to. But I didn’t. Even when Genevieve brought up your name in connection to Jud Hale and Stillwater, I looked only at your financials and your career. I’ve always resisted the temptation to delve into your personal life.” I held onto her chin, leveling my gaze. “Because the thought of you with someone else chafes me raw inside. I used to hope you were off living a happily ever after, but it would’ve killed me to see it. No matter how much of an asshole that makes me. That’s why I had to stay away.”
Charlie rested her head on my shoulder. “I never meant to hurt you.”
“You were just trying to be happy. I didn’t mean to fall in love with you.” I rubbed circles into her back. “But I don’t regret it.” How could I, when I finally had her in my arms?
“River.” Charlie lifted her head, and her eyes were glossy with empathy. “Maybe we should stop this now before we hurt each other even worse.”
If one of us was going to come out of this heartbroken, we both knew it would be me. But I didn’t care.
“Do you want to stop?” I asked. “Since we’re being honest.”
She chewed on her lip. But she was staring at my mouth. Impulsive desire warring with her resolve to do the “right” thing. In a way, we’d had the same problem as teenagers. Getting ourselves into trouble because we couldn’t resist pushing each other’s buttons. Even when we were fighting, we had chemistry that was impossible to deny .
“I don’t want to stop,” she whispered.
“I like that answer.” Stopping this was the last thing I intended to do. Now that I’d had a taste of her, I wanted as much as I could get.
Charlie had said before that we were a bad combination. And yet when we got together, it felt so fucking good.
“Just let me love you for a little while,” I said. “Any part of me you want, you just have to ask. Whether that’s more honesty. Or all the pleasure I can give you.”
She shivered as I teased my tongue over her lips.
“So what do you want, Charlie? Do you want me to make love to you?”
“I want to feel you inside me.”
I moaned low through clenched teeth. “I’m dying to feel that too.”