Page 57 of Castling the Rook (Checkmate 3)

“Okay…” He spills half the soup as he brings the spoon to his lips. “I’ll tell her tomorrow. Do you think she’ll remember me?”

I shrug. “Only one way to find out.” My cell vibrates in my pocket. Stretching my leg out and digging a hand in to fish it out, my heart gives a fast one-two thump when Andi’s name flashes and makes me smile. I slide my thumb across the screen and sit back on the couch. “Hey, Dee.”

“Hey,Officer. I think someone’s trying to kill me.”

“Dee…” Is absolutely not in danger. “This is a departmental supplied cell, Dee. This is an official line, so you can’t say shit like that unless you want me to file an actual report.”

She huffs. “Fine. Whatcha doing, handsome? I just got off work and need a lobotomy. Any ideas?”

“Nope, don’t do that. I’d miss you. I’m off work, too.” I lean forward and drag the soup a little closer to remind Jay I’m paying attention. Sighing, he digs the spoon in. “I just walked in ten minutes ago.”

“You all alone? Because I got my battery-operated Riley here, and I was missing you.”

“I’m not alone.” Closing my eyes, I lay my head back and pray for ten minutes of blind and deaf for Jay. “Sorry. I’ve got a friend here eating, so we can’t talk about… that.”

He snickers beside me and brings another spoonful to his lips.

“Ugh! That’s lame, Riley Cruz. A girl wants to double click her mouse, and the guy she named her dildo after won’t play.”

“I can hear her,” Jay chuckles. “She’s fun.”

“She’s a pain in my ass. Eat your damn soup and close your ears.”

“Oh, hey Riley’s friend! Riley, what’s his name? Is he sexy? Put me on speaker. No! Let’s FaceTime.”

“His name is nope, and also, nope. What do you want, Dee? I didn’t hear from you all week. I missed the fuck outta you. Now I’m sitting here watching another dude eat soup. See what you’ve reduced me to?”

“You could’ve called me, ya know! You make me come to you all the damn time, so I feel like a needy chick when I sit by my phone and you don’t call.”

“You wanted me to call?” My heart speeds to a rhythmic beat in my chest. “I was giving you space and waiting for you to call. You’re the one who left, so I left the ball in your court.”

“Balls.” She snickers. “I know I seem confident, because I’m funny as shit and all that, but every girl wants to be called up and told she’s pretty. Don’t make me come to you all the time.”

“Okay.” Somehow, our joking turns serious in an instant. “I’ll call you later, I promise.”

“WhenNopegoes home?”

“Yeah.” When he’s asleep on my couch and I’m all alone in my bed. “I’ll call you tonight, I promise. Then we can talk about that other thing. Talk to me about your week? I didn’t hear from you, so I have no clue what’s happening.”

“I got back Monday and went toe to toe with Mia. She’s still a bitch, but she needs me, so I told her to suck a dick and sit down.”

“You didn’t really say that, did you?”

She snickers. “Nope, but I thought it. She might need me to keep money flowing through the door, but this is her clinic, and I need her to keep food flowing into my stomach. So we both pretend we’ve got the upper hand, and we stay the hell away from the lunch room at the same time. Timmy got his new leg!”

“Yeah? Did he whisk you away yet?”

“Not yet, but he’s up at the clinic getting used to his new machine pieces. He’ll be back in another week or so.”

“He called you, even while away?”

“Yeah.”

“He wants to fuck her,” Jay rumbles.

I nod. “That’s what I said.”

“Hey!” she snaps. “He’s seventy years old!”

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