Page 121 of Hurry Up And Wait

“Tell me again why we came here instead of talking to anyone at OPS?”

“Because IKE won’t lie to me.”

“I thought you said he was an ass.”

“Yes, but he’s an ass who speaks the truth,” I muttered, walking up the stairs.

Here I was again at IKE’s door, but this time, he wasn’t protecting me. This time, I was only looking for answers and I trusted IKE to tell me. He didn’t like his job of watching over me when I was here, but he kept me safe and was always honest with me, even when I didn’t want to hear it.

I banged my fist against the door and stepped back. If he was home, he already knew I was here. His security measures would have alerted him the moment I pulled in the drive.

“I still can’t believe I’m actually going to be in IKE’s house,” Riley whispered. “It’s so exciting.”

“I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear you say you wanted to go in another man’s house,” Bowie grumbled.

“Why are you whispering?”

“Because he’s IKE. He probably has probes and sensors and all kinds of crazy shit around here. He’s probably listening to us right now.”

“Then maybe you should stop talking about him.”

“Or maybe…maybe I’m saying the wrong stuff.” I felt her straighten, and then covered my ear as her loud voice almost broke my eardrum. “Yeah, that IKE is totally hot.”

“What are you doing?”

“Flattering him. If he’s going to answer the door, it’s going to be because of me.”

“Because you said he’s hot? Do you really think that’s what’s going to make him open the door?”

“You never know. Maybe he’s vain. Maybe he needs someone to flatter him and show him how desirable he is. And clearly, you’re not going to do it.”

I gritted my teeth and pounded on the door again. “Because I’m with Kavanaugh.”

“Well, that’s to be determined after what we found out. Are you sure you want to call yourself his?”

No, I wasn’t sure about that. In fact, I was praying Kavanaugh would tell me this was all a big misunderstanding and I had nothing to worry about. But what possible reason would Kavanaugh have to explain away what I saw on the television?

“This is pointless. Let’s just go.”

I turned just as I heard the door open. Riley’s gasp was no doubt because of IKE’s extremely handsome features. I already knew she had an obsession with the hot men in this town. And IKE was definitely on the hotter end of the scale.

Bowie snorted at Riley’s response. “I should have worn my coveralls. Maybe then I’d stand a chance.”

Slowly, I turned to face the door. There he was, leaning against the doorframe as his eyes slowly roamed over my body. I tried not to shift uncomfortably under his penetrating gaze, but he had an unnerving way of setting me on edge.

Clearing my throat, I temporarily forgot why I was even here. When I stormed out of the house, I thought I had every reason to come here, to ask him for his opinion. But now that I stood on his steps, all I remembered were the harsh words he spoke to me, the way he so clearly insulted me as he held me in the dark, accusing me of letting any man touch me.

I could have sworn as I stared at him that he was thinking about the very same moment. His eyes heated the longer he stared at me, but even more unnerving was the way he seemed to read precisely what was on my mind.

“Problems in paradise?”

“Forget it,” I snapped, turning to walk down the steps.

“You didn’t know about her, did you?”

I could have sworn a low chuckle slipped from his throat, making me snap. “And you would like that, wouldn’t you?”

“I don’t see why I would care one way or another,” he shrugged. “But it’s not surprising.”