“Okay…” Zeke trails, I’m sure confused by our interaction just now. “Again, if you screw us over, I will kill you.”
Zeke’s not even out of the room before Collins is looking at me, shaking his head.
“You know, sometimes you should think about taking your own advice.”
“Fuck off.” Shaking my head as if it will shake this entire topic out. “We have to focus on what’s going on. My situation is entirely different.” Stopping as I see the blacked-out van pull up into the lot. “Come on. They’re here.”
Making sure the body cams are on as we walk outside, pretending as if we’re unaware of what’s about to happen, or how we’re about to arrest one of the officers we work with.
Tate comes out of the restaurant. I’m watching Darren out of the corner of my eyes as the door to his car swings open and he’s storming up to where she stands, the phone pressed to her ear.
“Tate!”he screams.
I pretend not to know what’s happening as he screams, reaching Tate and hitting her so hard she’s knocked to the ground, and his hands wrapping around her throat.
“Shit,” Collins and I both shout as we’re rushing over and pulling Darren off her.
“I’ll fucking kill you!”he shouts as I have him locked up so he can’t charge after her again. He mutters something to himself, but it’s so low I can’t quite hear what it is, although I have a feeling it has something to do with him realizing he was set up. That Z’s gonna get out now, and he’s fucked.
“Calm the hell down!”Collins shouts at him, and once he’s settled. I release his arm. Placing him in handcuffs and reading his rights. Nodding to Collins, telling him to take him to the car.
“Are you okay?” I ask Tate, kneeling down to her.
She nods, but I know her well enough.
“Can we get an ambulance to the parking lot of Lucky’s Diner?” I call into the radio on my shoulder.
“No!” Tate strains out, shaking her head.
“Tate, you have to. You’re going to the hospital.” Zeke demands.“We let you get this far; the hospital is not optional. This is more than what was supposed to happen.”
She’s already nodding, telling Zeke she’ll go as I add.
“And your actual husband will murder us if we don’t make you go.” I mumble to her.
A shy grin spreading across her face as she looks at the ground.
Once she’s inside the ambulance, Zeke nods his head to me. “Do you and Z talk or something?” I feel like I can hear a bit of jealousy in his voice.
“I mean… not really.” I shrug.
“What do you mean by that?”
“What do you really want to know?”
“You called him her husband.”
“Zeke,” thinking about what Z said when he was drunk. “It doesn’t matter how much time passes. I’ll always know who he, and you for that matter, is underneath the exterior you try to maintain.” Nodding my head. “It’s only a matter of time. People don’t change that much.”
“Yeah, you sure fucking did.”
“Whatever you need to tell yourself.” I just shrug before walking back towards the cruiser.
* * *
I’m up and out the door, on the way to the second day of thetrial. I know they kept Tate overnight in the hospital, but releasing her this morning.
After we took Darren into custody, I stayed at the hospital with all of them most of the night.
