Page 84 of Hurry Up And Wait

My nostrils flared in anger as I spun away from her, trying to get my temper under control. I was failing miserably and I knew it. I thrust my fingers through my hair and breathed through the insane jealousy rushing through my body. I’d never felt like this before. I’d never wanted to murder someone simply because my girlfriend might have a thing for him. It was IKE. I doubted he was even still in town.

But she liked him.

I was not about to lose her to a man like IKE, not because of something that happened during a high-pressure situation. She was scared and in need of comfort. We weren’t even technically together. I couldn’t tell her what to do when all I’d done was sleep with her. Besides, she was terrified. I had no right to judge what she did while I was gone.

“Look,” I said calmly. “Whatever happened with IKE, I forgive you. It was wrong of me to get so angry when you were just trying to hold it together while I was gone. If he…helped you through that, then who am I to judge?”

When I finally looked at her, all I saw was one hell of a pissed-off woman. She slowly walked toward me and I felt my balls crawl up inside me to escape the wrath that was sure to descend on me. “You forgive me?” she asked quietly.

It was never a good thing when women spoke in that unnaturally quiet voice. It was a sign of bad things to come. “That’s not?—”

“You think I went to IKE and fell into his arms? You think I fucked him?”

“I didn’t say?—”

“You didn’t have to,” she snapped. “I can’t believe you. All I did was stay with him for a day and try to not flip the fuck out because my husband tried to blow me up, and you’re accusing me of sleeping with him?”

“It’s not like it would be a surprise.” Her eyes widened in horror. “Imean that intense situations cause people to do things they wouldn’t normally do. I would understand if you…needed a release.”

And that was the wrong thing to say also. The moment she stepped toward me, I could feel the swing of the frying pan against my head all over again, though it was nowhere in sight. But that didn’t mean she wouldn’t find it and use it on me. I gathered up my clothes, backing toward the door, fully aware that I was only in my underwear. But this was a life or death situation, and if I wanted to survive, my only choice was to escape.

“Now…be reasonable,” I said as I flung the door open and backed into the hallway.

“Be reasonable? You want me to be reasonable after you came over here and basically said that I sleep with people in high-intensity situations?”

“I’ve done it too,” I chuckled nervously. “Not that I’ve ever been almost blown up.”

I caught Riley shaking her head at me out of the corner of my eye. The message was clear. Shut the fuck up and get out.

I turned on my heel and raced down the stairs, not bothering to put on my clothes. There was no need as she raced after me, yelling at me for being the idiot I was. In two seconds, I was on the porch, just barely missing the slam of the door.

Sighing, I walked to the edge of the steps and sat down, replaying the argument in my head. I was so fucking stupid.

My phone rang in my pocket and I pulled it out. “What?”

“Yeah,” Dash answered. “Is there a reason you’re naked on Isla’s porch? Because some people frown on that.”

19

FOX

“You didn’t needto come with me,” Cash muttered as we strolled through the front doors of the police department.

“Au contraire, mon frère. This is a job that requires a personal touch.”

He stopped suddenly and crowded me against the wall.

I chuckled like a girl. “Boss, I had no idea you felt that way.”

“Let’s get something straight. You are not to touch Shawn. This is a discussion with his boss and nothing more. We have no evidence that Shawn set that bomb, and until we do, we can’t touch him.”

“Boss,” I snorted. “There are plenty of ways to get my point across without touching the man.”

“Nothing,” he emphasized. “You do not touch a single hair on his head.”

“Scouts honor,” I grinned, holding up my hand.

He shook his head. “What the fuck is that?”