Page 47 of Right Number, Wrong Man

COLT

When I return, Hailey is sitting on the bed, scrolling on her phone, and I immediately forget how to speak. Or walk. Or breathe.

I stand in the center of the room, gawking. There’s something so intimate about the damp hair framing her cheeks and her bare face in the soft shine of the lamp on the nightstand.

It ain’t the first time I’m seeing her like this, but all the other times, it was through a scope, spying on her from across the street. Now, she’s showing herself to me like this. Voluntarily.

“Do you need something?” she asks, fidgeting with the lace straps of her pastel pink nightdress.

“I was, uh, thinking about brushing my teeth…” I mumble, cringing.

Super smooth, genius . Good dental hygiene is a turn on, though, right?

Sighing, I drag my bag into the bathroom. After brushing my teeth and having a quick shower, I dig underwear and a fresh T-shirt out of my luggage. I can’t sleep topless or Hailey will recognize the scars she saw on Jax.

When I’m done, the light in the main room is already off and I’m glad she can’t see my pierced cock giving her a permanent standing ovation just for existing. Wordlessly, I slip between the sheets, keeping as far to my side as I can without falling off.

God, the pillow is loud. Did they fill this shit with candy wrappers?

Stiff as a plank—including my dick—I do my best impression of a corpse with rigor mortis.

Don’t move. Don’t even exist. And don’t breathe too heavily or she’ll think you’re being weird! Shallow breaths, Colt. Shallow ? —

A shaky gulp of air fills my head with her perfume and I lick my lips. I’m rabid. Her scent is literally making my mouth water.

The mattress shifts faintly as Hailey moves, and my hand twitches. I can’t see her, but I sense her presence next to me like a magnetic field, pulling me in. I want to touch her real bad, let my fingers drift over her waist and push up her nightgown to?—

“Sleep well, Colt,” Hailey says, and I nearly jump out of my skin.

“Goodnight,” I say too quickly, lacing my fingers to stop them from wandering to her side.

I panic. Fuck, how do I bring up the topic of her dating somebody?

The party in the barn is still going. Through the closed window I make out a low beat, but during a break in the song, I hear her breathing. It’s fast, meaning she’s definitely not off in dream land yet.

Now or never!

“Are you asleep?” I ask innocently .

Silence. Then a chuckle reaches my ears.

“Wide awake,” Hailey responds, amusement in her tone.

My lips curl into a smile. “Same here.”

“Hmm, then let me ask you something…” she muses.

The mattress moves again, and when I release my hands, I brush warm skin. My heart flips.

Why the hell did she come closer?

“With Andrea getting hitched, I wondered if you ever think about getting married? If you’re not going back to active duty, there’s nothing stopping you from finding a nice lady to settle down with.” Her breath skitters over my shoulder as she speaks and I shudder.

Damn, she is real close.

My brain lags and I say the first thing that springs up in my bourbon-addled mind.

“I don’t care about finding me some nice woman. I’d rather find me a you —and there’s just one Hailey.”

She giggles. “Very funny. I always thought you didn’t have a sense of humor.”

My chest aches. I’m part relieved, part hurt that my word vomit didn’t end up as an accidental confession, but her talk about marriage is my cue to broach the topic of her love life.

“What about you then?” I ask.

“What about me?”

“Are you seeing a new guy? You’re too young and too beautiful to stay a widow. Nobody would blame you if you wanted to date again.”

Hailey blows a raspberry. “Oh, I don’t know. My first attempt ended up in almost getting my eyes plucked out by a serial killer, so I’d say that’s not a promising start.”

“Fair enough. But I’d call that incident an anomaly. What are the chances of you dating two murderers in a row?”

“Given my bad luck with men? Probably higher than you think.”

She ain’t wrong. Technically I am a murderer, too. With my body count, one could even call me a very prolific, legal serial killer cause most of my targets were government sanctioned.

Except the last two, of course.

Hailey sighs. “Thinking about it, I’ve never really dated because Mike was my first boyfriend. I’m so out of my depth being thirty and new to the scene.” She shifts again, this time with a heavier, frustrated movement.

I grit my teeth. For the millionth time, I want to tell her that Mike wasn’t her first, but I gotta focus and steer the conversation toward her secret lover.

I hum like I’m pondering something serious. “Well, what did you like about your relationship with Mike? Might be a starting point what to look for, y’know?”

She sighs again. “It’s complicated. Being with Mike was like being in a relationship with two different men.

He was so cold in person, but maybe our love languages were just really different?

He did those cute little things for me sometimes, and I wonder if that was his way of showing that he cared. ”

My heart nearly stops. “What cute things?”

“When I still worked as a secretary, he sent me a coffee and a raspberry muffin every Monday morning. And I never spent a birthday without a bouquet of pink peonies delivered to my doorstep.”

