Page 27 of Callous Shot

Slumped back on my bed in my student apartment, I rubbed at my aching temples, trying to sort through the mess in my head. Perhaps writing it down would help. Look at the facts. Analyse them, as Mike did with his cases.

Swinging into a seated position, I winced as my body reminded me of everything I’d purposely put it through this evening. What a fucking night. I had nothing on the Hoyton Firm, I’d ended up at an impasse with Daniel, and all I had to show for it was a collection of marks on my body.

My dick stirred as a mental slideshow of the events of the past hour flipped through my mind, and I thumped my fist into the mattress, frustrated. There was something severely fucked up about my reaction to Daniel Hoyton.

Rising to my feet, I made my way to my desk and tapped on my laptop trackpad to get it to wake up. Sliding onto my desk chair, I opened up a new document.

My fingers flew over the keyboard as I began listing the issues I had.

1. DANIEL FUCKING HOYTON

2. OPERATION FOXGLOVE—who are they investigating?

3. DAD—wants info on the Hoytons I can feed to Mike

4. HOCKEY—need to reach the playoffs

5. KIMBERLY—thinks she’s my girlfriend

When I was finished, I leaned back in my chair, staring at the words on the screen. Daniel needed a category all of his own, complete with subheadings, but I’d come back to him. Hockey…that wasn’t an issue, per se, but as an integral member of the team, I needed to make sure I did everything I could to ensure we reached the playoffs. While it wasn’t an immediate issue like the others, I wanted to have at least something on the list that made me feel a bit better about this whole shitstorm in my life. A tangible goal I could work towards, that I didn’t have to bear alone. There was no one safe to confide in about any of the first three issues on my list.

As for point number five… I could clear that up, right now. It was probably too late to call Kimberly—almost two in the morning, so I sent a quick text to check if she was awake. If she didn’t reply, I’d leave her a voice note.

I received a response straight away.

Kimberly:

I’m up. I was waiting for your call. You said we needed to talk

Okay. Exhaling heavily, I hit the button to video-call her, propping my phone up against my laptop screen.

Sitting up in bed, her hair cascading around her shoulders, she gave me a tired smile. “Hi.”

“Hi. How are you feeling after the fight?”

“Better. Nova didn’t… I could tell she wasn’t hitting me too hard on purpose. I’m okay, just a bit sore.”

“Good.” I rubbed the back of my neck. Fuck. Spit it out, Link. “Uh…that kiss. You know I’m not looking for a relationship, right?”

Her lip trembled minutely, but she nodded. “I’m sorry. I never should have told Cara we were together. I was, um, manifesting it for myself? We had a good night, and you stayed. You’ve never stayed before. I thought…I thought maybe you felt the same way I did.”

Bloody hell. “I need to be honest with you. You’re great…” I trailed off with a grimace, scrubbing my palm over my jaw. “But I’m not looking for anything, with anyone. I’m sorry. The truth was, I fell asleep because I was exhausted after the game and the party, and⁠—”

“I wore you out?” she suggested, her lips kicking up.

I cleared my throat. That was a road I didn’t want to go down. “Uh, so about that kiss today.”

“I know. You don’t need to say anything. I initiated it.” She sighed. “You’re a catch, Link. You’re bloody gorgeous, you know you are, and I suppose I just let myself get caught up in a fantasy. Don’t worry, I’m okay. I’m not pining after you or anything.”

Relaxing into the chair, I gave her a small smile. “Glad to hear it. For what it’s worth, you’ll make someone a great girlfriend. And your tongue game…mmm. Whoever you end up with is gonna be a lucky man.”

She laughed, as I hoped she would, but my own smile fell away as another face appeared in my mind. A person who insisted their tongue game was unmatched.

I shut that thought down immediately, making small talk with Kimberly for a few minutes before winding up the call.

After I’d deleted her name from my list of issues, I sat staring at my screen for a long, long time.

Then I picked up my phone and blocked Daniel Hoyton from all my social media accounts.