Page 55 of Hudson
“Luke.”
Luke looked up. “Hud.”
“You’re with me and Creed tomorrow. We’ll take one of the department trucks, leave from here in the morning.”
“I’ll be ready.”
“Good.” Hud clapped him once on the shoulder and walked back to his desk.
He pulled up his chair, powered on the computer and while it loaded leaned back and thought through what he had on Amos White. Which wasn’t much. The man came up clean every way Hud had looked at him. No priors, no flags, nothing that would draw attention on paper. That alone made Hud morecurious, not less. Sometimes the cleanest records belonged to the most careful men.
He was looking forward to that conversation. He just hoped it didn’t dead end before it got interesting.
Once Creed arrived, Hud filled him in, then settled back at his desk. He was glad to have both of them along. An agent never knew what he was walking into and he’d rather have too much backup than not enough.
He leaned back, clasped his hands behind his head and stared at the screen. Blair kept drifting in. He’d been trying to push her out since he left her driveway Saturday night and it wasn’t working.
He didn’t know what to say to her. He knew it wasn’t her; it was him, some wall he’d built so long ago he couldn’t even remember laying the first brick. Maybe he could make her understand that. Maybe if he just called and said it plainly.
He had a feeling she was done with him though, and that bothered him more than he wanted to admit. Not just because the sex had been incredible, but because he genuinely liked her. Liked talking to her, liked being around her, liked the way she gave it right back to him without apology.
That part scared him a little, if he was being honest.
He’d been with plenty of women over the years and never felt that particular combination before. He wasn’t sure what to do with it.
“You’ve got that look,” a voice said.
Hud glanced up. Eli was standing beside his desk, arms crossed, expression suggesting he already knew the answer.
“What look?”
“The one that has nothing to do with work.” Eli saton the corner of the desk. “Woman trouble?”
Hud exhaled. “What else.”
Eli grinned. “Want to talk about it?”
Hud hesitated, then figured what the hell. Anything he told Eli stayed with Eli, always had. He laid it out, leaving out the details of what happened in the bedroom and picking up from the part where it went sideways.
Eli listened without interrupting, which was one of the things Hud appreciated about him. When he finished Eli stood quietly for a moment.
“You’ve been alone too long,” he said finally. “You like this woman, but you’ve still got that wall up, and she’s not like the others. That’s why she’s got you rattled.”
Hud almost said he wasn’t rattled. He let it go and shrugged instead. “You’re not telling me anything I don’t already know.”
“Then change.”
Hud huffed out a breath. “Easier said than done.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I want to see her again. I just don’t know if she’ll let me close enough to apologize.”
“She was that angry?”
“More than angry.” Hud leaned forward, elbows on the desk. “Eli, the women I’ve dated before, they knew going in how it was going to be. I made that clear up front. If they tried to change the terms later that was on them.”
“Did you make it clear to Blair?”
Hud opened his mouth. Closed it.
“Because from what you’re telling me,” Eli said, “it doesn’t sound like you did.”
