Up in Smoke (Crossing the Line, #2)(26)

So she did what she did best. “I’ll see you later.”

She walked out the front door and escaped. For the moment.



Feeling light-headed, Erin rounded the corner at the end of the block. She’d felt Connor watching her from the apartment window, but now she was out of view. God, he must hate that. Must be climbing the walls with the need to follow her. But he wouldn’t. He’d meant what he said about giving her freedom. She was grateful for it, even if she half wished he’d come with her. She’d left him only a few minutes ago and already she missed his scent, his reassuring presence.

Yeah, she was f*cked.

Also, she was so damn hungry her stomach felt like it might cave in on itself. They hadn’t eaten dinner last night after she’d opted for a game of Slip ’n Slide with the olive oil. Not that it hadn’t been seriously worth it. The feel of him in her mouth, the things he’d said…the growling.

Pancakes. Focus on getting some pancakes.

Up ahead she saw an intersection with fast-food restaurants on either side. Surely there would be a twenty-four-hour diner where she could chow down and clear her head. Thinking would be easier on a full stomach. One thing she’d learned to appreciate during her short stays in prison was food. She never left a bite on her plate or complained about temperature. Hell, once you’d eaten stale granola over flavorless yogurt containing undefinable lumps, you were happy with damn near anything.

Connor’s image drifted into her head. The way he’d looked with morning stubble, hair a mess on top of his head. Those loose sweatpants that hung low on his hips, but managed to hug his ass perfectly. His intensity when he backed her down in the living room. Bring it. A shiver coasted down her arms. Damn him. Didn’t he realize she wasn’t equipped to make a man like him happy?

Even as the insecurities mounted, one fact continued to make itself known. He wasn’t giving her up. There was such overwhelming comfort in that, it cocooned her like a warm blanket. If he could see her in the throes of a full-blown panic attack, accept her jealousy, her faults, and still want her, maybe he truly meant it. He wasn’t giving her an avenue of escape. But would this be the first time ever she didn’t want an escape?

“Pancakes,” she muttered, crossing the street toward a Denny’s. At the curb, she pulled up short. Sitting beside the window inside the restaurant was Polly, all by herself, looking exhausted. Erin sauntered through the entrance, ignoring the hostess to take a seat across from her teammate.

“Come here often?” The mug paused halfway to Polly’s mouth, but she didn’t react otherwise. Erin studied her, wondering what she was doing up this early. Probably not an epic mental meltdown and a near breakup, unlike a certain someone.

Polly set her coffee down on the table with a plunk. “Being that I just moved here from Los Angeles, no. But the food isn’t shit and they leave me alone, so I might make it a habit.”

Erin studied her. Was that glitter on her neck? “Late night?”

That earned her a look that said back off. “I could ask you the same. I assume Connor didn’t object to the roommate situation?”

“Nope. But I blew him anyway just for good measure.”

Polly laughed, that girlish laugh that was unexpected every time. “And he didn’t even offer to make you breakfast?”

Erin signaled the waitress for coffee. “Morning afterglow isn’t really my thing.”

“Shocking.”

The waitress appeared with a menu and coffee. Erin waved it away and ordered a tall stack of chocolate chip pancakes. “So how does working with a computer land you in prison?”

“When you hack into the White House Twitter account.” She sipped her coffee. “And you tweet screenshots of email correspondence between the vice president and his mistress.”

“Hot damn.”

She shrugged one shoulder. “I was paid. I couldn’t give two shits who’s banging who. Just needed to pay my rent.”

Erin nodded once. “Did they go down, too?”

“Who? The vice president? You’ll have to ask his mistress.”

Her mouth curved into a smile. She’d thought company was the last thing she wanted this morning. She’d been looking for space. Room to think. But talking to Polly wasn’t half bad, either. Considering she didn’t have a single friend to speak of, nor had she ever wanted one, that realization was surprising. “No. The person who paid you. Did they do time?”

Polly shook her head. “Uh-uh. Just little ol’ me. Three cheers for our evil justice system.”

“I’ll drink to that. The evil part, anyway.” Erin took a healthy swallow of coffee, sighing in appreciation as it warmed a path all the way to her stomach. “The coffee isn’t shit, either.”

The other girl leaned forward. “Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask you…how did you escape Dade Correctional? From what I’ve read, security in that place is tighter than a duck’s ass. But there’s no details about your method of escape anywhere.”

Erin felt a tingling in her spine. “How did you know I was in Dade?”

Polly stared into her coffee cup. “I collect information. It’s something I do without thinking.” She brushed her short black hair away from her face. “Sometimes I forget people see it as a violation.”