“Hey,” I said into the phone. “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah,” Jordan replied. “Where are you?”
“On the highway. How are things in the LD?”
“The usual mess, with some extra on the side.”
“Meaning?”
“John Smith broke his wrist while running away from the Albanian mobster who didn’t like the postmortem he made. Maddox is playing a five-finger fillet with his Bowie knife, which is never a good sign. What’s-her-name came here for no apparent reason, which means she came here looking for you. Chief Bibb is pissed, and no one knows why.”
“Wow. Okay. Any news from our informants?”
“Nothing so far.”
“It figures. Fuck my life.”
“Adam?”
“Yeah?”
“I miss you.”
“I miss you too, babe.”
Fucking endearments. Another first.
Jordan sighed. “I… I should go, I suppose. Talk to you soon?”
“Of course. Take care, okay?”
“You too.”
After he hung up, I put on some music to stop myself from thinking when my phone rang again. I picked it up, keeping my eyes on the road.
“Please don’t do this to me, babe,” I said with a sigh. “It only makes me miss you more.”
“What exactly am I doing to you,babe?”
The strange, but strangely familiar voice made my heart skip a beat.
“Who the fuck are you?”
“Don’t you recognize my voice? After all, I saved your life not so long ago.”
The mocking tone refreshed my memory.
“Mendoza? Shouldn’t you be in a non-extradition country by now? Or do you have a burning desire to return behind bars where you belong?”
“Maybe I just wanted to hear you thank me before I leave.”
“Thank you for what?”
“Oh, just for setting a fire in my cell to save your sorry ass, along with the ass of your cute partner.”
“Call him cute one more time, and I’ll kick your teeth in.”
“Someone’s testy.”
