Page 23 of Right Number, Wrong Man
“Don’t apologize. Clean up this mess and then go to the screening room. Somebody spilled soda in row three.”
“Probably the idiot who said the remake of The Ring is better,” she whispers under her breath.
I bite back a grin. “Probably. But wrong opinions are like assholes: everybody’s got one and they can’t keep their shit to themselves.”
Hailey giggles and my heart tumbles into my stomach.
“Ugh, fine, that was a little funny,” she says. “But don’t let it get to your head.”
“Well, even a broken clock…”
“A broken clock is righttwice a day, Colt. You made me laugh once. Insixteen years.”
“Point taken. But what do I get if I make you laugh a second time in another sixteen years?”
She clicks her tongue. “The knowledge that you’re a tiny bit less irritating to me. For about five seconds.”
“Ouch.” I grab my chest theatrically. “Well, I’ll put the money in the safe and then I’m outta here. You got cleaning to do. Lock up after me.”
“Sure.” She glances up at me through her long, dark lashes. For a second, I swear I see something heated in her expression, but I blink, and it’s gone.
I stomp into the break room and open the wall safe to deposit the money. I’m not the type of guy to lose control, but I just did. Moments ago, I was a hair’s breadth away from taking what I want by force… and I’ve wanted the same thing all my life: Hailey.
I grab my jacket and put it on, the phones in the pocket seeming heavy as bricks.
Why did I even take Mike’s phone with me? What am I gonna do—text her after I threatened her with the cops?
My brows rise and heat sweeps across my features.
Whyshouldn’tI text her again?
I can’t tell Hailey how sorry I am for last night and for today. For every glare when we were kids. Every time I ignored her attempts to get along. For leaving. For letting her marry Mike and for not realizing how miserable their relationship truly was.
But the anonymous man who received her dirty videos is an unknown quantity to her.
He can still apologize.
He can still make things right.
My stomach stuffed with butterflies, I snatch Mike’s phone from my jacket. Pretending to be somebody else is a bad idea, but I can’t let this opportunity go.
Finally, I have a chance to start over with the one who got away.
9
COLT
I stopupstairs at my place to take off my jacket and button-down, leaving the belt holster with my pistol, too. It’s all too recognizable to Hailey and for my devious plan to work, I need to look anonymous. Before I head out again, I grab a shot of liquid courage, but it’s no use.
I’m a 6’5” bundle of anxiety.
I round the block and slip into a dim alley across from theRetro Reel, hiding behind a dumpster. It’s my usual spot to keep an eye on Hailey when she stays late for the cleanup shift. I can’t sit at home and twiddle my thumbs not knowing if she got home safely, even if it’s just a few steps to her apartment building. And nowadays, I’m not taking risks with a serial killer running wild.
But tonight, I’m not simply gonna watch her.
The longer I wait, the faster my heart pounds, and I keep wiping my clammy palms on my jeans.
Shit, I’ve broken men with these hands and felt nothing. I’ve taken shots from a mile away without batting an eye. But anything to do with Hailey gives me the jitters like I’m the one staring down the barrel of a gun.
