Page 176 of That Time I Accidentally Became A Serial Killer

She huffs, pure disbelief. "Not surprised."

I cut my eyes toward her, slow and sharp. "What the fuck does that mean?"

"It means," she says, voice sweet as cyanide, "your reputation precedes you, Detective Blackwood. I'd be shocked if you even remember half their names."

The hit lands.

Hard.

“My reputation?”

"It’s not like I had to twist your arm to flirt with that receptionist.” She scoffs, still looking out the window. “Bet you actually got her number. Did you get her name? Or does that not matter?"

I grip the wheel so tight the leather groans under my hands.

"You know," I say, voice low and sharp, "instead of lashing out at everyone else, maybe figure out how to handle your jealousy. Like a big girl."

Her head snaps toward me. Eyes wide, cheeks burning.

"In your dreams," she hisses.

But it’s too late.

I smirk—humorless, bitter. "You're not mad I flirted. You’re mad it wasn’t with you."

She flinches like I slapped her.

And then—because shehasto say something that’ll hit back?—

"I would never be interested in someone like you," she spits.

Clean and cruel.

And I don’t laugh.

Not because it’s not bullshit.

But because it is.

I yank the SUV into the precinct lot harder than necessary, slamming it into park. The engine ticks as it dies, but the silence between us is louder.

I lean over, close enough to smell her perfume. My voice drops to a rasp.

"You keep telling yourself that, Lollipop. Why don’t you enlighten me about this reputation I have."

She folds her arms like armor. “I’ve heard the rumors, Declan. I’ve listened to the way women talk about you.”

I watch her while the silence in the SUV gets thicker. Watch the fight brewing behind her eyes.

“Oh yeah?” I say quietly. “And what is it they say?”

She rattles it off like a checklist. “That you don’t date. That you never take a woman out twice. That you’re just working your way through the courthouse, one clerk at a time.”

I laugh—dry, humorless. “Is that what’s bothering you? That I’ve apparently asked out everyone… except you?”

She scoffs. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

But there’s a flicker—barely there. I catch it. And press.

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