Page 80 of Rastor

"Because." She smiled up at me. "If I don't leave now, you're never gonna get rid of me."

Didn't she know? That was the whole idea.

But in the end, I dropped her and Chucky back to her place on my way to the airport, wishing like hell that she was coming with me. Chucky too. Why not? It's not like I was flying commercial.

Next time, I told myself.

But a few nights later, after one weird phone call, I started to wonder if there'dbea next time.

Chapter 37

It was Sunday night, the last night of my trip. I'd be flying home the next morning, and I couldn’t wait. I'd been missing Chloe like crazy, and was dying to see her.

Yeah, we'd talked on the phone whenever we had the chance. And some of those talks were hot and heavy. But no way could it compare to the real thing.

I'd just returned to my suite and pulled out my cell phone, glad that Chloe wasn't working tonight. I smiled as I brought up her number and hit the call button.

She answered right away with a quick, "Hello?"

I sank into a nearby armchair and started shoving off my shoes. "Hey."

"Oh." She paused. "It's you."

I froze in mid-motion. Who else would it be? I glanced at my watch. Here in Vegas, it was just before nine. In Michigan, it was almost midnight. Other than me, who'd be calling her this late on a Sunday?

I heard myself ask, "Is this a bad time?"

"No." She hesitated. "Not at all. Just waiting for a phone call."

Oh yeah? From who?

I waited, thinking she'd tell me something more. She didn't. And for some reason, I didn't like it.

Trying not to be a dick about it, I asked, "You need to go?"

"Nah," she said, sounding distracted, "I have call-waiting."

"So…" I tried to keep my tone casual. "Who'd be calling you so late?"

"No one. It's just a business thing."

I felt the muscles in my shoulders ease. Nowthatmade sense. Chloedidwork nights, after all, and her boss was a real asshole. I'd seen that for myself. "You mean from the restaurant?"

She hesitated. "No. Something else."

What kind of something else? A business thing? At midnight? If she was running some kind of business, this was the firstI'dheard of it.

The tension was back, and I suddenly felt too wired to sit. I pushed myself up from the chair and asked in what I hoped was a normal voice, "Anything you wanna talk about?"

"Nah, it's nothing." She sounded tense and maybe a little worried. Whatever it was, it wasn't "nothing." In an obvious bid to change the subject, she asked, "Are you still coming home tomorrow?"

Yeah. I was. And if that hadn't been the plan before, it sure as hell was the plan now. What wasn't she telling me?

A lot. That's what. But I'd already known that, hadn't I? What was it? Problems at work? Problems at home? I felt my jaw clench. Problems with another guy?

Just stop. She's not like that, and you damn well know it.

I recalled the last time I'd jumped to some stupid conclusions about Chloe. It hadn't worked out so great, had it? Not for me and not for her either.