I laughed. “Got one. But he’s no Alejandro.” I smirked. “What about you?”
“Nah. Nothing at the moment.” Hale’s eyes suddenly zeroed in on me. “So what happened to you? One day we were eating pizza, and the next day you’d left town. Heard you live in New York now.”
“I had to get out. After Jay got killed, I was numb, totally whacked. I didn’t want to cheat anymore, and the fear made it hard to con. So I held it together for a while, then I had to split. Sorry I never got a chance to say goodbye, but you know how it is in this business.”
“So you are still in the business.”
“No. I told you. I’m straight now.”
“Why don’t I believe you?” He squinted at me for a second, then shrugged it off. “Anyway, how long are you around?”
“Not long.” I shook my head. “Bea tricked me into coming back here, so I figured it was just her way of trying to reconnect. Unfortunately, I can already tell we’re not going to be friends—hell, we never were. So I probably won’t stay much past the weekend. Sorry.”
“It’s okay. I’m glad I got to see you again. Glad, too, that you’ve still got the touch.”
We talked for a few more hours, then I drove off. Thank goodness I had a friend here in Los Angeles.