Page 27 of Hurry Up And Wait

Crap, I hadn’t meant to say that out loud, but there was no point in hiding it from her. “Well, I do now. Who else would send me a cryptic package with no return label?”

“Shawn,” she muttered. “Well, open it.”

I winced, unsure about doing that. “Don’t you think we should…have someone who knows better look at it?”

She shot me a knowing look. “Like a handsome guy whose name starts with a K?”

“Or anyone else he works with. Didn’t he say last night that the company is just down the road?”

She nodded. “We could go there and find out. Besides, there’s a whole slew of hot guys there. I’m just saying it wouldn’t hurt to get to know a few more of them.”

Yeah, that was exactly what she wanted. To get to know a few of them.

“Maybe I should text him first,” I said, pulling out my phone.

But she quickly snatched it from my hands. “You have the element of surprise. Run with it.”

“Surprise only works in your favor when it’s wanted.”

“Au contraire. It also works when you want to get information on someone without having to ask all the questions.”

“So…you want me to ask his coworkers about him. You want me to spy on him.”

“Spy is such a strong word,” she grinned. Then she was pulling me down the stairs to the car and practically tossing me inside. I was shaking with nerves as we pulled into OPS. I had no problem moving here to be closer to my childhood friend, but bombarding him like this felt wrong.

Not that Riley would let me get away with feeling that way. She tugged me over to a trailer as soon as the car stopped. Men were scattered on the property, constructing a building that looked like an office.

“Isla?”

I spun, shielding my eyes from the sun as a man approached. I had no idea who he was, but he seemed to know me. “Do I know you?”

“I’ve heard all about you,” he chuckled. “I’m Dash.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” I answered, shaking his hand. “How…have you heard about me?”

He snorted. “Flaming red hair? Kavanaugh’s childhood friend? The guys wouldn’t stop talking about you last night.”

Riley snorted and I nudged her in the side to shut her up. “Is that so?”

“Yeah, but don’t worry. Kavanaugh put them in their places and shut them up.” He turned bright red, then huffed out a laugh. “So, what can I do for you?”

“Um…I was actually hoping to speak with Kavanaugh. Is he around?”

“He is, but…I think he’s in the middle of something with—” He cut himself off as if he was about to reveal something—something that I now desperately wanted to know.

“Maybe I can help you.”

“She has a package that needs to be checked out,” Riley butted in.

I jabbed her in the side, smirking at her when she winced. “It’s not a big deal. I’m pretty sure my ex is behind it and I want to make sure he didn’t send me a dead body.”

“That would be pretty hard to do unless he cremated it. Not that he would,” he rushed on. “Why do you think he would send you anything nefarious?”

I quirked an eyebrow at his word, but he just shrugged.

“I have no idea. He’s changed a lot since we were first married. In fact, I’m probably being silly, but I thought maybe Kavanaugh could check it out for me.”

“Let me take that.”