Page 32 of Power of the Mind
A cold sweat blistered my skin. I hoped Tallus would assume it was a result of the humid August evening.
Fuck. How had I ended up in this predicament again? Tallus fit better into my life when he stayed on the periphery. When I could pick or choose our encounters. When I didn’t have to overanalyze my every thought and filter my words. When I didn’t have to figure out how to exist in his presence without my flaws glowing in the dark.
I didn’t know where to put my six-and-a-half-foot frame. It was easier playing Russian roulette at his door, drunk enough tocushion my anxiety but sober enough to stay on my feet. Always prepared to be turned away because he’d tired of my nonsense.
When it happened. I wouldn’t blame him.
And itwouldhappen.
On the drive back from seeing Mackie, Tallus had mentioned he was hungry three times. Was it an excuse to escape or a hint that I should have stopped somewhere for food? The former seemed more plausible. The latter confused me. I wasn’t fucking good at this, and the unknown was pissing me off.
“I guess I’m going to take off,” Tallus said when the tension got too high, and we hadn’t spoken in several minutes.
Good.He was leaving. At least I knew what the fuck was happening.
Before he disappeared into the night, I sputtered, “I’ll contact Kelly in the morning. It might take him a day or two to get what I need, but in the meantime, we should… If you want… We could… go talk to Dr. Hilty.”
“Really?”
“I said we could keep going.”
“You did, but you also said it was probably unnecessary.”
It was, and I had said those words, but dismissing Tallus, not knowing if or when I’d see him again outside drunken hookups was unsettling. Kelly would find the truth in the autopsy report, and it would all be over.
But in the meantime, I would play Tallus’s game.
“If we’re looking for a character reference on Madame Rowena, he’d be a good person to ask. It could help. Unless the good old doc isn’t in contact with her anymore. Hell, maybe he’s the one who made the referral to Amber.”
Tallus’s face brightened, hazel eyes glimmering in the low parking lot lights. “I never thought of that. Do you think?”
“It’s possible.” I doubted it.
Tallus, no longer aiming to flee, crossed his arms and leaned against the Jeep. Everything he did was sexy and managed to make me feel more and more uncomfortable in my own skin.
“So you’ll call Kelly in the morning?”
“Yeah… first thing. I don’t have his cell, so I have to wait until he’s at his desk.”
“Perfect.” He slowly scanned every inch of me and wet his lips. “So, any other plans?”
“What?” I jerked my attention from his mouth and frowned.
“For tonight. Do you have any other plans?”
“Oh.”Why?I wanted to ask. Instead, I sputtered, “Um… I… There’s this… I was thinking that… I’m going to…” All I seemed able to produce were inarticulate sounds and nonsense sentence fragments, so I shut my mouth.
Tallus smirked. “So close. Sometimes, I can turn you into a regular Chatty Cathy. Other times, it’s like your gears seize, grind, and fail.”
“I know.”
“A for effort, Guns. One of these days, I’ll figure out the magic formula, and we’ll share our life stories.”
“Not likely. I have another job. It came through this afternoon, so I have to work on that.”
“What kind of job?”
“Research. A lawyer hired me to gather information for his client. He’s working to put together a case… I can’t… It’s confidential.”