AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I didn’t even know you’d hurt yourself.” Leaning a little closer, Lawrence peeks past the bandages and sling that hold me together.
All he has to do is exert a little of the power his position demands; he could find out pretty quickly I was never in the hospital. But as Minka steps away from her meeting with a member of her staff and makes her way back to us, his suspicious stare turns a little friendlier. A little less… savage.
“Doctor Mayet.”
“Mayor Lawrence.” Minka steps up on my right and wraps her arm around mine. She surprises all three of us with the public display of her private life.
And in response, I look down with a frown and take a step to the left.
“Er…” Scowling, Minka shakes my mood off and glances back to the mayor. “I was just tying up a couple loose ends before heading home again.”
“Oh.” He forces a smile that slips each time he looks at me. “You’re not feeling well today, or…?”
“Just taking a little personal time. Archer could do with extra help at home while he’s healing from surgery. And that unfortunate news with his colleagues has us both a little shook. Detective Fox and Officer Grayson were…” She shakes her head. “Well, we weren’t friends. But we were friendly, and to find out they died in the line of duty is enough to make me take pause.”
“Yes, well…” Lawrence’s eyes slide across to stop on me. “That kind of news would certainly hit harder for a woman dating a cop. Take your time. Rest up.” He looks back to Minka and studies the long cut on her forehead.
What bled like a firehose just days ago is now only a scratch. But Lawrence is observant enough to notice. He’s focused enough to store such knowledge away for later.
“It definitely puts things into perspective.” Patting my good arm, Minka peeks up into my eyes for a long beat. Glaring when I brush her hand off my arm a second time. Communicating a million things without saying a single word. Then she looks back to Lawrence and forces a flat smile. “We’re heading out, but when I’m back in the office, I’ll return your emails.”
The man chuckles, knowing he demands far more of her attention than he probably should. “Noted. Take care of yourself, okay?” He looks to me again. “Heal up, Detective.” Then he walks away and lets himself into the elevator.
We wait until the doors close and the numbers above them change. Then Minka starts forward and does the same. “What the hell was that?” She smacks the call button and attempts again to wrap her arms around mine. “Are you in pain? Are you tired?”
“I feel like I’m gonna drop to my ass and stay down.”
Let her go, Malone. Brush her hands off and get some distance now.
But no, that’s not what I do. Instead, I lean more than I should and let Minka carry a little of my weight. “I’m gonna go home, I think. I’m fucking wrecked.”
“Yeah. We’re going home.”
“No, I mean—”
When the doors open and reveal an empty elevator, Minka gently tugs on my good arm and leads me in. “Are you good for another hour? I need to make one more stop before we call it a day.”
“You can go do your thing.” I look anywhere but at her—especially when she tries to catch my gaze in the reflection of the silver doors.
I step a few inches to the side and try again to shake her arm off, but the movement tweaks mine and sends bolts of pain radiating through my blood.
“Fuck.” I grit my teeth and hiss as the elevator starts us down. “Yep,” I spit out. “You go do your thing. I’m going home.”
“Martyrdom typically annoys me, but your stubborn streak is something I enjoy poking. You’ll come with me because I said so. But I promise to make it fast. Then I’ll take you home and put you to bed.” Taking my hand in hers and leading me off the elevator, Minka drags me through the lobby and out into the sunlight and warm breeze outside. “You might even get a special massage out of it, if you stop being so ornery.”
“I’m not ornery,” I grumble. “I’ve never been ornery in my life.” Looking out to the constant buzz of traffic in the street, I sigh and turn left when Minka pulls me that way.
February weather is better than January, but that doesn’t mean the cold in the air doesn’t stab my shoulder and make me all the more… well,ornery.
“Do you think he knows?” Once the pain radiating from my shoulder recedes, I let our walk warm my body. “Lawrence. He’s not buying my story about a muscle repair.”
“He doesn’t know.” Minka keeps her steps slow. Her pace manageable for a man missing a little too much blood after having emergency surgery in the middle of a filthy warehouse. “He has no clue what happened at the bay.”
“He stares at me weird.”
Snickering, she rests her cheek on my arm as we walk. She forces me to be close. Demands I hold her in public and announce to the world who we are. “He stares at you weird because he found out we’re dating. You could’ve told him the sky is blue, and he’d still look at you strange.”
“His obsession with you is bordering on unhealthy.”
