Page 155 of The Innocent

Gent smirked. “Let’s be honest here. Cherry was my date first. Yeah, she chose Jekyll, but we still have history, so I get a fair claim. Right, Jek?”

“Imogene is too stable for you,” Ghost said as he passed the table.

Cue snickered. “Yeah, you need a woman with psychotic tendencies. So you have something in common.”

Jekyll took the seat next to Cue. He grabbed his drink, taking a sip and staring at Gent over the rim. You just fucking wait, asshole. Someday, Gent was going to meet his match. And I can’t wait to fucking watch it.

Ghost stopped at the end of the table. “How’s Imogene doing?”

“Good. Went over to Barry’s to meet up with that dancer she’s working with.” He turned to Cue. “Eden’s with her.”

Cue scowled. “What?”

“Imogene asked her to go along and get lunch.” He lowered his voice. “Eden asked me if it would be okay with you. I said yeah.”

Cue didn’t say anything, but he seemed pissed.

“I did it for Imogene. She doesn’t have anybody. Neither does Eden, right?” Jekyll arched his brow. “They sound like a pretty good fucking match.”

“Yeah.” Cue cracked smile. “Or a recipe for fucking trouble.”

Probably.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Imogene had officially and permanently moved to Killcreek. She’d given her notice two weeks ago at the resource center. Judy had offered her the same position and would hand pick clients in her own area, but Imogene had gotten a fulltime position at the library in Birch, only twenty minutes from Killcreek. The timing was perfect. Too perfect? It seemed so, but when she questioned Jekyll if he had any involvement in getting her the job, he denied it.

In a few hours, she’d wrap up her last shift at the library in Lawry and head home. To Killcreek.

She piled the returned books on the cart and maneuvered it around the counter.

“You’ve been avoiding me.”

Imogene froze, gripping tight to the handle.

I know that voice. Shoot!

She slowly turned, forcing a smile. “Hi Erik.”

He wasn’t lying. She’d actively been letting his calls go straight to voicemail. For weeks.

“I’m sorry. I’ve been swamped with work.”

He slowly scanned the room. It was the worst possible time to use that excuse. Collectively, there were only about ten people in the library.

“I can see that.” His tone was laced in sarcasm. “Do you know what I find incredibly interesting?” He arched his brow. “You’ve spent the last few months trying to meet up with me. Now I’m making the effort, and you’ve been ghosting me. Why is that?”

Because you and my boyfriend are on opposite ends of the law. And I pick him.

She carelessly shrugged. “Not on purpose.”

Liar.

He snorted. “They’ve got you trained already?”

Imogene ignored the comment and grabbed a stack of books, hugging them against her chest. “I have to get back to work.”

“When do you get off?” he asked.