Total pages in book: 135
Estimated words: 135955 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 680(@200wpm)___ 544(@250wpm)___ 453(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 135955 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 680(@200wpm)___ 544(@250wpm)___ 453(@300wpm)
He clicks off and stares at the wall, his chest heaving and jaw ticking.
I scoot up, bending my legs into my chest. The air is heavy with hostility, and I half-wonder if the Hulk isn’t just a fictional character. Because the rage radiating from Major is feral.
“Knew something was wrong. All night my skin was crawling, but couldn’t figure out why. Got a call out to a robbery in West End. It kept me busy, but I still watched my phone for your goodnight text. It never came. You didn’t answer my calls, didn’t reply to my texts—the only thing that eased me was Talon saying you got home okay. Didn’t want to overreact. Figured your phone was dead, and you fell asleep.”
His low, barbed tone has me holding my breath.
“Finished my reports and ducked out early, all the way here thinking of finally having you alone and how to convince you to stay at my house when I work nights so I don’t worry. Then when I walk in, your alarm isn’t armed, your lights are on, and I find you coiled up protectively, surrounded by these shots. Knowing you froze me out all night, letting yourself think the worst.”
“You lied to me.”
His eyes fill with remorse at the shakiness in my words.
“Nothing happened between us.”
“You left me in bed to follow a lead, and you went to her. You lied to me,” I repeat.
“It wasn’t like that.”
“Major, I have photographic evidence it was exactly like that!”
In a blur, I’m in the air and caged between his legs.
“No! You don’t get to hold me while you attempt to convince me otherwise.” I struggle against him, wriggling to get free. There’s no way I can hold my ground in this proximity. He captures my wrists, shackling them to his chest, and locks his legs around my hips.
“Darla was the break in the case. She found out who killed JaKoby.”
At his admission, all the fight dissolves and I’m shocked silent.
“She came to Tom’s the other night, had her sights on you, and I almost lost my mind. She doesn’t get to interfere with your life ever again. I met her in the parking lot, and we had words, which pissed her off. Didn’t think there was one fucking thing in this world that woman could say that would interest me. Then she threw out she knew who killed Koby, and it felt like a punch to the gut.”
My jaw drops, and all the air is sucked from my lungs. The betrayal I felt the last few hours turns to pain for Major. There’s no denying that Darla sliced open a deep wound.
“She played her only card, using him. That was risky, even for her. I didn’t believe it, but if there was even a slight chance she had this information, I had to know. Went to her place, and we had words, again, but then she handed me a file with proof that Chicago PD has reopened the cold case. I went to Robbie, and he looked into it. They have a suspect under surveillance.”
“Why not arrest him?”
“Because the original tip-off was anonymous, and they’re building a bigger case than Koby’s death.”
I nod, not because I understand this reasoning, but because it’s a lot to take in. “She obviously thought it prudent to document your visit.”
“I swear to Christ nothing happened. I’ll scour that fucking footage and find the video with audio so you can hear the exchange from the hallway. There was nothing pleasant about it. I was in her place less than three minutes, and that exchange was even less enjoyable.”
I want to believe him. No—I do believe him. But self-preservation nags at me to make him see my point. “Let me go.”
Disappointment flashes in his gaze, but he releases my hands and loosens his hold around my waist. I swing my legs over him and go to the other side of my room, pacing. “I urged you to talk to her, but you blew me off. I respected that because of your history and the circumstances.”
“Yet you couldn’t leave it alone?” He arches his eyebrows.
“That was different. I was merely trying to discover why she reemerged in your life. It was for your protection.”
“Stalking the woman at midnight was for my protection?”
He has a point and knows it. Still, I’m not going there. “We aren’t talking about that. We’re talking about you lying and keeping things from me. I should have known she showed at Tom’s. I should have known where you were this morning.”
“I didn’t want to bring you down that road if it was nothing.”
“Why?” I stop moving and perch my hands on my hips.
His eyes drop to my hands and I swear his lips twitch.
“What the hell is funny right now?”
“Love seeing you like this.”
“This?” I screech, waving down my body. “Me being pissed is fun for you?”