Julie sighed. “You don’t appreciate the attention people give you. You never did. I don’t see how you even deserve it.”
Elisa waved at the waiter and mouthed a request for the bill. She couldn’t just leave without paying for dinner, and she was starting to be afraid Alex wouldn’t come back. If he didn’t, she wasn’t sure what she’d do but she definitely wanted the chance to talk this through with him.
The mix of anger and fear churned her stomach. Part of her wanted to stand up for herself and the other wanted to beg him to realize he’d been misled. And, honestly, she had a right to both emotions at the moment. She embraced that at least and figured she’d untangle the whole mess once she talked to him. It could fix things or they might be broken past mending, but at the very least, with Alex she wanted understanding.
“I don’t think you’re done with dessert yet.” Julie took another spoonful. “Or at least I’m not. Is this any way to treat a friend who’s flown across the country to find you?”
Elisa glared at her. “I don’t even understand you. But let’s get this clear. We are not friends.”
“No need to find the waiter, dear.” A voice come from over her shoulder, and her heart stopped. “I’ve already taken care of the bill. You can have another bite of dessert, but then we have to be going.”
Elisa turned in her chair but the newcomer was standing so close, she couldn’t rise without stepping right into him. “Joseph.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Rojas wasn’t even sure how many turns he’d taken down the side streets leading away from New Hope’s main street. He’d barely had the presence of mind when he’d gotten clear of the crowded café to turn left and head away from River Road. That was where most of the evening’s foot traffic was and that was exactly where he didn’t want to be.
God, he was so angry. It’d taken several blocks before he could think at all.
Elisa should really go back to where she belongs.
Maybe Julie, whoever she was, was right. He’d known Elisa for all of a week. Okay, a week and a day. They’d never run a background check on her, only taken her at her word. She’d played them all for suckers. Played him. The others only followed his lead.
As he walked, Souze kept pace. The big dog had liked Elisa, though, and Boom would be heartbroken when Rojas returned to tell her she couldn’t spend time with Elisa anymore. It’d rip him up to hurt Boom, but he absolutely would not expose her to another adult abusing drugs or indulging in any destructive addiction. Boom had lost her mother. She didn’t need to start caring about another woman who’d progressively destroy herself.
Elisa’s face rose up in his memory, the look of hurt in her eyes when she realized he didn’t believe her.
He drew a hard line with addiction. He wouldn’t, couldn’t get sucked into another life and expose Boom to it all again. He’d have to talk to Forte. Find a new administrative assistant and maybe help Elisa get a new job, assuming she didn’t leave town. Her friend had come to help her pack, after all.
Something about his line of thought bugged him, though. He was pissed, too angry to run through it again for another couple of minutes. And then he came to a stop and cursed.
Forte would hate having to get a new admin assistant. And whoever it was would need to figure out Elisa’s organizational system and the spreadsheets she’d set up. They’d need the computer skills to keep up the newsletters and update the websites. In the space of a week, Elisa had overhauled the way Hope’s Crossing Kennels did business, for the better. The clients loved the new checkin process and were relieved not to have to fill out the same forms by hand every time they came to a class. It was seriously possible they were getting more return clients because Elisa had made checking in so much easier. She’d changed the kennels.
And if she had proven herself and those skills, didn’t that indicate a certain level of honesty? Integrity?
His phone buzzed in his pocket and he answered without looking to see who the caller was. “Elisa?”
“No, man.” Cruz’s voice came through the phone. “Isn’t she with you?”
Rojas swallowed another curse. “Long story. What did you need?”
“I got information back on the agency behind the private investigator you spooked last week and those two out-of-town cops.” Cruz was tense, worried. “The agency specializes in discreet services. High-level executives contract with the agency and the agency hires the actual resources to go and carry out the dirty work. If anything backfires, there’s a degree of separation so the executives can keep their hands clean. Plausible deniability or some shit.”