“To fuck with us,” I cut in.
More accurately, tofuckus.
Because that’s what I’ve been expecting since he opened his front door—filthy condescension until one of us breaks.
He turns to look at me, eyebrows raised. “You two delinquents dragged me out of bed at one in the morning, now you’re expecting me to fuck you both senseless?”
I don’t even hesitate to throw my girlfriend under the bus. “It was Haven’s idea.”
“What? Me fucking you two senseless?” There’s a faint smile toying on his lips, but he looks too tired to fully commit.
I groan, looking away. A pair of headlights appear down the road, headed our way.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I blurt out.
I’ve been blurting out shit a lot lately.
He steps closer, his sneakers scraping against the grit on the sidewalk, and my entire body tenses up so tight I start shaking.
But he’s not trying to touch me. His Uber is almost here, and he’s just getting ready to leave.
“Tell you what?” he asks, so casually I can almost believe he doesn’t know what I’m talking about.
He doesn’t even look at me.
Maybe that’s why I grab his shoulder and try to turn him to face me. He resists, catching my wrist and gripping so tight I bite back a pained sound.
Black eyes rake over my face.
Out here in the dark, with the cold fall air whipping around us, the look in his eyes has every hair on the nape of my neck standing on end.
No one’s their best when they’re sleep deprived. But this isn’t simply exhaustion. There’s something hateful, evenmalevolentin his eyes, and for the life of me I can’t figure out why the fuck he’d be staring at me like that.
“That—that they dropped the—the charges,” I stutter.
He just keeps glaring right into my soul like he wants to eat it.
“Barnes must have told you. You had to have known. So why the fuck didn’t you tell me?”
My voice finds some strength. I even pluck my wrist free from his steely grip.
“You let me walk around fordaysthinking I might still go to prison. And the whole time you knew it was over.”
“I promise you, I didn’t know.”
“Bullshit,” I scoff.
We both turn to look as the Uber pulls up behind Haven’s car. Rooke holds up a hand, looking weirdly messianic in the glow of the headlamps.
He turns to face me and thank fuck that sinister look is nowhere to be seen. Now he just looks frustrated.
“You really think I spend every second of my life plotting against you two? I have a job, Kai. Assignments to grade, administrative crap to handle. A deceased estate that I’ve inexplicably been appointed executor of. Many things,adultthings, that I have to deal with. So forgive me, Kai, if I’ve been stretched so thin I haven’t had time to deal with you and that girl’s…”
He swipes a hand through his hair.
“Bullshit?” I supply dryly.
He flashes me an exasperated look. “For lack of a better term.”
