That was the wrong thing to say. Hark swore to himself, and Ledger heard him scuffle about, slamming a door.
“That wasn’t me,” he said. “You and your fucking family, Conroy.”
Ledger snorted. Like it was his fault that Hark had tried to screw him over?
“Hark—”
“Meet me in person,” Hark said. “That way, I’ll know who I’m talking to.”
“Bell’s house?”
“No!” Hark barked out. His voice cracked with the real fear he’d been trying to ape at the start of the call. “I won’t go back there. Give me a second. I don’t know this town. It’s—”
A door slammed, and Hark shut up.
Ledger waited a moment.
“Are you OK?”
“Fine,” Hark said. “I thought I saw it, that’s all. Out of the corner of my eye. The carnival. I’ll meet you there.”
“The carnival?” Ledger had almost forgotten about that. He rubbed his fingers against his forehead. “Fine. Tonight.”
“Tomorrow. When it opens. At the carousel.”
Hark hung up before Ledger could argue with him. When he tried to call back, there was no answer.
Ledger gave an irritated sigh and headed for his car.
* * *
“I got you a salad,”Ledger said as he let himself into his room at the motel. “It’s—”
His mouth dried up. Wren was sprawled out on the bed, looking through the paperwork Earl had handed over. His dark hair was drenched, and he was naked except for the severely taxed towel he’d knotted around his waist. He’d propped himself up on the pillows, and the crease of skin across his stomach gave Ledger the breathless urge to sink his teeth into it.
Even the sharp, salted smell that filled the room couldn’t deaden his reaction.
“Why?”
The question startled Ledger. He’d not even noticed that Wren had looked up from what he was doing, a slight frown creasing his straight eyebrows together over his nose as he waited for an answer.
“Huh?” Ledger managed.
“Why did you get me a salad?” Wren repeated the question as he sat up and swung one leg off the bed. The towel split to reveal a long, toned thigh, and Ledger had to drag his brain back into line by the scruff of its neck.
Wren raised an eyebrow at him, and Ledger cleared his throat.
“You might be hungry?” Ledger said. “If you don’t want it…”
“No,” Wren said quickly. He reached over the bed and made a “gimme” gesture with his hand. “I want it. I’d just not asked you to do it.”
Ledger shrugged as he fished the cardboard box out. “It’s salad,” he said, “not head.”
“Yeah, I didn’t ask for that either,” Wren said with a smirk. He snatched the box and slumped back into the pillows. He popped the lid open and fished the plastic fork out to poke at the salad. “Is that cheese?”
“Yeah.”
“Nuts?”
