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“Hold up. Did she know you were looking for her ex?”
I hang my head. “No. I wasn’t exactly truthful with her.”
Liam groans, showing his disappointment. “Okay, so what happened between you two?”
“Well, I ended up taking her out a few times. We had a great time together, and things seemed great—”
“Did you sleep with her?” he asks, interrupting again.
I blow out a breath. “Yes.”
“So things were pretty serious in this short amount of time. Or was it just a casual hookup, no-strings-attached type of deal?”
“No, it wasn’t like wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am. We spent time together in the short amount of time I was there. I even met her mom and son—”
“You met her family?” Liam practically shrieks into the phone. “Even her son? Jesus, dude.”
I rub my forehead. Telling all of this to Liam, saying it all out loud and hearing what happened does sound ridiculous now. “Look, her son was a nice kid. She lived with her mom, so it wasn’t like she went out of her way to introduce me to her. It might sound crazy now, but it wasn’t at the time.”
“Okay, okay,” Liam says apologetically. “Continue.”
“Well, the night before I had to leave, I took her out one last time. We were having a great time together, and I felt guilty that she didn’t know everything about my life, so I opened up to her. I told her how I work for Cole Security, how I used to be a SEAL, and I even told her about Hannah.”
“Oh, wow,” Liam says. “How did she take all that news?”
“Surprisingly well. She had empathy, you know? Later that night is when I fucked up royally. I told her I was really in town looking for her ex. That’s when she lost it and walked out on me. We haven’t spoken since.”
Liam’s silent for a moment. “Why the fuck did you tell her that?”
“I felt like I had to. What if the guy shows up after Rob and I left? She needed to know how dangerous her ex is.”
Liam lets out an audible breath. “Well, what’s done is done. Now that you’re back home, you probably won’t ever see her again. How do you feel about that?”
“That’s the thing. I can’t get her out of my head. I’ve texted her a couple of times to apologize, and she never replied. I’m going to leave her alone, but it hurts, you know? I really liked her.”
There’s silence on the other end for a moment, and I wonder what Liam’s thinking. He probably can’t believe what a dumbass I am. Finally, he says something. “Did you have real feelings for this girl, or was it more like lust?”
His question takes me by surprise. “Uh … I’d say there were more than just lustful feelings for her. I loved talking with her, her personality, she was fun to hang out with … it wasn’t just about sex.”
“Were you falling in love with her?”
Just then, I see Rob walking toward me. He’s walking with purpose, so I wonder what he’s discovered.
“Hang on a second,” I say to Liam as Rob approaches.
“I actually have something on Jarred,” Rob says, placing a paper down on my desk in front of me. He points at what looks like a receipt he found online for a private plane charter company. “Joseph Fielding is flying to Seattle today.”
My eyes knit in, not understanding. “Joseph Fielding? Where have I heard that name before?”
“It’s the same guy who paid for Jarred’s mom’s house to be cleaned out. I think Joseph Fielding is Jarred Feldman. And now he’s probably landing …” Rob looks at his watch. “I take that back. He already landed in Seattle and is probably en route to Port Townsend as we speak.”
My eyes practically bulge out of my head. Shit! Why did he have to wait until after Rob and I got back to San Diego to return to his hometown? Fuck, that means Shawna and Noah could be in danger. Remembering Liam is hanging on the phone, I turn my attention to him again, holding a finger up to tell Rob to give me a minute. “Dude, I have to go. We just got a huge break in our case. I’ll call you later when I can, okay?”
“Sure, no problem,” Liam says. “Good luck.”
“Thanks. And also, thanks for listening. I really appreciate it.”
“Anytime, cuz. Talk to you later!”
