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“Screw you,Gage.If you didn’t love her, why did you feel the need to marry her, like it’s a common courtesy or some shit?”
“Not going there, nor will I ever.” He shakes his head. “I should’ve never told you. Forget I said anything.”
“Whoa, pump those brakes, buddy. You can’t throw that truth bomb and then expect me toforget it.”
I have so many questions.
“That’s where you’re wrong. Just like you don’t owe me an explanation of why you broke up with me, I don’t owe you one about what I’ve been doing since then.”
I stomp my feet against the floorboard when he turns into the entrance of the hospital. I need more time to drag admissions out of him. Although I doubt he’ll be confiding in me about anything else.
“What time does your shift end?” he asks, shifting his truck into park.
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll find a ride. Go call your wife.” I’m acting petty, I know, but I’m dizzy while processing that he moved on with someone else. I shouldn’t be, given I’d pushed him into her arms, but it’s the only reaction I can give at the moment.
“We’re too old to play fucking games,” he says, annoyance running through his words. “What time, Lauren?”
“Eight,” I huff out.
“I’ll be here.”
I step out and slam the door.
He got married.
SaidI doto another woman.
Gage Perry has no right to be angry with me.
Sixteen
Gage
Telling Laurenabout Missy was a mistake.
Her too-many-questions road-trip game defrosted my defenses. My admission clipped out before I knew I’d even been thawed. Lauren is notorious for bringing my every thought out into the light, but she’ll never knoweverything.
That shit is going with me to the grave.
No one in Blue Beech but my father will ever know. That nightmare will stay in Chicago.
The story made local headlines but never went national. Missy grew up in a family with politicians hitting every branch in the tree. Their pockets were full of old money, and they were experts in writing checks to fix any blemishes on their reputations. They could erase any word in an article with the click of a pen, forming the dollar sign.
That was the first and only time I was grateful for their pocketbooks. The thought ofhispicture being dissected and on display for the world to see would’ve ruined me. From the first time I found him outside the station, I made it my job to protect him but failed miserably.
I sink my fingers into the leather of my steering wheel.
Moving here was my solution to take me away from the memories of hell.
Chicago was nothing but a reminder of what I’d lost.
* * *
“Dude, what’s up your ass?”Kyle asks, sliding into the passenger seat of our cruiser. “I told you this would happen. You bring the devil into your home; it’ll turn into hell. You know, that’s why her last building went up in flames … because she’s an evil demon.”
“It’s too early to listen to your shit,” I mutter.
The thirty-minute drive back into town had given me time to clear my head before going to work. I went home, showered, and skipped breakfast with my dad. He would’ve known something was wrong.
