Top of the Hour by Anina Collins

Author:Anina Collins
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Mystery
ISBN: 9780997215359
Publisher: Eight Feathers Press
Published: 2019-01-02T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

Alex closed the car door and looked over at me. “I’m going to head out to the crime scene. Craig still hasn’t had any luck finding that piece of chalk, and I want to scour the place myself. Would you grab a couple coffees from The Grounds and I’ll meet you back here in say ten? Twenty if Derek’s waiting for me.”

Part of me wanted to join him and go out to the woods to look for evidence. However, another part of me wanted to go home and take a long, luxurious bubble bath and fantasize about my date with Jack in a few hours.

That part had all but stifled the other part of me on the drive back, but now as I saw the eager look in Alex’s eyes as he talked about us working together out there in the woods to find some lost sliver of evidence, I couldn’t help feel bad about what I was about to tell him. I felt guilty, even though I wasn’t sure why.

“I wish I could. I do. I have to take care of a few things this afternoon, though, so I’ll have to take a rain check. I’ll be back around tomorrow, though.”

The words came out like someone was yanking each syllable out of my throat with pliers.

“Your boss at The Eagle on your back like mine?” he joked with a sense of camaraderie at that moment I wished was the case.

For a moment, I considered lying. He told me nothing about his personal life, so why should I have any problem keeping mine under wraps? We were just work partners. That was it. Nothing more. Well, we were friends too. At least I thought of him as my friend.

That was the problem. Alex was more than just some guy I spent time with tracking down bad guys. He was my friend, and lying to a friend, even about my going out with someone he didn’t approve of, felt wrong.

So I told the truth.

“Jack’s picking me up at seven and I wanted to spend the afternoon getting my nails done and other girly stuff you probably think is stupid.” Shrugging my shoulders, I added, “It’s a female thing. No biggie.”

With each word he heard, his face morphed into a look of pure unhappiness. In fact, I didn’t think I’d ever seen him look so miserable. He wasn’t so much sad as much as disgusted, or at least that’s what his expression told me. He said nothing in response to my explanation and simply nodded before walking into the police station, leaving me standing at the car with a hollow feeling inside.

I thought about following him into his office, but what good would that serve? Alex clearly didn’t approve of my seeing Jack, and more talking about it wasn’t going to change that fact. He had a right to his opinion, and I had a right to date anyone I chose to. So without another word between us, I left and headed back to my house to get my car.

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