“That was me,” I blurt out.

My life flashes before my eyes and I can’t even blame the alcohol. Hailey has this effect on me when I’m stone-sober, too. She makes me forget myself .

The mattress bounces as she shoots upright. “I don’t understand.”

FUCK .

My throat closes. I hope I’m experiencing spontaneous anaphylaxis on account of my own stupidity so I can bow out with some dignity left. Regrettably, I’m alive to face the consequences of my loose tongue.

“What are you saying?” she asks again.

Nope. I’m done for. There’s no covering this up now.

“The muffins and the coffee and the flowers… uh…” I stammer.

“I sent them, scheduling deliveries months in advance so my missions wouldn’t interrupt them.

And while we’re at it…” I swallow hard, bracing myself.

“The Wraithface plush you got for your eighteenth birthday? I won it at the arcade and left it at your door. Not Mike.”

“But… but how do you know all that about me? And why?” she asks softly.

My head tilts. She doesn’t sound mad, just surprised.

“Cause I listen, Spitfire. I was always around when we were kids, an unwanted ghost hovering outside your friend group, but I paid attention. And why? Cause you deserve to feel appreciated.”

Hailey snickers and I think I’m going crazy. Maybe we both are.

“Is it bad that I’m relieved?” she asks.

My brows pull together. Hold on. What?

“I always worried I judged Mike too harshly because he was a troubled man. But it turns out he was really just an asshole with no redeeming qualities, except a surprisingly nice brother.” She gasps. “Shit, sorry. I shouldn’t talk ill of the dead.”

Nice . She called me nice . Might as well shoot me now.

I bark a laugh. “Don’t hold back on my account. Mike was an asshole. ”

“You truly think that?”

“With the fights and pranks and drugs in high school, I figured fine —youthful rebellion. But he never grew outta that stuff. I tried to put his head on straight so many times, I lost count.”

“I wanted to leave him, you know?” Hailey asks and the wobble in her voice makes my chest tight. “Every time I caught him high again, he promised he’d do better. When I had enough of the lies and told him I wanted a divorce, he threatened to hurt himself if I filed.”

My stomach coils into knots. While I was away, the woman I love was held hostage in her own marriage.

“I’m sorry, Hailey. I didn’t know how awful things were between you.”

And if I found out the truth earlier, I would’ve put down that miserable weasel a long time ago.

“Do you think I’m stupid for staying with him for so long?” she asks, voice thin.

“No, you’re sweet and generous for giving him more chances than he ever deserved. But I think he was stupid for treating you like he did. More than plain stupid. Despicable.”

Something warm and soft touches my palm. Hailey’s hand . She squeezes my fingers. “Thank you, Colt. For saying this, and for sending me coffee and muffins and flowers. Oh, and I love the plush. It’s still my favorite.”

I squeeze back. “Don’t thank me. What I did wasn’t good enough. I should’ve told you that you didn’t have to put up with Mike’s shit. But I figured cause you hated me, I’d be way out of line sticking my nose into your private business.”

“You’re right. I would have thought you were talking out of your ass.”

“I don’t wanna see you get hurt again and that’s why I asked you about dating. You have that glow of a woman in love.”

Her hand jerks away. “Nonsense. I don’t… I don’t glow !” She giggles hysterically.

“That sounds like a lie, Spitfire.”

“No, it doesn’t! It’s not your concern who I’m dating!” She clicks her tongue and adds quickly, “Or not dating!”

I smirk. Her flustered reaction tells me I’m close. Once I have a name, I’ll get the competition out of the way and then she’ll want Jax back.

“Who is it?” I press.

“Nobody!”

I give her arm a playful nudge. “C’mon, tell me.”

“Fuck off!” she spits and pulls away.

Now she sounds angry. Madder than a wet hen would be a more fitting description.

“Hailey, I didn’t mean anything by it! I was just teasing you.”

The mattress bounces violently before the light comes on. She scowls at me as she gets up to put on her boots and wraps a red shawl from her bag around her shoulders.

“My love life is not your concern!” Hailey grabs her clutch from the bedside table and points it at me like a gun. “Now I’m going for a stupid mental health walk to clear my head and when I come back, you’d better be asleep or our truce is off!”

She takes the keycard from the table and rushes out, the door slamming behind her.

I jump out of bed and race to my bag. Knowing my stubborn Spitfire, I came prepared in case she needed some extra convincing.

From the bottom of my duffel bag, I grab an all-black outfit. Tank top, cargo pants, combat boots, and Jax’s skull devil mask. As the finishing touches, I clip a hunting knife to my belt and tuck a revolver into my waistband.

No matter what it takes, I’ll get that name from her tonight. But that doesn’t mean we can’t have a little fun while we’re at it…