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Chapter Fourteen
Charlie walked into Ryder’s office, shut the door, and sat down in the chair opposite his desk.
Not in the mood for conversation, Ryder didn’t look away from his computer screen. “Yeah?”
“Everything okay?” Charlie’s accent, which only hinted at his Southern roots normally, sounded more pronounced when he was concerned.
“Yep, everything’s great.” The words he’d intended to be flippant came out like a snarl. He cleared his throat. “What’s up?”
“You bit Harold’s head off at the morning huddle,” Charlie pointed out, oh so helpfully.
Well, that was because he was in a shit mood.
Ryder shrugged. “You keep saying he needs to toughen up.”
“Yeah, but I’m the bad cop, you’re the good one. I thought he was going to cry.”
Ryder turned away from his computer screen. “I wasn’t that bad.”
Charlie raised a brow. “He’s moping around here like a kicked puppy. You know the kid hero-worships you, and this isn’t how this operation works. I break their spirit, and it’s your job to build it up again, stronger and better than before.”
Ryder sighed. Charlie was right. He hadn’t meant it, but he was short on sleep and patience, and he’d taken it out on the poor kid. “I’ll fix it.”
“Good.”
Ryder waited for Charlie to leave, but instead he kicked back in the chair and stretched out his long legs.
“So what’s wrong?”
“What makes you think anything’s wrong?” Ryder didn’t want to discuss what had happened with Sophie. He’d done the right thing, laid out his cards, and she’d made her decision. There were no more moves to be made.
Charlie laced his fingers over his stomach, making it clear he wasn’t leaving until Ryder talked. That he was settling in and digging in his heels. “I’ve worked with you for almost a year now. You’ve been in a bad mood exactly one other time, and that was when you found out your mom’s dog died. So being a crack detective, I put two and two together and figured something was wrong.”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“I’m going to assume this is about Sophie.”
“Fuck you.” He delivered the words like bullets.
“Jackpot.” Charlie smiled and laughed. “Just get it off your chest and you’ll feel better.”
Ryder scowled at him. “We’re guys, we don’t get things off our chest. That’s not how being a man works.”
Charlie just stared him down with the hawkeyed expression he used to elicit confessions. Since Ryder was a fan of the move himself, they squared off for a good three minutes before he broke down. With a sigh, he ran his hand through his hair. “She thinks it’s best if we don’t spend time together. Oh, but we’re going out on a fucking double date Maddie so helpfully cornered us into. And I’m not going to lie, I’m really not interested in watching another guy hit on her all night.”
“You like her, huh?”
Fucking guy was too observant for his own good. Ryder shrugged. “She doesn’t want anything to do with me, so the point is moot.”
“I’m sorry.”
He let out a frustrated breath. “I should be thankful, because being with her is like being repeatedly blindsided by a truck.”
Charlie chuckled. “I’m not sure I understand what that means.”
“I’m not sure I understand either.” Ryder scrubbed a hand over his jaw. “You know how with women you have to be on your best behavior all the time?”
Charlie nodded.
