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Jane was silent just long enough that dread churned in my gut. “I'm not upset that you couldn’t talk to me about this. I totally understand. You literally couldn't. But maybe a clue, maybe just tell me something really screwed up is going on at work. I don't know. I think maybe I'm taking this more seriously than you are.”
Oh, fuck.
“Jane. No, you're not. I promise.”
“I don’t mean the case, but what it meant for you not to say anything, anything at all, about something.”
“Jane—”
“Let's take a couple of weekends off. I'm sure you need to stay put with everything going on with that case.”
That dread churned into panic. “Actually, I don't. They don't need anything from me right now. I'll just be playing dodgeball with reporters who are nosy about what's going on.”
“I don't really want to play dodgeball with reporters either, so it's probably best for you to handle them.”
“What do you mean you're taking us more seriously than me?” I asked, my brain finally catching up to the important part of what she said.
“What do you think I mean? I didn't plan for any of this. Okay? I didn't mean to fall for you, but I did. You’re Thea’s brother, and it’s starting to feel messy. With everything going on, let’s take a break. We’ll talk soon. Bye.”
“Jane, I really—”
The phone line had gone dead in my ear. I was about to call again, but my fingers hovered over the screen.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” I muttered to my empty apartment.
I called Dallas, and he answered immediately. “What's up?”
“Jane wants a break,” I said without preamble. “Could I have talked to her about this sooner?”
“Talk to her about what?”
“The case. She said that she wished I’d mentioned something was going on at work that was really stressing me out. But could I have told her there was a legal issue? They told me I couldn't talk to anyone, not even you and Noah.”
“That’s right,” Dallas said slowly. “You talking to anyone could have created problems. It’s good you didn't. Was it against the law? No, I mean whistleblowers talk to people all the time. You're not an agent on the case. They are. They asked you not to say anything because they were worried about things blowing up. You did the right thing. In my experience, saying anything only leads to questions. You’ve been sitting on this for months. How do you feel?”
“I don’t even care about the stupid case. I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want to be that jerk who was all vague. Fuck, I miss her.”
“Of course, you do. Things are far enough along with her. At some point, somebody's got to make a move.”
“What do you mean, make a move?”
“Either you let it come to a natural conclusion, or you tell her how you feel.”
“I already told you my plan was to come up there. I was waiting for this case to be done so I could wrap things up here with my business so it didn't look weird.”
“I know, but did you mention that to her?” he asked, too pointedly in my opinion.
“Uh, no,” I said slowly, feeling foolish. Should I call her and tell her that right now? Right after she said she wanted a break?”
“I don't know. I think you need to let her know how you feel. If you love her, she should know.”
I sighed. “This sucks. You could’ve told me that sooner.”
“Did you know you loved her?”
“I hadn't really thought it through. I just…” My words petered out, and I felt even more foolish.
Dallas chuckled. “All right, slick, you'll figure this out.”
