“I think this is a solo mission.”
“You sure? You not wobbly after what happened to you today?”
I get the vision again. Maisie crying, getting hurt, because of me.
“Yeah, I am,” I say. “I’m the Fonz in a fridge. Snoopy with an ice cube up his butt.”
“What about Enzo?”
“What about him?”
“Well, if he took your file, what if he wants to get this picture back?”
“He can’t have it.”
“Simple as that, is it? You sound very sure. He kicked the shit out of the sheriff. I don’t get the feeling he’d hold back if he knew you’d stolen that from right under his nose.”
“I know what he wants to do to me and it isn’t beat me up.”
“You still thinking about all that stuff he said to you?”
“No, I’m not.”
“I know a lie when I hear one. You’re wondering if you should make a booty call and get yourself some bad boy action. Think how good it would be to get up to that kinky shit with someone who doesn’t gossip along the entire town grapevine. I can’t even drop my keys without half a dozen people mentioning it the next day.”
She frowns. “What’s this?” she asks, noticing the business card next to the photo.
“Gave it to me. Told me to call him if there was any trouble.”
“Shit, it’s too good to be true.”
“What is?”
“He wants you, Chloe.”
“No, he doesn’t.”
She’s getting her cellphone out, punching in the number from the card. “Don’t you dare ring that,” I snap, grabbing the card from her.
“Come on,” she replies. “Let me set you up with one more date. I’ll get it right this time. You can bang someone you’ll never have to see again. It’s perfect. It won’t matter how crap you are because he won’t be telling anyone, will he?”
“Do not ring him, Maisie, I mean it.”
“All right,” she says, putting her cellphone away again. “Think you’re making a mistake though.”
“The only mistake I made was showing you his card.”
“Well, if you don’t want him, maybe I can ring him? See if he wants a piece of Maisie’s nipple magic?”
“No,” I say too quickly. Maisie looks at me as I manage a smile. “He’s dangerous,” I add. “I wouldn’t want you to get hurt.”
She wrinkles her brow like she knows I’m lying.
Because I am.
It isn’t fear of her getting hurt that made me say no so quickly. It’s jealousy. Jealousy I have no right to feel.
“Besides,” I add, stroking the card that’s now back in my pocket, feeling soothed by it once again. “I’m only supposed to ring if I’m in trouble.”