Read Online Night Edge by Jessica Hawkins - Free Book Online

eyebrows were already halfway up her forehead. “Yes, but there were no charges over the last eight days. Now there’s one pending.”
    “Oh.” She crossed her arms, curling her nails into her biceps. “So you’re going to go find her?”
    “No,” Beau said immediately. “I sent Bragg.”
    Brigitte tilted her head fractionally. “How come?”
    Beau didn’t know how to answer that. He knew he should just leave her alone, for both their sakes. He didn’t want to, though. He was hurt. He still loved her. But above all, he was angry with her. He couldn’t walk away, and he couldn’t go after her himself. That would tell her she was worth something to him. She was, but Beau wanted to smother that feeling, not nurture it.
    Money gave Beau the gift to waste someone else’s time instead of his. Bragg would handle everything. He’d bring Lola back kicking and screaming if Beau asked him to. Throw her at his feet. And Beau would get his answers.
    “I have to stay close to the office,” he said. “I don’t have time to chase her down. I just want to know where she is before I decide…”
    Their eyes met. Brigitte turned her back to him and put on her oven mitts, but she didn’t move beyond that. “What’ll you do if you find her?”
    “I don’t know. But I can’t let her get away with this.”
    Brigitte looked over her shoulder at him. “Then why not go yourself?”
    “I told you—I have a company to run. That’s why I have people like Bragg.”
    She faced him again, her mitted hands at her sides. “Why waste Bragg’s time if Lola isn’t worth enough for you to go yourself? Time is your most valuable resource, but your money and energy are equally precious. She’s bleeding you out, Beau. Jesus. Warner says he’s never seen you this distracted. Just let this thing go.”
    Lola had been a strain on him one way or another since he’d found her again—yet knowing her had been rewarding in ways he hadn’t anticipated. After his proposition to her to spend the night with him, he’d returned home to Brigitte, who hadn’t thought it was a waste of anything then.
    “You were always on board with my plan,” he said. “You even said a million was a small price to pay for what I wanted in return.”
    “Because it was a game, and you needed that win. Her rejection had been a weak spot for you all those years, and you’re the strongest person I know. It was never about getting laid.” She shook her head. “This isn’t a game anymore, Beau. Part of your success has come from your ability to cut deadweight loose the way most people can’t. The moment hesitation or indecision creeps in, you’re letting emotion get in the way of your sense. She’s offered you an exit, and you need to take it.”
    Beau asked himself if he could go upstairs, go to bed and never think of Lola again. Bragg wouldn’t care either way. He’d walk out of the airport right now, so long as he got paid. Lola and Beau had both hurt each other, but the score would never feel even. How long could it go on? He didn’t know, but he couldn’t forget her. He hadn’t in ten years, and he wouldn’t ten years from now. He had to confront her. A small part of him wondered if she wanted him to find her. If she’d made that one credit card charge hoping he’d follow it.
    “Can we drop this already and eat some lasagna?” Brigitte asked, sighing as she pulled the oven open.
    “Why?”
    She slid the dish out and set it on the stove. “Because I’m hungry, and this discussion isn’t—”
    “No,” he interrupted. “Why do I need to take this exit she’s given me?”
    Brigitte rolled her eyes, removing the oven mitts. “I don’t want to see you get hurt yet again. She’s put you through enough, and she isn’t worth it. Clearly, she doesn’t even want to be around you.”
    Beau folded his arms against his chest and leaned back on the counter. Brigitte never wanted to see him get hurt, and that was why she’d hated Lola from