Page 74 of The Fate of Us

“I’m kidding. What about her family? Can she go to them?” he asks sincerely.

I take another sip of my beer. “They have all shut her out.”

“She deserves it,” he exhales into the phone. “Let me guess, she did what she always used to do and gave you the pity eyes and the ‘Noah I need you’ speech.”

I grip the back of my neck and start to pace my room.

“From your silence I will take that as a yes.”

The truth is I never realized she did that until just now when Carson brought it up. But as I think back to all the times I gave in to her or we had an argument, it always came down to that. “Fuck.”

I hear Carson fumbling with something in the background. “Sorry man. I didn’t mean to bring it up that way.”

I pace my room as I clench my fist. “I’m such an idiot.”

“Look, Noah. You’re not an idiot. You loved that woman but she had you wrapped around her finger. And she is trying to weave her way back into your life once again.”

“What the hell am I supposed to do?”

Carson clears his throat, his telltale sign for having an idea I am not going to like. “I think you should let her move in.”

“What? Are you crazy? And throw my entire relationship with Anna away?”

“Ugh no. Because you need that woman.”

“Then what the hell are you talking about?” I yell into the phone.

“We use this to our advantage.”

“How is this advantageous?”

He chuckles. “How did you pass your detective exam?” He pauses. “This is like undercover.”

“How?”

I can almost hear his smile through the phone. “You let her live with you. Then you have access to all her things. Her purse, her phone, her car. We might be able to find out what the hell she is really here for.”

Carson’s plan makes a helluva lot of sense but I am struggling with what Anna is going to think about this. Because I know she will be pissed as hell. “What about Anna?”

“I’ll take care of Anna.”

I grip the back of my neck and finally stop pacing. “You think this will work?”

“It’s the best shot we got. Anything to find a way out of releasing those papers.”

I nod even though he can’t see me. “Okay. I get it. From the investigative side of things, this makes sense.”

“I’m glad we are on the same page.”

“But I am not letting her sleep in my bed.”

Carson laughs hard into the phone. “Dude, you have a guest bedroom. I never would have suggested this if you didn’t.”

“And you’ll tell Anna?”

“Yes. I’ll find a way to get in touch with her. Let her know this is just so we can find a way out of this mess.”

“I haven’t told her about the papers.”

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