“I made them leave, didn’t I?”
Alek let out a strangled sound, somewhere between a laugh and a groan. “You’re going to give me ulcers.”
“I hear lawyers love ulcers,” I said. “Gives you more gravitas in the courtroom.”
He shook his head, pacing two steps before turning back to me. “Look, I don’t like you.”
“Noted.”
“I don’t trust you.”
“Also noted.”
“But for reasons beyond my comprehension, Ruby seems to. And Rosie—”
He broke off. His lips pressed into a tight line, and something flickered in his eyes. Protective. Resigned.
“Don’t make me regret not turning you in when I had the chance,” he finished.
I tilted my head. “So we’re working together now?”
“We are absolutely not working together,” he said. “You’re chaos. And I want to make it clear, I’m still not your lawyer.”
“Aw, that’s not what you told the feds,” I said. “I’m sad now.”
Alek narrowed his eyes. “I had to stop you. I had no idea what else you were on the verge of confessing to, and I didn’t want to make things worse for Ruby. I might’ve panicked a little.”
“Admit it, you like me,” I said, smirking.
“I tolerate you. For Ruby’s sake. Not my own.”
“I’m growing on you,” I said, staring at him.
“Yeah, like mold,” he said. “I know men like you. It’s the charming thing—it works, right? All the time. You’re good at not answering questions, at making people think they’re getting something out of you when they aren’t.”
A slow smile pulled at my mouth. “You think I’m charming?”
He rolled his eyes, leaning against the wall. “I think you’re exhausting,” he said. “And infuriating. And I think you’re the kind of person Ruby doesn’t need right now since she’s about to become acting District Attorney.”
“But you’re still standing here. Talking to me. So you must think she needs me somehow.”
He trained his gaze on my eyes. “You’re a liability, and she already has enough on her plate without worrying about a Callahan-shaped trainwreck.”
“I’ve been called worse things. You think I can smoke in here?”
“What? No,” he said. He pinched the bridge of his nose again. “God help me, I think you actually believe all your bullshit.”
“It’s not bullshit,” I said. “And I bailed you out. You could thank me instead of turning against me. Maybe you should reconsider your approach.”
“Maybe you should, Callahan,” he said. “Seriously.”
“By the time this is all over, you’ll see I was right.”
Alek gave me a long, flat look. “If you get Ruby hurt—”
“I would never get her hurt,” I said. “I would never hurt her.”
“Or Rosie—”
