A Perfect Storm
Page 22
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Giving her a salute, Spencer went in. He’d barely gotten the door shut before Arizona was there, rising on tiptoe to blast him.
* * *
IN BATTLE MODE, Arizona jabbed him hard in the chest with one finger. “You told Jackson!”
“No.” With his good mood quickly souring, he stepped around her.
She grabbed his arm. “You did! You said something to him, and that’s why he disabled my car.”
Infusing iron in his tone, Spencer said, “You realize you’re calling me a liar, right?”
But she was too angry to relent. “I trusted you!”
“Baloney! You’re about as trusting as a junkyard dog.”
She gasped.
“But I did not tell Jackson, and I’d appreciate it if you’d quit yelling like a kid having a temper tantrum!”
Since he’d ended with his own yelling, the insult was ludicrous at best.
Fury colored her face and kept her eyes narrowed. “Okay, fine. Let’s just see.” And for an additional dig, she said, “Jackson will tell me the truth.”
“You’re going to call him?” That worked fine by him. She’d be the one to let her erstwhile protector know the score, and at the same time she’d learn the truth. Spencer gestured at her. “Feel free.”
“I will!” She dug out her cell phone from her back pocket and hit a speed dial number.
Because he didn’t want to miss a word, Spencer said, “Dare you to put it on speaker phone.”
“Feeling nosy?” she sneered.
“I don’t trust you to admit to my acquittal.” He almost smiled, knowing she wouldn’t be able to resist his taunt. “Or are you afraid of what I’ll hear?”
* * *
“HA!” KEEPING HER ANGRY GAZE locked on his, Arizona hit the speaker button. Her car was dead, and she knew it wasn’t by accident. She’d been around Jackson too long to miss the signs of interference.
Because she hadn’t used the emergency number, Jackson answered with a greeting, instead of silence. “Hey, Arizona. What’s up?”
At the sound of his voice, she brightened with triumph. “What did you do to my car?” Did they really think they could bully her? That she was too dumb to recognize how they worked? Fat chance. She wasn’t an idiot.
“What’s that?” A new alertness entered Jackson’s tone. “Something’s wrong with your car?”
Uh-oh. He sounded pretty sincere. “No use denying it,” she pressed. “I know you disabled it somehow.”
“Not me. Alani and I are at dinner with Dare and Molly.” And then with suspicion, “Where did you say you are?”
Crap. Was it possible that the car’s battery had died somehow? It didn’t seem likely.
“Arizona?”
Deflated, she admitted, “I’m at Spencer’s.”
“Yeah?” A smile sounded through the call. “Doing what?”
“Never mind.” Oh, this was awkward. And Spencer looked so smug. “My car won’t start. It’s totally dead. You sure you didn’t tamper with it?”
“Why would I? What are you up to— Oh, wait.”
She heard muted voices, a brief conversation, and then Jackson came back on the line. “Reckon it was Trace.” And before she could get riled about that, he said, “Why didn’t you remind me that it was your birthday?”
No! No, no, no. How did he realize it now? She groaned, long and dramatic.
“Stop that,” Jackson said. “You should have told me. More to the point, I should have remembered.” His voice deepened. “I’m sorry that I’ve been distracted.”
“Don’t.” Her throat closed up. She absolutely would not look at Spencer. “You’re getting married, for crying out loud. You’re going to be a dad. You have enough on your mind already.”
“That’s not a good excuse.”
She needed to end this, and fast. “Honestly, it doesn’t matter.”
“The hell it doesn’t.”
Time to shoot off in a new direction. “What did Dare tell you? Why does he think it was Trace?”
“Spencer talked to Trace.”
Aha! “That—”
“And Trace told Dare. But no one told me because you swore everyone to secrecy, and I have to tell you, that annoys the hell out of me.”
“Oh. Umm…” She could practically feel Spencer gloating. “Yeah, about that. It’s just that I…”
“You were supposed to be researching, hon. For me. You were not supposed to branch off on your own.”
“Well, I…”
“Don’t compound it now by fibbing to me.” He laughed as he said that, removing any real insult. “I’m glad you’re there with Spencer, and I’m doubly glad you had enough sense to get him involved rather than charging into a mess alone.”
“I’m nothing if not cautious.” Even she winced at the sarcasm.
“Yeah. Cautious. That’s exactly how I’d describe you.”
“Jackson—”
He cut her off to say, “Trace dicked with your car because he wants you to stay put, so that’s what you’ll do.” He spoke over her again before she could get started. “Otherwise I’ll have to uproot my tired butt from this nice dinner with my pregnant fiancée and friends, and you know you don’t want me to do that.”
