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“Hey, Iz- Wicked. Hi.” The feminine voice is almost grating on my ears with how high it is, my nose scrunching in response of its own accord.
“Annie.”
“It’s Andy,” She responds quickly and I lean my head on the back of my chair, already done with this conversation. When she sees I’m not going to respond, she shuffles whatever papers are in her hands for a moment and then speaks again. “Anyways. I heard what happened to you. I’m so sorry. If there’s anything I can do-”
“There’s not,” I interrupt, not really too concerned with whatever niceties she wants to spew at me. It’s not like she actually cares. She doesn’t even know me.
“Right…”
“Hey, Andy! How’re your studies going?” Kai takes pity on the poor girl and I shoot him a glare that he totally can’t see. Call it a habit.
“Oh, they’re going great! I’m going to be a forensic scientist in no time! Then I won’t be the paperwork bitch anymore!” I roll my eyes to myself when she perks up massively at his attention, but I’m not surprised. Kai has that effect on women…and some men.
Gizmo and Snitch climb around my feet on the desk and start sniffing around. Smiling to myself, I free the packets of jerky I keep in stock for them and open a bag before dumping it out on the wooden surface. They squeak in excitement, their little hands shaking my moccasin boots in thanks before they scramble up my legs and over to the pile, diving in with gusto.
Ignoring the small talk Kai and Andy continue to engage in, I busy myself with my coffee. It’s not that I hate the girl or anything, she just irks me. She’s tried to attach herself to me since she started here, but if I wanted to be responsible for a child, I’d go make my own. Which is funny, because I’m pretty sure she’s at least ten years older than me.
Downing the last few drops of my coffee, my mouth turns down in a frown. Damn. I’m going to need more now. I tune back into the conversation, catching the tail end of Andy’s next sentence.
“-and she says I’ll be able to be ready by next year-”
“Hey, Kai. Have you finished your coffee yet?” I interrupt impatiently.
“About half-” He cuts off before bursting into obnoxious laughter. “Oh, shit!”
“What? What’s so funny?” I sit up in my seat, swiveling my chair his way.
“Well, now I know why he wanted you to have this cup specifically.”
“Arlo? The coffee shop guy? Why’s that?”
“He-” He cuts off, unable to speak through his howling. “He fucking-”
“He what, Kai? Spit it out!” Is he drugged? Was there really something in the drink and now he’s rolling or something?
“He put his number on the side of your cup!” He finally chokes out and I’m stunned into silence. Okay? So he put his name on the side. Lots of people do that when they’re hitting on someone, right?
Then it hits me and I shove my face in my hands. “Oh, fuck!”
“That fucking idiot! You’re blind! How were you supposed to see this?!” He absolutely loses it at that. A loud bang sounds as he falls to the floor next to me, the humor of the situation forcing him straight to his ass.
Once he finally calms down, only a few chortles escaping his throat every few seconds like he just thought about it all over again, I pull my phone from my pocket and find the number I’m looking for.
She picks up on the second ring, her seductive voice breathy and ready to do her job. “Wicked. It’s been far too long, baby. Where have you been?”
“Scarlette! Hey, bitch! Sorry, been busy on house arrest and shit.”
“No worries, babe. What do you need?” Scarlette is not my friend. She’s Manna County’s best sex phone operator and also a great private informant for me. I don’t tell the department anything about her, paying her straight out of pocket because she prefers her privacy.
Along with her legal job, she is rather efficient atotherthings as well. Nothing too far in the illegal territory, and nothing that could harm anyone else, otherwise I would never use her. She’s got her ear to the ground among the lowlifes in the area. With her ass-length blood-red hair that matches well with her almost six foot tall all-leg frame, pouty lips, and sparkling green eyes, she can get answers from any man–or woman–she chooses to set her sights on.
And she always gets straight down to business. I love that about her. I swear if I swung her way, I’d lock that shit down.
“I have a bit of a disrespect problem. Nothing major. But the sort of revenge I’m looking for might just be straight up your alley, if you catch my drift.” I feel Kai’s questioning gaze on the side of my face, but I ignore it, focusing on the task at hand.
“Name.”
“Arlington Jefferies.”
