She took one hand off the steering wheel to wave it dismissively. It was the hand Sergeant Rollins had grabbed. And maybe it was fanciful thinking, but she would swear if she concentrated really hard, she could still feel the warmth left behind by his touch.
“Contrary?” Dillan snorted. “That’s just a nice way of saying she was a bitch.”
Julia sighed. “Is itallwomen you dislike or just women in positions of power?”
Shit.
She’d always prided herself on how good she was at biting her tongue around Dillan. Not just good.Great!Like if Guinness was handing out awards forWoman Most Capable of Holding Back When a Man Should Be Put in His Place,she would surely take home the prize.
Intrusive thoughts of Ol’ Blue Eyes had been popping into her head since she’d left Miss Meadows in the ER. She blamed those for her outburst. Well, those and the fact that she was dog-tired.
Tired ofDillanmostly, if she was being honest. Because the more uncooperative the senator had become, the more hostile and authoritativehehad become. Eventually, she’d been forced to end the interview early and drag him out of the ICU waiting room lest they completely burn bridges with the senator and turn her from a slightly contrary witness into an openly hostile one.
To her relief—since if she couldn’t keep her shit together and find a way to workwithhim then her boss was likely to pull her off the case—Dillan didn’t seem to take offense to her slip of the tongue. In fact, he chuckled.
“I like women just fine. Better than fine. They’re some of my favorite people. But I calls ’em as I sees ’em,” he mimicked an old-timey accent. “And I say the senator is a bitch.”
She slid him a look that was packed with disgust just as the sky opened up and traffic ground to a halt. She switched on the windshield wipers and watched as they tried—and failed—to keep up with the deluge.
“Women are some of your favorite people?” she challenged. “Name three women you actuallylike.”
“Easy.” He ticked off the list on his fingers. “My mom, my sister, and my other sister.”
Why am I not surprised?
“Name three women whoaren’tfamily who you actually like.”
The grin he shot her was shit-eating. “Scarlett Johanson, Gigi Hadid, and Taylor Swift.”
She resisted the urge to reach over and punch him in the dick. “So…a beautiful actress, a beautiful model, and a beautiful singer-songwriter. Wow, Dillan. Whatever could it be about these smart, successful, talented women that you admire?”
He made it clear he didn’t give a rat’s ass what she thought of him when he shrugged carelessly. “Don’t ask the questions if you’re not going to like the answers.”
Deciding there was no winning with him, and choosing her sanity over his ruthless arrogance, she changed the subject. “What do you think she meant when she said she couldn’t trust us?”
He snorted, easily shifting gears alongside her. “Politicians are always watching out for their own asses. She probably thought we’d put something in our report that might be less than complimentary.”
“You mean something less complimentary than she refused to cooperate with our federal investigation?”
“I mean…yeah.” He nodded. “Who knows the mind of a career crook?”
That made Julia frown. “What makes you think she’s crooked?”
“They all are.”
And…there it is. The unraveling of my last thread of patience.
“Wow, Dillan. Maybe it’s time you stopped watching Newsmax and got off Truth Social.”
He snorted again. “Just because they float right-wing conspiracies doesn’t mean they’re wrong.”
“I think, by the definition ofconspiracy,that’s exactly what it means. And that’s before you add in all the propaganda and fear-mongering. Those platforms prey on people. Please tell me you’re joking, and you haven’t really fallen victim to their disinformation.”
“I’m joking and I haven’t really fallen victim to their disinformation.” He parroted her word-for-word. “I mean, who has time to follow any of that anyway? I get my news from Facebook or TikTok in sixty-second clips.”
She wanted to scream. But she managed to keep her voice even when she gritted, “That’s not any better.”
“Meh. To each their own.” He turned on the radio and left her to her thoughts.
