17. Critical Contingency #2
Nothing Flynn has said or done should make me believe anything Beth said.
I mean, yeah, she obviously knows him somehow.
And yeah, the thought that she is indeed his ex kinda makes my insides feel small and hollow.
But I should at least give him the benefit of the doubt.
It isn’t like I told him about my exes. Or ex, rather.
So when I text Trish and ask if everything’s all right and she replies that the police are at Boondoggle’s arresting Rose, I use the mandatory half-hour break Sean ordered to steal Ian’s car.
Technically, I don’t steal it. I leave a note. A note that may have been hidden under a pile of papers I accidentally shuffled across his desk when I grabbed his keys from his drawer. But whatever.
And as an aside—Teslas are sweet. I mean, I’ve been thinking of buying something with a vintage restoration vibe, à la my heroes of the Mercury Seven, but this car could make me switch to commercial.
I pull into Boondoggle’s parking lot and slip out of the car.
I’m berating myself for taking time away from work during an emergency, time that I’m pretty sure Sean wanted us to use to shower and dress appropriately.
But that all stops when I see Rose sitting on the steps talking to a police officer.
I say talking, but really it’s more like flirting.
She’s smiling and seems completely unconcerned.
“You gonna use those cuffs, officer? Or are they just for show?” Rose leans back on her elbows and looks up at the officer standing over her.
“Uh, ma’am, I don’t think you’re taking the situation seriously.” He’s young and good looking, and I bet the redness in his cheeks isn’t from the heat.
“Oh, I’m taking it seriously. My attorney is on his way.”
“You have an attorney?” I ask.
Rose’s head snaps in my direction and she’s off her feet and hugging me before I can get the last syllable out.
“Jackie, you okay? What did Beth say to you? Is NASA like, exploding or something?”
“I’m fine. I’m on a break. NASA isn’t exploding, but I don’t have much time. Trish texted me about the cops.” I ignore the Beth question and glance back at Officer Good Looking, who I now see from his name tag is T. Harrington. “What happened?”
“Nothing to worry about,” Rose cuts in.
“Ma’am, you’re being brought up on assault charges from two different women,” Officer Harrington states.
Rose shoots him a look and he suddenly gets really interested in his shoes.
“It’s just a misunderstanding,” Rose tells me.
“I see.” I look over her shoulder and see Holt sitting at one of the picnic tables talking to another officer, with a blond woman I sort of remember seeing earlier. The blond looks a little roughed up. “Where’s Flynn?”
“Um, he’s?—”
“Miss West?” A short, pudgy man, probably on the higher side of thirty, addresses Rose. “I’m John Watson from Myers, Simon and Schwartz.”
“Watson? For all the money my family pays, the firm sends an intern? Where’s Myers? I usually deal with him,” Rose demands.
“Sorry, Miss West. Myers and the other partners were indisposed, as it is a Sunday. I, a junior partner , was the closest to you at the time.” He glances at Officer Harrington. “And I was told timing was important.”
“Ah, yes. I guess so.” She claps him on the back. “All right, Johnny, let’s get to the precinct and take care of this business.” She holds out her hands to the officer. “Cuff me.”
“Um...” Harrington rubs the back of his neck with his hand. “I don’t think that’s necessary, even though you’re technically under arrest.”
“Spoil sport.” Rose turns back to me. “Okay, I’ve got to take care of this nonsense. We should get together later for drinks.”
“Okaaaaay. But I probably won’t be able to, what with NASA and all.”
“Oh, yeah.” She frowns, then immediately perks up. “Dinner tomorrow?”
I laugh. “We’ll see, Rose. I’ve got to go, but I was hoping to talk to Flynn before I left.”
Rose’s expression shutters. “He left. Don’t worry about Flynn. He’s fine. You should probably go so the cops don’t hold you up from work.”
Her demeanor changes so quickly, I don’t have time to process it or ask her what’s wrong before she puts her arm around me and leads me back toward the parking lot.
“How did you get here?” She looks around the lot.
“I took Ian’s car.” I gesture to the Tesla.
“Took?”
“I, uh, borrowed it,” I say, pointedly not looking at Officer Thomas.
Rose chuckles. “I’ve been a bad influence, I see,” she says, checking out Ian’s shiny silver car.
“Okay, girlie. I’ll see you later. I’ll have Flynn call you.
” Then she waves like she’s going on vacation rather than dipping her head into the back seat of a police car.
Her lawyer shuffles over to his car and follows them out.
“Jackie.”
I jump, turning to see Trish poking her head around the corner.
“Trish? You okay?” Her hands are twisted in front of her and she keeps glancing at the other police officers getting statements from people still at the bar.
“Uh, yeah.” She looks over my shoulder to where Rose had left in the squad car. “Do you think Rose will be all right?”
“Rose? She’ll be fine. I mean, she’s Rose, right?” I do my best to assure her, since Trish looks genuinely freaked out.
“Okay, I’m going back to wait inside. Holt said he’d give me a ride when he’s done talking to the cops.”
“I’m sorry, Trish. I’d give you one now, but I’m already cutting it close?—”
“Don’t worry about it. Really.” She points to the wine bar next door.
“I’ll go take care of a bottle of wine, and you go take care of NASA, sugar.
” Although she is saying and doing normal Trish things, it feels forced.
A quick glance at my watch tells me I’ll have to figure out all that happened here at a later time.
I jog back to the parking lot, my shoes squishing with each step. I’m about to get in Ian’s car when I see Flynn’s Ford Mustang Boss still parked in the same spot from earlier. I turn back to the porch but don’t see him. I’m about to call out to Holt when I spot Flynn by the side of the building.
My breath leaves me so fast I feel like I’ve been launched into the vacuum of space.
Beth, albeit a more disheveled and bruised Beth, is leaning against the wall.
And Flynn has her caged between his arms, just like he’d had me, twice, outside my apartment door.
His shoulder muscles strain from pressing in close and his forearms flex from bearing his weight.
The movement lifts up his T-shirt in the back, showing a sliver of skin where his narrow hips meet his jeans.
From this angle, I can’t see his face, but I can see Beth’s and she’s quite pleased.
Her laugh this time is deep and throaty when she brings her hands up to cup Flynn’s face.
Before they can kiss, I spin on my soggy Chucks and slide into the Tesla.
It really does reach 60 mph in 2.5 seconds.