* * *
IN BATTLE MODE, Arizona jabbed him hard in the chest with one finger. “You told Jackson!”
“No.” With his good mood quickly souring, he stepped around her.
She grabbed his arm. “You did! You said something to him, and that’s why he disabled my car.”
Infusing iron in his tone, Spencer said, “You realize you’re calling me a liar, right?”
But she was too angry to relent. “I trusted you!”
“Baloney! You’re about as trusting as a junkyard dog.”
She gasped.
“But I did not tell Jackson, and I’d appreciate it if you’d quit yelling like a kid having a temper tantrum!”
Since he’d ended with his own yelling, the insult was ludicrous at best.
Fury colored her face and kept her eyes narrowed. “Okay, fine. Let’s just see.” And for an additional dig, she said, “Jackson will tell me the truth.”
“You’re going to call him?” That worked fine by him. She’d be the one to let her erstwhile protector know the score, and at the same time she’d learn the truth. Spencer gestured at her. “Feel free.”
“I will!” She dug out her cell phone from her back pocket and hit a speed dial number.
Because he didn’t want to miss a word, Spencer said, “Dare you to put it on speaker phone.”
“Feeling nosy?” she sneered.
“I don’t trust you to admit to my acquittal.” He almost smiled, knowing she wouldn’t be able to resist his taunt. “Or are you afraid of what I’ll hear?”
* * *
“HA!” KEEPING HER ANGRY GAZE locked on his, Arizona hit the speaker button. Her car was dead, and she knew it wasn’t by accident. She’d been around Jackson too long to miss the signs of interference.
Because she hadn’t used the emergency number, Jackson answered with a greeting, instead of silence. “Hey, Arizona. What’s up?”
At the sound of his voice, she brightened with triumph. “What did you do to my car?” Did they really think they could bully her? That she was too dumb to recognize how they worked? Fat chance. She wasn’t an idiot.
“What’s that?” A new alertness entered Jackson’s tone. “Something’s wrong with your car?”
Uh-oh. He sounded pretty sincere. “No use denying it,” she pressed. “I know you disabled it somehow.”
“Not me. Alani and I are at dinner with Dare and Molly.” And then with suspicion, “Where did you say you are?”
Crap. Was it possible that the car’s battery had died somehow? It didn’t seem likely.
“Arizona?”
Deflated, she admitted, “I’m at Spencer’s.”
“Yeah?” A smile sounded through the call. “Doing what?”
“Never mind.” Oh, this was awkward. And Spencer looked so smug. “My car won’t start. It’s totally dead. You sure you didn’t tamper with it?”
“Why would I? What are you up to— Oh, wait.”
She heard muted voices, a brief conversation, and then Jackson came back on the line. “Reckon it was Trace.” And before she could get riled about that, he said, “Why didn’t you remind me that it was your birthday?”
No! No, no, no. How did he realize it now? She groaned, long and dramatic.
“Stop that,” Jackson said. “You should have told me. More to the point, I should have remembered.” His voice deepened. “I’m sorry that I’ve been distracted.”
“Don’t.” Her throat closed up. She absolutely would not look at Spencer. “You’re getting married, for crying out loud. You’re going to be a dad. You have enough on your mind already.”
“That’s not a good excuse.”
She needed to end this, and fast. “Honestly, it doesn’t matter.”
“The hell it doesn’t.”
Time to shoot off in a new direction. “What did Dare tell you? Why does he think it was Trace?”
“Spencer talked to Trace.”
Aha! “That—”
“And Trace told Dare. But no one told me because you swore everyone to secrecy, and I have to tell you, that annoys the hell out of me.”
“Oh. Umm…” She could practically feel Spencer gloating. “Yeah, about that. It’s just that I…”
“You were supposed to be researching, hon. For me. You were not supposed to branch off on your own.”
“Well, I…”
“Don’t compound it now by fibbing to me.” He laughed as he said that, removing any real insult. “I’m glad you’re there with Spencer, and I’m doubly glad you had enough sense to get him involved rather than charging into a mess alone.”
“I’m nothing if not cautious.” Even she winced at the sarcasm.
“Yeah. Cautious. That’s exactly how I’d describe you.”
“Jackson—”
He cut her off to say, “Trace dicked with your car because he wants you to stay put, so that’s what you’ll do.” He spoke over her again before she could get started. “Otherwise I’ll have to uproot my tired butt from this nice dinner with my pregnant fiancée and friends, and you know you don’t want me to do that.”
