Page 113 of Stolen Voices

“Eli? Really?” Emery asks, shocked, like she can’t picture Eli being anything but sweet.

Nodding, I tell them all about the rude and disrespectful things he’s told me to my face or mumbled under his breath. How he’s ignored my presence on more than one occasion while we had working meetings with Hudson. How he treated me at the club before the accident.

A Cheshire Cat’s smile spreads across Scarlett’s face. “Oh, sweetheart, he’s tugging on your pigtails like a kid on the playground. He likes you.”

“Yes!” Rylann claps. “He so likes you.”

Butterflies swirl in my stomach at the notion of Eli liking me. He kissed me and has been quite charming lately. “You think?”

“He so likes you,” Rylann sings.

“Definitely.” Emery smiles, taking a sip of her drink. “And the way he was looking at you the other night…” She makes an exaggerated shiver. “It was hot. I’m surprised you two haven’t, you know…”

I’m fifty shades of red as images of Eli kissing me and more fill my head.

“Look at her face. Something happened. Spill,” Scarlett demands.

I can’t help breaking into a laugh at her directness. It’s refreshing.

“Fine. There may have been a little kiss,” I admit, biting back my grin.

Rylann leans forward and whispers, “Please tell us you like him too.”

Like? No.I’m halfway in love with him.

I keep that to myself but admit, “Yeah. I do. But he doesn’t see me that way. At least, I don’t think he does. But he does now. I don’t know. It’s all very confusing.”

“We need details, and maybe we can help you figure it out.” Scarlett takes a huge pull of her drink and waits for me to dish.

Even though I only just met these women, they’ve given me the type of friendship I’ve always dreamed of having. A friendship I’ve only pretended to have while portraying fake characters in movies.

Not sure if I’ll ever have the chance again, I tell them everything that’s happened between me and Eli, starting with the first day we met. When I finish telling them about the last two weeks—how he’s opened up to me, the accident, the change in his behavior and, of course, the kiss.

“I need you to listen to me carefully, Callie,” Rylann implores.

The serious tone in her voice has the giddy flipping around in my stomach turning to stone. I nod, prepared for whatever she has to say, hoping like hell it’s not a threat of some sort.

“He likes you, but Eli used to work for a terrible man.”

I nod. “Harold Campbell. He was the biggest creep I’ve ever met.”

“So, you know about all the horrible things he’s done?” she asks, relieved she doesn’t have to spell it out for me. Or maybe she does. I don’t know for sure.

“Yes,” I hedge.

Who hasn’t?The shocking things that came out about that man would make your skin peel off and crawl away to hide.

“Eli is not him. Down to his very bones, E is one of the good ones,” she presses, confirming what I already know about him.

“I know.” It’s one of the many reasons I picked to work with him and Hudson all those years ago. My gut told me they would keep me safe.

“Then crossing the line from working together to being together is a big deal. Only go there if you’re sure about him,” she begs, getting to the point.

Rylann’s words hit a sensitive nerve in my heart. Not because she’s warning me away but because I never thought about how being together could affect Eli’s career, how people perceive him.

Tears prick my eyes, tingling the back of my nose.

“Oh, no, Callie. Don’t cry.” Rylann wraps her arms around my shoulders and pulls me in for a warm hug. She smells like a tropical drink made of limes and coconut topped with a cute little pink umbrella.