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“Ah, like you were looking in mine?” He tilts his cup slightly toward me.
The danish catches in my throat and I take a swig of coffee, dislodging it and burning everything in the process. Pressing my knuckle to my lips, I clear my throat. “That’s—”
He grins back.
Well played.
“Fine. I’ll give you that one, you earned it.” I drag my tongue over my teeth. “Didn’t realize I was going to come on vacation and find my arch-nemesis in the condo next door.”
With a deep chuckle, he leans back. “Oh, that earns me the arch-nemesis title? Must not be much competition.”
I bob my head side to side, being extra careful not to let the danish get the better of me again. “Any plans for the day? So I can stay out of firing range.”
He pauses mid-way to taking a drink of coffee. “Nope. Hadn’t really thought about it. Guess you’ll just have to hope for the best.”
I should have learned to stop playing with fire by now, but I tried the safe, stable thing, failed, and that’s exactly why I’m here. I drum my fingers against the table, staring at the tan line that hasn’t quite faded yet.
When I lift my head and notice Riker studying my hand, I realize I probably look like an errant wife.
“I was supposed to be here with my fiancé, but we broke it off four weeks ago, and I didn’t want to waste the planning.” I hold up my hand, wiggling my fingers. “And please don’t say anything along the lines of sorry, I can get that every day anywhere I go in Ashville.”
I’m sick of just trying to pick up an order of tacos and getting the pitiful looks because even if everyone in town doesn’t know my business, they all know Beckett.
Riker lowers his eyebrows and his lips scrunch to one side. “Congratulations?”
“Thank you,” I say with a bit too much melodramatic enthusiasm. I slap my hand against my temple and rub it down over my face. “I know I’m a mess, and I’m just embracing it at this point.”
Riker rubs his eyebrow and chuckles. “All things considered, you seem to be doing rather well.”
I’m not, really. On the inside, I’m panicking about being in Georgia with two cards that won’t work, but what good will that do? It won’t solve the problem and right now I have hot coffee and a danish.
Things could be worse. Licking the glaze from my fingertips, I glance up at Riker. Things could be much worse. “Sometimes the universe decides to have a laugh at your expense and the best revenge is finding a reason to laugh harder.”
“You must be a thrill to work with.”
I stare down, fiddling with the lid on my coffee. This Libby doesn’t get out much and definitely doesn’t appear at the station. For me, adapting to a male-dominated workplace was the least of my worries. Sometimes it became annoying, and other times infuriating, but that was nothing compared to my father’s lingering reputation. Trying to catch a break in the same precinct where my father was fired for getting drunk on the job, whose actions resulted in the acquittal of a man who then went home and attempted to murder his girlfriend, meant I faced increased scrutiny at every turn. I had to be above reproach, which required me to leave my sarcastic quips at the door. “Everyone at work knows me as the focused, straight-laced, detail obsessed, work-a-holic. They’d probably assume I’d been possessed if they saw me like this, and it was hard enough to get them to take me seriously in the first place.”
“You were made Captain, you must be doing something right.”
“I know my way around and get stuff done, but really I think they wanted a face that looked sympathetic after the fiasco that got the last captain indited. He was caught conspiring with criminals looking to set up a new sex trafficking ring. I was available, have a MS in Justice and wasn’t conspiring with criminals. It’s a politics game, really. But it never ends. We just got one of my detectives back when he was borrowed by another district who suspected they had a mole helping an outlaw motorcycle gang.” Until this week, I hadn’t had much time to consider the pieces I’ve left behind. Or maybe I’d refused to give myself the space to think about it.
* * *
After chatting with Riker for nearly an hour at the coffee shop, we strolled back to the condos and parted ways. Since then, the bank has transferred me twice and put me on hold three times. As if the hold music isn’t bad enough in itself, my breath catches in my throat every time it pauses, only for another automated voice to come on the line to remind me how important my call is or inform about one of their new services.
Finally, the bank manager returns to the line. “Sorry, Miss Thorne, I’ve spoken to our IT Department, and it looks like your bank account might have been compromised in a hacking attempt our services detected last night. It’s not clear why the notification didn’t come up when you checked your accounts. The reports indicate a minimal threat level, but there is a chance your card numbers or bank info have been compromised. We’re processing a new card and can get it sent out right away or you can stop by a branch to get one issued right away.”
A lump forms in my throat, and I pinch the bridge of my nose to keep from lashing out. It isn’t their fault and of course I brought a credit card for backup—except it’s from the same bank and therefore likely compromised as well. “I’m in Georgia on vacation, so that’s a bit of a problem for me.”
“Oh...” The lady on the line goes quiet for a moment. “Let me check with some affiliate banks and we can find a way for you to make a withdrawal.”
After giving her my location, she agrees to do the work of finding a way for me to access my money. That’s one of the reasons I appreciate my local bank, but I guess I should’ve been hoarding leftovers because the twenty in my purse isn’t going to get me far until then.
Hell, it’s not even going to get me a ride to get there.
I groan, flopping back on the bed. My chest is hot, and I still hear my racing pulse in my ears, as I process my current situation. I’m sure my bank will come up with a solution, but until then, I’m stuck, broke, and bursting at the seams for an opportunity to rant.
This is ridiculous.Holding my phone over my face, I scroll through my contacts.
