“I’m afraid to ask, Stark.”
“I just served your cousin with divorce papers.”
“What?”
I told him everything, including how I’d found his cousin by his need for a specific haircut from a specific stylist. Malone muttered a few choice words before adding, “And here I am wasting my time in freakin’ Wyoming.”
“Wyoming? You were looking for him, too?”
He said nothing.
“You and that Fifth Amendment, I swear. You know we could be working together. Finding people is one of the things I do.”
“I’ll take that under advisement.”
“You do that. Also, I bet you fifty bucks he goes to your grandpa’s function tomorrow.”
“No way. He wouldn’t be that stupid.”
“Aha! He did steal money. But it’s not about stupidity,” I said. “He thinks he’s outsmarted everyone. He even thinks he outsmarted me by dumping those papers in the trash can.”
“There’s no way. Why would he do that when—” He paused before he said too much. “I could’ve stayed with you this whole time.”
My heart fluttered.
It’s just the sex he’s after, Stella. Don’t take it as anything more.
“We’ll be together soon enough,” I said. “And we can celebrate, because I’m awfully close to meeting a major goal.”
“Which is?”
“Funny, I seem to have developed an affection for the Fifth Amendment ...”
Malone said nothing. “Does this have something to do with the ex?”
“Fifth.”
Malone sighed deeply. “Would you wait for me before you see him about the car title or whatever else you have up your sleeve?”
“You’re cute. I can handle myself—you know that. Besides, you’ve got a lot on your plate.”
“I know youcanhandle yourself, but I don’t like that guy.”
I laughed out loud. “I don’t think anyone does except his mother, and having met her, I’d say even that’s debatable.”
Malone didn’t laugh. “I’m serious. I’ll be there tomorrow at the latest, later tonight if I can get an earlier flight. No need to see him without some backup.”
“Okay, okay. I’ll wait for you.”
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
“And be careful with my cousin, too. I have plenty of reasons not to trust him.”
“Such as?”
“For starters—” But then someone in the background called out to Malone, which caused him to sigh. “I’ll have to tell you later. Just be careful, Stark.”
