Chapter 8

Julian stared at the phone number on the napkin. His hands trembled. "Stop being a coward," he muttered. Carl's contact had come through. A friend of a friend who worked at the phone company. Not exactly legal, but desperate times called for desperate measures. "Just do it." He dialed before he could change his mind. One ring. Two rings. Three— "Hello?" Her voice. God, her voice. Julian's throat closed up. "Hello?" Chloe repeated. "Who is this?" "It's..." He swallowed hard. "It's me." Silence. Then: "How did you get this number?" Her tone was ice. Not the warm honey he remembered. "I needed to talk to you." "No." "Please, just—" "How did you get this number?" Each word was a blade. "Does it matter?" "I'm hanging up." "Wait!" His voice cracked. "Please, Chloe. Just listen." "To what?" Her laugh was bitter. "Another apology?" "I miss you." "Funny." Her voice hardened. "You didn't miss me when you were fucking our neighbor." The crude word shocked him. Chloe never