Page 199 of Override

"You are?"

"No." His phone vibrates again. He reads the message. His eyebrows lift. "She disagrees."

I can't help laughing. "What is she saying?"

"Nothing relevant."

"Keaton."

"She would like proof of life."

My laughter stops. "Oh my God. I forgot."

"Yes."

"She told me to text her when I woke up."

"I'm aware."

I stare at him. "How?"

He turns the phone toward me just enough that I can see a screen filled with messages.

I can't read all of them before he pulls it back, but I catch my name several times.

"She's been texting you all morning?"

"Not all morning." Another message arrives. Keaton looks at the time. "Forty-three minutes."

"And you didn't tell me?"

"You were busy."

Heat climbs into my face. His expression doesn't change. I narrow my eyes. "Was that a joke?"

"No."

"It sounded like a joke."

"It was an objective statement."

I cover my face with both hands. I hear him laugh. Actually laugh. I lower my hands and glare at him. "You did that on purpose."

"There's no evidence to support that accusation."

"Oh, I hate you."

His smile disappears. Completely. The change is so immediate that my own smile falters.

"I didn't mean—"

"I know." He says it quickly, but something about the way his hand tightens around his phone makes me think the words affected him anyway.

Before I can figure out what to say, he sets his phone on the coffee table.

His entire demeanor changes. Not drastically.

Keaton doesn't seem to do anything drastically unless he's illegally removing someone from their home.