9. Hazel

Chapter 9

Hazel

I either had night blindness or Ian was really standing in my doorway.

Would it be crazy if I said I would have preferred night blindness?

Anything would be better than this. I felt incredibly humiliated standing in front of Ian in nothing but a tank top and the shortest shorts I owned. I also wasn’t wearing a bra, and the weather was freezing which meant my nipples were definitely obvious right now.

I spent a good two minutes praying for the earth to open up and swallow me. When that didn’t happen, I rushed into my bedroom to change. I rifled through my things before settling on a baggy t-shirt and leggings.

“What was Ian doing in my apartment by this time?” I muttered as I pulled on my leggings. “What was he doing in my apartment, period?”

He’d never come here before. I wasn’t even aware that he knew where I lived. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised though. They bickered sometimes but Jade told Ian everything. I pulled off the tank top and slipped into my baggy tee.

I turned to the mirror and sighed in approval. “Much better.”

When I walked back out, I met Ian standing by the door. For a second, I’d been hoping it was just a dream. I thought I would walk out and he wouldn’t be here anymore. That thought died a quick death when our eyes collided. I felt my heart start to race, but I told myself it was because I was uncomfortable.

It was unsettling having Ian in my apartment, especially by this time. “Why are you here?” I asked.

“I—”

I cut him off before he could answer my question. “If you’re here to shout at me like you did in my office yesterday, then you can just leave. That is the last thing I need right now so if you came all this way just to yell, then please leave.”

“About that,” Ian began as he scratched the back of his neck. If I didn’t know any better, I would have thought he was nervous. I told myself that was impossible. Ian Carter didn’t get nervous. The way he shifted his weight from one foot to the other and avoided eye contact told me something else. “I’m sorry for shouting at you. You didn’t deserve that.”

I stared at him for a long time, waiting for him to say something else. Maybe he was pausing for dramatic effect before screaming “April Fools!”. It was a stupid possibility for many reasons. One of which being that we weren't in April or anywhere near it.

“I knew it!” I shouted as I looked around, finally understanding what was going on. “I knew this was a dream. Of course, it’s a dream. In what world would you come all the way here to apologize to me?”

I closed my eyes and pinched my arm but when I opened my eyes again, Ian was still here. His countenance had changed from nervous to annoyed. “You’re not dreaming Hazel.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I am,” he said, sounding even more annoyed than he looked.

“Hm. So you really apologized to me?”

“Yes, I did.”

I gave him a suspicious look. It was unsettling to hear him apologize. We’d fought many times over the years and not once had either of us ever apologized. This was a first, and I truly didn’t know what to do about it.

“What is this really about, Ian?”

He sighed and his annoyance gave way to fatigue. It was way too late to be having this conversation or any kind of conversation at all. We should both be in bed sleeping.

In the same bed , a voice in my head said.

I shook my head to push that dreadful thought out of my head. Nothing would ever make me share a bed with Ian Carter. I’d rather sleep in a filthy roach-infested bathtub.

“I got a call from my coach this evening. Apparently, your article has traveled pretty far. Everyone is talking about the missing woman and her connection to me. They’re all asking what I plan to do to help her. I literally can't go anywhere without someone asking me about her. Even just now, your neighbor saw me through her window and she stopped me in the hallway to ask about it.”

“Was it Mrs. Bakeman?” I asked. She was the only neighbor I could think of who was nosy enough to do something like that.

“I didn’t get her name.”

“Older woman, gray hair styled in a bob, green eyes?”

Ian thought about it for a second before nodding. “Yes, that's the one.” Then he shook his head and scrunched his brows. “That isn’t important though. What’s important is the endless series of questions I get from people all over town every time I leave my house. I can’t go on like this.”

“So what do you suggest?”

“We should work together,” Ian said, and I could see the veins popping in his neck. It was as if it physically hurt him to say we should work together just as much as it hurt me to hear it. The very thought made my skin crawl.

I frowned. “Why would we do that?”

“Because the sooner we find Emily, the sooner my life can go back to normal.” He paused before murmuring. “Or at least what passes for normal for me.”

“I guess I understand why you want to do it but there has to be another way. A way that doesn’t involve us working together. We can barely stay in the same place without arguing about something and that’s on a good day.”

“I know but I’m kind of desperate here. I need the questions to stop. I need peace. Plus, I think my presence will help us speed up the investigation.”

He was right. I hated the idea of us working together and I suspected that he hated it too. Still, I had to admit that working with him would be beneficial for the case. He could offer some insight into the kind of places Emily would likely visit. She’d come to town to get to know Ian Carter so she might be in one of his favorite spots or maybe close by.

It was a long shot, but it was the shot I had. I’d poured over Emily’s case several times in the last few days. Each time, the story became more confusing, not clearer. It was like the more I tried to wrap my head around it, the more the mystery unraveled itself, determined not to be solved.

I’d done my best, but I had to admit that my best was clearly not good enough. And neither was the efforts of the police. I didn’t expect Emily to be found immediately, but I knew that the longer we waited the more danger her life was in. We needed to find her as soon as possible.

Having Ian join the search for her would create more awareness which could help the case move even further along. I sighed deeply, my whole body resisted this arrangement, but I didn’t have a choice again. I sighed again and lifted my hand to massage my temples.

I heard Ian chuckle, so I dropped my hand to glare at him. “What’s so funny?”

“It’s just that… I had the same reaction.”

I watched him laugh, and I realized I’d never seen it before. Maybe I’d heard him laugh in the distance at school or some family function that Jade invited me to. Maybe I’d even seen him laugh from afar but this was different. This time I was truly seeing him, up close and with his mirth directed at me.

A small smile lingered on Ian’s face even after his laughter faded. I found myself transfixed by the slight tilt of his sensual lips and the way his eyes lit up with dwindling amusement. My heart rate picked up, and I had to fight the unusual feelings that were bubbling in my stomach.

I could never feel that way for Ian Carter.

“So?” he asked.

“All right. We’ll work together.”

Ian’s smile widened. It was so quick and my heart was not prepared for the power it had over me. I shook off the feeling with a cough. “Thank you.”

I hadn't realized Ian had moved, so he was standing directly in front of me. I also didn’t realize he’d stuck his hand out for me to shake it. I stared at it for a long time before slipping my hand into his. The warmth I felt shocked me, but I didn’t allow my expression to display what I was feeling.

These new emotions around Ian were strange to me. And I worried things would get even worse now that we were working together. That worry made me want to pull my hand back, but I’d already given my word so there was no going back.

I’d already made a deal with the devil.