Chapter 457

My chest tightened. “Alright, what time tomorrow?” I asked.

“Not sure yet. Just keep your phone close,” Hayden paused, then, more casually, “Have you eaten?”

“Yeah, I ate with Jace,” I replied, totally innocent, no hidden meaning behind it. There wasn’t any reason for him to think otherwise. After all, he’s the one who had Jace looking after me. Sure enough, Hayden didn’t make a big deal of it. He just moved on. “What did Jace say about Steve?”

“He said he’s working on getting me in to see him, but nothing beyond that,” I replied, keeping it simple.

“Jace knows Steve’s teammates pretty well. He might be able to get some leads from them,” Hayden added. I didn’t say anything, and he didn’t push it.

Silence settled between us. It felt strange—this had never happened during our calls before. I broke it, glancing out the window. “It’s raining here. Like, really hard.”

“I can hear it,” Hayden said, and that’s when I realized I’d had my phone facing up the whole time. He wasn’t even looking at the rain or me, just the hotel ceiling.

“Hold on, let me show you.” I tilted the phone toward the window.

“I’d rather see you,” Hayden said softly, his voice direct.

I stayed quiet for a second before I teased, “Well, you made me mad, so as your punishment, you don’t get to see me until I’m back.”

There was another pause before he replied, “Yeah… I deserve that.”

Was it really a punishment? Maybe. I mean, he loved me, and when you love someone, even a day apart can feel like forever. Hayden didn’t hang up. He just stayed on the line, listening to the rain with me. We didn’t talk after that. Almost an hour passed, and my body started feeling stiff from sitting too long. I stretched out on the bed to relax. When I picked up my phone, I noticed the call was still going. He hadn’t hung up—and now the camera was facing him.

“Why didn’t you end the call?” I asked.

“I didn’t want to. Even if I can’t see you, hearing your voice is enough,” Hayden said, hitting me with that effortless rizz.

But I wasn’t in the mood to get all soft. “Well, I’m hanging up now. No more listening either.”

“Are you tired?” Hayden asked, gently.

“Not really tired, just… exhausted,” I said as I stretched out again. “Goodnight.”

I ended the video call, but almost immediately, my phone buzzed again. Of course, it was Hayden. I unlocked it and saw the message: [Kiki, sleep well.]

I didn’t bother replying. Instead, I locked my phone and shut my eyes. Not long after, it buzzed again. I figured it was another message from Hayden, so I ignored it.

The next morning, when I woke up and checked the time, I finally looked at the texts. The one I’d ignored wasn’t from Hayden—it was from Cedric: [Meet me tomorrow at 3 PM at your parents’ grave.]

My heart skipped a beat. I wasn’t even in Kehlmark—how was I supposed to meet him? I quickly typed back: [Sorry, Officer Sawyer, I’m out of the country right now. Can we reschedule?]

No immediate response. My eyelid twitched as this weird feeling of unease settled over me. I couldn’t send someone else to meet him. I couldn’t blow it off, either. So, I tried again: [I’ll reach out as soon as I’m back. Is that okay?]

This time, the “typing” indicator popped up almost immediately.