“Er, yes. Something like that.”
“FBI?”
“I promised I’d keep it a secret.”
She opened her mouth, but I cut her off. “I crossed my heart, there’s no going back.”
“Oh, I see.” She nodded as though she’d figured it out. She glanced over her shoulder as though that grumpy little dog was trying to hear our conversation. Then she whispered, “CIA. That makes sense.”
I opened my purse and pulled out a mint. I couldn’t do this right now. I felt an urgency deep in my soul at the moment, and I wasn’t sure if it was because I was with my grandma, or if I was worried about Fletcher.
“Take the dog. But tell me all about it when you get back.” She whistled loud enough to split my ear drums, and the little wretch came running. “There you are.”
She attached the leash and passed it to me.
I cleared my throat. “There’s just one more thing…”
Zoe answered the call.
“Hey! Are we ready to party tonight? Meet some guys? Some of the girls are taking a sick day tomorrow so we can have an extra-long weekend. Are you up for it?”
I glanced at the dog in my back seat. “I’m afraid not. I’m booked out.”
“Boring.” She sing-songed into the phone.
Her bubbly voice grated on me wrong today. “Actually, Zoe, I wanted to ask you something.”
“What’s up?”
My voice stuck in my throat. My palms began sweating. Why did I hate confrontation so much? Well, I’d just survived my Grandmother, and I had the dog in the back seat to prove it. So it must be National Confrontation Day.
“What did Fletcher say when you asked him out?”
The phone was completely silent for a second too long before her nervous laugh filtered into my ear. “I don’t know what you’re talking about!”
“Zoe, I know you think I’m an idiot, and that I don’t know you always go after my guys. But I see a lot more than you think I do.” I didn’t know for sure that she had asked him out. I was going on a hunch.
She spluttered for a few seconds, “Well, he wasn’t worth it. That’s what I was trying to prove to you when I asked him out. I mean, he would have gone out with me over you if he’d met me first, so I wanted to make sure he wasn’t going to dump you.”
“So you tested this out by doing what?” My voice deceptively calm.
“By asking him to dump you, of course, silly. It was all for you.”
So I was right.
“You’re an amazing friend, Zoe. There is literally only one of you,” I replied sarcastically.
“Yes! I can’t believe you thought it was for real,” she laughed a little too loudly. “You take things way too seriously. You really need to lighten up.”
“Yeah, you’re right. I forgot that my friend asked my boyfriend to go out with her, and then proceeded to trash talk that boyfriend the rest of the relationship. If you’d been serious about testing him, you would have supported him after you found out he wasn’t a douchebag. But I do have to thank you. This finally opened my eyes to the way you view me. And I’ve realized something. I broke up with the wrong person recently and now I need to correct that mistake. Goodbye, Zoe.”
I hung the phone up and let out the huge breath I’d been holding. It felt great. A load lifted off. I’d been friends with Zoe since high school. It was always a shame when friendships had to end, but this one was far overdue. She’d been poaching before and I’d allowed it. I shouldn’t have been shocked that she’d made a play on Fletcher, but I had been. I’m surprised it took me this long to realize what had happened. I’d been perfectly clear how serious I was about Fletcher from the get go. But some people couldn’t handle letting others have things. I don’t think Zoe would ever be happy. She was too busy chasing happiness—even if it meant sacrificing friendships—to have any herself.
I set my phone into the cupholder and pulled out of my grandma’s driveway. I’d confronted my grandmother. I’d called out my friend. And now I had a boyfriend to protect.
It was a day of wonders…and it wasn’t even noon yet.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Fletcher
“I find it interesting that you weren’t answering your phone last night, Fletcher.”
I frowned. “Did you try to call? I didn’t see a missed call from you.”
Which was accurate since Sullivan had called me from a blocked number. Two could play this game. But four, not so much.
I glanced behind him at Tweedledee and Tweedledum.
“I didn’t know you had any other jobs lined up this week.”
“I hadn’t realized you had time to keep track of my schedule.” I turned around and continued setting up the beginning of the transfer. There were ways to check secure routes, and I wanted Sullivan witnessing me doing those things.
“Have you reviewed any security feeds from last night?”
“I didn’t realize that was something you wanted me to do.”
He nodded slowly. “It’s not. It’s just strange to me that we had an intruder last night. Someone who wore a baseball cap and a sweatshirt.”
I bit the side of my tongue and blinked slowly. I always wore a baseball cap. He knew that. And sweatshirts weren’t out of the question on cold nights.
“Do you want me to review the tapes and see if I can pull a picture off of it?” I glanced at him over my shoulder and raised my eyebrows. Let the bluffing games continue.
He smirked, letting my bluff slide, for the moment.
Probably right before he shot me in the back of the head.
“Here’s the thing. We think we shot the guy. Is there a way to find last night’s hospital records without drawing attention?”
“I mean, besides it being a HIPAA violation, it shouldn’t be an issue.”
Sullivan snorted. “All right. Find me the guy who was trespassing,
