Page 51 of Wicked and Ruthless

The kid grinned as he pulled on a T-shirt. “I’ve got two booty calls, and I’m already late to the first. See you in the morning.”

“How are you going to get any sleep?”

That made Ethan laugh. “If that’s your first priority, you’re getting old, dude. See you.”

“I’m not fucking old,” he called to Ethan’s retreating back.

The door slammed. Nash cursed, then focused on his laptop.

Putting on his Jasper hat to talk to Haisley tonight was probably reckless, but every part of him needed to make sure she was okay. Nash wasn’t in a position to reassure her yet; she wouldn’t listen to him. But Jasper was. If he could be fucking delicate—something he absolutely sucked at.

He hated lying to her, and hopefully, this subterfuge wouldn’t blow up in his face. He’d come clean eventually, and using a screen name to get close to Haisley wasn’t his first choice, but she hadn’t left him more appealing options.

Sighing, he navigated to the CSI site and logged in. He already had a message waiting from Haisley. Eagerly, he opened it, but it didn’t say much more than hello and a tacked-on hope that he had a good day.

He answered right away.

JasperThePrivateDick: Hi, Red. My day sucked. I hope yours was better.

RedHotSavvySleuth: Nope. Day two of my new job, my boss is still an asshole and this case is still an enigma.

JasperThePrivateDick: Sorry to hear that. What about your ex? See him again?

RedHotSavvySleuth: Yes. Don’t remind me. No offense, but why are men so confusing?

JasperThePrivateDick: Ha! We ask the same thing about women all the time.

RedHotSavvySleuth: But you mastered it once. You had someone you clearly loved.

JasperThePrivateDick: More than she’ll ever know.

Nash hated how true that seemed right now.

RedHotSavvySleuth: Ugh. Let’s not talk about the past. I wish I could say I’d made headway on the case, but it’s hard when I’m stuck in the office, and I can’t actually investigate beyond the paperwork inside those four walls.

JasperThePrivateDick: You’re safer that way. Presumably your ex and the others working on the investigation have been trained for danger. Isn’t it better to let them do their jobs?

RedHotSavvySleuth: You mean sit on my ass while other women are in danger? Shouldn’t I be doing something helpful?

JasperThePrivateDick: Supporting the people in the trenches is doing something helpful.

RedHotSavvySleuth: Not enough. And you’re sounding like my ex again, warning me away from a potential paper cut.

JasperThePrivateDick: Getting abducted by these people would be a lot more perilous than a paper cut, Red.

RedHotSavvySleuth: I know. Doesn’t mean I like it. Did you learn anything new today?

JasperThePrivateDick: I’m afraid not. Today was hectic, and none of it as productive as I’d like.

Not that Jasper could share any of today’s findings with Haisley. That would all have to come from Nash. At least he’d have things to tell her, even if all the news was terrible. At least he’d get to spend more time with her.

Fuck, he had it bad.

JasperThePrivateDick: Did your ex make any progress on the case?

RedHotSavvySleuth: Some. He tracked down the lead detective, but the old fart is basically useless.

JasperThePrivateDick: Hey, watch that old talk. I identify with not being as young as I once was.

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