I didn't bother telling him that he was repeating himself. In fact, I didn't bother saying anything at all.Really, what could I say?
On the phone, he gave a hard scoff. "So I was right? Dude, what the hell?"
Dude?It sounded funny, but I wasn't laughing. "It's not what you think."
"Oh yeah? So you didn't fuck her?"
My grip tightened on the phone. I didn't like that word, not in this context. "No." I paused. "Not the way you make it sound."
"Call it whatever you want," he said, "I'll take that as a yes."
Icoulddeny it, but why bother? And now I was curious. "How'd you know?"
"When you said you were tied up, you were fucking smiling. I could hear it."
Shit.I didn't remember smiling, but his answer made sense. Becka had that effect on me. She made me smile when I shouldn't, like when I was talking to a justifiably pissed-off friend.
I made a mental note.From now on, watch the voice.
But first, it was time for damage-control. "Listen, this stays between us, all right?"
"So I'm supposed to lie to Anna?That'swhat you're telling me?"
"No. I'm saying keep quiet until you hear otherwise. This doesn't have to be a problem."
He was silent for a beat before saying, "Anna was worried about that, you know."
According to Becka, Anna worried too much. Whether that was true or not, I couldn’t say for certain. But Ididknow that some things had definitely slipped through the cracks.
I told Flynn, "Yeah, well maybe Anna should've spent the time worrying about something else."
"Meaning?"
"Tell me, you ever meet her roommate?"
He paused as if thinking. "You mean Tara?"
"No. Some pill-popping loser. A guy named Nick."
Flynn was silent for another long moment. And when he spoke, he didn't sound happy. "You're joking, right?"
"No joke. So let me throw it back at you. Dude, what the hell?"
"Is that supposed to be funny?"
"No. It's supposed to make you think. Did you realize, she was worried about money?"
"Becka?" He sounded surprised. "No."
"Yeah." My jaw clenched. "So, what the hell were you doing?"
"You know what?" His voice rose. "For someone who fucked my fiance's little sister, you might want to lay off the lectures."
"Why?" I said. "Because I’m wrong? Or because you were doing a sorry job of looking out for her?"
I hadn't meant to say it. But now that it was out there, I was determined to get to the bottom of this. I asked, "Just what the hell were you doing, anyway?"
"Not enough." He gave a low curse. "Obviously."
