Page 43 of Crossroads of Innocence
Wade’s phone rang, and he fished his device from his pocket before checking the screen.
“Gonna take this call in the bathroom again?” She couldn’t help but add a bite of sarcasm to her tone.
Chet pivoted with raised brows.
Color crept up Wade’s neck, and he coughed to clear his throat. “Nah. It’s Cruz. Probably calling about that detective. You up to speaking with her this morning?”
She nodded. “Might as well get it over with. Not like I have anything better to do.” After she got the dreaded meeting out of the way, maybe she could find something to keep herself busy and away from Wade. Last night had been wonderful, but this morning had been a healthy dose of reality.
And this new reality had proven her first instinct correct. She had to keep up her guard around Wade McKenzie.
18
The sweet roll and acidic coffee gurgled in Jude’s stomach. She knotted her hands in her lap, staring through the large windows across the gleaming table in the conference room. Cruz had suggested privacy for their meeting with Detective Hocking, and as much as she agreed, the lack of distractions kept her tapping her foot against the floor.
At least the view was spectacular as she waited. Blankets of snow glazed the tops of the mountain peaks. The lake stretched out behind the lodge, and the cabins she spotted tucked into the surrounding forest looked nothing like the bunks she’d stayed in as a kid.
“This place has changed a lot, hasn’t it?” Wade leaned back in the chair beside her, gaze fixed outside.
“It really has. Brooke’s done an amazing job transforming the campground into a rehabilitation center. I’d love to see more of it. Maybe even check out that yoga class Zoe mentioned later.”
“Zoe’s always recruiting people. She’s been trying to get me into a class for years now. Just not my thing.”
She swiveled her chair and studied him. “And what is your thing? Besides blonds.” The moment the words were out of her mouth she wished she could take them back.
His face crumbled in confusion. “Excuse me?”
Dammit. Those rounded eyes and crinkled forehead showcased the jolt of pain she’d just caused, but she couldn’t stop herself. Not after she’d been so vulnerable with him. First by exposing the ugliness of her past, then by spending the night in his arms. Her heart had been so full while she’d laid in his bed. A feeling of contentment and joy and a rightness she hadn’t experienced since she’d left his side so many years ago had left her body humming.
Then he’d jumped out of that same bed they’d shared as soon as another woman called. Escaping into the next room so she couldn’t overhear their conversation.
She shot to her feet and moved to stand in front of the windows. “Nothing. Forget it.”
The sound of Wade’s squeaky chair and tentative footsteps steeled her spine. “I won’t forget it. What did you mean?”
With fire flowing through her veins, she crossed her arms and faced him. “Well there’s the lady from the bar—the same woman who showed up at Chet’s and you were wrapped all around—me, and the perky yoga instructor. I’d ask if there were more I should know about it, but it’s not really any of my business. There’s nothing between us besides one old friend helping out another.”
He winced and scrubbed a hand over his face. “That’s all I am to you? An old friend? And what about last night…it didn’t mean anything?”
She tightened her jaw, refusing to let a flicker of emotion shine through. “Meant the same to me as it did to you. Which was obvious as soon as you scurried out of bed to talk to another woman.”
“That woman called about my mother. And Tasha is a friend I’ve probably only said a dozen words to since she moved to town. But if I’m just some guy who doesn’t mean anything to you, none of that should matter anyway so what are you all bent out of shape for?”
The venom in his voice stole her anger. She struggled to come up with something more to say, somewhere else to take the conversation, but a knock on the open door sounded before Cruz strolled in with a medium-sized woman with straight black hair and perfectly pressed pant suit.
“Hey, you two,” Cruz said, scooting out the chair at the end of the table and setting down a stack of files. “How’d you sleep last night?”
Heat shot through Jude’s core. She dropped her face and hurried to her chair, managing to mutter something she hoped sounded like fine.
“Brooke put us up in the lodge,” Wade said, not missing a beat and returning to a chair across the wide table.
“Makes sense. Safer than by the lake.” Cruz dipped his chin at the woman beside him. “Let me introduce you to Detective Hocking.”
Detective Hocking took a step forward and offered a palm to Jude. “Nice to meet you both. Thanks for agreeing to speak with me.”
Jude shook her hand. “Whatever I need to do to put this guy behind bars.”
Detective Hocking sat beside her then nodded hello to Wade. “I appreciate that. This crime family has infiltrated Mill Harbor and we’ve been working hard to get them out. If we can connect the boss’ nephew to a murder, it might be just what we need to take them down.”
