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“You said you didn’t read it! You lied to me!”
The look he gives me, I know what he’s going to say even before he does.
“I never said I didn’t. But if you want to talk about who’s been lying to who all along…” Burns raps the cover of my journal with his knuckles. “I’ve got a few passages earmarked.”
“Burns, don’t—”
“I told you from the beginning, angel. Sometimes you have to be prepared to be disappointed. And before you ask, this isn’t a punishment. It’s not a reward, either. It’s about coming clean.” His gaze locks on mine. Any other time I’ve been naked around him, he didn’t hide how much he ogled me. Now? He’s staring right into my eyes.
I’d rather he be talking to my tits.
I swallow roughly. “What if I begged?”
His lips quirk. “You’d only like it.”
Oh, God. He did it. He really read it. He’s not bluffing.
And the bastard wasn’t lying. I can see dog-eared pages, as though he’s returned to them repeatedly.
Clearing his throat, he begins to read one out loud.
“‘I gave Officer Burns a daisy today. I don’t know what came over me. I just… I wanted him to notice me.’” Glancing up from the page, his expression softens. “Oh, angel. Believe me, I already noticed… but the second you gave me the daisy, you sealed your fate. I knew you were meant to be mine.”
That’s why I did it. Why I purposely sought him out and handed him the flower. I never thought he would care—and, yeah, I was wrong about that one—but, all along, back when he was just Officer Burns, I was dying for him to notice me.
He was so strong. So kind. Fucking gorgeous. Nothing like the cops in Fairview who ridiculed me. Who made me feel like I was worthless. His smile could brighten my whole day, and I started to believe that such a good cop like Officer Burns would help me when no one else ever has.
Isn’t that twisted? The cops failed me, and I pinned all my hopes… all my affection… on a beat cop who walked by the shop where I worked.
So I gave him a daisy, and I smiled back, and then he saved me from Brick…
Ah, Brick. I kinda feel bad about that now. I honestly believed that Burns was a good guy. Up until the moment he arrested me, I had a fantasy about what he was like. I gave Brick fifty bucks to pretend to rob me when I knew that Burns was doing a nighttime patrol. All I wanted was for the good cop to save me, toseeme.
And then Burns killed him because Brick held me up with the knife I gave him to use.
Whoops.
Maybe he shouldn’t have accidentally nicked me with it, huh?
On the plus side, at least I never mentioned that part in my journal. I talked about how happy I was to prove that Burns was a hero. How he did what I thought he would, running after Brick and taking him down for the attack.
Of course, Brick had no idea that was my plan. Dumb kid just saw the dollar signs, not the aftermath. Then again, neither did I.
But just because I didn’t jot that down, it doesn’t mean there aren’t hundreds of other secret confessions I never wanted Burns to read.
Like this one—
“‘Sometimes I think about putting a secret mark on me. Like a flame… something that shows how much I want him to be mine without anyone else knowing. A tattoo just for us.’”
He glances up again. “You gave me the idea. I was always pretty handy with a tattoo gun, and I gave myself the daisy as a nod to what you wanted. Then, when I took you home with me, I put my name on you. You know why?”
I can’t even speak. Stunned and horrified that he doesn’t seem the least fazed by what he’s reading, I shake my head.
“Because I want the whole fucking world to know you’re mine. I’ll give a flame if you want, but Burns… it’s gonna be your name, too, angel. Might as well get used to it.”
Angela Burns.
AngelaBurns—
